Back to Basics — at Any Stage

I was discussing my numbers with my accountant recently, and she noted that I don’t spend a lot of money on marketing. “If I could figure out where to spend money that would consistently send good leads my way, I would throw money at it,” I told her. Most of our business comes from referrals, which is amazing, but not very predictable; another good chunk comes from SEO, people searching and finding us via Google, but again, it’s not as predictable as I’d like. I’ve experimented with several other marketing …

Read More

Demystifying content marketing with a step-by-step system

Demystifying Content Marketing with a Step-by-Step System

Content marketing can be confusing. There are a zillion tools, a zillion tips, a zillion ways to create content to spread your marketing message, and it all falls under the umbrella of content marketing. All the options alone can seem daunting. But it doesn’t have to be.

What you need is a plan.

A system. A checklist that you follow for every single piece of content you make. And it doesn’t have to be complicated or terribly time consuming.

So I’m going to …

Read More

When Your Business Changes, Bringing Your Audience Along for the Ride

This month, my baby turned seven, and my business turned six. 

A lot has changed since 2013:

I don’t change diapers any more.
I work while my baby is at school, instead of while she naps.
I have six team members, instead of doing everything myself.
My logo no longer looks like this: 
And I do a lot more than blogging these days.

Every business evolves

I saw a funny comment the other day that if Blockbuster had kept up with the trends, we might “Blockbuster and chill” instead of “Netflix and chill.” 

Businesses, like people, have to evolve and …

Read More

Why I’m Focusing on Podcasts Over Guest Posts This Year

One of the biggest mistakes I consistently see small business bloggers make is assuming that writing their blog posts — or producing their podcast, or doing their videos — is sufficient to grow their audience.

The truth is, any piece of content you produce today is really only going to reach your existing fans — unless you do some additional promotion for it. 

What that means in practice is that I can have the best website on the Internet, but unless I take action to promote it, I’m just preaching to the choir. Only my …

Read More