The prospect of marketing your business can be overwhelming, especially during challenging times when your budget is tight.

But don’t despair…

Often the most simple and cost-effective ideas can produce the best results.

In fact, there's much you can do which costs very little (apart from your time and application).

So put your credit cards away - here’s my...

10 quick and easy tips to SPEND LESS and MARKET MORE!

1. Blog – Still one of the most effective ways to share your knowledge and expertise as well as position your brand and extend your reach. Engage with your desired audience in a more informal way - search engines love them too!
   
   
2. Network (Online) - Currently over 250,000+ social media groups - region, sector and industry specific.
   
   

   Networking online will provide an opportunity to engage with like-minded professionals as well as source new business opportunities and promote your brand.
   
   

...

Email remains one of the most effective marketing tools with a strong ROI, even in 2021. The key to success comes from creating meaningful and impactful content but also building a prospect list that is relevant and helps deliver conversions for your business.

What is an email list?

Nearly 300 billion emails are sent every day around the world and more than 80% of businesses use it as one of the primary marketing approaches. An email list contains a whole bunch of people who are interested in your business and likely to buy from it or hire your services.

• Anyone can create an email list. The challenge is developing something that is filled with people or businesses likely to engage with your business.
• To do this, you need a range of approaches and strategies that work for your business and attract the right kinds of people.
• Selecting the right methods to attract prospects onto your email list generally means looking at a range of different approaches.

Why should people join your...

Your brand is the foundation around which your entire business and marketing are based.

Start-ups and smaller businesses often find it difficult to develop a clear brand that helps them stand out and resonate with potential customers.

Why have a brand?

Get your brand strategy nailed down and all else should lead from it. It will define the design and feel of your website, for example, and underpin all your marketing activity.

It defines what your business is about to you and your staff as well as your audience.

It’s not just that customers will easily recognise you online or on the high street. Strong brands create emotional connections.

What does that mean? Your customers stick with you and even influence others to buy your products or hire your services. When they see your logo, they have a sense of anticipation.

Simply put:
Strong brands lead to higher sales and more customers.

Here are some stats if you’re not completely convinced:

• When they’re fixing to...

There are lies, damned lies and statistics.

If you’ve always been a bit wary of online statistics about marketing, you’re not alone. There are thousands of them out there and many aren’t true or get misinterpreted.

To help, here are a few I’ve dug out from the many to help inform your 2021 marketing strategy and what they mean.

1. Get your SEO right

According to BrightEdge, 68% of experiences online start with a query on a search engine like Google. SEO is still an important part of any marketing strategy. While getting it right takes time and effort it should continue to be a priority for your business in 2021.

SEO essentials for search success:

• Crawl accessibility (aka spiders) - ‘Crawling’ is what search engines do to look at your site and determine what information is on there.
• Compelling content - Once a person visits your site, you should aim to keep them there and give them the information they’re looking for. Blogs, news, product...

Word of mouth recommendations are one of the oldest (and most believable) forms of marketing in the world – and still one of the most effective!

It’s not you telling the world how wonderful you are – it’s SOMEONE ELSE – which can be incredibly powerful, especially when it’s fellow professionals and customers words we trust most.

It also helps build and promote your personal brand with your ambassadors, role models and influencers.

Where to begin?

LinkedIn is one of the best special platforms for enabling this – using ‘Endorsements’ and ‘Recommendations’.

The difference between LinkedIn ‘Endorsements’ and ‘Recommendations’:

Endorsements can be given by any of your connections, including people who have never worked with you.

Recommendations are those that you either have to specifically request, or specifically accept from someone. They are about as close as...

As we slowly exit lockdown and life returns to some type of normality, are you revising or making new plans for your marketing and sales strategy for the rest of the year?

   Will it be the same as previous?

   Focusing on the same customers and target consumers?

   Using the same marketing tools and channels?

   Spending the same budget?

   Hoping (and praying) for the same results as this time last year?

If so - STOP!

Before you spend a penny more on your marketing, conduct an audit.

Far too many businesses make the mistake of throwing money at the same marketing and sales activities, not really sure what they will achieve - hoping it will go back to the 'good ole' days'!

Business has changed.

Consumers have changed. 

Marketing has changed!

Marketing can be an expensive activity for your business, so it's good to know what's working and what isn't - long before you invest your...

There’s been a common theme recently in the emails and messages I’ve been receiving from some of my clients and contacts...

‘Our website is receiving less traffic – even though we’re still posting fresh content...’

‘My LinkedIn posts are receiving fewer likes, comments and shares...’

‘Our weekly email newsletter has been receiving fewer opens and clicks...’

‘My sales have declined dramatically...’

All of which can be very disheartening.

However...

Whilst being regular and present with your marketing is still REALLY important - life has changed.

And, your target audience may no longer desire the same types of communication they previously used to like... desire – even relish!

Maybe this is a good opportunity to change the way in which you communicate with your target audience?

But how?

  Make your marketing more relatable, authentic and empathetic. 

Use scenarios, stories and real-life...

Before I begin, I must apologise in advance – I’m going to be using the ‘c’ word throughout.

I know some people feel very uncomfortable when they hear the ‘c’ word.

I know some people would much rather it didn’t exist in our vocabulary.

But nevertheless, we need to face up to it – now, more than ever.

I am of course referring to ‘change’.

There, I’ve said it!!

If you’re already feeling offended, please don’t read on.

Change occurs often when we least expect it – and it can be immediate or over a long period of time.

One thing that is for certain, business is in a period of change at present.

A period of ‘forced’ change.

We can no longer physically meet face-to-face – for meetings, group training, seminars and conferences.

We can no longer meet for a coffee, lunch or go to the pub or even share dinner after work. 

And we can no longer share a joke or some juicy gossip with our...

Marketing your business can be challenging at the best times - so much to consider from consistently developing ways to engage, communicate and promote your brand through to implementing, managing and measuring your campaigns. 

There are a plethora of tools available to help reach your objectives - some paid and some free. None replace a solid marketing strategy and human interaction, but each can help manage the stress and strains of planning and running  your marketing campaigns.

Here's my top 20 FREE tools for creating and managing your marketing campaigns:

Ubersuggest

UberSuggest is a free marketing tool that provides you with essential marketing data such as - Keyword ideas, content ideas, web traffic, SEO difficulty and much more. Created by the Search Guru - Neil Patel, this tool will help you to optimise your website and get ahead of your competitors.

Buffer

Buffer (an alternative to Hootsuite) is a software application for the...

In light of the current situation regarding Coronavirus, many business owners, coaches and consultants will be feeling anxious and discouraged about investing in their marketing activities. 

This can lead to a detrimental effect on their business, causing more stress and anxiety.

However, marketing doesn't need to cost a fortune, in fact there's much you can do which costs very little - apart from your time and application.

Here's my top 10 tips to market your business without spending a penny:

1. Review your marketing plan – now is the time to take action!

What's working and what’s not?

Can you diversify? Offer something better or more efficient than your competitors?

Consider new markets - new products / services - can they be delivered online?

Download my free planning guide here - when you subscribe to my weekly update.

2. Build a FREE website and email marketing campaign using MailChimp.

3. Network (Online) - over 250,000+ social media groups -...