Category: Marketing

Once derided as junk mail, direct mail is making a comeback, thanks to improved data collection and the uncluttered state of today’s real-world mailboxes. Many small businesses consider it a key component of a well-rounded marketing effort.

Sending high-quality mail pieces to exactly the right households requires a significant investment. We’ve put together some tips to help you maximize your direct mail budget.

Determine your goals

An effective direct mail campaign requires the expenditure of time, creativity and money. Defining the desired outcome will be crucial to the success of every other step. Your goal could be:

• To deliver news. You’re launching a new business or opening a new location. You’ve won an award. You’re introducing a new product line.
• To increase

The coronavirus pandemic has forced many businesses to start scheduling customer appointments ahead of time. If this is new ground for your business, here are seven customer appointment scheduling tools you can try.

[Read More: How to Tell Your Customers Your Business is Reopening]

Calendly

Calendly is one of the best options for businesses that need an affordable scheduler that comes with lots of integrations. The free version of Calendly integrates with Google Calendar, Office 365, Outlook and iCloud.

The paid version of Calendly comes with over 700 integrations. One of the biggest benefits is that you can integrate the scheduler with your website. That way, customers can schedule appointments without ever having to leave your site.

If you invest in the paid version of Calendly, you can create multiple

About 80% of adults in the U.S. are using at least one ad-blocking tool. There’s a good chance if you rely on traditional display ads to reach customers, those ads aren’t even being seen. The solution is to incorporate some native content into your marketing plan. Here’s how to create a native content plan for your business.

[Read more: What Is Native Content?]

What will your native content achieve?

Native content is a highly effective form of advertising when backed by the right strategy. Before you dive in, you must know what you want to achieve. Native ads can be designed with many goals in mind.

• Increase brand awareness and visibility: Help customers recognize and remember your business.
• Generate new leads: Help your sales

With many in-person events on hold until the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, the importance of online and virtual events for businesses has drastically increased. Online events can play a role in gaining new customers, building partnerships, educating people or simply providing entertainment.

While virtual events will likely not replace in-person events completely after the pandemic ends, they will remain a staple as more people get used to fully online events such as digital conferences, panels, webinars, workshops, concerts and networking.

Here are five ways to promote and get the word out about your online event series.

Add events to your email signature

While it may sound simple, adding a link to sign up or learn more about your next

Your Google search ranking impacts your visibility to your audience and how much engagement you receive. The higher you rank, the higher your chances are of being seen by consumers.

In the modern world of online advertising, however, many brands forgo an organic search strategy in favor of paid ads. But money alone can’t improve your website’s search rank.

These seven tips — along with time, planning and dedication — can help you improve your Google search ranking:

Conduct an audit

The first step to improving your ranking is to conduct an audit and learn about your site’s usage. Use a keyword rank checker to assess your rank on Google. Knowing where you rank allows you and your team to set realistic goals for how to increase your search results. Check your website analytics as