In a nutshell, yes.

Now, exactly how you should use AI will vary by industry, even as the technology continues to evolve and improve, but refusing to at least explore what AI can do may end up stalling your company’s growth.

Some of you may be asking what, specifically, AI is and does.

AI is a type of software program that right now is frequently faster at handling repetitive tasks or for quickly tracking down publicly available data than humans are. You can use AI to automate processes that were previously manual, freeing up time to handle activities that require more brainpower, such as strategizing or problem-solving.

Some of the best current uses of AI include:

Customer service

Introducing chatbots and pop-up windows to answer customer or prospect questions on your website isn’t new, but as AI becomes more robust, so too do chat programs that answer the most commonly asked questions. 

With access to all the information on your company website as well as data on the back end, chatbots can now confirm that orders have been shipped, research policies, or gather feedback, all without human intervention. They can serve customers while you’re engaged in higher-value tasks.

You can also design the process to allow chatbots to refer questions to live humans when AI doesn’t have access to the information your prospect needs.

Scheduling

Quirks reports that 60% of small businesses use online calendars, which means there is a big opportunity to rely on AI to manage your time. 

Tools like Calendly and Motion help you share your availability with team members, clients, and prospects. No more time-consuming back-and-forth emails checking everyone’s availability.

You can also use scheduling software to track where you’re spending your time online. RescueTime can provide reports on how productive you’ve been, breaking down how much time you spent on certain documents, within certain apps, or on certain websites.

Financial management

If you currently pay a human bookkeeper to review your income and expenses regularly in order to prepare your books for tax time, you now have the option to automate that whole process as well. 

Online bookkeeping programs, such as Bench or Bookkeeper360, allow you to connect your bank accounts, credit cards, lines of credit, and any other financial instruments and have AI routinely categorize and aggregate all of your financial details for easy processing for taxes.

Hiring

New AI-powered hiring tools can take care of the first round of qualifying job applicants, by reviewing submitted resumes and determining which candidates may be a fit and which are too big a stretch. 

By setting up keywords you want the program to watch for, you can quickly separate the high-potential applicants from those who lack any relevant experience.

Content creation

One of the biggest applications of AI is for content creation, to create from scratch blog posts, articles, web copy, white papers, and other written materials. AI can be extremely fast at generating documents, which is certainly appealing, but it can also be wrong (AI hallucinations are when the program makes information up and presents it as fact.)

For that reason, the best uses of AI for content creation at the moment include generating everything except the body copy. Meaning, use it to create potential titles, headlines, and/or to generate a potential outline – but don’t use it to write the blog post or article. That’s the piece you’ll need to create yourself to avoid the possibility of either plagiarism or fiction being inserted without your knowledge.

Some of the most popular AI tools for content creation right now are ChatGPT, Bard, and Claude.

Then editing tools like Grammarly help by pointing out grammatical or spelling errors within your draft.

You can also use AI to generate illustrations to accompany your written work, though since you can’t copyright it, be aware that you can’t claim ownership.

Audio transcription and summaries

As the use of video conference technology has become the standard in businesses today, transcription tools can do everything from turning audio into text to summarizing meeting notes and even developing action items to assign to participants. Transcription tools like Rev and Otter are now commonly used for the quick conversion of audio files to text.

AI and other machine learning tools are increasingly being incorporated into work processes, to automate tasks that don’t require human involvement. It can also be used to process data, such as statistics, to reveal answers faster.

If you’re looking for ways to wring more minutes out of your busy day, consider exploring how AI tools can assume some of your workload.

You’ve heard me talk about “publicity” and the positive impact it can have on your business before, but I really want you to spend time now learning more about it. 

Publicity – also known as earned media – is that free media exposure you get when you’re quoted in the press. It could be an interview for a(n):

• Radio talk show
• TV news or talk show
• Magazine 
• Newspaper
• Online media outlet or content site 
• Blog
• Podcast

When you’re quoted by the press, you get an authority boost. That makes publicity more powerful than advertising and other paid-for marketing tactics. 

People are smart enough to know that journalists are selective about who they use as sources. So, if a reporter chose you, you must know what you’re talking about, they presume.

But how do you get that free media attention, whether your market is local or national? 

Here are four easy and effective ways to do that.

Start Locally

Even if your audience isn’t limited to the surrounding area, starting locally with publicity when it’s a new tactic for you is a good idea. You’ll discover what resonates with the press while gaining interview experience in a more forgiving marketplace.

Start by researching your local media outlets

In most areas, these include some or all of these: 

• Daily newspaper
• Weekly community newspapers
• City business journal
• Radio stations
• TV stations
• Community bloggers
• Local women’s magazines
• Regional parenting publications

After you’ve identified your local media outlets, read, watch, and listen to them so you get a sense of what is and isn’t appropriate for them. 

What kinds of articles do the daily and weekly newspapers use? In fact, weekly newspapers are typically very receptive to information they can just copy, paste, and use, and are well-written, too. 

Do the radio stations have talk shows with guests? Do the TV stations have early morning or noon news casts that feature in-studio interviews with community residents? 

Studying how each media outlet handles news and information helps you figure out where you might fit in at each. 

Next, figure out your “news hook” – your angle. Your “hook” is what makes you or your topic newsworthy or interesting. 

You won’t get very far with “local woman starts home-based business,” but winning a grant could get you publicity, particularly with a weekly newspaper or a local women’s magazine. 

Perhaps you’re collaborating with another business to host a community public safety event or nonprofit fundraiser. Maybe you’ve developed breakthrough technology that you can demonstrate. 

Think about what’s happening in your business that might be interesting to the community at large, especially if it’s something visual that would attract TV news cameras. 

Once you’ve figured out your topic, determine who to contact. In most cases with local media outlets, you want:

• Radio talk show: producer or host
• TV talk show: producer
• TV news: assignment editor
• Magazine: editor
• Newspaper: section editor or “beat” reporter (education, food, etc.)
• Community blog: blogger/blog owner

Once you know your news hook or angle, which outlets it’s appropriate for, and who to contact there, you “pitch” the idea to them via email. Explain your idea, why their audience will be interested, and provide relevant information that will help them decide it’s a good fit. That can include providing other sources to interview if you’re pitching a newspaper or magazine feature article.

Subscribe to Services That Help journalists Find Interview Sources

Several free services help journalists find sources to interview and quote in articles and broadcast segments. Some of the most popular include:

• Source of Sources
• Qwoted
• Connectively 

They are one of the easiest – if not the easiest – ways to get national publicity. 

Here’s how they work: For most of them, after creating a free account, you receive an email listing “queries” from journalists, writers, bloggers, etc. Queries outline what they’re working on and the information they need from potential sources like you. 

The queries come from a wide range of media outlets, podcasts, and bloggers. For example, one of the services recently sent an email with requests from MarthaStewart.com, Family Business Magazine, and Business Insider, among others. 

Here are a few tips for responding appropriately to queries: 

• Be selective about those you respond to. If you don’t fit the description in the query, or you “kind of” know about the topic but “not really,” responding will only waste your time. 
• Don’t use AI to write your response. AI responses are shallow, impersonal, often inaccurate, and generally useless. If you can’t respond from your own knowledge and experience, don’t respond at all. 
• Respond to queries quickly. Some journalists will stop reading responses when they believe they have enough sources to proceed. Others will wait and review all of them. You never know which is which, so make an effort to show up in their inbox sooner rather than later.

If you’re the type of business owner who prefers to outsource this type of work, you can pay a service to do it for you. Costs range from $1,380 to be quoted four times to more than $4,000 a month for five. 

If you are budget-conscious and prefer to be more hands on, you can find more affordable DIY resources for mastering the art of the query response.

Write and Distribute a Publicity Tip Sheet

A tip sheet is a type of press release that offers tips or advice in a bulleted or numbered format.

Like a press release, it’s written like a news story so that a media outlet or blogger can run it as is. No additional research or writing is necessary.

Tip sheet elements include: 

• Attention-getting headline that includes the number of tips
• Summary first paragraph
• Your expert quote
• Sentence introducing the tips
• Short tips presented as bulleted or numbered points

Media outlets, especially newspapers and magazines, like tip sheets because they can pull out just one or two tips to fill space. They also run them as short articles or use them as a starting point for longer feature stories.

Radio stations share the advice in snippets or, like TV talk shows, build author interviews around the tip sheet topic. 

Bloggers run them as new posts because tip sheets give them useful information they don’t have to write themselves.

Blog Regularly

Many reporters, writers, and podcasters use Google to find sources to interview. 

Search results often include blog posts on the topic referenced in the search terms. That means the more you blog on your business’s area of expertise or product line, the more likely your content is to turn up in their search results. 

Here’s how you can leverage your blog’s content to get publicity:

• Make sure your email address and telephone number are on your website and easy to find. More and more business owners don’t have this information on their sites, but nothing says, “I’m not interested in talking to you about what I know” quicker than no contact page, or, almost as bad, just “Follow me on Instagram!” on the contact page.
• Respond to media inquiries quickly. Keep media folks from moving on to someone else by prioritizing responding to these calls and emails. 

Publicity begets publicity

When you’ve been quoted a couple of times, something interesting often happens:

• Journalists who see you’ve been quoted before are more likely to contact you for an interview. That’s partly because another reporter has vetted you, but also because it’s clear that you’re willing and able to talk about your topic.
• You and your business show up higher in search engine results when journalists are looking for people like you to interview.
• You earn the right to share media outlet, podcast, etc., logos on your website in an “as seen on” banner. That’s impressive social proof that you’re credible and authoritative. 

Don’t wait to pursue publicity. Let it help you reach more of the right customers so your business grows. 

No matter who you pay attention to online or what industry you’re in, everyone is preaching the importance of highlighting what makes you special. Gurus in all fields recommend that you find what makes you different and point a spotlight at it. 

Not only does this help catch the attention of potential customers, but it begins to position you as the superior choice.

This is true whether you’re posting on your website or blog, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, a podcast, or some other platform.

Right now, different is good. Different is what you should be leveraging.

So, how, exactly do you do that?

It starts with determining what is different about you as an entrepreneur or business owner, or what makes your company a standout.

Step One – How are you different?

To determine what makes you different, you’ll need to do some basic competitor analysis.

Basically, you need to list all of your direct competitors and then conduct a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis consists of four elements:

• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities 
• Threats

Take your list of your competitors and assess them on each of those factors. 

What are each competitor’s strengths – what can they offer or claim that you can’t? 

Then, what are their weaknesses — where can you beat them? 

If you can spot where they could make headway, list their opportunities (said another way, think about what you would do in their shoes to grow their company). 

And then list where they may soon run into trouble — the threats.

You may have to do some online research, or even ask your customers for feedback on your competition in order to evaluate how you stack up.

Once your SWOT analysis is completed, take a step back and think about your own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, paying particular attention to your strengths and opportunities.

What can you promise that no one else can? What technique or skill do you have that is better than your competition? What conveniences can you offer that no one else can? What degree or certification do you have? What testimonials do you have? Success stories?

What makes you different and sets you apart from everyone else that your customers value?

Step Two – Position that difference as superior

Now that you’ve zeroed in on your differentiator, you need to educate your market on why that difference makes you the better choice. Don’t assume they understand how your difference is a competitive advantage — spell it out for them.

For example, your central location means that you can provide faster delivery. Your newer equipment delivers better results. The training you invested in means you understand all of the issues surrounding your customers’ problems and can make more informed recommendations. That award you just won confirms that more customers prefer doing business with you.

Think about how your differentiator is better for your customers, and then tell them. 

It’s always better to emphasize the positive about your capabilities or offerings than to speak poorly about your competitors. So, keep the focus on you and your business by highlighting what makes your approach, products, or service better than other alternatives.

Step Three – Leveraging the difference to win more business

Many customers today are skeptical. Sure, you can claim your solution or approach is better but they won’t necessarily believe you. 

However, they may be swayed by:

• Facts and figures — cite statistics from legitimate sources to make your case
• Customer success stories — record short videos of customers talking about the work you did for them and why they’re so happy with it
• Publicity — look for opportunities to be quoted in the media, interviewed on podcasts, or mentions in blog posts
• Endorsements — do you have other businesses you’ve collaborated with who can sing your praises?

Now that you’ve uncovered your competitive advantage — what makes you different and better — the key to success is repeating it and making sure potential customers understand why what makes you different makes you better for them.

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously stated that “The fortune is in the follow-up” when it comes to business opportunities, and he is right.

Once a potential customer or client indicates any interest in your business or your products and services, it’s your responsibility to educate and inform them until they have enough information to make a purchase decision. Depending on what they already know and how financially able they are to proceed, they may make that decision in a matter of minutes. But it could also take days, weeks, months, or years to get to that point.

According to The Brevet Group, 80% of sales occur after at least 5 follow-ups, although 44% of salespeople only follow up once.

If you give up on staying in touch after only the first interaction, it’s very likely you’re missing out on countless sales.

Besides staying top-of-mind with prospects, following up also helps deepen the relationship you’re building with your potential customer, builds trust, demonstrates your interest in working with them, and provides an opportunity to gather useful feedback on why prospects aren’t buying, which can help increase your conversion rate with other potential clients.

If you haven’t been following up consistently, here are 5 different ways to approach the process:

Provide additional information

If your prospect hasn’t said “yes” yet to buying from you, it may be because they don’t yet feel they are well enough informed. Maybe they’re not convinced they have a need or that your solution is the best for them. If you sense this is the situation, or if your prospect has told you as much, your follow-up messages should contain more helpful information.

Keep in mind that at this stage, they do not want more sales or promotional material. Your goal should be to position yourself as a trusted ally who is trying to help them make a good decision. To do that, regularly send them articles about your type of product or service – but not ads. White papers and industry reports are great for this.

If a new study comes out that confirms your solution helps clients save money or make money, forward that to everyone on your list with a quick note that you thought they might find the report interesting. Or if someone in your company is quoted in an article, send that along. The same if someone in your business is interviewed on a podcast – send the link.

Do not, however, add prospects to your email list without their permission. This is not the time to overload them with spammy messages. Pick and choose useful content that might help push them to make a purchase.

Connect via LinkedIn

You don’t want to overwhelm your potential clients with messages from multiple platforms, but connecting via LinkedIn provides another way for you to stay on top of what they share about their work and also offers a way for them to be exposed to what you post.

Although your LinkedIn posts won’t be personalized to them, being connected there gives you another potential way to stay top of mind. Each time they come across one of your posts, that’s essentially another indirect follow-up.

Check in via phone

Email is one of the most efficient means of following up with prospects, but it’s reactive and asynchronous. Calling someone allows you to speak in real time to see where they are in their thought process. Do they have any questions? Any new concerns that have emerged?

It’s also an opportunity to inquire about what’s holding them back? Why won’t they decide to move forward? That kind of specific information is worth its weight in gold.

Offer added value

As part of your follow-up messages, look for ways to help your customers more broadly with their purchase. Provide useful information that addresses their larger reasons for considering a purchase.

For example, if you’re an interior designer, you might send along some initial thoughts about the best use of the client’s space, or you could alert them to an upcoming sale on an item that is an essential piece of their room design. Demonstrate that you’re trying to help them achieve their objective of getting their room professionally designed.

Be persistent

Even when you may be getting tired of following up, your prospect may still be considering their purchase. Right now, they may not be ready but next week or next quarter they could be. 

To ensure that you’re still in the running for their business, follow up regularly. Remind them that you’re still available to answer any questions that have come up.

And if you’ve let some prospects fall off your radar over the last few months, you can always circle back and follow up to see where things stand. Are they still considering your company? Would they like an updated price?

You really can’t over-follow up. Stop only when the prospect asks you to or when you determine they aren’t a good fit for your business.

Owning your own business has so many advantages. Although the top reasons women start their own companies are schedule flexibility, the potential for financial independence, and a passion for a particular product or service, one of the biggest challenges is getting everything done that needs to be done in the time you have available.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take, or tricks you can employ, that will help you cram more productivity into your day.

Although the overall theme here is focus, focus, focus, there are some specific interim steps that can help set the stage to allow you to better concentrate single-mindedly on your most important tasks.

Set goals

Before you jump in and get to work on a task, stop and take a step back. Consider your bigger, longer-term business goals. Are you aiming to achieve a particular annual revenue goal this year? Do you want to roll out a new product or service in the next few months? Do you want to pivot your business? Start a charitable foundation? Partner with a major corporation?

What’s your big goal or goals for the year? Once you’ve set your big intentions, you can then reverse engineer how you’ll reach those goals.

When you’re clear, you can then assess whether the items on your current to-do list will help you reach that goal. If not, you need to evaluate whether you can put those tasks off until later or cross them off your list entirely.

If certain tasks don’t help get you closer to your goal, why are you expending time and effort on them?

Prioritize

Next, look at your to-do list and prioritize what’s on it. What are the most important items – rank them from most to least important.

Then, take that list and organize it by due date. Your most important, most urgent tasks should now be at the top while those items that have no due date or which will have little impact on how your business functions should be at the bottom.

Investing quality time in projects that will yield the biggest payoff for your business will make you the most productive.

Plan your time

Now that you have a list of critical tasks organized by importance, take out your schedule for this week.

Estimate how long each task will take and then assign it a block of time on your calendar, keeping in mind due dates. It’s possible that some days you’ll have to work more than eight hours in order to get everything done.

I break my week down first and then time block each day, so that I’m more realistic about what can get done in 24 hours. For example, if you have six tasks planned for today and estimate it will take a total of 18 hours to get them all done, you will likely want to try to reschedule some by moving the due date out. Sure, you could work 18 hours straight today to get everything done, but the quality of your work probably won’t be optimal, so if you can slot some tasks for tomorrow instead, you’re more likely to get better results.

Group like tasks

As you’re planning your week, or your day, try to group together similar activities – especially those that require you to leave the office.

Batching like tasks can save you a lot of time.

For example, if you have a meeting on the north side of town, look at your list of errands and see what else you could cross off while you’re out of the office. Can you pick up your drycleaning? Pick up a library book that came in and is on hold? Stop and grab some more printer ink, since you know you’re running low?

Instead of having to make separate trips for some of your errands, try to knock them off while you’re already in the neighborhood.

Likewise, if you have a bunch of follow-up phone calls to make, line them up and tackle them one after the other, rather than spreading them out through the day. Or if you have online research to complete, get all of those research questions addressed one after the other.

Eliminate distractions

It’s much easier to focus on your task-at-hand if you’re not distracted. 

To reduce distractions, consider turning off notifications on your computer or phone. Put a note on your office door or cubicle entrance that you’re not to be interrupted until X p.m. Turn off your phone’s ringer, and look into installing an app like Freedom, which locks you out of social media for as long as you specify, so you won’t be tempted.

Being able to work until you’ve completed your most important task will have the biggest impact on your productivity.

Once you’ve completed your top item, move on to your next most important priority.

Avoid multitasking

Just as distractions can prevent you from sticking to a task until it’s done, trying to accomplish multiple tasks at once can also impede your productivity. According to Curt Steinhorst, founder of Focuswise, multitasking can reduce productivity by up to 40%, even though you may think you’re gaining ground.

When you’re trying to do three things all at once, for example, odds are good that you’ll do none of them well. 

So, stop trying to read and respond to emails, text on your phone, and participate on camera in Zoom meetings simultaneously. You’ll appear disengaged in the meeting and are more likely to make mistakes when also making plans.

Delegate

Finally, you’ll be even more productive if you can identify tasks that you don’t personally need to do yourself, or that someone else can do better or faster. 

Sure, you may need to make that phone call inquiring about an overdue invoice from a client if they’ve been ignoring previous mailed requests, but you probably don’t need to design a post social media content, make travel plans, or create the work schedule for next week. Pick people who can do those tasks in your place.

The more you can hand off work to other capable employees, freelancers, or consultants, the more time you’ll have to focus on the most important, highest impact tasks that only you can do. While at the same time, other tasks that need to get done – just not necessarily by you – are also being completed.

That’s how you boost your productivity.

Every business reaches a point where its prices need to be raised.

Often that is due to rising costs for materials and services but other times it can be to remain competitive with other businesses selling the same thing, or it can be to reposition the company or brand from lower end to higher end.

Sure, some companies elect to lower prices occasionally, such as Target’s recent announcement that it would reduce prices on 5,000 items this summer and Walmart’s claim it has already dropped prices on 7,000 products. However, you’ll notice neither retailer is reducing prices across the board on all products, nor is this forever; it’s likely a short-term strategy to get customers back in their stores.

Eventually, those prices will likely be quietly reset. 

If you’ve decided that it’s time to raise prices on some or all of your products or services, here are 7 strategies for softening the blow so that you don’t lose customers.

Communicate the price increase well in advance

Most customers understand that prices rise over time. It’s almost inevitable.

However, you’re likely to reduce any irritation or backlash by alerting customers of the coming increase. You don’t have to justify it but if you feel you need to, you can reveal that the cost of raw materials has increased 25%, or whatever the number is and you need to adjust yours accordingly.

Reduce the size of what you sell

Rather than announcing that prices will be increasing for your existing products or services, you could consider reducing the portion size of your product or the length of time you spend on a particular service.

Food manufacturers are constantly doing this – reducing package size while maintaining the same price, so that it doesn’t impact customers’ wallets but they do end up receiving less than what they used to for the same price.

You can do the same. For example, as a salon owner, maybe your hair appointments shrink from 90 minutes to 75 or 60, so you can get an additional client through each day.

Add value along with an increase

If it won’t cut into your profit margin, think about whether you can offer something of added value along with a price increase. Customers may be less bothered (if they’re bothered at all) by this.

For example, if you increase your dog walking fee maybe you also throw in a free treat at the end. Or if you’re a management consultant, maybe you add a quarterly project audit to add value in addition to increasing the fee.

Make sure what you’re giving as an added bonus costs less than the total of the increase, however, so that you are effectively raising your profit margin.

Start with a discount

Many companies lower the price of new products and services initially in order to build up a fan base.

You can do the same by increasing prices but then offering a special discount for the first month or two, depending on what you’re selling. Or you could let your existing customers know that the price they pay won’t rise for another three months, although new customers will pay the higher price from Day One.

Bundle your offerings

In addition to a straight-up price increase on one or more of your products or services, you could also consider designing a bundle that increases the total price of each purchase but feels like a better deal to your customers.

For example, if you run a snow removal service that bills by the season, how about bundling snow removal and lawn care for one year-round price? Or, at your restaurant, how about offering a salad, entrée, and dessert bundled price that is less than what the three would be separately, as a way to increase the value of that customer?

Become consistent about price increases

Customers are less likely to have an issue with an increase when it’s a regular occurrence. So, even if you haven’t in the past, consider bumping up your prices every year, such as on January 1.

This is a smart approach if you’ve recently discovered you’ve been undercharging and want to move the needle quickly, but not all at once. Maybe this year you increase prices by 15% or 20% and then 5% to 10% thereafter. Train your customers to expect that prices will rise.

Target new customers

If none of these strategies works and the majority of your customers gripe about the increased cost, you may need to shift your attention to a new customer base. That might mean sending out a direct mail piece to a higher-end zip code in your area, conducting outreach to larger businesses, or shifting your social media message to convey that you’re higher end.

What you don’t want to do is to continue to charge less for fear of losing a customer. All you’re doing is hurting your business when you do that. Charge what your product or service is worth. If you lose more customers than you’re comfortable with, re-engineer how you’re selling so that they feel like they’re getting a deal and you’re still earning a profit.

One of the most cost-effective ways to promote your business is by blogging. Setting up a place where you can share information with your target audience regularly is a smart marketing tactic. That’s probably why 7.5 million blog posts are published daily in 2024, according to Earthweb.

But before you invest time and money in setting up a blog, either standalone or connected to your business website, start planning what you’ll write about. Blogs can have different purposes, from education to entertainment to establishing credibility, improving SEO, demonstrating thought leadership, or monetization. Make sure what you plan to write about addresses a pain point your target market is experiencing, too.

No matter what the purpose of your blog is, however, there are some tried-and-true best practices for your posts that you’ll want to be aware of. Following these guidelines will help you attract more attention and achieve better results from your writing.

Compose an eye-catching headline

Since 80% of readers skim a blog post’s headline but only 20% read the entire article, according to Copyblogger, make sure yours is strong enough to get them to keep reading. 

Some of the best headlines include some or all of the following elements:

• Leading with a number, such as “3 Ways to Increase Your Prices”
• Speaking directly to your audience’s pain or interests, such as “Retire Early with this One Hack”
• Including a target keyword, such as “gift” if you’re a retail gift shop
• Explaining how to do something successfully, such as, “25 5-Minute Dinner Recipes”
• Incorporating emotional words to trigger a response, such as, “Reduce Feelings of Overwhelm and Anxiety”

If you’re not sure how strong your headline is, put it through a headline analyzer to test it.

The ideal blog post title length is 60 characters, says Hubspot.

Write a compelling Meta Description

Your post’s Meta Description is a summary of what your post is about. It’s important to Google, so it should be important to you because it will help attract readers.

It’s essentially a preview of your post.

There is a spot on WordPress where you can type the Meta Description in as part of publishing your blog post. It won’t appear within your post, but on Google.

Says, Yoast, it should:

• Be no more than 155 characters long
• Relate directly to the topic of your post
• Speak directly to an individual’s interests or needs
• Include a call-to-action
• Feature a keyword or phrase

When done well, your Meta description will invite people to check out your blog, because of the appealing way you’ve described the content.

Feature an image

Jeff Bullas reports that posts with images get 94% more traffic than those without an image, which should underscore just how essential including some type of visual element is.

Although photos are perhaps the most popular visual tool, there are several other options, including:

• Chart
• Infographic
• Diagram
• Screenshot
• Video
• Art/Illustration

But don’t limit yourself to only one image. Orbit Media reported “Bloggers who add more visuals get better results.”

Craft a compelling lead

Your lead, also spelled “lede” by traditional journalists, is the first sentence of your post. It should quickly introduce your topic and your main point using at least one keyword.

That first sentence also needs to be interesting – intriguing even, so that blog visitors continue reading. It should hint at what the post is about without telling the whole story.

Leverage links

Blog posts should cite external sources where appropriate, to give credit and to align your blog with respected information source. For example, if you include a statistic you found in a recent government report, include a hyperlink to that particular report so that readers can get more detail if they are so inclined. If you fail to cite sources, you could be accused of plagiarism, for claiming others’ ideas as your own.

These are considered external links because the information resides outside of your blog. Whenever possible, link to well-known media, government, or educational sources that have credibility. 

But also include links to other posts you’ve written on your blog, called “internal links,” as often as possible. Linking to related but older posts is another way to attract traffic to your blog.

Include FAQs

At the conclusion of your post, add another header called “FAQs,” where you address commonly asked questions on the topic of your blog post. You can find what FAQs to include by conducting a Google search using your keyword and then looking on the search page under the heading “People Also Ask.” There are usually 3-4 related questions listed that you should use as a starting point for your FAQs.

For example, a Google search of the word “popcorn” lists these questions that “People Also Ask:”

• Are popcorn a healthy snack?
• What is the healthiest popcorn to eat?
• What are the benefits of popcorn?
• How much popcorn is okay?

These are some of the most commonly asked questions about popcorn, which you can then add to your own blog post’s FAQ section.

Don’t copy the answers to those questions, however – write your own. But do use the list of questions as your starting point.

Including all of these elements in each of your blog posts will attract attention and help you build a following. The next step is blogging consistently, preferably, at least once a week.

The more you blog, the more Google will recognize your site as a useful source of information for people interested in your blog’s topic, whether it’s popcorn, plumbing, or puppy care.

We’ve all heard how online sales continue to increase, but the vast majority of shoppers still want access to a brick-and-mortar location.

In fact, more than 55% of shoppers prefer to visit a brick-and-mortar location first, reports RetailDive. And, according to a June 20 study, more than 65% of buyers prefer shopping inside physical stores, whether to try clothing on, sample cosmetics, or try out an electronic device.

Given this interest in visiting a physical location before making a purchase, the key to increasing sales in your business is to get customers in the door.

Here are 6 things you can do to drive traffic and sales:

In-store events

Give shoppers a reason to come into your business by scheduling a special event. 

Although clearance sales can work, a more profitable approach is to design a unique gathering. If you’re a clothing retailer, how about a trunk show from one of the lines you carry or a free mini color analysis with a $100 purchase? If you run a furniture or home décor store, how about a free seasonal design class? If your business is food-related, how about a cooking class or tablescape lesson?

Ask your shoppers for ideas of what they struggle with, or where they could use help. Then, partner with someone who has that expertise.

Local collaborations

Approaching other local businesses about partnering on a promotion can yield big results for everyone.

One effective tool that retailers have used is a bingo or punch card that requires consumers to visit multiple businesses in order to get their loyalty card punched. Once their card is full, after having visited all of the participating shops, they either win a prize or are entered in a raffle for a larger giveaway. The chance at a desirable gift is often reason enough for shoppers to stop in.

You can set the timeframe for the promotion, such as a week or a weekend, and divide up the responsibilities for managing it amongst all of the businesses. Or create your own local event and include all of your marketing partners.

Design a loyalty program

Another way to get customers to come back repeatedly is to incentivize them.

Give them a reason to buy from your business over your competitors. A customer loyalty program can be one way to encourage repeat purchases. Depending on your technology platform, you can track purchases using a phone number or name, or you can keep it old school with a paper punch card that you fill in at every visit. Lu’s Back Door consignment shop tracks purchases using retail software while nail salons frequently use business card-sized loyalty cards.

Customers receiving something in return for their loyal patronage, like a free product or in-store credit, can help boost purchase frequency.

Invest in curb appeal

There’s a reason big retailers in New York City spend months planning and prepping their big windows with eye-catching holiday scenes each December – because it gives shoppers a reason to come visit.

You can do the same year-round. Put aside some money to spiff up your storefront, whether that involves seasonal plantings and flower pots, entertaining signage, or window displays. The more frequently you change the look and feel of your space, the more reasons buyers will have to come back.

The more inviting your store is from the outside, the more people will want to come inside.

Connect on Instagram first

Photo and video are the tools of choice on Instagram, which is perfect for catching the attention of local consumers.

Use Instagram to showcase photos of new merchandise, video tutorials of new ways of using products, and offer reels of helpful tips that can lead your shoppers to buy more from you. Make sure you also include links to products and services on your website so that customers outside of your area can buy from you as well.

Build a community of fans and customers

Not everyone loves Facebook, but it sure is useful for building free groups.

Setting up a Facebook group for fans, prospects, and customers is another way you can stay in touch with them – they become a captive audience of sorts. Within the group, you can then offer special discounts, share information about upcoming promotions, and give them a first look at new merchandise. You can also upload photos of what’s going on inside the business to entice them to come back in.

Facebook groups are a way to connect with your customers and turn them into advocates for your business.

Yes, everyone loves the convenience of ordering products online – but not all products and not all the time. Local brick-and-mortar businesses are still where most people want to shop and spend their money.

Provide local and out-of-town shoppers a peek into your business and an incentive to visit.

Publicity is one of the most powerful marketing tools, which results when a media outlet quotes you, mentions your business, or profiles your company. 

It’s powerful because that article or TV segment that includes you gives you added credibility. The fact that you were quoted or mentioned suggests that you and your business are successful, and most people want to do business with successful companies. Additionally, you earn an implied third-party endorsement from the outlet that covered you — meaning, readers or viewers will trust you more after seeing an established media company mentioning you.

Publicity is also powerful because it’s free.

The downside is that it’s hard to control. 

You can pursue publicity by issuing press releases about your business and offering to submit articles to trade journals or local papers, which is a good idea. However, since you don’t pay for this kind of coverage the same way you pay for advertising, you may or may not be successful. It’s up to the website, magazine, newspaper, or TV show to decide whether to mention you.

So, how can you find out what websites, magazines, newspapers, and TV shows are interested in covering before the story runs?

Some websites help reporters and writers find sources for the stories they’re working on.

Finding Publicity Opportunities

While disseminating information about your business to the media through a press release or press kit can sometimes lead to press coverage, an even more effective approach is to find out what those media outlets are planning to cover and then pitching yourself as a source.

For example, if you discover Time magazine is working on a story about unusual phobias and you have one, you can email the reporter to let them know that you’d be happy to be a source of information for that article. Or if Fast Company is researching a story on the many variations of FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) and the entrepreneurs who are on track to retire early and you qualify, you may want to offer yourself as a source.

The key is finding out what stories are in the works before they appear online or in print.

That’s where publicity tools come in handy. These four are among the most active platforms as of Spring 2024:

ProfNet

One of the first online platforms launched (in 1992) to connect reporters and writers with potential sources was ProfNet. Now owned by Cision, ProfNet cost a couple thousand dollars a year to subscribe to at last count. The focus is decidedly corporate and subscribers are typically well-funded public relations firms serving those corporations.

Now, because only larger organizations generally had access to ProfNet early, several competitors sprang up through the years that are free or low cost.

Qwoted

Qwoted, which debuted in 2012, is also designed to connect members of the media with potential sources — you — for low or no cost; there are free and paid versions.

Reporters and writers can share the topics they’re writing about and ask for the specific expertise or experience they’re looking for. Emails listing those source requests go out daily. Topics range from scientific to personal finance, health and medicine, entrepreneurship, shopping, and more. To respond, you simply click on the reporter’s email listed in the request.

Help a B2B Writer

Along the way, more specialized publicity tools emerged, too, including Help a B2B Writer, which is a platform specifically for individuals and companies that sell to other businesses. Meaning, the requests for sources will require B2B expertise.

Help a B2B Writer is free and sends out email requests for sources typically in the morning, Monday through Friday. To respond, click on the link in the email and share your relevant tip, comment, or experience, depending on what the writer asked for.

HARO/HERO

More than 15 years ago, Peter Shankman launched HARO, for Help A Reporter Out. It was a free service that connected reporters with sources at no cost, unlike ProfNet which charges a fee. It became so successful so quickly that HARO was bought by Cision (ProfNet’s parent company).

Fast forward nearly 20 years and HARO was rebranded as Connectively and now charges up to $149/month for access. However, as part of its rebranding, HARO no longer sends out email compilations of the publicity opportunities — you have to log in to find them. Former users found this process much more cumbersome.

Almost immediately, Shankman began getting inquiries about launching a replacement service. Although initially having no plans to do so, he was quickly persuaded; the result is  HERO: Help Every Reporter Out.

This free service compiles requests from journalists and writers and emails them out daily to subscribers. It’s new but extremely fast-growing.

How Best to Respond

It’s one thing to know what reporters are writing about and another thing to know how to respond successfully and garner coverage.

Help a B2B Writer has a useful set of suggestions designed to increase the odds that your response will net some publicity.

One of the most important tips is to respond quickly. Since reporters are often on deadline, as soon as they get the source or the information they need, they may stop reading emails that come in later. If you wait a day to respond, it’s unlikely your comment will be considered.

Another tip is to be sure your response is relevant. Do you have the experience the writer is looking for? Do you run the type of business they want to hear from? Don’t try to wrangle your company in if it’s not a good fit. For example, if the writer is looking for the manager of a Starbucks location to interview and you only drink the company’s coffee, you’re not a fit. Don’t respond.

Finally, don’t use AI to draft your response. Reporters can usually tell if ChatGPT has prepared the answer or if a live person has responded. The vast majority will delete responses that are AI-generated.

Although this type of publicity pursuit is decidedly reactive, in that you’re waiting to hear about a story for which you can be a source, it is a way to get media coverage and backlinks that can help grow your business. Spending a few minutes a day reviewing the requests that come in is typically well worth your time.

“Money loves speed.” 

Have you heard that adage? The saying is fairly popular in the online business community, but it applies to any type of business.

Think about your experiences with money. Is it more likely to show up when you sit back, do nothing, and wait for it to land in your lap, or when you go out and track it down?

You attract money when you do something — when you take action, and especially when you move quickly. 

So what can you do to pick up the pace at which money flows into your business? Several things, actually.

Invoice immediately

As soon as you complete a project, ship an order, or deliver a product, ask to be paid. 

Typically that means sending an invoice, which is fine, but issue that invoice as soon as your customer owes you the money and not a moment later. Because every hour or day you wait to ask to be paid, the longer it will take for your check to be issued and for you to receive your check.

Connect with prospects regularly

Taking action in business can mean many things, but business begins when a customer or client agrees to pay you for your products or services. Before money can change hands, you need to convince someone that what you’re selling is worth what you’re charging. And the best way to do that is to regularly market your company — to get in front of people who are likely to want to buy. 

Depending on your business, that might involve a direct mail campaign, outreach on LinkedIn, cold calling, attending trade shows, participating in conferences, joining networking groups, buying advertising, or pursuing publicity, to name a few strategies. But do something each and every day to take action toward winning another customer. Because each marketing tactic gets you one step closer to your next sale. It gets you closer to more money.

Follow up with potential customers promptly

When you identify someone who may be interested in doing business with you, get in touch right away. If you’re given a prospect’s name by a friend, call or email them immediately. Don’t wait. Or if someone emails you to ask for more information, send it right away, before doing anything else. 

The quicker you provide the information they need, the closer you get to making your next sale and depositing that money in your account. So don’t delay.

Start client work ASAP

As soon as a customer has paid a deposit or signed a contract officially hiring you to do some work for them, start working. Whether you have a day, a week, or a year to complete the work, get started now. Because the sooner you get that work done, the sooner you can bill for it and get more money in your account. 

When you have the opportunity to earn more money, don’t delay in starting work. The faster you get that work done, the sooner your schedule will be free to take on more work. I’m not suggesting that you lower your quality standards in order to complete the tasks sooner, only that you shouldn’t put off doing the work.

Pay your bills immediately

Invoicing fast will get you paid faster, but money likes to be in circulation. So as soon as you receive a bill, pay it. Get that money back into circulation. 

By paying promptly, you will endear yourself to your suppliers, who will certainly appreciate that you wrote that check or transferred funds quickly. That can yield dividends in other ways that will benefit you.

Be generous

Holding on too tightly to your money is a turnoff, to people and to money. So when you see a chance to make a difference with a small outlay of cash, consider doing it. 

Don’t throw cash around aimlessly, but spread it around if you can, such as by buying lemonade from a children’s roadside stand or leaving a good tip for your restaurant server. Good deeds get noticed and can end up attracting opportunities you never could have anticipated.

Now, there’s a big difference between acting promptly and appearing desperate. Some entrepreneurs are under the impression that speed suggests that business is bad. Not so. 

Getting in touch with a referral immediately or sending out an invoice right away are smart business practices. They are a part of doing business. Major corporations certainly bill immediately, because the sooner that money they are owed is in their bank account, the sooner they’re earning interest. Are they desperate? Not likely. And the same is true for you.

Acting with a sense of urgency attracts money into your business sooner than if you opt to work at a leisurely pace.