Tag : marketing strategy

What a Graphic Designer Can Do for Your Business

By Christopher Tompkins

What a Graphic Designer Can Do for Your Business

4Feb

You need a graphic designer—no ifs, ands, or buts. But what do you have them do once they’re hired on? Before you start sending job offer letters, it’s best if you figure out what your new employee will be doing.

Since you don’t want to hire someone without having work for them to do, I’m going to show you exactly what projects your new graphic designer should start with. Let’s talk (photo)shop!

Create a Branded Style Guide
Graphic design is so much easier when everyone is working off the same page. For this reason, you should have your new hire create a branded style guide that breaks down exactly what your visuals and graphics will look like going forward. This way, you can approve the style and make sure it’s conveying the message that you want for your brand, and your graphic designer will know what they need to deliver to make you happy!

Create a Logo
If you don’t already have a logo (or you have one you made yourself), then this should be where your graphic designer starts. Your logo is going to be prominently displayed on your website and across all social channels, so it’s important that you’re presenting something appealing for your audience! This also helps establish your branding color palette moving forward.

Create Email Signatures
You might not believe it, but email signatures go a long way in making sure that correspondences with your business are more professional and respectable. A professional will make sure that the signature is aligned with your business’ color palette, font, and overall style! Your emails will also be a lot more impactful once you have a professional signature!

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Create Ebooks
By working with your copywriter, your graphic designer will be able to combine great content with visuals that keep your readers moving through the ebook. Mixing text and visual materials is not only a great way to make sure your reader understands your points, but it breaks up the ebook and makes it easier to read!

Create Videos
Whether you want an animation or just a high quality video to showcase your business, this is all in the realm of graphic design. Video content is more popular than ever, so start pushing out some video content! Don’t overdo it, but it would certainly be worth your time to have your graphic designer create a few short videos and see how they perform on your social media channels.

Create Building Branding Elements
Whether you’re a brick and mortar store or an office, you’re going to have clients/customers stopping by eventually. Make sure that your location looks like it belongs to your brand! Your graphic designer can make room tags, signs, and other materials that will bring your brand’s identity into your physical location.

Create Name Tags
Never underestimate the power of a good name tag! Your name tags should follow your brand’s color palette and feature some sort of visual—preferably your brand’s logo. This way, when you’re interacting with clients or customers, they know that they’re dealing with a professional and are more likely to take you seriously!

Don’t Wait to Get Started
We’re still early in the year, so take this opportunity to try something new for your business. It might be a little pricy, but paying now is better than investing in subpar social media and branding work! You know why you need a graphic designer, and now you’ve got a list of tasks for them, so there’s no reason not to dive in and make this investment for your business!

Do you want to discuss what you can expect from your new graphic designer? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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5 Reasons Why You Need a Graphic Designer

By Christopher Tompkins

5 Reasons Why You Need a Graphic Designer

30Jan

Visuals are a vital part of social media marketing. As humans, we’re not just lazy and refuse to read—our brains are hardwired to better retain visual information. So while we’ve established that you need a writer and even given a few suggestions about work you should have them do, none of that is going to take you very far without a competent graphic designer!

You want to get a great return on your investment into digital marketing, and I’m here to make sure that happens. Here are five reasons you need a graphic designer right now!

1. First Impressions Matter
Before you’ve fully formed an opinion about something, your first impression has already been decided. The instant you see a site without a consistent color palette or a blog post without accompanying visuals, you’ve already decided that what you’re looking at is amateurish and probably not worth your time.

A graphic designer changes that entire experience. The homepage is crisp, clean, and comes together to create a visual narrative. The blog comes with a relevant image that helps you understand the sort of content you can expect when you click the link. In short, your work stops looking shoddy and lazy and instead appears well-crafted and professional!

2. Your Brand Needs an Identity
Your copywriter will help you develop a unique voice for your brand, but that voice needs to extend to your visuals, too. Acting on your own, your visuals will probably lack the consistency that develops your brand identity, and your audience will be unsure of who you are or what your business’ angle is.

Conversely, a good graphic designer can keep certain elements the same in visuals, which will build your brand’s voice. If you’re operating a brewery, your graphic designer would probably use photos of people in their 20s and 30s rather than images of people 60+. This tells your audience that your brand is youthful without you ever saying a word!

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3. Grab Attention
Let’s be honest—people are rarely paying attention to what they see when they’re scrolling through social media. Great copy is informative and draws the reader in, but only if they stop to actually read it. Visuals are better for grabbing attention!

Visuals give information in an instant rather than the few seconds it takes to read. If you see a man picking up a can of soda, you’ll understand what’s happening much faster than if you read my description of what he’s doing. Saving that time is key to getting your message across before a social media user swipes past your post!

4. Vary Your Content Mix
There are certain kinds of content that really only work with visuals. Quotes are a great example! An inspirational quote is very shareable content that showcases your brand’s values, but it’s pretty dull without an accompanying graphic. Once you add in a visual, though, it instantly becomes a viable way of encouraging your audience to engage with your brand!

Graphic designers also allow you to post videos, graphs, and a host of other content that would be impossible without a professional graphic designer on staff. If you notice that your competitors’ social media pages are looking a little bland or stagnant, this is a great way to get ahead of them!

5. Things Look Clean
I’m sure that there’s at least one person reading this who’s sure that they could handle all of this graphic design work even though they have little to no experience. To that person, I respect the confidence, but the reality is a little different.

Good graphic design means monitoring visuals for consistency with brand image, kerning, spacing, style, color palettes, and a thousand other things that nobody but a professional has the time or experience for. So sure, you could probably post a stock image of a woman laughing, but that’s not nearly the same as having a professional on staff creating quality, compelling visuals for your brand.

Find the Right Professional
It’s tempting to cut corners on things like this, but that’s only going to hurt your business’ social media in the long run. If you want to manage your own social media, then there’s nothing to do but bite the bullet and hire a professional. You’ll be glad you did when your page has consistent, polished visuals going out!

Do you want to discuss the realities of hiring a graphic designer? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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6 Tools You Need for Your Podcast

By Christopher Tompkins

6 Tools You Need for Your Podcast

28Jan

It’s one thing to decide that a podcast is right for your brand, but it’s another to actually start recording. I’ve already covered why you need a podcast. Now I want to get you creating relevant, well-produced content!

Let’s review the six tools you’ll need to create a successful podcast!

1. Sound Proofing
I don’t care if your office is a library staffed exclusively with church mice—as soon as you start recording, there is going to be an obnoxious noise, I promise you. Since you can’t prevent it, the next best thing is going to be canceling it out while you’re recording.

Establishing a sound-proofed space to record is crucial. Even mild noises like chatter is going to worsen your audio quality and lower your production value. If you want a clean, professional-sounding podcast, the only thing your listeners should be hearing is whoever’s speaking into the mic! Which reminds me…

2. A Good Microphone
No, your laptop’s microphone isn’t good enough and yes, that’s still true even if you have your brand’s latest model. You need a device dedicated to recording clear audio, plain and simple. Anything else is going to let you down and give you scratchy, rough recordings.

If you don’t want to break the bank, go for something without all the extra bells and whistles. All you need is clear audio, so don’t feel pressured to buy the most expensive mic when you’re just starting out.

3. A Pop Filter
Even with a great mic, you’re going to notice in post that your b’s and p’s sound uncomfortably loud. A pop filter will remove any concern about that, and they’re pretty cheap, too! It might sound like an unnecessary expense, but I promise you, you’ll feel differently when you’re listening to your podcast and realize how awkward your b’s and p’s sound.

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4. Headphones
You’ll need a pair of quality headphones (not ear buds) to make sure you can hear yourself. This is doubly important if you’ll be video chatting with guests—nobody wants to listen to a podcast host shouting “WHAT” at their guest every few minutes.

Don’t go crazy with it, but treat purchasing a set of headphones like investing in your business. Expensive isn’t always better, but going as cheap as possible is usually a bad call.

5. Audio Software
You can be a master public speaker with the best equipment in the world—you’ll still need to edit your audio. This could be cutting out awkward stumbles or just mastering the audio when the sound quality is a little off. Regardless, invest in a quality product with a lot of positive reviews, because your podcast can only be as good as your editing!

6. Design Software
You probably didn’t think of this one, but graphic design plays a role in podcasting, too. If you want to post your podcast on iTunes (which you absolutely should), you’ll need a nice logo to draw in potential listeners. If you’re thinking of skipping this one, just ask yourself the last time you listened to a podcast without a logo, then go download a nice graphic design software!

Invest In Your Brand
Podcasts are great ways to develop your brand and reach your audience. I’ve given you all the tools you need to get started, so the only thing left to do is dive in and do the work.

If this all sounds like a little much, don’t be overwhelmed. Set up your free consultation with The Go! Agency and we’ll talk about your podcasting options!

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Why You Should Release a Podcast

By Christopher Tompkins

Why You Should Release a Podcast

23Jan

I often talk with people who are surprised when I recommend that they start a podcast to develop their personal brand. And I get why: People think of podcasts as things for celebrities and comedians. But the reality is that creating a podcast is one of the smartest things you can do for yourself.

Like with anything else, though, never just take someone’s word when it comes to handling your brand. Instead, let me explain exactly why creating a podcast is a step that you should be taking immediately.

People Are Listening
Podcast listenership has been growing for years with no signs of stopping, and it isn’t just for younger audiences, either. People at every age are listening to podcasts, which means that no matter who you’re trying to impress, there’s an audience waiting for you.

I’ve found it especially useful in trying to build relationships with colleagues. 70-72% of business owners with 100 to 500 employees are listening to podcasts, according to a study from Bredin. That same study found that 38% of small business owners are listening, which makes podcasting a valuable networking strategy for professionals.

It’s not as if people are only listening to one or two podcasts, either. On average, listeners have five favorite podcasts that they tune into regularly. You’ve got people who are listening and they’re looking for more than one podcast—so why aren’t you releasing one already?

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It’s Not Impossible
The refrain I always hear is that making a podcast is just too hard. You don’t have the skills, the know-how, and you’re not sure what you’d talk about. And sure, it’s not going to be possible if you focus on how hard it’s going to be, but it isn’t that difficult when you start thinking proactively.

Equipment isn’t hard to come by, and there is no shortage of step-by-step guides to starting your own podcast. All you need to do is find something to say, and that isn’t even difficult if you’re really prepared to be an active contributor to conversations in your industry. Read about current topics to clue in on the conversations happening and give your listeners that information with your two cents added in.

Ultimately, you want to be driving these conversations, which is going to mean reading a lot of industry news and monitoring trends. Is that a lot of work? Sure, but it’s not something that’s unattainable for you, and the benefits are significant.

You Can Be a Person
When your business releases content, it indirectly reflects on you and your values. But only with something like a podcast can you show your audience exactly who you are and what matters to you. It’s your chance to build a brand outside of your business, one that is entirely contingent on what you personally bring to the table. That’s a lot of pressure, but it’s also freeing!

You get to talk solely about what interests you about your industry, and people are going to see a real person behind it instead of your business. This can go a long way in humanizing both your personal brand and your business and lends a lot of credibility to both. Audiences respond best to actual humans, so show them who you are and why you’re relevant!

Start Recording
Now that you understand why podcasts are so valuable to your personal brand, it’s time to get to work. Start investing in your podcast! I’m sure that if you put the effort in, you’ll see great results!

Do you want a little help getting your podcast started? Just schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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5 Things to Have Your Professional Writer Work On

By Christopher Tompkins

5 Things to Have Your Professional Writer Work On

21Jan

Now that you know how important it is to hire a professional writer, what do you actually have them do? I hinted at a lot of writing tasks in my last blog post, but there are definitely some areas you need to have a writer work on more than others.

Based on what I’ve seen with our clients, I’ve got five areas your writer should be working on ASAP. This doesn’t mean you should limit them to just these tasks, but this list is where you’ll want to start having them work on building your brand!

1. Website
This is number one on my list for one simple reason: You’re not going to draw in any customers or make sales with a bad website. It just isn’t going to happen. If people are reading about your products and finding awkward sentences and typos, you’ll lose the sale every single time.

You’ll want them to write (or re-write) a description of your company, your products/services, and anything else that your site needs. A good strategy is to look at your competitor’s website. You don’t want to copy their formatting or ideas, but this can be a good baseline for figuring out what information your customers are expecting to find on your website.

2. Bios
This is your chance to show the personal side of your business, so don’t waste that opportunity. You want compelling snapshots of your team’s lives, and that usually requires someone with a good bit of writing experience. If your team already wrote their own bios, just have your writer massage them a bit to make them more appealing to potential customers.

If you don’t already have bios up, I’d suggest sending out a questionnaire to your employees and letting your writer use those answers to create entirely new biographies. Then all that’s left to do is get some headshots, post them, and enjoy the new personal appeal that your business has!

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3. Blogs
If you aren’t rolling out blog content, now is a great time to start! Foremost, it establishes your brand as an authority in your industry. It also gives you something to share on social media that both shows off your business and creates real value for your readers.

As a bonus, blogs are surprisingly great for SEO. Keywords come and go with frequent changes of search engine algorithms, but the thing that consistently improves ranking is thoughtful, relevant content. So if you’re looking to improve your search engine rank, set your writer to work on blog posts!

4. Ads
People focus on having a writer for social media updates, but having someone to write your ad copy is just as important. More than just choosing the right type of ad, you need to have a professional write compelling copy that works toward your business’ goals. Even if you’re sure that your ads are fine, just have your writer take a crack at it to make sure!

5. eBooks
Like blogs, ebooks are great ways to establish your business as an authority. They take in-depth looks at issues relevant to your business, so they need to be well-researched enough to bring real value to your readers.

This is also a great way to get leads for your email marketing strategy. Offer your ebook for free and let people download it, provided they give you their email address. This sets you up to keep the conversation going with your audience, and they get quality content at no cost to them!

Get Started Write Away
Now that you know how to get started, don’t be afraid to dive in! Use this list to help you guide your new writer, and you’ll see what a huge difference having a professional writer can make!

Are you still a little lost on how to direct your writer? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency and we’ll talk about it!

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How to Get Started With Facebook Ads

By Christopher Tompkins

How to Get Started With Facebook Ads

14Jan

Advertising, Facebook, Social Media

We’ve established why Facebook ads are so effective, but what are you supposed to do now that you know? For someone who isn’t familiar, the Facebook ad interface can be a little confusing. That’s why I’m here!

My team and I have been using Facebook ads for years, and I want to use that expertise to help you get started. I’m going to break down the different types of Facebook ads and how you can find the right ad for your business!

1. Traffic Ads
Facebook Traffic Ads (AKA Link Click Ads) are ideal for getting people to visit your external website. You’ve got a headline, a visual, and 90 characters worth of ad copy. With these ads, you’ll want something quick and punchy that encourages people to visit your site while still adhering to your brand’s voice.

If you’ve got ways to sell your products on your website or want to get people reading more about your brand, this is a really simple, straightforward ad option to get your feet wet.

2. Boosted Posts
In the previous article, I talked about how your organic content can’t reach most of your audience. And that’s true—unless you’re boosting your posts.

Have a great piece of social media copy that you think could really get some attention if it landed in front of the right people? Boost it! You’ve already got the post out there, so why not put some money behind it and make sure people are actually seeing it?

Note: The quality and content of your post are very relevant here. Only boost posts that make sense to invest in. If you wrote a promotional post with a link to your online store, that’s probably worth boosting. If you wished your followers a happy Valentine’s Day, that probably isn’t worth sinking ad dollars into!

3. Carousel Ads
Do you have a variety of products you want to show off without creating a handful of individual ads? Carousel Ads showcase up to ten products and images/videos with links to the corresponding page on your website or digital store.

This ad style was literally made for eCommerce professionals who are looking to drive sales from their website. If that doesn’t sound like you, this is also a great way for marketers to test out multiple ad styles/images/headlines to see what pulls!

4. Instant Experience Ads
Instant Experience Ads, formerly known as Canvas ads, are mobile-only advertisements that fill the viewer’s screen. This interactive ad type gives viewers a comprehensive experience where they can swipe through multiple pages filled with your links, visuals, texts, or all of the above!

Instant Experience Ads are similar to Traffic Ads, except they’re a lot more involved (which often makes them more effective, too). There are elements of copywriting and graphic design that need to blend seamlessly here, so I’d recommend these ads for someone who’s looking to sell and has an experienced team behind them.

5. Leads Ads
If you’re focusing on growing your follower count or subscribers to your email list, leads ads could be a good fit. These advertisements let viewers sign up for your offer without ever leaving Facebook, which greatly increases your odds of getting sign ups. Don’t underestimate the value that people will put on convenience!

You’ll be able to view your new leads from your Facebook ads account, and from there you can transfer them wherever you need. I’d recommend Leads Ads to businesses that are starting to delve into email marketing or for new businesses that are starting to develop a following outside of Facebook.

Add Some Ads
Without Facebook ads, your social media marketing strategy is incomplete. There’s a big, wide, virtual world out there, so don’t miss out on it! Use this breakdown of the different Facebook ad types as a starting point for figuring out how Facebook ads can work for your business.

Still need some help setting up your Facebook ads? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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Why Invest in Facebook Advertising?

By Christopher Tompkins

Why Invest in Facebook Advertising_

9Jan

Advertising, Facebook, Social Media

In 2017, advertisers spent almost $300 million in Facebook ads, and I’m sure you’ve had more than a few people suggest Facebook advertising to you. But why? What makes Facebook such an appealing platform for marketers? And, more importantly, why should your business already be advertising through Facebook?

There are a number of reasons, and I’ve compiled the biggest ones to help you understand why Facebook ads are absolutely worth the investment. Let’s talk about this staple of social media marketing!

Facebook Is Kind of a Big Deal
In case you hadn’t heard, pretty much everyone is on Facebook. Your coworkers, your weird cousin, and virtually anyone else you can think of is on there. The latest numbers show that Facebook has 1.49 billion users every day. That means your target audience is definitely on there and waiting to hear from you!

Almost one and a half billion users also means that you’re definitely going to find your target audience on there. You might see that number and think, “Okay, but my local business isn’t going to be appealing to most of those people.” And while that’s true, you can set your ads to target people in your specific location with whatever identifying characteristics you want (age, gender, political views, etc.). So even if you’re only reaching out to 200 of that 1.49 billion, that’s still 200 people who are likely to love your business!

Posting Isn’t Enough
If you saw the above number and thought that your Facebook posts were already reaching those people, I’ve got some bad news for you. Most of your followers aren’t seeing your posts.

Because of recent algorithm changes, even people who have signed up to see your content aren’t going to see it on their feeds. Since Facebook is now prioritizing organic content, regular posts from your business are far less likely to actually reach your audience.

The exception? Facebook advertising. The more money you put into your content on Facebook, the more likely it’s going to be shown to your target audience! So if you’re holding out hope for getting by with just organic reach, 2019 is the time to let that dream go!

Promotion for Organic Content
Facebook ads don’t just share that specific message, either. Because more people are going to see your ads than your regular posts, you’re more likely to get shares that spread your message even further!

And yes, people do share ads on Facebook, provided they’re well-written and engaging. This way, Facebook ads are getting more people on your page in addition to the ad’s intended purpose, which will make your organic content more effective in the future!

Facebook Ads Are (Comparatively) Cheap
It may not feel like it when you’re setting up the ad, but Facebook ads are remarkably affordable. This means that small business owners have no excuse not to be using them! If you’re really strapped for cash, just set an ad budget so that your ad doesn’t go over what you can afford.

Don’t take this as an excuse to pinch pennies, though. It might feel nice to run an ad for $5, but your results are going to be much better if you put some real money into your ads. If $5 gets you 3 clicks, imagine how many more you could get with $50!

Make a Change
Just because Facebook ads are new doesn’t mean they aren’t worth starting! You know why Facebook ads are so effective and worth using, so use that knowledge to take steps forward. It’s the start of a New Year, so don’t waste time considering this marketing strategy and not acting!

It’s normal to need a little help when you get started with Facebook ads. Contact The Go! Agency and we’ll talk about your social media marketing campaign!

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The 4 Best Email Marketing Tools

By Christopher Tompkins

The 4 Best Email Marketing Tools

7Jan

Email Marketing

If you read my last blog post, then you already know what makes email marketing so important. You’ve decided that your business can benefit from email marketing in 2019, and kudos to you for making that call. Knowing why email marketing matters doesn’t give you the tools to make it happen, though, so I’m back again to share the four email marketing tools that my team swears by.

1. Constant Contact
Constant Contact has been in the email marketing game since 1995, so you’re getting a trusted name with this brand. They also have 650,000 customers and some unique features. With event management tools, surveys, and an active app marketplace, Constant Content offers something to fit virtually every business.

No tool can be perfect, though, and Constant Contact’s lack of automation makes using it more of a time investment than some of its competitors. This isn’t a deal-breaker by any stretch, but it’s worth noting when you’re shopping around.

What my team loves most about Constant Content is their high delivery rates. After they spend so much time strategizing and writing, my team wants to know that those emails will make it to people’s inboxes! On the whole, Constant Contact has definitely earned its place as one of the top email marketing tools.

2. Mail Chimp
When it comes to their advantages, there’s a big elephant (or chimp) in the room—Mail Chimp has free options. You can send 12,000 emails per month to 2,000 subscribers, and there are affordable, pay-as-you-go plans if you’re only going a bit above those numbers.

What’s worth noting is that Mail Chimp isn’t cheap for long. As you collect subscribers, your bill will skyrocket. This doesn’t mean that nobody should use it, but it’s important to compare pricing for your specific campaign before making a decision.

Beyond their lower price point, Mail Chimp also boasts some of the best analytics integration. You can accurately track all of your relevant metrics, and their platform works seamlessly with Google Analytics. This all makes it a great tool for our clients with new, low-volume email marketing plans.

3. Pardot
Pardot is, short and sweet, the go-to email marketing tool for B2B campaigns. Because B2B sales tend to take much longer and have multiple steps, Pardot is automated and optimized for these longer campaigns. This makes it popular with B2B marketers who are used to following a sale over a prolonged period of time.

Much like Mail Chimp, Pardot’s main drawback is its price. This automated platform will run you $1,250 per month. It’s worth keeping in mind, though, that you do get a lot of extra features for this steep price tag.

My team has noted that Pardot comes with some built-in social media management and customer relationship management tools that make it a particularly comprehensive platform. While it is (by far) the priciest item on this list, it’s worth it for large-scale campaigns that have the resources to invest in email marketing.

4. AWeber
AWeber‘s big claim to fame is that they invented the autoresponder, which revolutionized the world of email marketing. For that reason, AWeber stresses their commitment to automizing email marketing, which makes it a great tool for anyone who can’t allocate too much time to their campaign.

My team’s biggest point against AWeber is that even when someone unsubscribes from your email list, they’re still counted toward your overall subscriber count until you individually remove their email address. This can lead to some steep billing if you’re not careful, but it hasn’t precluded my team from moving forward with this platform (with a bit of extra caution).

If you’re particularly interested in how your email marketing leads to revenue, AWeber is one of the few platforms that directly tracks sales from emails. There are a lot of other metrics worth looking at, but the ability to monitor sales has been helpful in explaining to clients how their investment in email marketing is earning them more money than they’re putting in.

Take Your Pick
The “best” email marketing tool is going to be dependent on what your business does and what your goals are. These four tools are a great place to start your search though, and my team and I can attest that each platform is one of the best out there. As you begin your research, start by looking at each of these options and evaluating their fit for your business’ email marketing campaign!

It’s normal to feel a little overwhelmed by all these options. If you’re looking for some help with your email marketing campaign, just contact The Go! Agency!

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Email Marketing—What It Is and Why You Need It

By Christopher Tompkins

Email Marketing—What It Is and Why You Need It

2Jan

Email Marketing

You’ve probably already heard a lot of the buzz around email marketing. A lot of people are in your ear saying that it’s going to set your business up for success, but what even is email marketing? And how can everyone be so sure it’s right for your business?

Well, I believe in backing up all of my advice with facts. Email marketing should absolutely be on your “must-have” list for 2019, but don’t just take my word for it. I’m going to explain to you exactly what email marketing is and why it’s worth investing some time and resources into.

What Is It?
In your everyday life, you might know email marketing as those “LAST-MINUTE SALE BUY NOW” emails that you get every so often. As a marketer, you can think of email marketing as a way to reach out to leads and develop your relationship with them. When you consider investing in email marketing, ignore those spam emails you get. They’re wasted opportunities, and a good strategy can help you avoid that pitfall.

Instead, think of how you’ll reach out to interested individuals and encourage them to have a conversation with your brand. You’ll keep your business on your potential customers’ minds, and you’ll generate conversions from your thoughtful, strategic emails!

That all sounds nice, but I wouldn’t blame you for having some skepticism. How do you know this is going to work for your business? I’ve got some numbers that I suspect you’ll find very assuring.

Does Email Marketing Really Work?
For B2C
I want to show you some of the most compelling email marketing statistics that illustrate why it’s worth your time. First and (in my opinion) most impressively, 80% of retailers say that email marketing is their biggest asset in customer retention. Not only is email marketing keeping customers around, but it’s making them spend more with each individual purchase. Customers who bought products via email links spent 138% more than customers who never got email offers. Email marketing keeps customers around and keeps them spending money on your business!

Don’t get me wrong; not all email marketing campaigns are equal, and the quality of your strategy is going to matter a lot. For example, a lot of marketers miss out on sending “Welcome” emails when someone subscribes to your mailing list. That’s a huge mistake, since research shows that welcome emails generate 320% more sales than promotional ones! Missing opportunities like this will make your email marketing much less effective.

For B2B
One comment I’ve heard in the past is that email marketing is great for B2C business, but it just doesn’t offer much for B2B marketers. Well, nothing could be further from the truth! Email is the third most influential source of information for B2B decision-makers, falling only behind recommendations from colleagues and industry leaders. That means that email marketing is literally the best thing B2B marketers can spend money on!

This isn’t just theoretical, either—it’s already making waves throughout B2B marketing. 59% of B2B marketers reported that email marketing was their biggest revenue generator. If you’re running a B2B business and not reaching out to potential customers, you’re missing out on your best way to make sales!

Press Send
You know what it is and why it’s worth your time, so get started! Skipping email marketing means you’re missing potential revenue. If you want to take your marketing to the next level this year, then now is the time to start working toward that goal!

Do you want some individualized help with your social media marketing? Just set up a free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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How “New Year, New Me” Can Help Product Businesses

By Christopher Tompkins

How _New Year, New Me_ Can Help Product Businesses

19Dec

You’ve probably heard “New Year, New Me” a lot over the past few years, but it isn’t just for Instagram captions from New Year’s Eve parties anymore. It’s also a viable marketing strategy for late December/early January! Well, if you do it right, anyway.

Every business could use a boost in the new year, so let’s talk about how this strategy can give you that extra attention!

Who Should Use It?
For a product-based business, you need to (as always) demonstrate how your product will improve your customers’ lives. But “New Year, New Me” brings in a potential for a fresh angle, if you’ve got the right business for it.

Let’s say that your business sells haircare products to older women. While your marketing strategy throughout most of the year might be geared toward turning back the clock, the new year is a great time to switch it up. Instead, you might say that you can give women a chance to create a new, youthful appearance to tie in the “New Year, New Me” angle.

Note, however, that this angle may not be for you if it’s going to majorly disrupt your brand’s voice. A seasonal change is nice, but a complete 180 is disorienting and will weaken your brand’s identity.

On the whole, though, this approach can work for any product-based business with enough creativity. How will your product change your buyer’s life? Will it give them more time, more money, better looks? If you can answer any of those questions, then odds are that this is going to be an effective strategy for you.

Why Should I Use It?
As a product-based business, it’s especially important that you appear to be constantly improving. If you hire a lawn mowing service, you’re not going to expect them to be constantly innovating or finding new, better ways to cut your grass. But if you were looking at buying a new lawnmower, you would certainly expect the manufacturer to have new models every year that are better or solve some new problem.

That same standard will be applied to your business, and you need to be ready for it.

It’s not always reasonable to roll out new and improved products every couple of months, though. In that situation, you only need to give the appearance of newness, and this is exactly how you can do that. You don’t say that you’ve got a new product—you highlight that it can make a new version of your customers. This gives buyers the impression that something new is going on while giving you some breathing room between the holidays and your next product launch!

“New Year, New Me” doesn’t just save you time and effort, though. It’s also a way to draw in customers for the rest of the year. If you can make a sale now, then you’ve got that buyer’s email address for marketing during all of 2019.

You’ll be able to target them with email marketing and get in touch when you have new products rolling out—just because you made a sale early in the year! How you start your 2019 social media marketing is going to impact your business for the rest of the year, so make sure you’re starting off on the right foot!

Make a Fresh Start
As you wrap up the year, start planning for how you’re going to make 2019 work for your business. The “New Year, New Me” strategy will keep you on the pulse of current events and offer an effective way to communicate with your audience at the start of the new year. Use my advice to make sure 2019 is filled with success and growth for your business!

Do you want some individualized help with your social media marketing? Just set up a free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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