The surge in educational technology has led to a remarkable increase in the popularity of online courses. This trend offers a lucrative opportunity for individuals seeking to create and sell educational content. Engaging material is fundamental; it captivates learners while improving their overall experience. A variety of platforms, including Udemy and WordPress, offer crucial infrastructure necessary for hosting and selling courses. Implementing effective marketing can significantly enhance revenue streams. Through social media and targeted email campaigns, creators can broaden their reach, ensuring their courses are not only visible but also actively engaged with. The selection of an online course platform…

Do You Sell Hamburgers or Hotdogs? More importantly, do your customers know what you are selling? So you had a dream and you went with it.You started a small business with an idea ,not much cash and there you are.Now what should you do if you want that idea to survive? Recently here at Small Business Branding we had some discussion whether you really need to brand in the early stages of your business.Contrary to what a lot of people feel I say build your brand from the start.How you brand your business ,product or service will decide whether your…

It is the 21st century, and literally, everything is on the internet. Whether it is a product or a service you are searching for, chances are they are somewhere online, only a few searches and clicks away. The influx of websites has been immense over the last couple of years and that means search engines have had to better their ranking algorithm to ensure users get exactly what they are looking for from the pool of millions of related websites. Whether you are a professional service provider, an online business person, or just a blogger, you have to know how…

Chances are, you are here to make an email newsletter that is either attached to your blog or a standalone. You probably also hope to make some money out of this gig. Since that is the case, the one thing you need to get out of your head right now is the word FREE. If you want to market your blog, show, book, products, __fill-in-the-blanks__ with email, it’s a pay to play thing. Why? Because you do not want to manage email deliverability and reputation by yourself. It’s far too technical for most people. Even if you are rather geeky,…

The worst thing an entrepreneur can do is busy work. No wonder we like to stay productive at all times. Productivity can cover a wide number of things. Not just about managing time. To me, part of being productive is to shave off time everywhere I can. Even if it means seconds because they all add up. The following are productivity apps for entrepreneurs I’ve found and use regularly. Evernote I know it is hard for some people to consider this a productivity app. The light bulb did not come on for me with Evernote either. That is until I…

Welcome to the age of information overload, a world where everyone can share their thoughts, ideas, experiences from anywhere and at any time. For business owners, this can be a huge asset – you no longer have to live only by trial-and-error, guessing your way through what works and what doesn’t. Those who have “been there and done that” are sharing their experiences more than ever before, and a lot of that advice is free and even relatively easy to follow. Then you realize that not everyone is saying the same thing. In fact, credible sources sometimes preach the exact…

Branding, in general, is only effective if it falls on receptive ears. That is, if you communicate a value proposition to your target audience and the message(s) falls flat, then you didn’t do an effective job of branding, to say the least. Effective branding is all about not only understanding who your target audience is but also knowing how to get through to them. For example, let’s say you offer on-demand legal services. Your target buyer could be small businesses who do not have the budget to hire full-time counsel. So, how can you get through to these people? Well,…

The power of Search Engine Optimization cannot be disputed easily. It can help any business build credibility and take its brand to the market, attract the type of traffic that can lead to more sales, and give you an insight to the character of your customers. However, in order for a business to benefit fully from SEO, it needs to ensure that it has a website that promotes Search Experience Optimization (SXO). But wait, what is SXO? Search Experience Optimization refers to a new trend where marketers are starting to realize the importance of a more holistic approach which recognizes…

There was a time I could simply never get ahold of my calendar. Commitments entered into a calendar would never be noticed again. Digital reminders were excused and promptly forgotten. I couldn’t even tell you what day of the week it is, let alone the date. I tried digital calendars. Some paid, some not. Eventually, Google Calendars made the most sense for us. It’s shareable which means I can delegate the task of entering appointments to all concerned. But still, I needed more help when it came to keeping the calendar in view. Once an app is closed, it’s out…

Blog, they say. That’s the best way to get your small business noticed, to raise your search engine rankings, to increase customer engagement, to imprint your brand on customers, and much more. It’s true that blogging has a lot of benefits for helping small businesses get noticed. But it’s not always an affordable form of marketing. Many small businesses struggle with investing adequate funds into their blogs because the capital doesn’t stretch as far as they hoped. As a result, the blog ends up published on a low-quality platform with short, unuseful content and poor imagery. This is unfortunate because…