3 Reasons Why Your Business Needs an Online Presence

Having positive reviews on the internet helps rank your website higher in the search engines. But, if you don’t have a website, a blog, or any social profiles, none of that probably matters to you. Well, we’re here to change your mind.

Answer these questions for us: How many years have you been in business? And how many customers have you brought in on your own in those years? Chances are the answer is a lot. In fact, you probably brought it most of them with your skills and reputation. And that’s great – keep on doing what you are doing to maintain the satisfaction of your current customers.

But, times are changing. More and more people – young and old – are using the internet for everything.Everything:

• Italian restaurants in “City”
• Dental services in “City”
• How to change a tire
• Where can I get a tractor trailer?

Important to small businesses like yours, are the “How To” or the “where can I get ____” search queries because that means a consumer wants something right now and will go to wherever they can get it. Everything that your business does – from A to Z; from soup to nuts – needs to be present on the internet. Otherwise, how else will you get found?

Localvox.com reports that 88% of consumers who search for a local business on a mobile device will go to that business within 24 hours. You want to be that business.

When we say online presence, we mean the whole package. Having a website without a social profile used to be enough – but not anymore. In the beginning of 2014, roughly 81% of small businesses were using social media and it’s time for your business to join them.

1. Build Trust: How often do you research a purchase before you buy it – whether it’s a new tool, an appliance, a book, anything? Probably pretty often. Having a website and social profiles do the same thing. They help consumers see what type of business you are, who you are behind the business, and gives them comfort before choosing you. Businesses without a website don’t see as much success. A Weebly survey found that 56% of consumers will not trust a business that doesn’t have a website.
2. Grow your Client List: Word of mouth can only go so far. Someone who is new in your town that doesn’t know anyone yet might need quick service or want to know a good place to shop or eat. That person is going to search on the internet and choose a business they find on there that looks credible and legitimate. If you aren’t there, you’re missing out on some great opportunities to gain customers for life.
3. Aid in Your Marketing: You’ve got the trust and the clients – now you just have to market to them. With numerous marketing channels, there are so many ways you can promote your business and services. Social profiles can be used to generate interest in your company with a giveaway or a contest if they like/follow your page. Bring all of your customers back to your website where you can promote deals/offers in coupons, your hot item of the week, or just by showing them what they will get when they choose your company.

So, you know why you need an online presence, but do you know how to get it? We do.

Whether your company is big or small, we can guess that you always want to make money and gain more customers. That starts with a website.

For more information on how Angell Advantage can create the right website & completeonline marketing solution for you contact us at jody@angelladvantage.com or visit www.angelladvantage.com.

Original Article in its' entirety can be found at: DirectCapital.com

3 Ways to Make the Most of Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday—November 29 this year—is an annual chance for small businesses to engage their customers and local communities around the benefits of supporting locally owned businesses.  

This annual event could be a huge opportunity to draw more customers into your store and boost holiday sales. Here are some effective ways to maximize your reach on Small Business Saturday.

1. Host Special Events

Many businesses will be hosting special events on Small Business Saturday to draw in shoppers. An event is a chance to give shoppers a memorable experience that they can’t get at other businesses or on other days of the year.

2. Offer Small Business Saturday-Only Promotions

Many retailers and restaurants are designing special promotions around Small Business Saturday, whether giving shoppers freebies or special discounts.

3. Band Together with Other Businesses


Many small businesses find they can drum up more publicity for their business by joining forces with other local businesses. Working together with other businesses and enlisting the help of neighborhood associations or economic development groups can help generate more awareness of the day and the events happening around it.

For more information and examples of how other small businesses have made the most of Small Business Saturday visit AmericanExpress.com

Why You Think You Can’t Start Your Own Business

Why You Think You Can’t Start Your Own Business

Notice how in the title I didn’t say that you can’t start your own business. I just said that you think you can’t. Most people think so and that fact itself is what stops them from making a change in their life.
That applies to every other area of your life. You think your goals are impossible, everything you want is hard to get, you’re not good enough, people won’t like you, etc.
The truth is that it’s all up to you.
You have all it takes to be the best candidate for every career you enjoy, to achieve all your dreams and desires, to build the life you want and to be respected by others. But the self-limiting beliefs in your mind will keep stopping you from doing anything about it, until you say no to them and eliminate all negative thinking.

Here’s Why You Probably Won’t Start Your Own Business Any Time Soon:

• you think it’s not a choice;
• you think you need a lot of initial capital;
• you expect permission to do it;
• you feel awkward to think that big;
• you say it’s not the right time;
• you can’t imagine living like those people who do what they lovewhile helping others and making a lot of money;
• you don’t have a degree in Business (and consider that a barrier);
• you have no support from family and friends;
• you’re okay with your current situation;
• you think that entrepreneurs with successful businesses are just lucky or that it happened under particular circumstances (like inheritance, etc.);
• you can’t afford taking risks right now and trying new things or working on personal projects;
• you don’t have enough time;
• you know it may take years to get there and that kills your desire to even give it a try;
• to some extent the idea of becoming self-employed scares you;
• you fear failure;
• you consider yourself too old or too young for that;
• you need to finish some other stuff first;
• you’re afraid to put yourself out there;
• you think too much about how people will react – at the beginning they may discourage you, some may make fun of you, then they’ll get jealous or else;
• you don’t have the right skills;
• you’re new to all this and don’t have a clue where to start;
• your day job is what stops you.

Now that I listed all of these, they seem too much and too negative. But so many people have thoughts like that all the time.
In my opinion, if we could eliminate all of them, 90% of the people in the world would be successful and the generation in general would have made a bigger progress.
The truth is that none of these is an excuse not to give your dream a try, not to say yes to the big ideas in your head and not to dedicate all your time and energy to it.

What You Need to Know Before You Think About Becoming Self-Employed

Almost every successful person you know also felt like he didn’t have a clue where to begin, didn’t have support from those around him, was a bit afraid of failing and of how others may react. He knew it may take a lot of time to see even little progress, and was a bit afraid of taking risks and trying something uncertain.
But he did it.
And that’s why today we can use the light bulb after Thomas Edison’s thousands of attempts that failed, can read Harry Potter in any language and city in the world even though the author was rejected by many publishers and may have given up on her dream. That’s way we enjoy the art of today – the great masterpieces of those who were once brave enough to follow their passion and share it with the world despite their fears and doubts.
We are born to thrive. And your age, degree, origin, skills and lack of support don’t really matter. They are just factors in a much bigger picture. And have nothing to do with starting your own business, doing what you love and making money from it.
You need to realize that you have what it takes, and most importantly – you can learn throughout the process.That’s how we grow.
Your day job is also not a problem. Leo Babauta had a full-time job and a family to support and still made time to write every day. That’s how we can read so many amazing articles on Zen Habits and that’s how he created all his books, became self-employed, changed his life and made such an income.
So there’s always a way.
You don’t find time, you make it.
And as for your other projects and the feeling that it’s not the right time, that’s just procrastination in disguise.

Never forget that a basic idea can turn into a vision, a plan and goals combined with a strong desire and willingness, and after some time can become a reality.
Just start. Everything else will fall into place.

Being your own boss is one of the main aspects of freedom. Working on something you’re passionate about and believe in will make you truly happy and you’ll want to inspire others to do the same.
By finding the courage to start your own business, you’ll simply make the world a better place.
How do you feel about self-employment? Are you working for yourself? If not, are you doing something to get there?

http://www.letsreachsuccess.com/2015/09/16/cant-start-your-own-business/

Top 3 Content Marketing Tips for Small Business

1. Make A Schedule

Want to have a successful content marketing run? Get organized. First, create a calendar (I like to use Google Docs); you should create an outline of what each month of your year looks like as far as seasonality, industry events, holidays, and company-specific happenings, then add them to your calendar. Allot time each week for filling in content ideas, developing strategy, researching, and actually creating your content. This could take between 2-4 hours per week (depending on how in-depth your content is and/or if you outsource any portion of this). The more successful marketing campaigns are the ones that were well thought out and planned properly.

2. Survey

Surveys are a great way to get inside consumer’s minds and see what they like. You can use surveys to improve your website, improve your product, learn about what type of content they want to see and more. Consider incentivizing for responses; a $5 iTunes gift card to all participants, one “grand prize” drawing or several smaller prizes. Team up with like-minded businesses for list exchange, sponsored prizes and other co-marketing efforts to cast a wider net for survey respondents. Some popular survey sites are: SurveyMonkey, SurveyGizmo and Google Survey Forms.

3. Use Images

While there is tremendous value in text-based posts, you must still integrate imagery into your content creation. Visual content is a fast and easy way to get your point across. You might want to take a longer piece of content and replace a paragraph with an image you have created instead. Making it visually appealing and easy to understand. Some ideas for imagery include using infographics, bold photos with text on top.  To create custom infographics try Easel.ly or Infogr.am

Affordable Small Business Marketing Strategy Tip #2

Everyone LOVES to WIN!  So why not run a contest on social media?

You’ll need to cough up some dough for a prize, but the number of participants and new potential leads you get will be well worth the price. Really tight on budget? You don’t technically need a super expensive prize to get participants. Even a couple high-end water bottles or fancy backpacks might be enough of a draw for some users.

Not sure how to host a contest? 

Try DIY & go with Rafflecopter – they make it super easy to set up a contest and embed the contest entry form on your website.  

Afraid to fly solo?  Hire a professional.  I recommend Mission4Media which offers affordable monthly social media management and contesting for all social media formats!  Be sure to tell James that Jody sent you!

Your hosting company’s downtime got you feeling down?

Angell Advantage Promise: Peace of Mind…at No Additional Cost.

Techs, Specs and Security!
Your Web site will be hosted at our ultra-secure server facility with tiered, high-performance Dell PowerEdge servers powered by Intel Xeon processing technology. Your Web site traffic will be load balanced across clustered and fault tolerant Dell servers, Cisco networking devices and Network Appliance storage systems.

Our servers are located in facilities that are protected from fires, floods, earthquakes, power outages, and other disasters – natural or otherwise. A few of the measures we take at our secure facility include:

• Remotely-monitored video surveillance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Hand-scanning authorization sensors using biometric recognition for clearance.
• Server racks reinforced against seismic anomalies, and scientifically exact bracing that adjoins our server racks and the caging environment to a below-floor channel.
• Clean power conditioned by an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). The UPS assures immunity from energy spikes and surges. Backup generators guarantee an alternate power source, providing hours of additional uptime in the event of a system failure.
• Multiple HVAC units supplement principal cooling systems for consistent temperature control and maximum airflow.
• A preferred alternative to conventional fire suppression methods, and intelligent early detection & backup fire suppression methods that prevent unnecessary equipment damage and incidental loss of uptime.
• On-premise security officers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our alarms are also monitored 24/7 to ensure rapid incident resolution.
• Electronic motion sensors detect and react to movement around the perimeters of the data centers and within their interiors.

Dual-Layer Firewall Protection – Our network is protected by a dual-layer firewall security system using Cisco ASA firewalls, thus making it virtually impossible for hackers or unauthorized users to compromise the integrity of your Web site.

Unlimited Site Traffic – Many providers set limits on the number of hits your site is able to receive. We don’t penalize our clients for becoming successful. You can be confident that your site will handle increased traffic at no added cost.

Posted by: Sarah Rose Stack

Affordable Small Business Marketing Strategy Tip #1

List your company on Google Maps/Local

"A company presence on Google Maps/Local is as extremely important, and it's completely free," says David Hudson, managing director at EasyClear, a family run house clearance business in London. 

When it comes to small business marketing, Google Maps/Local presence is important for many reasons, he says. It directs customers to your establishment when they are in the area, and your business typically appears higher in Google search rankings. "Finally, because customers can review the company and leave comments, it is also a tool to evaluate the efforts we made, and it helps us to understand customers better."

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