Small Business News

May 1, 2016 By Carrie Gallagher

Increasing Engagement for Regional Publications

Author: Katie Carlin

AOL may have scaled back its Patch.com presence in 2013, but the market opportunity for regional publications is still alive and strong.

Community newsletters and magazines are timeless concepts, and they’re gaining in popularity in the digital ecosystem, too. Just take a look at the following study from Havas PR UK: local newspapers took the lead for most trusted and popular local news source. Despite this, print has been declining as a percentage of total revenue for local magazines since 2005. For local publications to hold their place in the minds and hearts of readers, a change in direction is a must.

Media brands like 5280 in Denver and D in Dallas have built strong followings in their local markets by experimenting with personalized newsletters, content marketing for their advertisers, and more channels for monetization. They’re riding the line between news and entertainment and have an opportunity to explore new monetization and engagement opportunities—And it’s not so daunting to do the same if you know where to start.

9 things that’ll help your startup grow after the incubator stage

Author: John Rampton

Did you know the first business incubator opened in the U.S. in 1959? Now flash forward to today and there are more than 7,000 incubators worldwide (including Paul Graham’s Y Combinator). For decades, they have been helping startups with everything from technology training, crafting pitches, gaining knowledge from advisors, networking, office space and obtaining seed money.

It’s also been found that “the survival rate of incubated firms can be more than three times higher than non-incubated firms.”

SEE ALSO: Age of the freelancer: How a new breed of worker is redefining the 9-to-5

But what happens after you’ve made it through your incubator? Remember, 90 percent of startups will fail, so here are nine things to help you reduce those odds and grow your business.

Let’s start at the very beginning to make sure you chose your incubator wisely. Entrepreneur recommends you ask the following questions when selecting, or deciding if you need, an incubator:

What can you do and what should others handle?

Do you need the help of a specialist?

The 5-Step Process that Solves Three Painful Writing Problems

Author: Brian Clark

I once asked the Copyblogger community to name their biggest writing challenges.

From the many responses, a pattern developed:

How to get started

How to cut the fluff

These three issues are really symptoms of the same painful problem, which boils down to not clearly understanding what you’re trying to accomplish with your writing. Don’t worry … it’s a fairly common ailment.

There’s a five-step process you can work through that will help clarify your objectives, which leads to greater clarity in your writing.

This method also helps you kick-start any writing project (and finish it) with only the necessary elements, because you’ll know exactly what you’re after and how to make it happen.

Step #1: Begin with the end in mind

The most important step in the process happens before you even write a word.

You must understand your objective for the content.

You have an idea, but what’s the goal? From a content marketing standpoint, you’re usually seeking to educate or persuade (often both, and as we’ll see in the next step, they’re actually the same thing even when intentions vary).

5 Actionable Tips to Boost Ecommerce Conversion Rate in 2016

Author: Ioana Lupec

Conversion rate optimization is a mandatory procedure for companies that aim to be the best player in their industry and stand out from the crowded eCommerce market. Even though we first heard of conversion rate optimization back in 2007, it’s benefits only became popular in the last three years. It’s a digital marketing trend that will certainly be on the “what’s hot?” list for the next year: early adaptors will be ahead of their competitors, building their reputation as leaders and as a top of mind choice, while those who lag behind will lose the chance to innovate their business.

As studies have shown, only 22% of businesses are satisfied with their current conversion rate. So there is plenty unexploited territory and many ways to get the attention of your website’s visitors: 78% of companies are not reaching their true potential and aren’t happy with their conversion rate.

So, the question is what can you do to upgrade your business to the next level and be recognized as top eCommerce website? In this article, I’ll provide a list of top five tricks you can apply on your eCommerce website to boost your conversion rate.

How Important Will Content Marketing Be In 2016?

Author: Author

Have you stumbled upon a blog article or video that you shared with your friends through social media?

Then you’re living testament of how effective content marketing can be. In fact, it’s expected to increase in demand in 2016 and beyond. Why is that? You’ve seen it yourself: people nowadays enjoy learning and sharing information. Whether it’s a blog, video, news, or app (as long as it’s relevant to a particular group), that content has the potential to enhance brand awareness, attract leads, and even help customers complete the buying process.

If your business has not invested much on content marketing – or you feel that your strategies aren’t working – then it’s time to fill in the gaps.

You’ve heard it time and again: you can’t sell if you don’t know WHO you’re selling to. Unfortunately, most companies still make this mistake.

Marketing for businesses is highly different than marketing to end users. This is because they have different motivations. For example: an organization trying to sell software to a business that offers personal computers would need a special pitch to bait their client. It could be in the form of a proposal or a webinar. Meanwhile, the computer company should also have a customized marketing approach when selling their PC’s to end users (like us).