Being your own boss as an entrepreneur, running your own start up, it’s amazing. The excitement of making your own money, the journey to success, it’s a blast from the very beginning. There is however a downside. Working by yourself can get lonely. In fact it can get empty and confusing sometimes. If you need to ask a question, where to do you go? How do you know you’re doing something in the best way you can. If not, how to do you find someone who can tell you how to do it better? And even if there is someone, how do you know whether they’re trustworthy.
That’s why you should make an effort to find like-minded entrepreneurs, creating a network of trusted experts around you that you can share information and time with. Working with others at networking events, conventions and the like, allows you find new approaches to your day to day work. Having to deal with others forces you to think differently, makes you accountable for your own decisions and really helps to motivate you out of a rut. Being part of a group of entrepreneurs can be the difference between a stagnating business and one that grows through bright new ideas. The ideas you get from a group of fellow entrepreneurs are better suited to your work rather than taking advice from those outside the industry. It’s empowering to know that others have got your back when you’re in trouble, meaning every meet-up is worth every penny and minute spent.
Discussing your business with others also means that you’re going to have to practice honesty. Unless they know the full good and bad of what you’re doing, they can’t help you work out whether your current plans will hurt or help your business. You also can’t keeping taking advice and not give any in return. Finding like-minded entrepreneurs is therefore an excellent chance to increase your authority and honesty as a business person. Discussing your mistakes and the mistakes of others is a learning experience than will often prevent further problems later.
Want to find your tribe and start connecting? Visit us online and keep an eye out for upcoming events. Why not come to one of our courses and learn alongside your fellow entrepreneurs? Discover new skills and connect the people around you. Our Free One Day Workshop is perfect if you’re thinking of or have just started as an entrepreneur. Click here to find out more! We look forward to seeing you soon!
We appreciate that growing traffic can be a struggle for small businesses. That’s why here at the Internet Business School, we’ve created our Local Business Marketing course. But before you delve into the world of local marketing, here’s a few starting strategies that you can use right now to increase your number of clients.
Strategy 1 – Tell Your Website Visitors to Do Something on Every Single Page.
Every page on your website is an opportunity for potential clients to get involved with your business. Take advantage of this lead those prospective customers where you want them, but putting a call to action on all of your pages. This not only maximises the traffic through your website, but you start to train your audience to follow instructions when you give them. If you never ask them to do anything, they’re going to be taken by surprise when you ask them to hand over money. However it’s not surprising for you to ask them to engage every time you deliver content or information to them. If you do this your customers will come to understand your relationship is a Give and Take one, you give them information in exchange for their engagement and then sales. Engagement can be anything from signing up to a free newsletter to directing customers to your blog.
Strategy 2: Use the Sidebar or Breaks in Your Blog to Make Offers
From discounts to simple opt-in to lists, side bars are an excellent place to grab the reader’s attention. The point is simply to capitalise on the attention that blog page is getting. Once they opt-in they can go down your business’ sale funnel, meaning you can monetise the traffic you get from your blog and maximise profit by creating relevant offers on these pages.
Strategy 3: Get Their Contact Info the First Time
For every page and opportunity you present, you should also include a way to capture the traffic and further the relationship with the client, even if they don’t convert immediately. To do this, why not drive people to a URL that will require an email capture before they can get what they want. Another method is to create a retargeting pixel to capture the traffic from your website and remarket to them on Facebook – driving that traffic to a Lead Magnet that can also get you their email address. Now you can market to them wherever they are, inbox and News Feed.
But why is this important? Well, when someone visits your website or sees your sign for the first time, they’re what’s known as cold traffic – they don’t know anything about you and they don’t trust you. However if they see you repeatedly in their News Feed or get content from you in their inbox, they start to warm up to you. The warmer they are, the closer they are to spending. Warming however does take a bit of time. It’s recommend you contact your buyers a minimum of seven times in an eighteen month period. It’ll take a minimum of seven times before they are ready to buy from you, often it’s more. However if you never captured their information at the start, you’re never going to be able to start those interactions in the first place, so always collect a list!
Strategy 4: Focus on Your Products Benefits, Not Its Features
This is especially important if you sell anything over Amazon. When you write a product spec, don’t just write what the product is, include how these features benefit the buyer. Tell them why they should care about this product. When advertising your product, tell the potential buyer how the product will take them from their Before state (unhappiness, dissatisfaction, lacking in something) to their After state, where their life has been changed and improved with the use of your product.
Make sure your benefits are fully explained. You could imagine you’re talking to Homer Simpson as you’re explaining, as he exemplifies some of the traits you need to get through when explaining to a customer. He easily gets confused and can’t figure things out on his own, so explain things clearly. He is however a good person so don’t belittle and talk down to him. Explain everything very clearly to him as he won’t think of it on his own. This approach to marketing works best – assume nothing, spell everything out.
Looking for more expert tips and guidance on how to increase your traffic and client base? Learn how to get more leads, prospects and cash slow to your small business, or start your own local business marketing agency with our Local Business Marketing course.
Here at the Internet Business School, we know that getting traffic to your website can be hard work. With so many methods out there it can be confusing knowing what really works. Well, here is our countdown of lesser known hacks that can send your website traffic through the roof!
10) Get Interviewed on a Podcast.
Podcasts are massively popular and their audience increases day by day. It’s estimated that 4.7 million people download podcasts every day. Being interviewed on a podcast not only generate exposure for your business but it also makes you look like an industry expert. Search for podcast that’s relevant to your area of expertise and make a list of podcasts you’d like to appear on. Start with smaller lists (podcasts with less than a thousand listeners) and then work your way up.
9) Repurpose your Blog Posts for Youtube.
Want more people to read your blog posts and sign up for your emails. Get on Youtube. Youtube has over a billion users, that’s almost a third of all people on the internet. Create video versions of your blog posts and upload them onto Youtube with the same titles to bring in traffic to your site, the links for which you can put in your video and video description.
8) Guest Post on Social Media
Also known as cross posting, find social profiles in your niche/area of expertise that are similar in size to your own. Ask the owner to share a post for you and offer to do the same for them. It’s a win-win benefit for the both of you.
7) Ping people mentioned in your content.
This is how you build up relationships with people that have influenced your business. Quote or mention these people in your blog posts and then when you publish your content, tweet at or email them to say you’ve mentioned them. Don’t beg for shares and make sure you mention them in a way that is actually useful for your readers. If they like it, they’ll then share it for you.
6) Target Direct Sharers
Buzzsumo.com allows you to search blog topics. Their ‘view sharers’ buttons will show you a list of people who have shared similar blog posts to yours in the past. You can then reach out to them on social media or email and ask what they think of your blog in the hopes they will share it too. When they then share it, send them a thank you message. Reach out to as many people as they can for maximum exposure.
5) Get on Google News
Getting your website listed on Google News definitely drives up traffic, but did you know over 60% of people trust Google News rather than other sources of News? This means it’s a great place to attract traffic that actually converts. Be sure to provide current and relevant content to make the most of Google News.
4) Run a Limited-Time Giveaway
Growing a subscriber list can also be a lot of work. However viral giveaways are a great strategy to overcome this initial hurdle. Give away something to a lucky few winners. It’s like running a lottery, collect emails in exchange for a prize draw. You can even ask your customers to share the giveaway with their friends to increase the chance of winning. This has been known to exponentially increase followings.
3) Offer a Free Product or Course.
Creating a new product may seem like a lot of work just to increase traffic, but it has been proved immensely successful. If you hit the right audience, present the right solution or make use of an incredibly popular current trend, your list will grow unbelievably fast. Research your customer base and work out how you can grab their attention. Then create a relevant product and watch the interest come in.
2) Do Webinars For Another Website.
Blogging is a powerful tool but you have to be able to convert readers into customers. Webinars famously have amazing conversion rates and joint webinars are essential to building traffic for your website. Find websites in the same industry as you. Approach them with an offer of conducting a webinar for your readers. Pick a topic you think is essential for your visitors to know and then present on that subject.
1) Be a Case Study for a Popular Blog.
This is a great way to gain instant credibility and viewers. Use someone else’s product, write a about it and then ask them to feature it on their blog. This is like using a testimonial but it’s easier to get traffic back. If you use any products that apply to your particular niche, approach the maker with a case study. Always link back to your own website.
Want to learn more about how to get customers flocking to your site? Why not attend our Ultimate Traffic Hacks course? Discover everything you need to know to rapidly increase your website traffic and convert visitors into buyers. Come visit the course page to find out more!
Use coupon code TRAFFIC 50 to get an amazing 50% off the live course or the online course, meaning you can pick the option that suits you!
Here at the Internet Business School, we’re always looking out for great new ways that small businesses get the edge over their competitors. Learning from previous mistakes has always been a huge part of developing highly successful online stores. Luckily for you, some of the largest businesses have already made these mistakes, so all you have to do is sit back and learn! Here’s our top ten lessons to keep in mind when running a shop online.
Lesson One: Reduce Your Customer’s Risk.
Customers are scared of getting ripped off, especially when it comes to buying products online. If they’re too afraid to enter their details into your website, they’re never going to buy anything. You need to reassure them to get them spending. Putting a price promise or a data safety logo on your site can make your site seem more trustworthy. However don’t paste these logos or promises on every page or image. Over-repeating the fact you are trustworthy will only make you seem dubious and desperate. Customers need the most reassurance when they’re committing to spend money, so add these promises when they get to their shopping cart or checkout.
Lesson Two: Make Sure the Customer Can See Their Cart At Any Time.
Big retailers have found that customers are less likely to abandon their shopping carts if they can click and see it at any time. By allowing your customer to hover their mouse over an icon that then displays their shopping allows them both to keep track of their spending and remind them of their intention to buy. Visible shopping carts can also impart a sense of urgency in your customers. If a buyer can see that there is only one product left, or that other people are viewing the same item, they are more likely to quickly make the sale.
Lesson Three: Offer Free or Flat Rate Shipping
Though not possible for every business, free shipping is a magnet for customers. The next best option is shipping at a flat rate. Studies have found that nearly 50% of customers abandon their shopping carts because shipping costs are too high. So if you offer free or flat rate shipping, make sure to advertise that fact as early and often as possible, especially on your site’s homepage. Many business now mention their free shipping at every stage of checkout to impress on the customer the fact they have saved, the same goes for offers on shipping (flat costs if the customer spends X amount.)
Lesson Four: Pick the Best Payment Options for Your Audience
There are many ways to pay online, people are moving away from entering their bank details into sites and are choosing payment platforms such as Paypal, Google Wallet, Apple Pay. When setting up your online sales, research what are the common forms of payment for your target audience. For example, the Dutch use a payment system called IDEAL, however UK customers are more likely to use methods such as Paypal. If you are hoping to sell to the Dutch, it makes no sense not to accept payment through IDEAL, but this won’t work for the UK market.
Lesson Five: Don’t Force Them To Create An Account
Customers are naturally distrustful of handing data over online. Allowing them to make purchases as a guest negates this fear whilst still making sure they make a purchase. Include guest checkout whenever possible, present the option to sign up after the purchase is made, however allow the customer the freedom to choose.
Lesson Six: Provide Many Interactive Product Images
One photo of your product is not enough. Customers want to see a product from every angle, they want to zoom in on details and see every colour, size and other option the product comes in. When selling online, these pictures are often all the customer has seen of your product. Online retailers now offer 360 degree product shots with hovering zoom features. Videos are also used to show the product in action. Seeing the product used in ‘real life’ encourages customers to buy.
Lesson Seven: Product Images Must Update With Customisation Options.
Customers don’t want to guess what something will end up looking like. If you offer a single product in several colours, add images of each product in each colour. These also include size options and personalisation choices. If there is the choice to personalise a product, the customers wants to see their creation before they part with their money.
Lesson Eight – Use Grid Style Category Pages
Tests have shown that the more items you see in a single row on a page, the better a page performs when it comes to sales. This means that presenting your products in a grid rather than a single-product column yields better results. This approach is best used on desktop rather than mobile due to the size of the screen.
Lesson Nine – Avoid Perpetual Scrolling
Once incredibly popular, perpetual scrolling now only adds confusion to the customer experience. Many customers use the footer of your site as a form of navigation. If you keep the page scrolling, they’ll never find it. Finding products is also made harder by constant scrolling. It’s much easier for a customer to remember a good pair of shoes on page two than a good pair of shoes somewhere vaguely above their current position.
Lesson Ten – Offer Order Tracking
This is a quick and easy way to both to add customer trust and keep your customers visiting your site. People will visit your site to see where their order currently is. This gives you an excellent opportunity to generate further sales by showing them new offers every time they come back.
Do you want to create your own online store? Starting up a brand new online business can be daunting. That’s why we’ve created our fun and easy online course, with everything you need to create a store packed into only a few hours. Create your own online business with our Create a Web Shop Fast training course. Visit the course page to find out more!
Here at the Internet Business School we’re always keeping an eye on the best ways for interpreneurs and their small businesses to get ahead of their competitors and reach greater success. Knowing your customer base is absolutely key to growing your business and your profits. That’s why if you want to fast track your business to success, you’re going to need to do some market research. So what common mistakes should you be looking out for when you start your research? Here are our top ten:
1) Overspending – If you’ve got the know-how, market research doesn’t require you to break the bank. Yet in their haste for data, many business owners pay out a lot to get all the information as fast as possible. Take some time to shop around, or research other methods, to avoid overspending.
2) Not knowing what you’re looking for – Don’t do market research in the hopes of just discovering anything about your customers. You should know what information you need before you start. Have questions ready for what you need to know.
3) Poor choice of sources – The internet is a great place to start your research but you must consider the source of the information you’re getting. This is especially a problem on the internet, where sites can included dated or biased material. Research your research materials and make sure they are reliable.
4) Not knowing enough about the competition – Get as much information about your competition as you can. The more you know about their business, their pricing, and their strengths and weaknesses, the more effectively you can combat the competition.
5) Not researching price information – Your market research should tell you what customers expect to spend and how high they will go to buy a product or services like yours.
6) Researching the wrong group of people – You need to know your targeted demographic before you start your research. Make sure you know exactly who you want your customer base to be before you start on any focus groups or surveys. Many business make the mistake of gathering data that turns out to be useless for their needs.
7) Having non-specific surveys – It pays to take time and make sure your survey is getting exactly the sort of information you need. Irrelevant information is time and money wasted so make sure you are asking the right sort of questions to get useful answers.
8) Not being aggressive enough with your research – No one is going to give you the information you need if you’re not aggressive enough with asking for it. Give your customers an incentive to fill out your survey. Put it in as many places as possible for them to see. Answers are crucial and without them surveys have little point.
9) Relying on one set of data – One set of information is rarely enough to get a complete overview of any group of customers. Use different sources of data, your own surveys, information from online research, and any other relevant industry sources to find primary and secondary resources of information.
10) Not using your results – What’s worse than bad market research? Ignoring the research you’ve already done. Just because your results aren’t what you want to see doesn’t mean the information is useless. Learn from what you’ve got and if it shows you’ve made a mistake, own up to it. That’s how your business will grow.
Want to get researching but don’t know where to start? Our online market research course is exactly what you need. Visit our course page to find out more and discover this essential tool to business success with the Internet Business School.
Here at the Internet Business School, we’re constantly on the lookout for new internet marketing opportunities. That’s why a recent article by Mark Zuckerburg caught our attention. The article was about the concepts behind Facebook Groups and how communities are being built online. Many people are already part of a Facebook Group, but so few understand their potential for marketing.
So what are Facebook Groups? Facebook Groups are separate areas of Facebook aside from your Facebook feed. These can be public but a more often or not Groups are member-only, managed by moderators. Groups centre around a unified topic and become closer to a forum than regular Facebook communication.
Out of the 1.7 billion people who use Facebook every month, over 1 billion are active in one or more Facebook Groups. This huge audience, gathered into groups by share interests, is a perfect business tool for marketing online. Those who set up Facebook Groups can often benefit from the community they build. For instance, if you run a series of horticultural and garden shows and wish to advertise them, creating a group for gardners is a perfect way to engage with your target audience. Creating a successful group also grants you expertise and authority as a pillar of this community
Due to the fact you’ve gathered your target audience into one place, the organic reach of your brand is often much better due to to the focused nature of the group. This can save you money on Facebook advertising as you don’t need to use the targeting nature of Facebook Ads.
Want to brush up on your Facebook skills so you can make the most of Facebook Groups? Visit https://internetbusinessschool.co.uk/for our range of Facebook courses covering everything from the basics, to marketing and ads.
Being willing to learn new skills to get the edge over your competitors is a key part of being an Interpreneur. We understand that at the Internet Business School and try to give our students as many opportunities to pick up essential internet marketing techniques as we can. Lately we’ve found our students love the ease and convenience of webinars.
So what is a webinar?
A webinar or ‘web seminar’ is an online conference-style presentation you can watch on your own computer. They are usually made up of live video, a slideshow presentation, desktop sharing or a combination of those three. The audio accompanying the presentation is live and streamed to you using web-conferencing software. Webinars can include interactive components including chat rooms, instant messaging, polls, social media integration and sometimes chances to ask questions via audio or video.
What are the advantages of webinars?
With webinars, there’s no need to leave the house. Going to ‘traditional’ conferences requires a lot of travel, which comes with its own host of expenses. Attending a webinar doesn’t require you to shell out for plane tickets, train fare, accommodation or eating out. Webinars are not only the wallet-friendly option but also saves you the stress involved with travelling.
It’s also easier to leave a bad webinar than a bad conference. If the presentation isn’t for you, it’s much simpler just to close the tab in your internet browser rather than leave a conference room or convention centre. When you leave a webinar, you’re still in your own home. When you leave a conference, you still have to deal with your travel back.
Unlike conferences, many webinars are archived. This means you can rewatch them later in case you feel like you missed something in your notes, or if you didn’t write something down as clearly as you’d like.
Webinars often have opportunities for interaction that traditional presentations and conferences do not. As mentioned, webinar platforms often include chat rooms, instant messaging and ways to interact via social media. This means you can talk with your fellow attendees or give feedback to the presenters. This opens up new options to learn from both the experts in attendance and your peers.
Want to start learning from webinars? Visit www.internetbusinessschool.co.uk for webinar opportunities and great online courses you can study without leaving the house.
The Great British Business Show is the fastest growing business show in Europe. After seventeen years of successful events, the business show is back again with an exciting range of expert speakers, interactive features and industry leading suppliers. The show attracts over 25,000 businesses from a cross-section of industries, who attend with the aim of improving and expanding their business. The exhibition is completely free to attend meaning it’s the perfect opportunity to find the advice and information essential for business growth. It’s no surprise that due to their enthusiasm, the business show keeps on growing.
So what should you expect at The Great British Business Show?
Speakers
The Show features seminars from top industry experts. These include famous faces in business such as past, present and current Dragons from the hit TV show Dragon’s Den. Other experts include Bill Collison, founder of Bill’s Restaurant, Steve Parish co-owner of Crystal Palace F.C. and Mark Wright, Winner of ‘The Apprentice’.
Many businesses are exhibiting with stands at the Business Show. There are businesses from a vast range of industries, from big name households brands such as Costco and Fujitsu to business improvement experts such as ActionCoach and the Internet Business School.
Throughout the show, big businesses are offering masterclasses for business owners. These include lessons on stock markets, branding, managing cashflow, digital marketing, card payments (with Mastercard,) and much more.
There are business opportunities aplenty at the Business Show, with networking events, meetings and business advice. There’s even a chance to get your business idea funded at the Angels’ Den. More details can be found on the official website
The Internet Business School team will be heading off to the Business Show twice a year. Come find us at our stand or visit us at one of our many feature talks. We have many talks throughout the event for beginners and for experienced marketers. To see our feature timetable,click here. We look forward to seeing you there!
Here at the Internet Business School, we know the importance of great advertising. That’s why we teach our students how to use the best platforms to get their products and services seen. Facebook is a platform we use every day for social interaction, but did you know that internet marketing experts are crazy for promoting businesses through Facebook? Here’s why!
Facebook is the second most visited website on the Internet. With 1.28 billion active users per month, that huge audience means plenty of exposure for your ad campaigns.
Facebook fan pages increase customer loyalty. By creating a fan page your customers can interact directly with your business, building up loyalty and brand image.
Fan pages can be used to offer special promotions. It can also be used to promote new products, or launch ad campaigns. Frequent updates keep your customers well informed and up to date.
Targeting advertising is one of the main attractions to advertising on Facebook. Facebook ads can be targeted at specific people by age, location, personal interests and more. It can also place ads only on certain pages that feature a chosen keyword.
Facebook ads are more flexible than Google Adwords. Facebook offers longer ad descriptions and the ability to have image based ads increases engagement as people are more likely to look at pictures.
Facebook is a platform built around user engagement, users not only look at information but also share and talk about it. This results in higher visibility and greater exposure.
Your ad has a greater chance being seen multiple times because Facebook allows for multiple ad views. Many users visit Facebook multiple times a day and each time they can see your ad.
When advertising on Facebook you can choose between CPC and CPM pay structures. Facebook allows advertise to purchase ads on a click based or impression based fee structure. This allows you to tailor your campaign based on budget and other factors.
Placing ads on Facebook can be the inexpensive option. Due to the targeted nature of their advertising, you can reach your target market at affordable prices. There are also a range of packages allowing you to remain within your budget.
By using Facebook you’re guaranteed to reach smartphone users. Millions use Facebook on their smartphones every day. With Facebook, your ads will reach both computer and smartphone users
As a provider of top quality internet marketing courses, here at the Internet Business School we know the benefits of getting back in the classroom. Though the idea of studying may bring back bad memories of school days and revising for exams, the classroom is still the ideal place for obtaining new skills. Here’s why:
Experts are always on hand to give on the spot practical advice and answer any questions you may have.
There are opportunities to learn about subjects from a new angle, or go further in depth using the teacher’s expertise. You also get the opportunity to ask questions outside the dictated subject matter.
Help and answers come immediately as opposed to getting them via email or Google search.
You can network with people learning the same subject, allowing you to share your experiences and form a social group.
Lessons contain hands on use of tools and techniques for your subject area.
Expert trainers and teachers make the learning experience more engaging, interesting and enjoyable.
The teaching style can be adapted to the needs of the learners.
Being in the classroom can give you a quiet dedicated learning time away from the busy nature of your daily routine.
Being in an environment dedicated to learning can help you focus better than if you were at home.
You can receive valuable feedback from your teacher and others in your class.
Want to learn new skills that can turn your life around? Visit us at www.internetbusinessschool.co.uk to see our wide range of courses that can set you off on a new career, give you the skills to promote your business or even make extra money from the comfort of your own home. We look forward to seeing you soon!
