If you're new to online marketing, email is still one of the simplest ways to connect with others to share valuable information toward new sales.

In fact, earlier today I had a conversation with a colleague who has not yet fully embraced online marketing.  I shared how I use my own email newsletter to build a relationship over time with those specific people in my target audience whom I connect with and invite to my email list.

The idea is that you build trust and credibility with each message you send out, when those messages are relevant to the people you send your eNewsletter to.  

In other words, if I'm targeting dog owners for a pet grooming service I offer, I want to invite dog owners to sign up on my email list.  Then each week or month I'll send useful tips to help those dog owners learn valuable ways to care for their beloved canine companion.

That information would be useful to dog owners who truly care about their pet's well being.  Thus, they'll want to read the emails I send because over time they'll come to expect and value the information I share.

Once that trust is in place I can make periodic offers to my email list for products I sell that could fulfill some of their at-home grooming needs or entice them to bring their pet into my grooming studio to have their dog professionally groomed.

The idea with email marketing is that you're building and nurturing a community.  That community becomes a source of business leads and referrals (as those on your email list may forward your messages to dog owning friends of theirs).

Want to get started on your own email marketing?  Check out the EmailVictory.com.  They offer an Email Marketing Made Easy Newsletter that you can sign up for to receive helpful, easy-to-implement email marketing tips.

From this post on Buffer, Facebook is limiting the reach of your Facebook Page marketing messages to your "Likes" or Page connections.

Here's a bit from the Buffer post:

"Facebook will begin monitoring and reducing the appearance of overly promotional posts from Pages, beginning in January 2015. Overly promotional posts, according to Facebook, may include:

1. Posts that solely push people to buy a product or install an app
2. Posts that push people to enter promotions and sweepstakes with no real context
3. Posts that reuse the exact same content from ads

Pages that post promotional creative should expect their organic distribution to fall significantly over time."

In other words, if you use a Facebook Page as your main business website, you will want to consider creating a website that you own for your business, building an email list or community around your own site and migrating away from your Facebook Page as your main online business hub.  

The reason, as mentioned in the Buffer post, is most of your Facebook Page posts won't be seen by your intended audience.  As a result you stand to lose referrals and business leads because they aren't seeing your Facebook Page postings.

Posted by: Nick Venturella

Whether or not you're an internet-based business, having an online home base -- a website -- is needed.  It's the way your customers expect to find the information they need about the types of products and services you offer.

Having a website is an empowerment tool for potential customers.  As a business owner, by having a website, you're meeting your current and potential customers where they are -- online.

What's still shocking to me is this statistic… 

"...more than half of [small & medium size business] owners do not have a website (52%)…"  stat source

Here's the thing, if you're a business owner who is fearful of websites because you've never really dealt with owning one before, you're not alone.  You also don't have to be afraid, as there is a great deal of simplified website platforms that make even the non-technical person comfortable managing their website.

Oh, and the website cost you may be worried about…what's the cost to your business of not having an always 'on,' 24/7 marketing machine?  My point here is the cost of owning and maintaining a basic website to fit the needs of your business will likely pay for itself and then some in terms of additional marketing and brand exposure.

Are you in Traverse City, MI?  If you're a local business owner without a website and you don't know who to talk to about getting your first site up and running effectively, then contact Traverse City Affordable Websites.  Of course, even if you're not local in Traverse City you can contact them.

My point is, if you're running a business and you don't have a website, getting one will help you to be perceived as professional and legitimate in the eyes of your potential customers.


posted by Nick Venturella

Every working person needs to calculate their taxes.  Call it a necessary evil if you must.  

However, finding tools to help you calculate and understand the numbers you're crunching doesn't have to be a chore.

Many sole proprietor entrepreneurs dread tax time -- having to comb through their income and expenses and fill out complicated forms.  

It can seem daunting, especially if you've not consistently kept up with tracking your income and expenses all year.  Back tracking to locate necessary information tends to be a major source of frustration.

My advice is, start gathering all that information now.  Break your tax preparation goal up into smaller chunks so it doesn't seem so overwhelming.

Here's how I would suggest going about it.  Take the next 2 weeks (perhaps a small chunk of time each day) to gather all of last year's income and expense information.  Get it all in one place so you can easily reference it.

In the next week or so after that, use the H&R Block calculator 2015 to help yourself understand and estimate what your tax refund will likely be. 

Understanding what your tax refund will likely be can help you determine how to file your taxes, and/or it may spark questions that you want to education yourself about with online resources or by talking to a tax professional.

The bottom line is that it's important to be aware and diligent about your tax preparation and eventually filing your annual taxes.  

However, if you break it down into smaller tasks, and utilize tools that make tax calculation easy, the entire process won't be such a source of anxiety.


posted by Nick Venturella

Tune in on January 12, 2015 to hear one of my songs featured on Diva Taunia's Backstage Pass Radio Program.

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