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A Fast Way to Discover Who Your Target Customer Is

December 16, 2022 /

a fast way to discover who your target customer isNeed a fast way to discover your target customer? Well all you have to do is simply read your top competitors’ reviews.

Here you will see a name and sometimes a photo, and this will help you determine age and gender.

Then they will also typically have their country and maybe even their city. Again, these are all key demographics.

If you actually read the reviews, you will learn more as well. Maybe who they were buying the item for, or what they planned to use it for.

Then you can determine things like, maybe they have a lot of men buying this as a gift for their wife, or a lot of professionals are using the product as opposed to the end user.

You may even learn where the customer discovered the brand in the first place i.e. I saw this on Instagram and had to buy. 

Visit my Etsy store.

Read more of my blog.

©2022 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. A Fast Way to Discover Who Your Target Customer Is

An Easy Way to Measure Online Ad Success

December 7, 2022 /

Need an easy way to measure online ad success?easy way to measure online ad success

When you run online ads – whether it is on Google, a blog or social media – here is a quick way to see if your ads are working.

One key metric you will get is AD IMPRESSIONS / REACH. This is the number of times your ad appeared to potential customers. If your ad impressions (or reach) for your ad campaign is not at least 10,000, I’m not sure you are going to make any sales. Here is why:

If we take the benchmark 1% rule, this means that 1% of ad impressions should turn into clicks, and 1% of clicks should turn into sales.

Therefore, 1% of 10,000 ad impressions means you should get at very least 100 clicks. Of those 100 clicks, again, at very least 1% should turn into orders. 1% of 100 clicks is 1 order.

Therefore, at a bare minimum, 10,000 ad impressions will lead to 1 order. But this is just a benchmark and obviously will vary depending on the product, ad creative, etc.

If your ad creative is very effective, causing your click through rate to be more like 5% of ad impressions, then this means those 10,000 ad impressions will turn into 500 clicks. Then, maybe if your sales conversion rate is also very good at 5%, then this means those 500 clicks will turn into 25 orders.

So, if you only got the basic 1% conversion, and let’s say you were paying .20 cents a click, this means you spent $20 to get 1 order. If the order is for $200, that’s great, but not so great if it is only for $25.

However, if you had the 5% conversion rate, and paying .20 cents a click, this means you spent $100 to get 25 orders. Even if each order is only $15 ($375 total order), this is a fairly good return.

FINAL THOUGHT: If you are not getting at least 10,000 ad impressions, you either need to increase your ad budget and/or change your keywords. If your clickthrough rate on ad impressions is 1% or less, you have to change the ad creative and/or the demographics of who is seeing it.

Be sure to also read: My Simple Tip for More Cost-Effective Ads. If you need to understand and improve your ad strategy, be sure to set up a 1:1 Phone Consultation with me.

By the way, I was quoted in an article in US News & World Report last week, called Low Cost Home Based Business Ideas, if you wish to check it out.

 

 

 

©2022 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. An Easy Way to Measure Online Ad Success

Try This Engaging Social Media Idea for December

November 30, 2022 /

If you want to engage your followers in December, try this engaging social media idea.engaging social media idea December

The key is to post timely content, and in this case, this would be year-end wrap-up lists. Then you ask followers to add their choices to the comments section.

These wrap up lists tend to be pop culture focused such as:

  • Our Picks for Top 5 Movies of 2022
  • Our Picks for Top 5 Books of 2022
  • Our Picks for Top 5 Songs of 2022

But you can tailor it to your industry. If you’re in the beauty biz, for example:

  • Our Picks for Top 5 Beauty Trends of 2022.
  • Our Picks for Top 5 Nail Trends of 2022.
  • Our Picks for Top 5 Hair Color Trends of 2022.

It also gives your brand/business an opportunity to establish some sort of authority in your industry.

For more inspiration, read my posts, What to Post to Social Media in December and 5 Etsy Shop Marketing Tips for December.

Also, be sure to download my 365 Social Media Post Ideas, newly updated for 2023!

©2022 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Engaging Social Media Idea for December

All New Small Business Ideas for 2023

November 9, 2022 /

One of my most popular posts this year was 54 Creative Small Business Ideas for 2022.

Well I just updated it with some new small business ideas for 2023:

Home Grown Flowers – Did you know that flowers were impacted by the supply chain? So, buy yourself an affordable green house on Amazon and grow flowers for people to purchase for weddings, Mother’s Day, even poinsettias for Christmas. This makes a great seasonal side hustle; it does not have to be full-time.

Upsized House Plans (or Homes) for Boomers – Believe it or not, more baby boomers are upsizing their homes rather than downsizing. They want more space in their golden years to accommodate live-in elderly parents as well as out-of-town children and grandchildren who come to visit. As a result, the type of house has changed whereby they require two to three bedrooms with their own ensuite bath, wheel chair accessibility, and single level with a first floor owner’s suite.

Pop-up Store Liaison – A lot of commercial retail property is sitting empty after COVID, so it would help if there was someone who acted as a liaison between small businesses who wanted a short-term popup retail presence (just for a weekend, week or month) and the lessor, owner or realtor for the property. You make your money by getting a piece of the commission.

Spiritual Awakening Trip Planner – People are really investing in their mental health, so they like to seek guidance in far off exotic places that have a tradition of helping with spiritual healing, such as Varanasi, Machu Picchu, Kyoto, Bali, and Jerusalem. A great business idea is to be a travel planner specializing in these types of excursions, especially targeting single people travelling on their own.

Home Energy Expert – With energy costs at a record high, people want to find ways to save on their energy bills as much as possible. A service whereby you can come in and evaluate a home (or actually do the work) and provide ways for the home owner to better insulate and cut costs is invaluable, not to mention it can also qualify the home owner for various government rebates.

Wellness Coach – You’ve heard of a Life Coach, but a Wellness Coach focuses purely on your physical and mental health choices. People know they have to take better care of their health, but rarely make the time. A wellness coach gives you a plan and makes sure you stay on course.

Sleep Expert – It is believed that between 30% and 48% of older adults suffer from insomnia. It is becoming a serious health issue with many people seeking relief, so a sleep expert who could help solve their problem would be a service worth paying for.

Want to start your own business in 2023? Set up a phone consultation and I can advise on some ideas that would be right for you as well as how to get started. You can also download my Starting a New Business Planner.

©2022 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. New Small Business Ideas for 2023

How Top News Stories Can Mean Free Publicity for Your Business

October 25, 2022 /

It really is not that difficult to get free publicity for your business. One tip I always give clients is to stay on top of current news stories, so you can find ways to add your business to the story.

SAMPLE PITCH #1

For example, if you sell online or retail, there is a lot in the news right now about inflation and people cutting back on holiday spending. So reach out to a business writer and ask if you can contribute your findings to any editorial they might be writing.

For example, “Jane Doe from XYZ Company, who sells their dog products online, has noticed that their holiday sales are on par with last year, but people are just buying earlier”.

sample pitch #2

You can do this with any type of business. If you’re selling real estate, you could ask to comment on a potential story idea such as:

“Mary Smith from MS Realty sees pent-up demand from the pandemic continuing to fuel sales despite higher interest rates and inflation on the rise.”

sample pitch #3

If you’re a travel agent, for example:

“Steve Johnson from AMC Travel offers these tips to cost-effectively avoid the Thanksgiving travel rush.”

Therefore, a take a look at today’s new headlines and see if there is any way to fit in the story.

For more inspiration, read my posts, Easy Way to Get Year End Publicity for Your Business and 9 Publicity Ideas for Your Small Biz.

my pr pitch service

If you need help coming up with a pitch for a relevant news story, my Publicity Pitch service has gotten my clients featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.

About Me

Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust! Be sure to read an article on Yahoo I was recently quoted in: “4 Businesses to Start in the Fall🍂”.

 

 

 

©2022 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Free Publicity for Your Business

What is Your Sales Channel Strategy?

October 4, 2022 /

sales channel salesDo you have a sales channel strategy for your business?

A sales channel is basically any place you sell your products and/or services. Not market, but physically sell.

It can be a store front or commercial space, an online marketplace, your website, your blog, your social media sites, through sales reps, in-person sales and so forth.

Why YOU NEED MORE THAN ONE CHANNEL

You do not want to put all of your eggs in one basket when it comes to your business. For example, for several years I was selling on a site called Selz.com. It wasn’t my only sales channel, but I did well on it. About a year and half ago, they were purchased by Amazon, who then decided a year later to just fold the company. So I was given two months notice that I was going to unexpectedly lose a sales channel.

If I had only been selling on Selz.com, I would have been in trouble.

It’s sort of the same philosophy as having more than one job or owning more than one company. Multiple revenue streams are important because if one gets shut down, for any reason, your business does not go down with it.

Not All Sales Channels Are Equal

In addition to having multiple sales channels, it is also important to evaluate them from time to time to see which ones are effective, which ones are not doing well and need improvement, and which ones may just be costing you too much money in terms of fees and other issues.

This is why I came up with a Sales Channel Audit and Strategy Plan. You can get so busy, that you don’t stop to take the time to see where your money is going, and it might be going out the window on high fees. So, it is important to look at your sales performance on every channel, and what you are actually profiting.

I am not saying to dump channels with high fees, but you may want to redirect the traffic you are sending to the most profitable ones. Traffic from your publicity, social media, ads and so forth, should go to the sites that are giving you the most bang for your buck.

Do you know all of the places you can sell online? In case you don’t, I have a post called, 90+ Online Selling Sites and Marketplaces that you might want to read.

Sales Channel Strategy

Click to download

So, take a few hours and make sure your sales channel strategy is making you the most money possible, with my Sales Channel Audit.

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About Me

Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust! Be sure to read an article on Yahoo I was recently quoted in: “4 Businesses to Start in the Fall 🍂”.

My Publicity Pitch service has also gotten my clients featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.

 

 

 

©2022 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Sales channel strategy. 

Why Your Business Should Set Up Google Alerts

September 20, 2022 /

In my 12-Month Marketing Plans, one thing I always recommend is that you set up free Google Alerts.

What this means is you give Google certain keywords that you wish to be alerted for, so when a blog post, magazine article or news report shows up with those keywords in it, they send you an email letting you know.

For example, let’s say you are a Boston seafood restaurant. You can set up Google alerts for: Boston, Boston restaurants, Boston seafood restaurants and your restaurant name.

If you sell fashion jewelry on Amazon, maybe you want to set up alerts for: fashion, jewelry, jewelry trends, fall jewelry, Amazon, ecommence, gifts and even a competitor’s name.

How Google Alerts Can Help
  1. It’s a great way to create a media contact list by noting writer’s names and publications that write about your line of business.
  2. You can comment on these articles, which means your business name will now be seen by their readers. Most comment sections also allow you to add your business url, so it counts as a backlink, which helps your SEO.
  3. You can see the types of articles writers like to write about in your field, and this helps when pitching a story about your business.
  4. You can stay on top of key trends in your market and industry.
  5. You get ideas of what to write for your own business blog.

So set them up today using the link I gave above. Again, they are free.

More Articles
About Me

Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust! Be sure to read an article on Yahoo I was recently quoted in: “4 Businesses to Start in the Fall 🍂”.

My Publicity Pitch service has also gotten my clients featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.

 

 

 

©2022 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Google Alerts Set Up. 

Best Online Side Hustles for Teachers

August 17, 2022 /


best side hustles for teachers passive income side job onlineAre you a teacher looking to make more money in your spare time? One of the best side hustles is to sell Study Guides as digital downloads.

You could also sell lesson plans, practice tests, and other educational materials as long as they are your own original content.

For example, there are two shops on Etsy making thousands of dollars a month selling their study notes from nursing college: Nurse in the Making and  RNExplained.

Their study note products range in price anywhere from $50 to over $200, and they are getting it!

What seems to be resonating with buyers is the realistic handwritten, note-like layout that they use. Being a teacher, I’m sure you have study notes like this.

Keep reading and I’ll tell you what and how to sell them, but here are some ways to package them:

Educational Downloads for Teachers to Sell

Click to download on Etsy

Below are some of the most searched educational materials:

  • Study Notes for Students in Teacher’s College 
  • Home Schooling Lesson Plans
  • Preschool Lesson Plans  
  • Math Practice Tests for GED
  • Math Games
  • Math Activities for Preschoolers
  • Middle School Math Worksheets
  • Elementary School English Worksheets
  • High School Classroom PowerPoint Slides
  • High School Art Curriculum
  • Essay Writing Worksheets

→ By the way teachers, check out my downloads for your classroom at OurBestLaidPlans.

Educational Products That Are Trending

Nursing Study Notes on Etsy

You can also look at Google Trends to see the type of educational materials people are looking for. For example, this past week these were top searches, and all of these could be How-To Guides you could quickly draw up:

  • How to Teach Phonics?

  • How to Teach Reading Comprehension?

  • How to Teach Sight Words?

  • How to Teach Phonemic Awareness?

  • How to Teach Prosody in Reading?

How and Where to Sell

If you wish to sell your study notes and lesson plans digitally all you have to do is scan your notes and turn them into a PDF for customers to download, and then sell on:

  • Etsy 
  • Gumroad
  • Teachers Pay Teachers

Click to download on Etsy

If you also wish to sell them in printed form, you can do this through a print fulfilment company like Printify, where they will handle everything, even the shipping. But you still need a storefront like Etsy or Gumroad.

If you have no idea how to start your side hustle, I highly recommend downloading my best-selling  How to Start a Small Business Planner.

It will help you easily get your business quickly up and running with step-by-step planning pages and checklists with everything you need to do. It even includes a hyperlinked list of print fulfillment companies and an Etsy set up checklist saving you valuable time.

The possibilities are endless, and you likely already have the materials. If you have certain knowledge, study or learning tips that work, why not sell them!

Decorate Your Classroom with Printables!

Check out my downloads below for your classroom at OurBestLaidPlans.

Click to download on Etsy

About Me

etsy success tips

Click to download on Etsy

With 20+ years in marketing, my advice has appeared in publications from the New York Times to Success Magazine. My blog was chosen by AmericanExpress Open Forum (the people behind Small Business Saturday) as one of their “Top 10 Small Business Blogs“. I am also a contributor at Business2Community.com and a Small Business Expert at SheKnows.com, the #1 Women’s Lifestyle website.

©2024 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

Easy Ways to Improve Your Small Business SEO

August 15, 2022 /

small business seoAre you looking for ways to improve your small business SEO? Search is still the number one traffic generator for most small businesses, so your SEO strategy should be your first priority.

Small Business SEO Ideas

I have talked many times about how important it is to optimize for search phrases that use prepositions, pronouns, and determiners such as “with” “that” and “for” as this is how people search for products and services.

Product Business SEO Ideas

Let’s say that you sell backpacks. Then you go to Google autocomplete, type in “backpacks with……” and repeat for “for” and “that”. For most product searches, “best” is a popular adjective that you might want to include as well. These are the actual Google searches that fill down:

“With” Searches

  • Backpack with wheels
  • Backpack with laptop compartment
  • Backpack with water bottle pocket
  • Backpack with lunch bag
  • Backpack with shoe compartment

“Best” and “For” Searches

  • Best backpack for travel
  • Best backpack for business travel
  • Best backpack for kindergarten
  • Best backpack for college

“That” Searches

  • Backpacks that open like a suitcase
  • Backpacks that fit in overhead
  • Backpacks that open from the back
  • Backpacks that fit a 16 inch laptop

Not only does this help you see how people are searching, but also what they are searching, which is also ideal for gathering new product ideas.

Service Business SEO Ideas

What if you are selling services as opposed to products. A lot of these same keywords can be used to find the top searches for what you are offering. For example:

“For” Searches

  • Catering service for birthday party
  • Catering service for office
  • Catering service for wedding
  • Catering service for 15 people

“With” Searches

  • Catering service with venue
  • Catering service with price list
  • Catering service with servers

Professional Business SEO Ideas

The same can be said for professionals. “Best” is always popular, along with “who“. For local professionals, “near me” is always a go-to search phrase. i.e. Plumber Near Me (be sure to read this post of mine, “Try This Trick to Find a Local Business Idea“.

“Best” and “For” Searches

  • Best realtor for selling land
  • Best realtor for rentals
  • Best realtor for bad credit

“Who” Searches

  • Realtors who help find rentals
  • Realtors who sell mobile homes
  • Realtors who specialize in investment properties

So if you want to improve your SEO, try to find popular search phrases using these words. Be sure to visit my Shopify stores for a wide variety of my business & marketing downloads.

About Me

Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.small business seo

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust! Be sure to read an article on Yahoo I was recently quoted in: “4 Businesses to Start in the Fall 🍂”.

My Publicity Pitch service has also gotten my clients featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.

More SEO Articles

 

 

 

© Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Small Business SEO

Halloween Marketing Ideas

August 7, 2022 /

halloween marketing ideasLooking for some Halloween marketing ideas?

As I mentioned in my post, Your August Marketing To Do List, Halloween has become the second biggest retail buying occasion. Last year, spending on costumes, decorating and other Halloween items was more than US$10 billion.

Therefore, I thought I would come up with some creative Ideas for all types of small businesses.

Restaurant & Coffee Shop Halloween Marketing Ideas
  • If you own a coffee shop or restaurant, offer a Halloween theme drink (or entire dining experience) for the entire month. A good example is how Starbucks and Disney World offer Halloween menu items every October.
  • If you own a Mexican restaurant, considering offering a Day of the Dead (or Día de Muertos or Día de los Muertos) special dinner, even encouraging guests to dress up for it (even though it will fall after Halloween this year on November 2nd). It can become an annual event.
  • Work with local attractions that offer “ghost walks” to offer a dining and ghost walk experience package, particularly to guests staying at local hotels.
Retail & Ecommerce Halloween Marketing Ideas
  • halloween marketing ideasIf you own a retail store, decorate your store windows for Halloween, much like people do for Christmas. For your online store, add Halloween banners, categories and shop sections. Give the shop section a cool name like, “Halloween Haven”, the way Grandin Road does.
  • Offer your regular products in Halloween colors, scents and flavours, like Bath and Bodyworks does with their Perfect Pumpkin Hand Soap, so it becomes part of your Halloween decor.
  • Turn your store shopping bags into a limited number of keepsake Halloween bags that kids can take Trick or Treating, with free advertising for you year after year.
Travel Agency Halloween Marketing Ideas
  • If you’re a travel agency, consider offering Halloween weekend experiences, such as to cities with amusement parks that are holding scare events, or even far away ones, like Dracula’s Halloween Party in Romania (Transylvania).halloween marketing ideas
Beauty Business Halloween Marketing Ideas
  • Halloween makeup is one of the top Google searches every October, so if you sell cosmetics, create a DIY Halloween Makeup Kit to sell.
  • If you own a beauty salon, offer Halloween makeup services and/or classes for additional revenue during October.
Bakery Business Marketing Ideas

Create a DIY Halloween Cookie Decorating Kit (one of the top searches last year) and/or a DIY Haunted House Decorating Kit (like a gingerbread house).

New Halloween Traditions

Traditions normally associated with Christmas, have now carried over to Halloween, including Halloween advent calendars, Halloween count downs, Halloween wreaths, Halloween stockings, ugly Halloween sweaters, Halloween gnomes and family Halloween pajamas. In fact, searches for Halloween pajamas are up over 350%. These new products pose new opportunities for you.

Other Halloween Business Ideashalloween marketing ideas

A great business idea is a service that decorates houses, businesses, store windows and parties for Halloween. The supplies are your property that you put up, take down and store throughout the year.

About Me

Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust! Be sure to read an article on Yahoo I was recently quote in: “4 Businesses to Start in the Fall 🍂”.

My Publicity Pitch service has also gotten my clients featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.

I also have a wide variety of business & marketing downloads you can check out at my Shopify store.

More Fall Theme Posts

 

 

 

© 2022 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Halloween Marketing Ideas. 

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