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Many businesses still rely on email to communicate with their customers. Recent surveys show that 80% of marketers prefer email to social media.

Unfortunately, many marketers do not utilize email marketing best practices. As a result, they do not achieve their desired level of success.

These are the recommended ways to generate more profits with an email that many business owners ignore.

Split Email Campaigns

When you split your email campaigns into segments or groups, based on similar characteristics, you increase your chances of success. For instance, it is advisable to split your campaigns by certain demographics such as location, purchase history, age group, gender, or even industry.

By splitting your email campaigns, you can send customized content. Remember you want to deliver content that is relevant to your audience. This will increase conversions and engagement.

Personify the Content

No customer wants to be bombarded with impersonal and irrelevant email content daily. People like engaging with content that is directed at them.

Thus, by personalizing the email content, you create a connection and bring the human aspect to it. This results in more conversions, higher open rates, and better click-through rates. Make sure you use personalization tokens, such as the company name or customer name.

Although personalization is vital, you should not substitute it for relevancy.

Decide On Goals & Frequency

What goals do you want to achieve? Are you emailing quarterly? Monthly? Weekly?

The type of content you create should be based on the goals you want to achieve.

Avoid emailing your subscribers too frequently. This is because they will become annoyed and end up unsubscribing. Likewise, if you rarely email your subscribers, you will become invisible. The idea is to determine the right frequency for you and your customer.

Create Targeted Campaigns

After determining when you should be sending your email messages, you need to think about the content itself. Make sure you always pay attention to your goals.

1. Do you want to improve brand awareness?
2. Are you driving traffic to your offers or website?
3. Do you want to close a sale?

It is advisable to create different emails for all your goals. This will help you create more targeted email campaigns.

Track, Measure & Optimize

Many marketers track email engagement. However, this is not the only metric you should worry about. Depending on the email marketing platform you use, you can track other metrics such as open rates, links clicked, and even customers who have unsubscribed.

All the data is important as it helps you understand strategies that work and those that do not. Always review email analytics regularly and make necessary adjustments. In this way, you can improve results as you move forward.  

Create a Nice Layout

There is a need to pay attention to the visual component of your email campaign. This will ensure you deliver visually engaging content to your subscribers.

Avoid using an unorganized email design and over-stuffing it with content. Rather, make sure strategically place your content and utilize negative space. This will make it easier for users to navigate. Make use of bulleted lists, headlines, and short paragraphs.

Use Fonts Carefully

Many marketers like using lots of fonts in their email content. Unfortunately, this makes the email message look cluttered.

Remember the font used in the design platform might be different when the message is delivered to the customer’s inbox. As a result, the email might end up appearing completely different.

It is advisable to use one or two fonts in your email. Only use multiple fonts if they are easy to read and complement each other.

Use Responsive Designs

Over half of global traffic is derived from mobile phones. However, few marketers and business owners optimize emails for mobile devices.

Make sure you use responsive designs in your email marketing design. The responsive design automatically changes its format to match the size of the screen used to view it. Also, users can read emails effortlessly no matter the device they use.

Use Video

Many businesses use video in marketing campaigns for different reasons. Video content has been found to increase leads and conversions.

It is advisable to add videos to your email marketing campaigns. Other than using it to promote your product or brand, it can also increase conversions and improve customer engagement.

For instance, if you are selling a technical product, you can use video to demonstrate how the product works.

As a marketer, email is one of the most powerful tools you have. Use it well to grow your business, build relationships, and engage with your target audience. Make sure you engage in best practices.

If you implement these email marketing practices, you will be ahead of your competitors. Remember it is a powerful tool if you use it correctly.

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YouTube is the second most popular website behind Google. More than half of the internet users visit YouTube every day. Many people and brands are making a lot of revenue out of this platform. You can also build your channel and make money out of it.

Creating a YouTube channel is easier. If you have a Google account, you can automatically set up your YouTube account. However, if you are using the channel for business, then you should create a Brand account.

Before you start adding massive amounts of content to your website, you should first master YouTube SEO. You can also hire search engine optimization agencies to do the job for you.

In the same way, you would do keyword research, you also need to do it for your YouTube channel. Focus on high-value keywords and use them in your titles, video tags, and description.

After launching the content, you can check “Traffic Source” on the dashboard to discover the terms your customers search for.

Other important SEO ranking factors for YouTube include the number of comments, video length, subscribers, and click-through rate. Remember it will not be easy to rank on the first pages for competitive keywords.

After building your channel, you need to monetize it to get revenue.

YouTube Partner Program

Most channels make money through the YouTube Partner program. In this case, you earn money through ads that show when people watch your videos.

You need to give YouTube permission to run ads on your content. Also, you have the freedom to choose the type of ad placements.

Both you and YouTube will share the advertising amount. Ideally, YouTube takes 45% and you remain with 55%.

For instance, if an advertiser is charged $1 for an ad, YouTube will take $0.45 and you earn $0.55. Although this does not seem to be a lot of money, these numbers can easily add up if you are getting thousands of views per day.

Sell Courses and Tutorials

This is another great way to make money from YouTube. You can sell digital courses. Find information that offers value to people and share it with your followers. As a result, people will buy your course and tutorials.

There are many topics you can cover. Some of the popular topics include digital marketing, personal development, fitness, and health.

You can add your courses in video descriptions with a call to action. This will encourage viewers to take action and buy your courses.

However, you can only become successful in selling courses if you create practical, unique, and high-quality content. That is because none will be interested in buying a course with information that is readily available online.

Affiliate Marketing

As your YouTube channel keeps growing, you should not rely only on video advertisements for revenue generation. There are different monetization methods to consider like affiliate marketing.

After developing an affinity with your fans and followers, affiliate marketing is the best option to make money from YouTube. There are many companies out there that pay YouTube channels to promote their products.

If you have a large following, you can make a lot of money through affiliate marketing. Make sure you sign up with reputable affiliate programs. Also, deal only with affiliate programs related to your niche.

Seek Sponsorships

You can also partner with sponsors to make money on YouTube. As your viewership keeps growing, various brands can hire you to create videos for them. Top brands will pay you handsomely if you create quality videos.

If sponsorship is your main method to make money through your YouTube channel, then you need to focus on certain industries. This type of monetization strategy is effective. This form of advertising is similar to affiliate marketing.

You will be paid a fixed amount to promote sponsorship deals. The good thing about this method is that you determine the amount to charge. This will depend on several factors such as the quality of videos, the length of the video, and how much the vendor wants to pay.

Since this is sponsored content, you need to disclose the same on your YouTube channel.

Funding from Fans

This method will work for you if you have built a huge fan base. In this case, you ask them to crowdfund your YouTube channel to create new content.

The most popular crowdfunding platform is Patreon. This will make it easier for you to run crowdfunding campaigns. You can even enjoy both one-time and recurring donations.

This method is widely used by not-for-profit channels that seek funding to ensure their video operations continue running smoothly.

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The first step to starting an online business is to identify the niche. This is because you cannot serve all industries. When you focus on a niche, you can grow quickly and connect with advertisers. Also, you can have a plan for content creation and marketing.

A niche can be defined as a profitable segment of a market or industry. You can think of it as an audience that is searching for a solution.

These are five proven ways to find profitable online niches.

Follow Your Passion

What are you passionate about? If you are passionate about something, you will easily identify a profitable niche within it.

A hobby or pastime activity can give you an escape. If you enjoy doing something, why not look for a way to make money out of it.

You should note that passion is necessary to achieving success. Think of passion as the point where enjoyment and interest meet.

For instance, if you enjoy playing tennis, you can decide to set up a tennis blog. Through the blog, you can share your tips, news of tournaments, and even recommend tennis equipment.

Determine Market Value

Before you choose any given niche, you need to have an idea about its value. This helps you make the right decision whether to pursue it or not. By gathering data, you can have confidence that your niche will keep growing in value.

Another way of determining the potential of a given niche is to look at the demand for the products. For instance, if you want to promote affiliate products, you should look at the percentage of affiliate commissions.

The idea here is not about choosing the most profitable niche but finding an evergreen niche. Have a snippet view of what your business will look like in 5 years. Will customers still be looking for your products or services?

Analyze Your Competition

Competition is not bad, on the contrary, it is good. The fact that there are many competitors in a given niche, is a sign that the given niche is profitable.

Make sure you carry out a thorough analysis of your competitors. There are many online tools to help you carry out the competitor analysis.

After analyzing the competition, you should check whether you have an opportunity. Is it possible to rank some of the keywords?

Look at the content quality of the competing sites. If it is low, you can beat them by creating high-quality content that meets the needs of your target audience.

Look for keywords with high search volume but with little competition. In such a case, you have an opportunity to upset the competition.

During your competitor analysis, you should focus on keywords. If you use the wrong keywords, you are likely to fail. There are different keyword research tools to help you.

Remember you cannot refine your competitors if you do not know your competitors.

Study Industry Trends

Before you jump into any given niche, make sure you analyze trends. There are many free tools to help you online.

When analyzing trends, make sure you pay attention to the stability of your niche. Trends will reveal whether your niche is seasonal or not.

If you are looking for stable income throughout the year, you should avoid seasonal niches. For instance, a niche like gardening is seasonal no matter your location. There is nothing wrong with this niche, only people are interested in gardening equipment and information in certain months.

You can still go on with the niche if you are not concerned with seasonal fluctuations. However, you need to be prepared for it.

Test the Market

After getting all the information you need regarding a given niche, you need to test it out. The best thing to do is create a landing page for your product. Try to drive traffic to the landing page with PPC ads.

If you do not get sales, the niche might not be right for you. However, this does not mean your niche is not viable. Maybe your messaging has not been done right. It is advisable to leverage A/B split testing methods and optimize your conversions.

By testing your niche, you will discover factors hindering your progress. After confirming the viability of your niche, you should start building a full-fledged website.

Always remember that there is no perfect process of finding a profitable niche. There is a need to do your homework well and take action.

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Are you planning to start an online business? You are not alone, many people do. However, most potential online entrepreneurs are overwhelmed by huge amounts of information, negative energy, and research.

Do you know you can build an online business from scratch in 30 days? Well, you can. Starting from day 1 to day 30, you can plan out what should be done each day.

This is the proven plan to follow to build your online business in a month.

Find an Idea – Day 1 to 3

You need a pen, notebook and your computer for this task. Start by writing down the resources and skills you have and where you can get some education.

At this stage, there are no wrong answers. However, you should choose the best that seems great for you.

Remember every business has its associated risks. What are these risks? Write down potential risk factors.

It is advisable to think about how you can turn your passion into a money-making opportunity. Do you have the knowledge you can share with others?

Think of a problem many people face and how you can offer solutions. If you can offer solutions and generate income, you have got an idea.

Validate Your Idea – Day 4 to 6

If you are not sure how to validate a business idea, you can use the free business idea validation checklist available online. Validating an idea does not have to be resource-intensive and time-consuming. Rather, you can keep it simple.

Remember the role of a business is to solve a problem. You should not overthink this – understand the problem and offer customer service or product at a fee.

You should also pay attention to the target market. Analyze the characteristics of your target market. In this case, you should do some minimal market research to estimate the number of customers you are targeting.

Analyze the Numbers – Day 7 to 9

There is a need to do financial feasibility for your business. The process is simple and straightforward. You need to have a financial picture of your business.

From your market research data, you can develop a sales forecast. Also, you need to estimate the startup costs. For instance, how much will you pay for content, website design, and marketing?

You need to create a spreadsheet of monthly costs. Brainstorm on how to reduce these expenses without negatively affecting your business.

Seek Funding – Day 10 to 12

After determining the amount of money you need to start your business, you should seek funding. Look at the different funding options available to you.

It is advisable to start with your own available funds. You can also contact local banks to fund your business.

If funding is limited, you can start low-cost online businesses, such as blogging and affiliate marketing. Such businesses are low-risk and low-cost.

Create a Business Plan – Day 13 to 15

You need to write your business plan. Studies have shown that businesses with a plan grow faster. Also, if you need funding from a lender, a business plan is a requirement.

There are many templates online that you can use to write your business plan.

If you are entering into a partnership, you need to include their details and roles in the business plan. Also, if you will hire employees to help you manage the business, make sure you include their compensation and roles in the plan.

Develop Your Website – Day 16 to 18

You need to create your website. Depending on the content management system, it might take you a few days to complete.

Make sure your website is easy to navigate and responsive. Sometimes you might need to hire a website designer to help you.

Create Content and Optimize It – Day 19 to 21

Content is the product you offer to website visitors. Make sure you have a content plan in place. Start creating content based on your target keywords.

Content includes articles, infographics, videos, and images. If your online business needs massive amounts of content, consider hiring freelancers to help you.

Build Social Media Presence – Day 22 to 24

Nearly every business has a social media presence. You also need to claim your social media spot for your business.

For the start, you should focus on three main social media networks: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Depending on the nature of the business, you should consider also marketing on Pinterest and Instagram.

Track Your Goals – Day 25 to 27

Remember you have objectives you want to accomplish with your online business. It is time you put in place measures to track your goals.

There are many analytical tools that can help you accomplish this.

Plan Ahead – Day 28 to 30

There is a need to have a future plan for your online business. Make sure you review your past performance to inform you what you need to do in the future.

As your business keeps growing, you might need to make adjustments to your business model and operations.

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Social media marketing offers a huge potential to businesses when it is done right. It can help you grow your brand, improve your revenue, and grow your customer base.

However, if you are making certain social media mistakes, then your efforts can be futile. These are the 12 social media mistakes to avoid.

Dismissing Social Media Marketing

Some marketers believe social media is not effective for their industry or demographic. This is attributed to the misconception that social media is only for tech-savvy teenagers. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

Social media is now being used by all classes of people. If you have an effective social media marketing strategy, you can beat your competition hands down.

Not Having a Plan

No matter what you are doing, without a plan, you are likely to fail. This is also the case with social media marketing. Many marketers fall into this trap.

You need to approach social media the same way you do planning for other product promotional campaigns. Make sure there are specific goals, a budget, and a solid plan. The plan will outline what you want to achieve.

Failure to Network

Social media is not only about sharing posts. Having thousands of followers who are not your target market will have no impact on your results.

Instead, you should attract and engage people who have the same interests and views as yours. This will help you build and expand your network. In this way, you can increase the exposure of your content to millions of people.

Opening Too Many Accounts

Many marketers make the mistake of opening too many accounts on every social media network. Managing these accounts requires a lot of resources. It stretches the marketing budget and produces little results.

If you have a small budget, you should focus on the top social media platforms, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. It is advisable to allocate more resources to the social network with promising results.

Using Irrelevant Hashtags

Before you use hashtags, make sure they are relevant to your brand. Using hashtags will increase the exposure of your content. However, you should only use hashtags your audience is following.

When creating content, make sure you research hashtags. This will ensure the content you produce is relevant.

Being Too Promotional

Customers are easily turned off by overly promotional marketing campaigns. Although you need to highlight your services and products, you should find a balance between value and promotional content.

It is advisable to build online relationships with your audience. As a result, you will engage them more.

Using Low-Quality Visuals

Studies have shown that customers move past social media posts with low-quality images or videos. Remember you have a few seconds to catch the attention of the target audience. Thus, you cannot afford to post bad visuals.

Graphics, images, and videos ought to be part of your strategy. Consider hiring an expert who specializes in creating visual content.

Not Responding to Customers

Recent studies have shown that customers are likely to buy your products if you respond to their questions on social media. Also, you are likely to build loyalty and some customers can share their positive experiences on their profiles.

You should make it imperative to respond to questions faster. As you know, customers are naturally impatient. If you delay answering them, they can lose confidence in your brand. You can use social monitoring tools to know when people have asked questions about your brand.

Not Tracking Your Performance

The good thing about social media marketing is that you can track your performance. When you track your results, you can make appropriate strategic changes in your target audience and campaigns.

For instance, if there is a non-performing ad, you can stop it. This will save you the money you can spend on other performing ads.

Remember it takes time and a lot of testing to get the desired results. Therefore, keep tracking and optimizing your social media campaigns.

Treating All Social Media Networks as Same

This is another social media marketing mistake to avoid. A lot of businesses post the same content on all their social platforms. Ideally, they copy-paste the same content.

Each social media network is unique in several ways. Also, they vary in terms of marketing tools, features, behaviors, interests, and demographics. You should take into account your marketing strategies and updates for social media networks.

Buying Followers

Buying social media followers is not even a mistake, it is a sin. Many brands have been caught buying followers or participating in exchange programs. Unfortunately, this does not bring any meaningful results. It only soothes the brand’s ego. Some brands have been banned forever for engaging in this activity. 

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When starting an online business, there are certain steps you should follow to achieve success. There is a need to do due diligence the same way you would for a brick-and-mortar business.

The internet gives everyone an opportunity. It is easier to start an online business than an offline business. However, this does not mean you simply jump in and invest your money.

The following are 9 steps to follow when starting an online business.

Find a Business Idea

This might seem too obvious. However, studies have revealed that many potential entrepreneurs skip this step. They start with website creation and branding without having a solid business idea.

These are some questions you should ask yourself when coming up with a business idea:

Is there a need for this product or service?

What is your motivation behind this?

What problem does your business solve?

Can you leverage your strengths in this business?

These questions will help you determine whether your business will be successful. Remember you are on a mission and you need passion to push you forward.

Determine Market Viability

You need to have a solid understanding of your target market. Start by thinking about the people you serve and the value you offer.

If you are part of the target audience, then it can be easier for you.

For instance, if you have been hiking, you understand the challenges, desires, and problems you face. It would be easier for you to sell hiking products online. Also, you can easily communicate with other hikers.

Create a Business Plan

After determining the business idea and market gap, you should start developing a business plan. The business plan will help you seek funding and forecast your financials. You might need to revisit and revise it as your business grows.

A business plan will help you spot potential challenges down the road. In addition, it will help you plan for profitability and future growth.

An effective plan helps you clarify your objectives, identify the market gap, and in making decisions. It can mean the difference between a successful business and failure.

Build Your Website

Now you need to build your business website. Your website design does not have to be completed. Instead, make it simple and easy to navigate.

The website is your first point of contact with the customer. Therefore, it needs to grab the attention of the visitor. Avoid using too many graphics, videos, and audio. Use them only when it is necessary.

You can also hire website design and development companies. Outsourcing website creation has its share of benefits.

Make sure you write a copy that sells. High-quality content helps you build authority.

Analyze Your Competition

No matter your niche, you are not alone. Even if your product is unique, there are substitute products that can serve the same purpose.

Competitive analysis is important as it helps you to know your competitors and the strategies they use. Also, you can identify resources available at your disposal.

Drive Traffic

There are many ways you can drive traffic to your brand-new website. For instance, you can invest in PPC advertising.

PPC ads are instant and you can test multiple keywords, prices, selling approaches, and headlines. Other than getting immediate traffic, you can discover best performing keywords. You can then use these keywords in your website copy. This will boost your rankings in search engine results.

In the long term, you should invest in search engine optimization. This will help your site rank higher in search engine results organically.

You can also drive traffic from social media networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Build Authority

People search for information online. If you can provide the information for free, you will acquire more traffic and boost your search engine rankings.

The idea here is to create high-quality content and build backlinks. Create videos, articles, and infographics that your visitors find useful. You can then share this content on social media pages and article directories.

Ideally, you need to become an expert in your niche.

Invest in Email Marketing

During website creation, you need to build an opt-in list. The list is an important asset for your online business. This is because it permits you to send emails and newsletters to your subscribers and customers.

With email marketing, you can develop lifetime relationships with customers and offer them whatever they need. Also, you can easily measure the performance of your email marketing efforts.

Unlike other marketing methods, email marketing is cheaper.

Try Upselling

Upselling is an important online marketing strategy that can improve your revenue. Use it to encourage your customers to buy from you again.

Make sure you offer products or services that complement their purchase. Another option is to offer related products and send coupons periodically.

When you reward your loyal customers, you are likely to keep them for a lifetime.

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As an online entrepreneur, failure is inevitable. You should note that failure is part of life, and this includes online business failure. However, the way you deal with it determines whether you succeed or not.

Many people fail to start their online businesses because of fear of failure. These are six ways to overcome the fear of failure in online business.

Prepare to Succeed

Before you even start your online business, you need to prepare to succeed. This means you first learn how to do your business. Well, you know how to fail. Ideally, you can fail by not doing anything or doing stupid things.

Therefore, you need to find exactly what should be done to be successful. Acquiring knowledge will ensure you achieve success.

For instance, you need to know people who will buy your products and services. Make sure you offer a price and quality that is competitive enough to encourage people to purchase it.

Make sure you have a business plan. This will help fill in your knowledge gaps and provide you with steps you will follow. Think of your business plan as a blueprint for success.

Change Your Attitude

You need to figure out what scares you from starting an online business. Many people are terrified by fear because it makes one feel bad and you can end up losing your investment.

The truth is fear cannot change your personality. Therefore, even if you fail, you do not become a bad person. Failure will affect your actions negatively.

It does not matter what others say about you. You cannot control their actions or thoughts. Hence, there is no need of losing sleep over them.

Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

Every niche has a group of companies and individuals that get to the top. You should make it a habit of learning from their approaches and then emulate them.

It is advisable to study the failures and successes of entrepreneurs, no matter the industry or business they are in. However, you need to be careful not to compare yourself to others.

Remember you are on a mission to build a unique online business. Then, you should stick to your uniqueness. Respect the performance of other online entrepreneurs but do not envy them. You can never be the other people. Do things your way and you will achieve success.

Just Keep Going

You can also overcome the fear of failure by taking action. When fears, negative thoughts, and doubts fill your mind, you should stay focused on the right actions to take.

Fear is common when doing things for the first time. That is because when you are doing something new, you are leaving your comfort zone and getting into the unknown. Instead of retreating to the comfort zone, embrace fear and keep going.

There is a need to face fear head-on and keep on taking action. As a result, your comfort zone will expand and your fear will subside.

As an entrepreneur, you should use fear to fuel your motivation. It can be fear of mediocrity, fear of rejection, and fear of failure.

Focus On Solutions Not Problems

Remember your business exists to provide services or products that solve problems people have. If you want to succeed, then you should know how to embrace problems. This does not mean you focus on problems. Instead, you should focus on solutions.

Consider problems as opportunities to come up with solutions. If employees complain about a given challenge, an opportunity might be existing there. As more problems bile up, more opportunities become available.

Education and Research

As you know, knowledge is power. You can eliminate or minimize risks by utilizing the experience and expertise of others. Before starting a business, you should educate yourself on different topics.

Learn expert tips and common mistakes you should avoid. Get to know the commonly overlooked business challenges.

During your research, you will discover that many entrepreneurs have faced fear before and they have overcome it. You should also learn the methods they used to overcome fear.

There are many online resources where you can learn some business knowledge to help you overcome obstacles. If you know of a successful entrepreneur, you should seek advice from him or her. Also, you can discuss challenges and brainstorm ideas together.

You can also seek a business mentor who can help you overcome fear. Consider joining networking groups with other online entrepreneurs. These are people who face the same challenges and fears as you.

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