A lot of businesses are thinking two thoughts right now. “Times are tough, so we need to make sales!” “Times are tough, so we can’t afford to do marketing!” Both thoughts make sense – but they’re contradictory. No marketing, no sales Sales is the most important activity of any business, especially during a downturn. But what [...]
I recently had a marketing strategy session with Leanne, a fitness professional who lives in London. Like many people, Leanne was worried. Due to the COVID crisis, her gym has closed for the foreseeable future, which means her income has disappeared. (Leanne is a real person, but I’ve changed her name to protect her privacy.) So [...]
“How many blogs will it take before we get a return on investment?” This is a question I often get asked by potential clients. And I always give the same answer: “I’ve got no bloody idea.” It’s a bit like asking a personal trainer: “How many push-ups will I need to do before I get fit?” [...]
I recently sent an introductory email to a potential client … and learned a valuable marketing lesson in the process. This person’s email system sent me an auto-reply that was stuffed full of marketing about his business, including links to: A report A podcast A video An ebook By setting up the auto-reply, this person had [...]
There are two big mistakes that small businesses make with content marketing, as I explained during my appearance on the Business Insights radio program, hosted by Mario Bekes. The biggest mistake is that they don’t do it – perhaps because it’s too hard or they don’t have the time. The problem with that attitude is that [...]
There is no excuse for small businesses not to do content marketing. Don’t have money to do content marketing? Well, publishing videos, blogs and social media posts is free. Don’t have time to do content marketing? Well, you can dump the work on a content marketing agency, like Hunter & Scribe. The problem with making excuses [...]
Want to use content marketing to stand out in a crowded market? The key is to keep getting in front of people day after day after day, and to provide helpful, relevant information each time. Wait – how could something so simple help you stand out? Two reasons. First, few if any of your rivals would [...]
When I talk to small businesses about doing content marketing with my agency, Hunter & Scribe, they generally raise one big issue. It's cost (Surprise!). The way I try to get them to think, though, is to see marketing not as a cost, but as an investment in their future profits. Because if you do marketing [...]
Here’s a really clever content marketing idea for your small business. Make a list of the five most common questions you get asked by your customers, and then write five ebooks that answer those five questions. That way, whenever you get asked one of those five FAQs, you can send the ebook in reply. Imagine you [...]
Take action with your content marketing. Just take action. A single imperfect blog, video, infographic or social media post that you do publish is better than a million perfect pieces of content you don't publish. Don't put off starting until everything is perfect … because there will never be a time when everything is perfect. Instead, [...]
