So, maybe not the best business and marketing tips ever. But certainly very good tips. And most likely the best tips you are reading right this very moment.
1. Have a pretty URL (web address)
I know that it is becoming harder and harder to buy the perfect URL (MyExactBusinessName.com), but that shouldn’t keep you from getting close (MyExactBusinessName+City.com). I’m also a believer in avoiding the .net and .biz whenever possible. Consumers expect to see .com. They expect to see your business name in the URL.
Bonus tip: spell out your business name. No abbreviations. Potential customers don’t know how you’ve chosen to abbreviate your business name.
2. Get a professional email
If you have purchased your URL, you can get a professional looking email for very little cost. Google Apps for Work costs less than $5/month for a professional email.
What do I mean by this? I mean yourname@MyExactBusinessName.com. Having @gmail, @outlook, @yahoo, @aol, or @hotmail as your business email is not very professional.
For a complete breakdown of different professional email services available and which one might be right for your business, check out this Cloudwards article.
3. Keep track of all your passwords
There are software programs that will help you generate random passwords. These programs also save and organize your passwords. One such program, 1Password, lets you generate random passwords for all your accounts while only needing to remember one password.
At a minimum, you could keep a spreadsheet of all your business accounts and passwords. I do that, however, I have the Excel spreadsheet encrypted with a password.
4. Not good at marketing? Outsource.
Not everyone that runs a small business is a marketing guru. In fact, very few are. That’s ok. As I always say, there are people great at baking cupcakes, but terrible at selling them. You don’t have to wear every hat and do everything for your business.
Outsourcing your marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, nor does it have to be outsourced overseas. You might know of outsourcing marketing in terms of advertising agencies, PR firms, marketing agencies, design agencies, etc.
Finding a firm (shameless plug: like Tinderbox Consulting) to handle your marketing, can make life just a little easier. And hopefully, drive some more sales too.