Business tips

Adversity is nothing new for most business owners. But there's a difference between running a business and running a business during an economic downturn.

Run a business during economic uncertainty

How to run a business during economic uncertainty

In Super Mario video games, when Mario encounters and runs into a mushroom, he powers up into Super Mario, increasing his speed and invincibility. The marketing concept Huckberry shared with me turns this concept into an equation.

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The new perspective Super Mario can give to your marketing

I've seen how data can be used as an instrument to help teams make smart choices. In this article, I'll teach you more than a dozen techniques that I use build an effective survey the first time.

How to Design and Analyze a Survey

I started using my slow season to refresh and prepare my business for peak season. Since I wasn't as swamped, I was able to check some things off my "do later" list and go from just getting by to thriving.

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Slow season strategies: 6 ways to make the most of your business's downtime

The number of people who freelance continues to climb, including a growing contingent of freelancers who work side by side with employees. Freelancers and employees can work well together, but we aren't the same.

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I'm a freelancer, so please treat me like one

Have you ever had new client déjà vu? You get a "yes" from a prospect, do a happy dance at your desk, start brainstorming ideas for making this the best project ever, and only hours (uh, days?) later remember there's some admin you need to tackle first.

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The 6-step client onboarding checklist (with template)

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is like a choose-your-own-adventure game—depending on the decisions you make, you'll see different outcomes. 

A guide to conversion rate optimization (CRO) for eCommerce

I've created loads of surveys in my time as a marketer, and I've learned a few tricks along the way that can help increase your survey response rate. 

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How to get people to take a survey

You probably know that blogging is one of the best ways to improve your SEO and grow your website traffic. I'm guessing you've also spent way too many hours staring down a blinking cursor.

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How to write SEO-driven blog content

Information systems refers to the tools and strategies that organizations use to collect and manage data in order to improve their operations.

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What is information systems? Definition, uses, and examples

I've been working in customer support for 10 years (more if you count my retail work during my time in school), and one thing I can say for sure is that people in customer support exude empathy. Like, ooze it. It makes sense.

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5 tips for effective customer support during a crisis

Teams need to communicate. Goals and directions need to be set. Work needs to be passed from one person to the next. Questions need answering. Feedback needs to be given. So how can you do this without suffering from a surplus of communication?

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How I run a remote publishing company on Trello

Even in this rapidly evolving technological landscape, traditional ideas about packaging products to consumers continue to dominate. New businesses have a tendency to focus mostly on what the product is, and not enough on how it's being packaged.

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Why it's time to buck traditional pricing structures

Six years ago, I left my career as a full-time attorney to open a pie bakery with my mom. I had never baked a pie in my life. I know, right? Who makes that sort of decision?

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The entrepreneurial mindset that helped me grow my business

I've worked in customer-facing roles in the retail and hospitality industries, and now I'm a freelance writer. In all three roles, I quickly learned that there are plenty of times when the customer is most decidedly not always right

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How to deliver great customer service while still standing your ground 

The best way to make AI seem less scary is to use it. Here are four ways your can help your team embrace AI at work.

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Embracing AI at work: 4 ways to make AI less scary for your team

Creating a compelling story around your brand is the first step toward creating a successful business. But why? Because we're all suckers for a good story. 

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How we succeeded at content marketing with no budget

Learn to create a scope of work document with this template. Walk through defining project objectives, deliverables, timelines, responsibilities, and more.

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How to write a scope of work (with template)

I remember my first month in business. After a successful launch of my nail bar, my biggest concern was: will people come back? 

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6 customer retention strategies to help you grow your business

User-generated content works wonders, but you can't just wait for it to fall into your lap.

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Collect user-generated content with these 12 email templates

The day after my first session with my business coach, he fell 30 feet in a freak rock-climbing accident, breaking three vertebrae in his spine, two ribs, his left ankle, and his right shoulder—as well as suffering a concussion. He was lucky to be alive.

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The 3 game-changing lessons I learned from my business coach

Good sourcing takes time and investment. You need to buy sourcing tools, hire dedicated sourcers, or outsource the work to an agency. What if you can't afford it? Can you still take advantage of sourcing in your hiring process? You can, and you should.

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How to find talent on a budget

Email automation seems like the exact opposite of personal communication. What could be less intimate than an email that's sent by a robot? But in practice, email automation can actually increase your personal connection with your audience.

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How to nurture customer relationships with email automation

The term inbound marketing gets thrown around a lot. The B2B software company HubSpot first coined it over a decade ago, defining inbound marketing as a strategy that attracts customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them. 

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4 tips for creating an inbound marketing strategy for your small business

In an ideal world, people would be talking about your business and linking to your site without you asking. But as a local business, you're not likely to get your own Wikipedia page anytime soon. Here are 3 places you should try to get yourself mentioned.

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Build your brand and your backlink profile with these local SEO strategies

Product development and marketing don't happen Mad Men-style anymore. Customers don't want to be told what to like—they want to tell you what to build.

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How to drive customer value with collaborative product development

When it came time to designing our first product, a crew neck sweater, we decided the best path forward was to ask other people what they wanted.

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Why you should build a customer advisory board

With increasingly short attention spans, the immediacy of social media, and the vast quantity of information bombarding people on an hourly basis, the concept of a short, attention-getting pitch is still valid.

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How to write an elevator pitch that lands (with template)

As small business owners, we all make choices on the daily—some hasty, some that have droned on for months, some that are obvious, some that are gray and fuzzy. The reality is: sometimes we make the wrong decision.

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5 steps for turning pain into powerful brand messaging

With hundreds of online courses covering similar topics, you need to be sure yours stands out from the pack. One way to do that: social proof.

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How to use social proof to promote your online course

Email marketing is a clear frontrunner when it comes to marketing channels for small businesses. It has a great return on investment, it allows you to speak directly and personally to your audience, and it's easy to measure.

How email automation helped a small business increase conversion rates by 86%

TikTok has quickly become my new way to keep myself up-to-date on business trends and work hacks. I've been able to productively leverage TikTok to grow my business and help me professionally. 

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5 ways to use TikTok in your professional life

I've tried a bunch of CRMs in my day—I run a content marketing business and have 35 active clients, so it's crucial that I have an easy spot to manage my client information. But none of the apps I tried fit the bill.

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A simple client database template for freelancers

If you're like me, then you know what it feels like to be working in your business rather than on your business. After all, there are assignments to get done. It's easy to fall into the day-to-day.

Expanding your digital footprint by investing in SEO

Your customers play all sorts of roles in your business—and one of the most important is content creator. Your customers are creating content for you all the time: everything from reviews to TikTok stitches to a Tweet about your brand.

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How to make the most of user-generated content on Instagram

Even though the barriers to entry for eCommerce are much lower than what they used to be, it can still be an uphill battle. With so many options to choose from, finding the right sales channels can take time. 

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Exploring sales channels for your eCommerce business

Tips and advice on how to grow your business.

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