It goes without saying that every business aims for growth at some point during their career. One of the major aspects of business growth is boosting your return on investment, or ROI.

How does this happen? The answer is simple – by boosting your income and diminishing your costs. So, if you are in the position that you are earning more than a dollar for every dollar invested, then you are heading in the right direction for growth. In the end, the greater your ROI is, the simpler and quicker it will be for you to measure your sales and marketing efforts.

Increase Profits with this ROI Formula

So, what do you need to in order to increase your ROI? An ROI formula. Monitor every single thing related to your marketing investments. This way, you’ll know what your current ROI is and what works best for you. Then, you can implement these five ROI tactics to truly become profitable.

1. Implement upselling and cross-selling

Upselling and cross-selling are proven tactics for boosting your ROI. The former offers a better version of the product that you are selling, while the latter offers products that are related to the one that your customer is buying.

Upselling is something that Amazon has been doing well for a long time. Let’s say you are buying a laptop. Eventually, you will be asked if you want to upgrade your memory card or purchase a superior one. Some people will see this as a logical step, but if you show this message on a daily basis, your customers will be up to spending a little more money.

As for cross-selling, this is something that food chains such as McDonald’s are pros at. It’s basically all about offering the customer something different that is still related to the original product they have purchased.

This is where the well-known questions come in, such as “Do you want fries with that?” or a more subtle one, “Will that be all?” It’s a great way to drive your customers to take another good look at your menu.

2. Determine what your crucial metrics are

It is essential that you are well-aware of which metrics are most important to your business.

For starters, you are definitely going to calculate and optimize your sales. Next, there are also leads and traffic. When it comes to the latter, you must remember that not all of it is equally formed. The traffic that is targeted to your sales pages will affect your ROI much more than any other section of your website.

What you need to do is analyze the data and figure out the best solution to problems you find. Then, make it even better.

For example, you can take a good look at your blog posts that are near the top when it comes to your target keyword and then create high-quality backlinks in order to get your content to the top.

3. Think about online business loans

It is pretty common for businesses today to decide on an online business loan as a financing option. Many online lenders use modern technology and algorithms to evaluate traditional credit standards, like cash flow or personal credit score, as well as non-traditional metrics such as social media engagements and customer reviews.

Many mortgage brokers in Sydney use this type of “new” technologies because you can deal with your capital much more quickly and easily than when it comes to banks or credit card unions.

You should hire a professional to be certain your loans are properly set up for days to come. This will ensure you don’t have any future problems with valuations and servicing.

4. Automate everything

If you really want to be efficient and have a maximum ROI, you should automate everything and let the software do its job for you.

For example, a great solution when it comes to automation is an email auto-responder. It sets up a string of emails to be sent at intervals you determine are the best responses to an incoming email. It’s basically leaving your operations on autopilot while creating value and instilling trust to your audience.

Basically, it is all about saving time. The simplest tools, like the ones that schedule your social media posts, can help you focus on more important aspects of your business.

5. Give headlines the attention that they need

When someone comes to your website, one of the first things they pay attention to is the headline. This basically means that if you aren’t putting enough effort into creating headlines, which are bound to engage users, then you are certainly going to experience higher bounce rates than you would like.

The largest percentage of people who abandon your website never come back. So, it is essential to focus on converting them the very first time they stumble upon your site.

Thinking about recurring visitors only comes later in the process. So remember, even a simple element such as an engaging headline can have a huge impact.

By implementing the right tactics, you can generate better ROI and make your business a lot more profitable.

Upselling and cross-selling are old tactics that still work well. There is a lot of analyzing and making use of the right metrics. Automation also helps a lot and sometimes it’s the smallest of things, such as your headlines, that can make a difference. Finally, think about online business loans in order to be completely set up for the times to come.

 

This is a guest post from Nick Brown.

There is no direct way to block emails directly from the iPhone. You have to do it from your computer.

Why would you want to block emails on your iPhone? Well, two reasons – one is spam. No matter how many times I unsubscribe from emails, I still get some from the same sender. Then, there are those people you just want to cut out of your life… and your inbox.

How to Block Emails on iPhone through Mac Mail

1. Open Mac Mail App
2. Click on ‘Preferences’ in the menu on top
3. Click on ‘Rules’
4. Click on ‘Add Rule’
5. Define Rule by adding the email address of the sender you wish to block
6. Click on ‘Delete Message’ under ‘Perform the following Actions’

How to Block Emails on iPhone through Gmail

1. Open the email you’re using on your iPhone
2. Find an email from the sender you wish to block
3. Open the email
4. Click on the downward arrow for options
5. Click on ‘Block-Name of the Sender’ option
6. Click ‘Block’ when the mail requests so

How to Block Emails on iPhone through Outlook

1. Open the Outlook email inbox
2. Click on the Settings (Gear Icon)
3. Click on ‘View Full Settings’
4. Click on ‘Mail’ on the left of the screen
5. Click on ‘Junk Email’ located in the middle of the settings
6. Click on ‘Save’ after adding the email address of the sender you wish to block in the ‘Blocked Senders’ Tab

Marketing is the heart and soul of any business, but it’s not easy as it seems. Most business owners aren’t marketing experts which means they aren’t aware of the latest marketing trends and tactics.

It doesn’t matter what kind of business you run, there will always be marketing mistakes. Startups and newly built businesses need to try to avoid these mistakes because of low budgets.

Top 6 Marketing Mistakes Business Owners Make

While there is no shortcut to marketing success, you need to avoid these marketing mistakes to increase to become a successful brand.

1. No Marketing Plan

A marketing plan should cover all the information regarding your marketing campaign including budget, target market, and your marketing strategy. Just as other plans you make for your business, a solid marketing plan is also very necessary.

Starting your marketing campaign without a plan is just like shopping with a blindfold over your eyes – there are some chances to get your desired item, but the odds are very low.

2. Not Using All Marketing Channels

We have seen many business owners only targeting one marketing platform that provides them a significant ROI… in the short term. They don’t think about what will happen if their audience leaves that platform.

It’s better to diversify your marketing approach by targeting a wider audience across all the main marketing channels. Putting all your eggs in one basket is never a wise move.

3. Being Unclear About Your Target Audience

Having a highly focused understanding of your target audience is the most significant part of marketing.

If you are a small business owner, you must understand that you can’t afford to target everyone. You also need to keep an eye on your competitors and how they’re targeting your audience. Sometimes it’s better to not focus on the audience they are aiming at, but instead, to target a small niche market they are overlooking.

4. You Are Not Taking Advantage of Social Media

Some business owners think of social media as a huge marketing platform, but some also see it as useless with no practical advantages. Social media marketing is a great way to increase your sales and revenue in a short span of time, but a lack of understanding of how to achieve those results can be complicated. There are plenty of social media marketing tools available to make it a profitable platform… if you use it correctly.

5. You Fail to Track Results

Many business owners are spending a lot of amount on marketing, but they aren’t tracking everything which they are doing.

If you do not measure the results of your campaigns, then you can’t tell what the return on investment (ROI) was. The tracking of results will also help to identify your weak links. By fixing them, you can create a more powerful strategy in the future.

6. Not Knowing the Importance of Your Budget

Marketing can affect your entire business. That’s why your marketing budget is very critical to your success.

Marketing is not just advertising and making decisions. You may also set a different budget for different phases of marketing campaigns in your business.

 

This is a guest post by Jessica Watson. Jessica has been writing in various niches with her primary focus on business, finance, social media, and technology. Currently, she is associated with Aurion International who offers ISO training in Dubai and across all UAE.

I’ve wasted so much money on Facebook ads through the years. First, it was me not knowing what I was doing. Then I learned but still thought an expert would help me. Three experts later, more money was wasted.

Today, I’m so thankful I have Monica Louie – a true Facebook ads expert. In this video, she breaks down the seven steps you must follow to make money by posting ads on Facebook. Click here for even more to make sure you don’t waste another dime on Facebook ads.

Make Money by Posting Ads on Facebook

1. Install a pixel

Do this first. Even if you’re not ready to start advertising yet. A pixel is how your website communicates with Facebook. You know how when you search for something online, then for the next few days, that thing you searched follows you around? That’s because you were pixeled. Now, it’s time to start pixeling people so when you are ready to advertise, you can target a warm audience, not a cold one.

2. Give away a great offer

What does your audience want? Really want? When you have that figured out, create it! It could be something in the form of an eBook, checklist, or webinar. Remember, our attention spans are a lot shorter than they used to be, so if you’re going to make someone click on something and take the time to leave their name and email address, it better be good. (There are many things you can offer depending on your business and your goal. For the sake of this blog post and video, we went with building an email list.)

3. Determine a budget

What are your business expenses monthly? Now, what can you take away to put towards Facebook ads or how much can you add? Monica suggests starting with a budget of $30-$35 per day.

4. Select your audience

This is the biggie. Remember we talked about the $30-$35 daily budget? To start, this amount should be distributed among a few different audiences. One audience could be a lookalike audience of your email list. Another could be website visitors we’ve found using the pixel. Another could be people who interact with your Facebook page. Another could be fans of a competitors page. The possibilities go on and on.

5. Create your ad

Now, you get to be creative. Monica suggests using an image that is bright and eye-catching. You can also use a video or a series of images in a carousel that explains the benefit of your offer. You can even turn a Facebook live into an ad. This is also something you can test after you know what audience is best. Just like choosing the highest converting audience, you can choose the highest converting ad.

6. Let the algorithm work

This means wait. After three days, you’ll start to get an idea of what’s working and what’s not. Monca says your first day will be a higher cost per click then the second day. Then, the numbers will get lower and that will help you refine your audience and ad to get the biggest bang for your buck. When you find that winning audience and winning ad, go all in and see the emails start to add up!

7. Build a relationship

Now that you’ve got prospects on your email list, it’s time to build a relationship with them. Be sure to let them know you are there to help and you have a lot more where that original freebie came from. After they get to know you a little better, this is the time where you can introduce some paid offers to your new, improved email list. Don’t forget to visit MonicaLouie.com/Christina to grab her guide that walks you through this process, step-by-step.

Facebook is the biggest social media platforms. The social media giant is rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the marketing industry. Earning billions a year (Yes, you’ve read that right!) in advertising revenue, you can’t help but ask, who uses this service?

Since Facebook has many users all over the world, it has been the perfect stop for companies to advertise their products or services to a targeted audience. The social media platform’s massive reach attracts many big and small companies to use their ads because they make it cost effective and hassle-free.

Who Advertises on Facebook

Some of the biggest companies spending money on Facebook are:

• FORD
• McDonalds and Starbucks
• VISA and MASTERCARD
• Nike
• JPMorgan Chase and CITI Bank
• L’OREAL

There are thousands of giant companies who are not included in the list. Aside from these well-known brands, there are millions of small businesses that use Facebook advertising as well.

Facebook is a platform for everyone and everything. Local restaurants use Facebook to gain attention and the increase in online shopping is, in large part, thanks to the platform.

How to Advertise on Facebook

If you’re thinking only big companies can benefit in advertising on Facebook, then you’re wrong. Whether you’re just starting out with a small, medium, or a large scale business, Facebook ads are a great way to promote what you offer. If you’re strategic, you can turn your small-scale business to a popular and trusted brand worldwide.

Here are six easy steps to set up your first Facebook ad.

1. Choose your objective

Before anything else, you should know your advertising objective. It could be leads, or brand recognition, or anything that best fits the goal of the ad.

2. Select your audience

This is the most important step. Choose the demographics like age, location, interest, job title, etc. of the people you want to reach. If your audience isn’t right, the ad won’t work so really concentrate on this.

3. Decide where to run your ad

Whether it be on Facebook, Instagram, or the apps and websites in Audience Network – or across all of them, this is where you make you selection. After your ad start running, you can see how it’s performing across all these places.

4. Set your budget

This step is actually self-explanatory. All you need to do is set the duration of your advertisement and how much your daily or lifetime budget is.

5. Pick a format

In this stage, it’s your time to customize! You can choose to show a single image, a video, or multiple images. You can also choose to create a slideshow or canvas ad. This all depends on your preference and how you envision your ad. (Use a video – they convert the best!)

6. Measure and manage

Once your ad is running, you can keep track of its performance using the Facebook Ad Manager, Power Editor, or Business Manager. You can also some of its features to edit and adjust your campaign to get the most bang for your buck!

Obviously, there is a whole lot more to running ads than this, but these are the basics to get started.

Getting potential customers is a great thing for every business owner, but to do that repeatedly, you need to track down the actions your customer took after they clicked on your Google ad.

This is where the Google Adwords Conversion Tracking tool comes in handy. This free tool shows you what happens after a customer interacts with your ad from purchasing something to downloading your app. With the help of this of this tool, you will be able to see how effective your ad clicks are and how they lead to valuable conversions like website purchases, app downloads, phone calls, newsletter sign-ups, and more.

Reasons to use Google Adwords Conversion Tracking

• By being able to track down the actions your potential customers are making, you can determine which keywords, ads, ad group, and campaigns are the best. You will better know what works and what doesn’t.

• This tool will be able to help you understand your ROI so that in the future you can make better choices on where to spend your ad money. By doing this, you are technically saving money for future expenses.

• Conversion Tracking has a tool called Smart Bidding that is a subcategory of automated bid strategies that helps you optimize your campaigns. With this feature, you will be more in control of your campaigns.

• You can see what devices your customers are converting from – if the customer is converting from a mobile phone or a desktop computer.

Once your Conversion Tracking setup is finished, run a test conversion. You can do this by clicking one of your live ads and complete the action you want to track. Then, you can use a keyword for this test.

Check ‘Tools & Analysis’ to verify your conversion tracking is working properly. Once that first conversion is tracked you can expect your tracked data to update regularly.

If you (or your child) want to be the next TV star and are interested in broadcasting, video blogging (or vlogging), or any type of on-camera performing, you must be media coached.

You need to know how to have an on-camera presence. You need to know what to say, how to say it, when to react, how to react, and much more.

But, this isn’t just for people looking to be on-air professionally. It’s great if you do any kind of public speaking in your career – whether it be giving a presentation to a group of four, 40, or 400. This kind of media coaching and training will make you a more confident speaker on the clock and in a variety of other settings.

Dave Aizer is the host of The CW Network in South Florida. He is also the President of Elite Media Coaching. One of his services includes Elite Media Coaching’s “Broadcasting Workshops.”

Aizer has been a TV host for 20 years and is pouring his thousands of hours of on-camera experience into the workshops, which are for middle school, high school, and college students.

This is an amazing service for students wanting to pursue a career as a television host, reporter, anchor, or even a vlogger. As a student at Ohio State, I learned along with other peers at the student-run TV station.

1. It Builds Your Self Confidence

Learning valuable communication skills from a seasoned professional will not only improve your self-confidence but set you up for success down the road.

My daughter and I put together a YouTube show called Baking with Bunny. It’s just a silly cooking show we started doing because I needed to try out some new video editing equipment. Then we shot another episode when I needed to test out a new microphone. I kept doing it because I noticed it helped her come out of her shell and gain confidence. (The memories are great to watch too!)

2. You Get Real Experience

When you are coached, you’re not sitting in a chair listening to someone the entire time. You’re actually doing it. Practicing. There is no better way to learn.

Aizer’s workshop curriculum includes anchoring a show, going “live” in the field, interviewing special guests, reading a teleprompter, finding your voice, establishing poise and confidence on camera, and much more. 

Additionally, each student will receive a demo reel of their best performances which they can use to help apply for magnet programs, colleges, grad schools, and even jobs.

3. It Can Advance Your Career

Today, so much is changing – especially technology and the way we market and are marketed to. Video is huge. It’s taking over and can’t be ignored. For this reason, knowing how to handle video is something you want to be at the top of your game on. It’s something that will set you apart from the rest and could make or break a job offer, promotion, or entirely new career.

Plus, professional training like this looks great on a resume!

For more information about media training and the workshops offered, visit Elite Media Coaching Broadcasting Workshops. If you have any questions, email Aizer at dave@elitemediacoaching.com or give him a call at (786) 471-2387.

Lots of people I know use the Google Adwords Planner, also known as Keyword Planner, to do SEO research. For this, I use SEMRush. However, it is useful if you’re investing in Google ads because it’s what it was created for.

The Google Adword Planner is a tool that allows you to effectively choose what’s the best keyword to use for your businesses to drive targeted traffic to your ads. It’s the core to fully utilize the power of online advertising. In doing so, it increases the chance for potential customers to reach your product or service.

Accessing the Google Adwords Planner

To start, you need to create a Google Adwords account. It’s not necessary to create and start a campaign, so you can skip that part for now.

Log in your new Google Adwords account.

You should see a toolbar above. Click on that and select “Keyword Planner”.

After clicking on it, you’d be able to see three different types of tools.

Google Adwords Planner Tools

Search for new keywords using a phrase, website, or category

This tool is straightforward. When you click on it, a menu will appear at the bottom.

“Enter one or more of the following”

This part needs to be well thought out. Whatever you get from the planner will be mostly based on what you put in here.

Your product or service

Try to be specific in this part and avoid very general keywords like “Guitars” or “Vegetables”. Instead, go for a lot more definitive keyword like “Acoustic Guitars”, “Brand New Guitars” or “Electric Guitars”. You can use one to three keywords here.

Your landing page

If your site contains great keywords then feel free to add it here!

Your Product Category

This allows you to access Google’s database of keywords from different industries. It’s worth checking out in case there might be some keywords that you might’ve missed.

Targeting

This part is simply country, language, and search engine you want to market. If you are a local business, you can get specific here.

Let me tell a little story about this: Once I was searching for something fun to do and typed in Jet Ski’s and an ad from Utah popped up. I live in South Florida. Clearly, the person handling jet ski rental advertising in Utah missed this part. (And I learned people rent jet ski’s in Utah!)

The last part that says “Negative Keywords” are the keywords you don’t want to advertise one.

Customize your search

Keyword Filters allows you to fill out particular keywords that don’t meet criteria.

Keyword Options is where you can tweak how broad you want the results to be.

Keywords to Include helps you choose to include particular keywords in your result.

Multiple Keywords list to get new keywords ideas

This tool will enable you to combine a whole bunch of keywords together and create a whole bunch of combinations – since different people search for the same thing in different ways. It’s really helpful when it comes to e-commerce keyword research because it tells you lots of possible combinations people search.

Now you’re ready to hop on, tinker with the keyword planner, and find the keywords that best fit your business!

Technology has evolved. As users of technology, we need to evolve as well.

The art of marketing has been with us even before the industrial age, but today, it’s like a science with its own curriculum.

One of the tools that can help us improve in the marketing industry is Google Adwords.

For starters, Google is a search engine that specializes in services that help users search for content on the internet. This opens a lot of opportunities for businesses to be found if they use tools wisely.

Google is capable of providing the right product or service to the right audience based on what that particular user has searched in the past or what that user is currently searching. For example, if a user frequently searches for musical instruments then Google can provide advertisements appropriate to that user’s preference. It’s called targeting. The better you target, the better your results.

Google AdWords Certification

So where does the Google AdWords Certification come into play? Adwords is Google’s online advertising service where advertisers pay to display brief advertising copy, product listings, etc. The purpose of having a “Google AdWords Certification” is to recognize an individual’s proficiency in using the Adwords service that Google provides. This means an individual who has a “Google Adwords Certification” can provide clients with a competitive understanding regarding Google’s Service.

It can be complicated and with everyone claiming to be “an expert” online, it’s important to weed out the Charlatans. Here’s the breakdown of the Academy for Ads.

Getting the Google AdWords Certification

• Go to Google’s partner site and register for a Google Partner account
• Pass Google’s Adwords Fundamentals exam by getting a score of 80% or higher
• Pass another exam with also a score of 80% or higher

Google AdWords Certification Benefits

• Learn about the new features (very important in an evolving industry)
• Improve your PPC Account Performance
• Clients prioritize people who know their job well (AKA certified individuals)

This is a great way to demonstrate your expertise and earn a Google Partner badge. (Impressive!)

If you’re a business owner, you’re going to love Help A Reporter Out, or HARO. Why? You will have about 150 topics from journalists looking for expert sources for in your inbox! (Publicists love it too!)

One person responded to everything that he could, that was fit, in one month using the tips I outline below and earned 60 media hits IN ONE MONTH! (FYI – that’s an INSANE amount.)

You can sign up for HARO for free and be quoted as an expert at www.helpareporterout.com.

I suggest signing up to get three emails a day with everything. While something may NOT be in your niche, you could be in a story that someone in your niche sees. I can’t tell you how many times those little things that appeared to not make sense turned into something big. (Plus, many times a health story will be filed under “general” instead of “health” for example.)

Now, lots of people get these emails and respond. Because I’ve been on both sides, I have some tips that will ensure your reply to a HARO request is used.

Be quick.

Most journalists don’t wait for what’s best. They take what’s first. I already set times to check my email every day. I suggest scheduling when you check your email and time it for right after a HARO comes through – around 5:30 am, 12:30 pm, and 5:30 pm.

The subject line.

Unlike any other email where you want to make the subject line sexy, in this case, you want to copy and paste EXACTLY what the journalist put in the HARO request. This makes it easy on their end to know what you’re emailing about if they have more than one HARO request. Note: The email you’re responding to will not show their email address. It’s a HARO address that feeds into their email.

Give them EXACTLY what they want.

Many times, journalists will not respond to you to hear more. They will copy and paste whatever you wrote. So be sure to respond to whatever their question is. This is NOT a time to promote yourself. It’s not their job to promote you. Remember, they already have their story. They need your help telling it, so just help them.

End with your credentials, contact information, and social media channels.

At the end of every pitch, I let the journalist know how I want to be titled, what my website is, and how I know what I’m talking about. Two to three sentences work for this. Link backs are everything because they make it easy for others to find you and the more you have in other places, the better your SEO, which leads to you being found higher in a search engine.

Start a relationship.

Add a little note to the journalist like, “Please let me know if this is published so I can share it with my network.” I also ask who I should tag on social media. By saying this, you give the journalist an incentive to use your quote because you just told him or her you’re going to share it. When you do share it and tag them on social media, they will notice and come back to you for more.

If and when they respond to your pitch, you will have their direct email address – not just the HARO address. SAVE THIS! Start building a media list with this so you can pitch this journalist again since you’ve started a relationship.

Now, go be your own publicist!