The post How to Take Professional Business Photos appeared first on Boyds Direct.

The post 5 Simple Small Business SEO Tips appeared first on Boyds Direct.

The post 7 Post Ideas for Your Business Blog appeared first on Boyds Direct.

The post The What, Why and How of Drip Marketing appeared first on Boyds Direct.

According to statistics, the average employee receives approximately 121 emails per day. Broken down over an eight-hour work day, that’s an email almost every four minutes. For companies, small businesses and individuals utilizing email marketing, these kinds of statistics can be daunting. 

With consumers being bombarded by so many emails, how can your email marketing efforts stand out from the crowd? One way is through an engaging email subject line. According to HubSpot, 47% of email recipients decide whether or not to open an email based solely on the subject line. An email subject line can ensure viewers actually open the email, read it and act upon it. So, how do you create a compelling email subject line? Here’s how. 

1. Know your audience.

First and foremost, the best email marketers know their target audience inside and out. While some messages might go out to your entire email list, be sure to also segment your lists into different categories, so you can send more applicable emails to specific audience members. Utilize forms, personal preferences and information you already have about your current customers to really get to know your audience and send personalized messages with subject lines that apply specifically to them.

2.  Personalize the message.

Speaking of personalization, once you have various lists compiled based on different categories, take your email personalization a step further. Items such as the receiver’s name, location and even preferences are called personalization tokens, and can help make a huge difference in the overall effectiveness of your email. In fact, emails including the first name of the recipient in their subject line have demonstrated an overall higher click-through rate than those that did not. Include personalized touches in your subject line for a more compelling email.

3. Keep it short and sweet.

When it comes to drafting the subject line for your email, be sure to keep it short and sweet, with an emphasis on action-oriented language. Keep in mind that people tend to scan their inboxes very quickly, so use concise language that draws a fast reaction. Email subject lines will be cut off if they’re too long, particularly on mobile devices. And since 67% of email opens now take place on mobile (Movable Ink), it’s best to keep your subject lines at 50 characters or less. Remove excess words and use short, compelling words to drive your point home efficiently.

4. Choose a familiar address.

On the other hand, it really doesn’t matter how compelling your subject line is, if the “from” address people see is someone they don’t want to hear from. Name recognition matters, not just in personalization for the consumer, but for the marketer, as well. No one likes talking to a robot. Instead, avoid using a generic email address to send from and opt for a real person. For example, “John Smith, Business” is going to get a much higher engagement rate than simply sending an email from “Business,” or “noreply@business.com.”  

5. Make people feel important.

Finally, treat your email list as a sort of “private party” by making current subscribers feel important. After all, they are a valuable component of the business. When people feel like they’re on the inside of something, it builds a sense of trust and loyalty, which will help grow your consumer base and better convert your emails. For example, use language such as, “See this exclusive offer for you,” or “You’re privately invited to our event.” This type of language in the subject line can draw in click-throughs and improve your overall engagement on email.

An email subject line can have a powerful impact on a business. It can reconnect old customers, bring in new customers and even drive sales. Try out some of these tips next time you want to send out your marketing messages, to draft the most compelling email subject line possible.

The post Creating a Compelling Email Subject Line appeared first on Boyds Direct.

For small businesses, large companies and professional individuals, staying ahead on marketing tactics is an important component in growing an organization. One such marketing tactic is the popular use of landing pages. When visitors go to a website, they can oftentimes feel overwhelmed and lost with all of the different options; however, with the use of a landing page, website visitors come through a variety of different sources for one specific reason. 

Unlike a typical homepage, landing pages are a separate component of a website, and prompt visitors to take a specific action, such as trying out a new service or signing up for an email list. Therefore, landing pages are a critical part of a marketing strategy because of their targeting and lead generation capabilities. When it comes to building strong landing pages, there are vital components. In today’s lesson of Marketing 101, learn how you can create effective landing pages.

Clean Design

With web content in general, a clean design tends to be the best design. However, with landing pages in particular, a clean design is most often preferred. When visitors come to landing pages, they expect to be guided from Point A to Point B quickly and efficiently, without feeling overwhelmed by too many colors or information. Your goal with a landing page is to create the easiest experience possible for your visitor. Making sure to keep the design crisp and neat will help drive visitors through the landing page and help improve lead conversion rates.

Consistent Messaging

Messaging is a vital part of your landing page; after all, your goal is to get visitors to act, right? Therefore, consistent messaging matters. From the advertisement, to the headline, all the way through the copywriting, consistent messaging is vital. For example, if your advertisement says, “Stay up to date with our latest news!”, that same information should be included in the headline of the landing page, then throughout. Using the same language throughout a landing page creates a predictable and relevant user-experience, helping visitors stay on track easily.

Emotional Content

As most marketers could probably tell you, human beings tend to be driven more by emotion than logic. We tend to do what feels like the right decision, not necessarily what is the right decision. Keep this in mind when drafting up the content for your landing page. Spewing facts and information can definitely be helpful for visitors, but oftentimes it won’t compel them into taking that final leap of faith. Speak directly to clients’ emotions through engaging vocabulary.

Visual Appeal

A landing page full of single-space, black and white font definitely doesn’t seem like something interesting to read. Instead, be aware of the content you utilize in your landing page, and how visually appealing it is to visitors. Eye-catching images and impactful videos can say a lot more than full paragraphs worth of text. Pair these with some colors that pop or interesting fonts, and you can take your landing page to the next level—while still maintaining a clean design.

Call to Action

Finally and most importantly, you want landing pages visitors to do something when they visit. This is where the call to action comes in. Your call to action should be big, bold and clear. Create a prominent button that users can easily see and click, with messaging that feels inviting. Think of your CTA button as an “I want to…” button. For example, no one wants to “Submit.” But, people might want to “Join our team!” Strong, clear and fun CTAs can be the ultimate difference between a bounce and a lead-conversion for your landing page.

Marketing strategies matter for businesses, and landing pages are no exception. With their targeted approach and calls to action, landing pages help drive greater lead conversions for new and prospective clients. Next time you draft up a landing page, use some of these tips to help get the best results and grow your business. 

The post Marketing 101: Effective Landing Pages appeared first on Boyds Direct.

The term “UX” has been thrown around for years, seeming trendy to some and matter-of-fact to others.

But those two little letters should have a big impact on your entire approach to marketing. After all, every business has an ideal “user” in mind and all of them “experience” your brand. That’s the crux of it.

User experience isn’t just essential. It’s everything.

User Experience Defined

UX may be boiled down to a two-letter abbreviation with a seemingly simple definition, but UX really is much more than it seems on the surface.

It’s the act of making your business’s offerings more enjoyable for the user. For a coffee cup manufacturer, improving UX could result in a better handle or keeping a drink hot (or cold) for longer. For a professional printing company, it can be an easier ordering or delivery process.

In marketing, UX focuses heavily on design. Businesses doing it well have streamlined interactions at every intersection between user and brand. (UX is not to be confused with UI, or “User Interface,” which is the visual experience used to interact with a product.)

Make Your Website a User’s Dream

You know what user experience is. Now it’s time to apply it to your business.

Begin your UX revolution on your website. Your company’s site is the linchpin to everything—digital campaigns, social media, print pieces and even billboards.

Marketing materials can’t contain everything, and your website supports all of them with resources, order forms, landing pages and more. Focus on hassle-free ways to complete actions like filling out an interest form, subscribing to a blog or ordering products online.

If you’re working to get customers to complete an action, your design should make it easy and enjoyable to do so.

Here are a few easy places to implement UX design:

• Add call to action buttons with clear language indicating what a user can expect after clicking.
• Intake customer feedback on their experience with your site through routine and regular surveys.
• If you haven’t already, cross-promote your social channels and help customers connect with your brand and site through platforms they frequent.
• Ensure you’ve built your site with responsive web design, including a mobile-optimized theme.

Focusing on user experience is a great way to grow business, as your website will be not only more accessible, but more enjoyable to use as well. Taking these UX lessons to heart is an easy way to boost engagement (and sales)!

The post Optimizing User Experience with Your Website appeared first on Boyds Direct.

Growing a brand in today’s fast-paced digital world means familiarizing yourself with some basic concepts of digital marketing. And that’s a little like learning the alphabet.

While SEO, SEM and SMM might sound like a foreign language, they’re actually fairly simple to understand and even put in practice once you get the hang of things. So without further ado, let’s dive in and explore the digital marketing alphabet. Before you know it—and with a little practice—you’ll be turning to these concepts to get the most from your own campaigns.

Why Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is the engine that powers online initiatives. It leverages the internet and various digital technologies to promote your products or services. With 66% of marketers boosting company trust and 80% enhancing brand awareness through digital marketing, it’s a strategy that demands attention.

Understanding digital marketing means getting to grips with a few key acronyms, which are core components of any digital marketing strategy: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Social Media Marketing (SMM). Let’s discuss.

The art of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is about fine-tuning your online presence to be more visible on search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. The higher you rank on the search engine results page (SERP), the more visible your content will be. A key SEO strategy involves using clear copy and strategic keywords on your website and digital content that make it easy for a search engine to understand what you’re offering and, therefore, recommend your content to searchers.

SEO involves a learning curve, but it’s not that difficult and is a powerful way to boost your results once you get the ball rolling. 

The strategy of Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

SEM is one of the ways a digital marketing budget can really get to work. It involves buying Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads that appear on search engine results pages. In other words, it’s a way to get your content on people’s screens that’s a little faster and easier than SEO (though not necessarily better; people may be more or less likely to click on search result ads versus organically appearing websites). SEM allows for tailored strategies like retargeting (displaying ads to people who have previously visited your website), geotargeting (targeting customers based on their geographic location) and demographic targeting (focusing on consumers within specific demographic profiles) to help you get granular. These tactics are about investing dollars to secure a prime spot in the paid section of search results, thereby enhancing visibility and attracting potential customers.

The power of Social Media Marketing (SMM)

SMM is a strategic approach to harnessing the power of social media to boost a brand, engage with an audience and drive traffic to a website. It involves creating engaging organic posts and running paid social media ads targeting specific demographics.

In other words, SMM gives you the best of both worlds: You can vie for organic traffic without investing extra money, or you can use platforms like Meta Ads Manager to pay for your digital ads to show up in people’s Facebook and Instagram feeds. When you use this strategy, you’ll be able to segment your audience in a ton of different ways to get the best bang for your buck. 

The perks of digital marketing

Digital marketing offers numerous benefits beyond just reach. It’s cost-effective, enabling you to reach a large audience without breaking the bank. It’s also measurable, allowing you to track and analyze campaign performance at a highly granular level.

The targeted approach of digital marketing also allows for audience segmentation, ensuring your message reaches the right people at the right time. Plus, audiences can be created that match current buyers’ personas. Unlike traditional marketing, digital marketing puts you in control of many more variables of the cycle.  

Digital marketing is more important—and effective—than ever. It’s a dynamic, affordable and measurable way to reach and engage with your audience. Whether you’re a small business owner or an established firm, getting more familiar with the digital tools at your disposal could be your first step to improving your results and gaining more customers.  

The post The ABC’s of Digital Marketing appeared first on Boyds Direct.

When it comes to digital marketing, boosting the reach and visibility of your website should be a top priority. Enter Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is a powerful tool for getting your website in front of a larger audience. Let’s dive into what SEO is and how you can use it to enhance your visibility.

The power of SEO

SEO is a strategy that makes your website more attractive to search engines. It involves defining your website’s identity in a way that effectively communicates with search engines, signaling, “Here I am, offering exactly what your users are looking for!”

How can you make sure your voice stands out among billions of websites? Here are some strategic tips to lend a hand.

Tip 1: Use keywords

Keywords are the terms your website uses to communicate with search engines. They represent the words or phrases users type into a search engine when looking for the content you provide.

For example, if you run a pet food business, phrases like “organic pet food” or “cat food delivery” might be your keywords. Tools like Moz or SEMRush can help identify popular keywords in your industry—that is, keywords that “rank” well because web users frequently search for them.

After conducting keyword research, you might find that “natural pet food” ranks higher than “organic pet food” and adjust your keyword strategy accordingly. Once you have your keywords, use them naturally in headings and other locations on your website. This helps search engines understand what your site is about and match it with relevant searches.

Tip 2: Embrace the E-E-A-T principle

Google uses a principle called E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness) to perfect its search algorithm, which significantly influences how sites are ranked. Embracing this principle can positively impact your site’s performance.

• Experience: Demonstrate that you, a content creator, have first-hand experience with the subject matter.
   
• Expertise: Showcase your knowledge and skills in your field. Detailed, well-researched content, author bios showcasing qualifications or case studies can help demonstrate your expertise.
   
• Authoritativeness: Establish your site as a leader in your field. Quality backlinks, positive user reviews and mentions of your site or business in reputable media outlets can boost your authority.
   
• Trustworthiness: Make your site a reliable source of information. Secure HTTP, clear privacy and return policies (if applicable) and accurate, up-to-date content can enhance your site’s trustworthiness.

To effectively integrate E-E-A-T into your content, ask yourself, “Would I trust this information?” and “Would I find this content helpful?” If the answer is yes, you’re on the right track.

Remember, E-E-A-T is not just about claiming expertise or authority, but demonstrating it through your content and website practices. By aligning your content with these principles, you’re communicating effectively with search engines and building a trustworthy and authoritative online presence.

Tip 3: Consistently publish fresh content

Keeping your content fresh is about staying relevant and providing timely, up-to-date information that reflects the status quo. This approach helps maintain your site’s relevance.

Consider updating old content with new information or insights. Trying different formats like videos, infographics or podcasts can also keep your content varied and engaging. The beauty of this strategy is that you can focus on enhancing existing content instead of constantly creating new content.

Tip 4: Earn backlinks

Backlinks, also known as inbound links, are links from other websites to your content. They act as digital endorsements, indicating that your content is valuable and trustworthy.

Building a network of backlinks boosts your E-E-A-T metric and increases the visibility of your site. So, strive to create content that others will find so valuable they’ll want to link to it.

Here are some strategies to earning high-quality backlinks:

1. Guest blogging: Reach out to reputable websites in your niche and offer to write a guest post. This positions you as an expert in your field and also allows you to include a backlink to your site.
    
2. Creating infographics: Infographics are shareable and often earn more backlinks than regular posts. If you create an interesting infographic, other websites may use it and link back to you as the source.
    
3. Collaborating with influencers: Partnering with influencers in your industry can help you gain backlinks. They can share your content on their platforms, providing you with greater visibility and potential backlinks.
    
4. Creating high-quality, unique content: This is the most organic way to earn backlinks. If your content is valuable, informative and unique, other sites will naturally want to link to it.

Remember, the quality of backlinks is more important than quantity. Search engines prioritize links from reputable sites that are relevant to your industry.

It’s clear that improving your website’s SEO isn’t an overnight task. It requires strategic planning and consistent effort. By effectively using keywords, adhering to Google’s E-E-A-T principle, keeping your content fresh and earning valuable backlinks, you’re setting your website up for success. The journey may be challenging, but remember, each step you take is a step closer to achieving your goals. So, start implementing these strategies today, and see your website’s visibility improve.

The post Tips for Improving Your Website’s SEO Performance appeared first on Boyds Direct.