Is Squarespace the Best Website Builder for a New Business?

Website builders are one of the greatest things that has happened to small businesses in a long time. They make it extremely fast and easy to build a site for your company that looks and works beautifully, in very little time and without the need for a web designer. These services have it down to a science now, and Squarespace is one of the best because their focus seems to be on giving pretty much anybody the ability to create a great website, no matter what your level of experience or technical proficiency. This is what you’re going to get if you use Squarespace to build your site. Website Builders Are Awesome Now If you think back 15 years ago, or even just 10 years ago or less, you’ll remember that it was a complicated and expensive ordeal to build a website. There were few places where you could get …

Blog Actionable Content

Actionable Content: Why It’s the Key to Your Blog’s Success

What is actionable content? If you’ve never heard the term before, then now is the time that you acquaint yourself with it, as a content writer or marketer (as well as a business owner), because there are few things in content creation more integral than this. In a very short definition, actionable content is content that people can read and then use that information for something in the real world. This is the kind of content that performs the best for your blog, and when you create actionable content, it will immediately separate you from the considerable number of blogs out there who are not doing this. Giving People Real Value The bottom line and foundational idea behind actionable content is that whatever you’re posting in your business blog needs to provide real value for the reader. It’s actually not always easy to do, but as best as you can, …

5 Things You Shouldn’t Tell a Customer On the Phone

Phone calls with customers are peculiar situations because, first of all, they’re still a pretty essential method of serving customers, even in the age of the Internet. Also, a representative of your business needs to conduct themselves a little differently than they would if they were speaking to someone in person. We obviously have to be courteous, polite, and helpful as always, in the same way that we would be in an in-person meeting, but customers almost expect an even higher standard of service and bedside manner, as it were, when they’re on the phone with you. Most of the time, we intuitively know what kinds of things we should and should not say to a caller; however, there are a few things that we either let slip from time to time, or don’t realize at the time that it was a mistake. What follows here are 5 things that …

Fundation, LendingClub, & PayPal Can Fund Your Small Business

  Unless you’ve undergone some catastrophe or have awful credit, you can absolutely get funded to do business. This post explores three options for you to receive funding to move forward with your small business, but there are quite a bit more options available for businesses in all fields, under just about any circumstances. The key to get started is to avoid coming up with an arbitrary amount of money that you want, but instead figuring out exactly what you need and find a lender that will give you that–no more, and no less. Let’s take a look at how you can hit your mark and get funded now for whatever you need.   What Kind of Funding Do You Need?   The kind of funding your business needs will determine the type of lender that’s best for you. Obviously, you can still probably get the money you need, even …

Basics of SEO and Finding the Best Keywords

SEO is something that most business owners think they understand but probably don’t really have a firm grasp on it. It is definitely an area of online marketing that is foundational. The of this article is to instill a working understanding of SEO while concentrating specifically on how to use the correct keywords that will guide web visitors to your content who are likely to convert to your customers. SEO is Key to Building Your Blog A rough definition of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the set of Internet search protocol that you can exploit to make your online (blog) content more visible to web searchers. This is the primary machine that drives people to your blog content, in turn bringing more people to your business’ website. You can go back to the following additional post to learn more about how this relates to your business blog: https://talkroute.com/why-does-every-business-have-a-blog-now/ So, to …

Zendesk: One of the Best Business Tools for Customer Support

After even a short time using Zendesk, you see that they put a lot of thought into making the platform as densely packed with tools for support service as it could possibly be. Zendesk doesn’t just give you a way to efficiently interact with customers; it clearly makes it the first priority to let businesses interact with customers in such a way that they feel as if your support representatives are right there with them every step of the way. We’re going to look at all the services and features you get with Zendesk, but the goal here is to illustrate how the platform gives you all the tools you need to interact with your customers just as closely as you would if they were in a physical store with you. Email & Chat Support in One Package The primary reason you’re going to be using Zendesk will most likely …

The Secret to Writing Great Blog Headlines

  It’s tough to say what is the most important element of a blog article, but your headline is certainly a top contender. You could be Ernest Hemingway, but if no one wants to click on your headline, they’re never going to read it, anyway. There is a kind of science to writing effective headlines. A good one will describe, in very short length, what the content is going to be about, while being interesting and clickable at the same time. This is harder than it looks, which is why we’re offering this post to give you some good ideas on how to build your headlines so that they will perform well.   Spend More Time On Your Headlines   Like the title of a book, the headline is what first hooks someone and draws them in. If you’re scratching your head trying to figure out why your articles aren’t …

Why VoIP Phone Service is More Trouble than It’s Worth

There are many different types of phone service. With our technology today, you can literally have your pick of a variety of service providers that will fit your particular business the best. Given that advanced technology, however, VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) systems are beginning to trail behind because the virtual phone systems available now have everything you get with VoIP, but better and more versatile. There are still applications where VoIP has value, for sure. The only problem with them, though, is that you can get more while investing less with a virtual phone system. If you’re in the market for a VoIP service provider, here’s why you may want to reconsider that. There May Be More Cost than You Bargained For Where a virtual service usually just needs you to sign up, and be up and running in an hour at most, a VoIP service isn’t that simple. …

How to Use the Local Press to Grow Your Small Business

Since you probably put most of your marketing efforts into online media, there is an outlet you most likely haven’t paid much attention to–local mainstream media. You definitely should be paying more attention to online content marketing, but at the same time, it’s advantageous to devote some energy to local media and news outlets, as well. There are opportunities in that area which also have the potential to give your business a boost of exposure. It’s easy to overlook it. Of course, content marketing is the primary method of reaching new customers these days, but people still consume content through the traditional channels, too. Mainstream Media Channels Are Not Dead Local or wider news media channels probably don’t even enter your mind for marketing your business, but they can still be useful in the age of the Internet. It may seem pointless, but there are ways in which your business …

Mailchimp vs. Constant Contact: Email Marketing & Automation

  Email marketing: One of the most surprisingly effective methods of gaining attention for your company that actually translates to new sales. Even though it was one of the first uses that people found for the Internet, email has somehow kept some momentum from the 90s, to the present day. Now, it has come back in a big way with the development of online marketing technology, which marries perfectly with email. If you’re of the mind that email is dead, then you need to disabuse yourself of that idea. Email marketing, along with the automation provided by a service like Mailchimp or Constant Contact, is one of the best drivers of sales currently available. Both of these providers have roughly the same tools and functions to inspire increased web traffic for your business, but each one has its own advantages. Let’s see which one comes out ahead.   Bang for …