The Interview Series: Spotlight on Dannie Fountain

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Dannie Fountain

Tell me a little about you and your company. 

Hello! I’m Dannie Fountain of LE Consulting! I’m a native Michigander who recently made the move to Chicago and I’m loving the hustle and bustle of being in a much more populated area. I have a passion for travel and have certifications in open water diving and flight (student pilot), so I often tell clients that I can look at their marketing challenges from literally every angle! I have a BA in Media & Marketing Management from Albion College and an MS in Human Resource Management from Indiana Wesleyan University and I combine skills from the two to do much of my client work today. 

,

Choose the Right Domain Name for Your Business

,
Choose the Right Domain Name for Your Business

When you start a business, it’s important to choose a name that will allow you to select a domain name that pertains to your business or brand and is easy for your customers to remember. Obviously, if you have the option to get your brand name as your domain name, that is the best possible choice for your domain name. However, every single word .com domain name in the English language is taken. That means if your business name is a single word in English, you probably cannot get that .com domain unless you’re willing to pay more that the standard $10-$12 to get it. Many two word combinations are also taken, which limits your options even further.

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Amy Kuretsky

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Amy Kuretsky

Tell me a little about you and your company. 

Hi! My name is Amy and I'm a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist, and health coach. But really what I do is help driven, type-A creatives balance their hustle with their health. I truly believe that as entrepreneurs, we are our businesses' most valuable asset - so let's start treating ourselves that way!


How long have you owned your own business? 

I've been working with clients for three years now, but I filed the paperwork to make it legit before I was even out of grad school! (Calling me an over-achiever would be putting it lightly.)

,

Digital Marketing for Non-Digital Businesses

,
Digital Marketing for Non-Digital Businesses

Nowadays, everyone is online. Whether you do business online or not, your customers are looking (searching) for you there. They want to know as much about you and their potential experience as possible before they walk in your door or pick up the phone. They want to interact with you via social media or email or another platform. Your customers are also looking for information, sometimes even from the front door or parking lot of your shop. If you don't provide that information, it will come from either generic search results or your competitor.

If you create a strong website that provides information about your business and your industry at large, you'll gain greater access to your audience and the ability to communicate with them directly. Your website should educate your clients about the experience they will have with you and the products and services that you offer. Whether you sell online or not, a website is always an opportunity for education.

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Doctor's Travel

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Doctor's Travel

Tell me a little about you and your company. 

Well, my name is Shieka Doctor and I am the owner of Doctor’s Travel. I am also a wife of 12 years to the hubby and a mom of 3 (ages 15, 11 and 6). We are here for all travel needs but I specialize in planning destination weddings and honeymoons. I also have a travel and lifestyle blog called A Doctor’s Life.

,

Write a Better About Page

,
Write a Better About Page

Your About page is probably the second most visited page on your website. Unfortunately, many professionals and entrepreneurs struggle to write their About page. Even product-based businesses need an About page that describes the roots of the company and the reason for being. No matter what kind of business you operate, you can follow a basic formula to write a better About page.

Your About page should feature the best features and qualification of your business. Why do you perform your services or sell your products? What was your best moment in business? Did you have a turning point that put you on the path to success that you're on today? We'll call those your highlights. Create a list of those company highlights that you want your customers and clients to know. The list can be as long as you want. You can pare it down as you write the content for the page and you can even create a timeline if it gets too long.

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Megan Carty

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Megan Carty

Tell me a little about you and your company.

Hi, I'm Megan Carty of Megan Carty Art! I grew up in a mill town just outside of beautiful (and inspirational!) coastal Portland, Maine. I had a whimsical childhood where art had a place in everyday life.  After I earned my B.F.A. degree from Syracuse University’s School of Art and Design I spent many years doing graphic design work for a wide assortment of retail clients; but was left feeling unfulfilled and without purpose.  Inspired by my life-long dream to be a full-time painter, I'm thrilled to now be focused on my purpose to uplift others through my abstract fine art work. My colorful paintings and prints reside with collectors all over the United States and the United Kingdom. My bubbly personality shows through in my colorful floral, coastal, and abstract paintings as I try to spread joy one painting at a time. When I'm not painting I run around barefoot with my sweet husband Chris and our three small children in the countryside of charming Pepperell, Massachusetts.

,

Google Analytics Setup: Part 2 - Create Goals

,
Google Analytics Setup: Part 2 - Create Goals

Now that you know how to collect tracking information using Google Analytics, you can create goals to track whether your visitors are taking certain actions on your site. Setting up goals will give you the ability to easily determine the percentage of your visitors that sign up for your mailing list or make a purchase. To set up a goal within Google Analytics, follow the steps below.

,

Google Analytics Setup: Part 1 - Collect Tracking Information

,
Google Analytics Setup: Part 1 - Collect Tracking Information

Google Analytics is a powerful and comprehensive free(mium) tool that you can use to gain information about the visitors to your website. Using Google Analytics, you can determine demographic and geographic details about your customers, as well as their behavior on your site. Since there is a lot to learn about Google Analytics, we'll be doing a short series about the tool that includes more than one post. We'll show you how to get started and how to analyze some of the data that you collect for your site. The first post in our Google Analytics series will walk you through the basic setup process to collect tracking information for your website.

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Alyssa Joy

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Alyssa Joy

Tell me a little about you and your company.

Hi! I’m Alyssa, owner and lead creative over at www.alyssajoypd.com where I specialize in helping creatives, small businesses and non-profits beautify their brand from start to finish! I offer full branding packages, Squarespace web design, and custom styled stock photography and just recently launched my stock photography shop! I really love getting to know my clients, I believe that’s the best approach to design the perfect brand just for them - and well who doesn’t like making a new friend along the way?!

,

An Intro to Google Analytics and the Ecommerce Sales Equation

,
An Intro to Google Analytics and the Ecommerce Sales Equation

Google Analytics is a reporting tool that allows you to track your website visitors and their behavior on your site. You can use a different software to track this information, but it's important that you track it somehow. If you manage a large site with significant web traffic and more detailed ecommerce capabilities, you might want to look into an enterprise software like IBM Digital Analytics (formerly Coremetrics) or Adobe's SiteCatalyst. For small business website data analysis, I like Google Analytics. It's easy to use and free if have an account with Google.

Design Your Content Writing Process

Design Your Content Writing Process

If you create consistent content for your website and social media posts, you know how time consuming it can be. If you design a process and develop a schedule, you can make copy writing and content creation easier and faster. Here are some suggestions that you can implement to streamline your content writing. Use these tips to design a process that works for you.

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Wendy Zook

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Wendy Zook

Tell me a little about you and your company.

I took the long road to get where I think I was always meant to be. I left attempted careers and 60-hour work weeks in journalism and hospitality to stay at home with my two children (Zack is now 5 and Addie is now 3) about two years ago. I realized I was missing too many bedtimes and milestones and was just too burnt out to feel like a good mom and wife on my days off, so we took a risk and it's been just fantastic. However, I soon realized that despite stay-at-home-mom being one of the most intense jobs imaginable, I still craved a little creativity and an outlet and so I started to reemerge myself into my passion for photography. I found that, much like in my past careers, lifestyle photography allowed me to still tell stories and freeze time. I love capturing memories for my couples and families and I am so ecstatic when a stranger says they feel like they know the people in my images -- that's what Wendy Zook Photography is all about to me.

,

Do I Need a Digital Marketing Strategy?

,
Do I Need a Digital Marketing Strategy?

A digital marketing strategy is a plan to increase brand awareness or grow sales using digital channels. Digital channels include everything from your own website and email campaigns to social media and blogs. A good digital marketing strategy helps you reach your customers wherever they want to interact with you by providing several opportunities to learn about, interact with, and possibly even purchase from your business. You can hire a marketing pro to create your digital marketing strategy as part of a larger marketing plan or on its own. Either way, your professional will most likely provide you with a comprehensive plan that leverages your website, email list, social media, and outreach.

Research Keywords in Google Adwords: A Step-By-Step Guide For Beginners

Research Keywords in Google Adwords: A Step-By-Step Guide For Beginners

When you write content for your site, it's important to use the right keywords to help search engines and customers find your business. If you need more information about that you can read 'What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?' and 'Why Does Content Matter in Digital Marketing?' for details about how SEO works and the how your content can be used in other aspects of your marketing. A good SEO firm will provide very strong keywords for your business, but you can get most of the way there on your own if you're willing to put in the time and effort to learn how to research your keywords and do so often enough to implement changes to your site as needed.

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Patricia Talavera and SYT Biz

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Patricia Talavera and SYT Biz

Tell me a little about you and your company.

Save Your Time Biz Solutions is a family company, the team is made up of me, my twin sister Lily and my husband Boshwell. We help women entrepreneurs play in their zone of genius. We free up their time by taking over the web design piece of their biz so they don’t have to stress over something they don’t know. When you ‘don’t know,’ leave it to the experts, we say. 

This way, our clients have the time to work with their dream clients doing the type of work that they really love. Oh and they impact change that way...no small deal. This gives our clients the added bonus of being able to finally implement those BIG ideas they’ve been dreaming about. Those grand schemes can now become reality.

What Is a Pitch? Why Do I Need a Pitch?

What Is a Pitch? Why Do I Need a Pitch?

A pitch isn't just about sales. A pitch is a way of telling your story. More than that, your pitch should be authentic and tell your story in a way that compels others to learn more about your brand and your business, but also shows your excitement about your products and services. If you are truly excited about your business, that will show. You cannot fake genuine enthusiasm.

You need a pitch because a good pitch will engage your audience and make them want to do business with you. Your pitch will help determine whether you get media placement, customers, and possibly investors.

Review Your Product and Service Assortment

Review Your Product and Service Assortment

Your assortment is made up of the products and services that you offer your customers. Some industries require frequent product line adjustments, but most large products and services companies review their assortment annually. Through the product assortment review process, you can determine which products and services in your offering no longer meet the needs of your customers, which items are your best sellers, and where you might be able to alter your pricing to maximize your profit on your current offering.

The Interview Series: Spotlight on All Fired Up in Florida

The Interview Series: Spotlight on All Fired Up in Florida

Tell me a little about you and your company.

All Fired Up In Florida provides hand-made functional art in kilns.  This includes glass and clay media.  I got started in this when I was barely 20 as a way to take a break from two teeny children one night a week for just a couple hours.  My mom had a kiln and taught ceramics.  She taught me some of the most important things I needed to know about the art.  I find myself still calling her for advice to this day.  I don’t do much ceramics, or slip-casting, but I do some because there is still demand for some of those old retro items or items that are easier to cast by mold than throw on a wheel or build from hand.  I spend a large amount of time doing hand-building or creating pottery completely by hand or on a pottery wheel.  In addition, I create fused glass items in the kiln.  Nearly all of the items I make are functional for the home.  I never get tired of what I do because there are so many different aspects and new areas to explore.  I’m constantly experimenting with new techniques.