Overcome Doubt and Launch Your New Jersey Business
guest post by  Courtney Rosenfeld  – Freelancing  Consultant

As an aspiring business owner in New Jersey, you may feel doubtful about your ability to succeed. After all, starting a business is a big undertaking, and there are many risks. You can overcome your doubts and launch a successful business by taking the time to prepare and plan.

 

Begin With a Plan

Creating a business plan is a great way to prepare for success. A business plan can help you stay organized and focused as you launch your business. It can also give you a road map to follow as your business grows.

It should include your business goals, target market, hiring plans, and marketing strategy. Include a section on financial planning to set realistic goals and a budget for your company. To get help with your business plan, consult with the New Jersey Small Business Development Center.

Stay Organized With Apps and Tools

Plenty of great apps and tools are available to help you keep track of your business finances, inventory, and customers. Use these resources to streamline your operations and stay organized.

Apps such as QuickBooks can help you track your expenses and income. Google Sheets or Excel can help you keep track of your inventory, and a customer relationship management system can help you manage your customer data.

Marketing Your Business

Once you have a plan in place, it’s time to market your business. Use social media to reach a wider audience and promote your products or services. You can also use online advertising platforms, such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads to reach potential customers.

You don’t need a professional marketing agency to create the ads. Use this Facebook ads maker to help you develop the ideal advertisement with your own logo, branding, fonts, and colors that look great.

Work With a Mentor

As you launch your business, it’s helpful to have someone to turn to for advice and support. Mentors can provide valuable insights and guidance as you navigate the challenges of starting a business.

You can find mentors through local organizations or online networks. The Small Business Administration offers mentorship programs for small businesses in New Jersey.

Set Realistic Goals

As you launch your business, it’s essential to set realistic goals. Don’t do too much too soon. Start small and gradually grow your business. This simple step helps you avoid burnout and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

You don’t need to launch a big, fancy business to succeed. This gives you time to perfect your operations and build a solid customer base.

You can add new products or services and hire additional employees as you grow. Growing too quickly can lead to cash flow problems and other financial difficulties.

Believe in Yourself

Above all, you need to believe in yourself and your ability to succeed. Confidence is key to starting and running a successful business.

Running a business is hard work, but it’s also rewarding. You can overcome any obstacle and achieve your goals with dedication and determination.

Start a Successful Business in New Jersey

Starting a business in New Jersey can be a great way to achieve your financial goals, but it’s essential to prepare and plan for success.

 

For help with your marketing plan, check out the resources at Writing Conversions.

 

 

Image via Pexels

 

How To Start an Easy Online Business

By  Courtney Rosenfeld –  gigspark.biz

According to statistics, 90% of new American billionaires are self-made. That’s a pretty strong endorsement of the value of entrepreneurship. However, launching a new business may seem impossibly difficult to someone who has never embarked on such a project before.

 

These steps can help make starting your first business easy, presented by WritingConversions.

 

Choose the Right Business

Online businesses are some of the easiest to start because you don’t need to establish a physical location. If you have any skills you can market, such as writing, sales, or search engine optimization, you can start an online business built around them. If you want to sell products, you can take advantage of eCommerce platforms, such as Etsy, Amazon or Shopify, to open an online store without a lot of effort.

 

Set Up Your Website

Whatever type of business you decide to open, you need a website. Start by choosing a domain name that is memorable, easy to spell and unique. Once you have your domain name purchased, you need a place to host your website. If you want to save yourself effort, you can choose a hosting service that comes with tools that make building a site easy, such as Wix. Finally, you need to design your site or pay someone else to do it for you. 

 

Get Funded

Many online businesses can be relatively inexpensive to get off the ground, but you will probably still need some start-up funds. Your savings are the easiest place to get some cash. You can also try borrowing money from friends and family, though if you go that route you need to make sure they understand the risk. 

 

Business credit cards are another relatively easy option, though this method can be expensive. Most traditional lenders are hesitant to loan money to new businesses; however, you may be able to find a loan online or through one of the Small Business Administration’s programs. Finally, consider angel investors or crowdfunding.

 

Market Your Business

A good marketing plan can make or break a new business. Social media is an effective and relatively inexpensive way to get started. You need a well-designed logo for your marketing materials. Your logo is like the face of your company; a good logo helps you make a good first impression on potential customers, build brand recognition and stand out from the competition. If you can’t afford to pay a logo designer, you can use an online logo maker to do it yourself. All you need to do is choose a style and icon, add your text and then adjust the fonts and colors.

 

You may also want to consider creating a “doing business as” name for your company. This provides you more flexibility if the domain you want isn’t available or if you want to market some of your products as a separate brand.

 

Boost Your Business Skills

Successfully running even an easy business requires the right know-how. Consider enrolling in an online Master of Business Administration program. MBA coursework can help you grow your business, leadership, management, and strategy skills and improve your self-awareness and ability to self-assess. Online programs provide the flexibility you need to take classes and run your business at the same time.

 

While easy businesses can be challenging to run, the opportunity is within your grasp. Education and planning are the keys to success.

 

Image via Unsplash

 

Tips and Resources to Keep Small Businesses Afloat Amidst COVID-19

 

It’s been more than a full year since COVID-19 first hit, and many small business owners continue to look for new ways of meeting consumer demands, interacting with their customers, and growing their enterprises — even if their brick-and-mortar businesses remain closed to the public.

And with these resources, small business owners will learn everything they need to know to keep their companies alive and growing as the pandemic wears on.

 

Adapt and Evolve

By adapting and evolving your enterprise in the age of COVID-19, you’ll improve your chances of small business survival — both now and in a post-pandemic world.

 

• Find a web developer to redesign and add functions to your website.
• Utilize free tools like Google My Business, Facebook, and Mailchimp, which you can pair with a free banner maker to create your own marketing campaign.
• Of course, nothing beats compelling professionally written branding and marketing copy. Work with WritingConversions to create something truly unique.
• Make the transition from a brick-and-mortar business to an online one.
• Expand your options for delivery and curbside pickup.

 

Alleviate Financial Stress

If your small business — like many others — has been impacted by the pandemic, these four resources will help to improve your financial situation.

 

• Cut unnecessary expenses to reduce business spending.
• Look into funding opportunities for small businesses.

 

Safely Reopen Your Brick-and-Mortar

If you have a brick-and-mortar, these resources will help you to plan a safe and successful business reopening.

 

• Determine whether you’re ready to reopen your brick-and-mortar business to the public.
• Review the guidance for cleaning and disinfecting businesses.
• Create a reopening marketing plan and announce your grand reopening on your company’s website, social media pages, and email newsletters.

 

It may seem impossible to maintain a small business amid COVID-19, but these tips and resources will help you to do it. By taking steps to adapt and evolve your business, you’ll not only keep your enterprise afloat but grow your small business as the pandemic wears on!

 

Courtney Rosenfeld  —  gigspark.biz

 

How to Make Sure Your Digital Efforts Boost Your Bottom Line

By bizzpop.biz –  small business consulting

 

Since the start of the pandemic, more and more businesses have started to build an online presence. This is, generally speaking, a good thing – and for many businesses, it’s well overdue.

 

However, creating a digital presence is not a one-and-done affair. You have to put in a regular, concerted effort to make sure your efforts are paying off and boosting your profits.

 

Not sure where to start?

WritingConversations presents this guide to help business owners make the most of their new digital presence. Here’s a look at everything you need to know to make sure your online efforts provide a good return on investment:

 

Take a Learner Mindset

If you’re new to bringing your business online, the first thing you need to do is take on a learner mindset.

Many business owners assume that, because they use the internet in their everyday lives, they have a good sense for how their business’s online presence should be run.

 

However, more goes on behind the scenes than you might realize.

 

When you take on a learner’s mindset, you practice letting go of those assumptions in order to make room for new information.

You can do research on your own, take an online class, or even pursue an additional degree.

Formal studies can go a long way toward helping you learn more about how businesses function online, as well as how to harness customers’ online habits to boost your profits.

 

Focus on Connection

The move toward online business during the pandemic was, for most businesses, a move based on necessity.

 

Being apart was a wise move for staying safe, and going online helped businesses find ways to connect with customers during that time.

 

That connection will remain one of the most important parts of your online presence long after the pandemic has passed.

 

People are spending more and more of their time online.

 

You can take advantage of this by having a strong and interactive social media presence.

 

By establishing a voice and rapport with customers in this space, you can make sure you stay on their mind even when they’re not thinking of your business or services.

 

People tend to want to work with brands they’re familiar and comfortable with, so follow good social media practices to keep that familiarity strong.

 

Establish Your Expertise

Another major advantage having an online presence gives your business is that it gives you the opportunity to establish that you’re an expert in your field.

Your website’s blog is the perfect way for you to put your expertise front and center.

 

This allows customers, potential investors, and future employees to get a clear sense of what you do, who you are, and what your business uniquely brings to the table.

 

Moreover, having a useful, readable blog on your website can actually help you get more customers and boost your profit all on its own.

 

Search engines like Bing and Google use algorithms to scan different websites and evaluate which are most useful and relevant for search results.

 

When your site has plenty of well-written, useful content, that boosts your rank and puts your business higher up on the page than others.

 

Since most users will only consider the first couple of search results – and very few will ever navigate to the second page – a high rank can make or break your business’s ability to capture new customers’ attention.

 

Digital efforts give your business a chance to connect with customers, expand your reach, and build new services into your model.

 

We hope this article gives you the foundation you need to make the most of your presence online and push your business into a more profitable future.

 

If you’re having a difficult time finding a reliable freelancer or content writer for your business, WritingConversations can help. Contact us today!

 

Photo Credit: Pexels

According to the Content Marketing Institute:

“…instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that makes your buyer more intelligent. The essence of this content strategy is the belief that if we, as businesses, deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.”

 

As this quote shows, the key to content marketing is providing valuable information to your potential customers and, in the process, convince them that your product or service is the best solution for them.

 

5 Sure-Fire Ways to  Attract New Customers to Your Business

Holding the interest of potential customers is not the easiest thing to do.

Year after year, brands and businesses spend millions of dollars on marketing with the sole intention of engaging potential customers.

When it comes to potential clients, persuading them to choose your brand is no small feat.

You have to ‘sell’ your brand to them. You have to show them why they should choose your brand over the thousands of brands available on the market, vying for their attention.

How do you do that? How do you persuade potential customers without coming off as desperate?

The answer lies in using targeted, well-executed marketing techniques.

 

Marketing Techniques

Host Giveaways

In addition to gaining traffic on your website and other platforms, hosting giveaways can be the key to amplifying your brand and making it accessible to a larger audience. 

Here’s what giving away valuable products does to your brand:

• Builds trust. Prospects are likely to purchase from you when they recognize your brand.
• Acts as a word-of-mouth marketing strategy. People just don’t want free products for themselves, they want them for their friends and family too. This amplifies reach.
• Shared across various social platforms to create awareness about a possible jackpot.
• Collaborating with other brands doubles the reach, doubles prospective clients and reach.
• Increases sales. As traffic to your website increases, so do sales.

Offer Inexpensive Intro Products to Build Relationships

A lot of businesses say the second sale matters more than the first one.

But we also understand that you need to convince a customer to make a purchase the first time around for them to come back for more.

People are likely to go through the whole trial-and-error process  associated with trying new brands when there is little risk in doing so.

Offering cheap introductory products can be a great way of attracting new customers.

 

Provide Reviews or Success Stories

Most people don’t trust brands, they trust people. Brands have a motive, reviewers on their website do not.

Ask your customers to write reviews in exchange for a discount on future purchases.

This will give authenticity to your brand when potential customers see/read the success stories for themselves.

Become An Authority

Your online presence has more impact than you think. It’s what verifies your brand as an authority.

In this age of technology, people shy away from brands that have no online presence, they view it as something sketchy or subpar.

If you want to increase your sales and revenue, you’ll have to build your reputation and become an authority.

Offer Free Samples and Trials

Giving away free samples and trials is one of the best marketing strategies. Giving people a taste of what you offer is a sure-fire way of retaining them as a client.

Compared to unknown strangers, people who’ve tried out your samples are more likely to pay for a full-sized product.

Conclusion

Retaining customers is easier than attracting new customers.

If you want to take your business to new heights, you will need a big client base.

For that, your customer service, in addition to quality products at competitive prices, need to be top notch.

 

 

These techniques will help you become more persuasive and build trust along the way.

 

 Avoid These Common Marketing Mistakes! Please visit WritingConversions.com and get your free report, 26 Marketing Mistakes & Simple Ways to Avoid Them: How to Attract Loyal Clients on a Small Budget.

Discover 26 of the most serious mistakes that entrepreneurs, small business owners, consultants, and other self-employed individuals routinely make when trying to promote their products and services.

You will also receive:

1. Weekly emails that will help you build a profitable marketing funnel
2. Tips to help you find competent and reliable freelance copywriters and consultants
3. Learn how to use direct marketing methods within your inbound funnel for more effective results
4. Bonus downloads that discuss best practices for building your own marketing funnel

 

 

 

 

Write More Effective Lead Paragraphs with These Tried and Proven Techniques

 

When potential customers read your copywriting materials (emails, sales letters, videos), you only have a few seconds to grab their attention and get your message across.

As a result, the content, form, and structure of your sales message matter immensely – especially the first paragraph (lead).

Here are 5 ways you can hook clients and make sure  they stay invested in what you have to say.

 

#1. Make a Direct Offer

The start of your sales message should be so good that it makes the reader stop what they’re doing and focus all their attention on it.

Start your sales message with a direct offer, one that its prospects will be tempted to act on.

This is more likely to work with well-known products rather than new and unfamiliar ones.

 

#2. The Promise Lead

Before customers make a purchase, they ask themselves: what am I getting out of this?

Provide them with an answer.

You can focus on the many benefits of the product and/or focus on a solution they can’t resist.

 

#3. Problem and Solution

Use emotions to your advantage. Start by highlighting their fears, focusing on them, and building them up.

This will create a demand for a solution.

Your main goal with this type of message is to present a truly relevant problem and then introduce your product as the effective solution to the problem.

Use proof to convince them. Employ the use of testimonials, reviews, ratings, stats, etc.

 

#4. Intrigue or Secrets

“Learn how this 91-year-old made the leap and started a business.”

“Learn the secret to perfect health…”

Notice the intrigue in these sentences? Build on it. A boring sales message is not going to cut it.

Curiosity will push most people to  open your emails, provide their contact information, or do what you’re asking them to do.

 

 

#5. The Proclamation Lead

Make a bold claim, one your clients would not see coming. The headline should be so unexpected that it “jars the reader out of their seat.”

Make bold predictions. Use data to make your proclamations more realistic. For example, “Crypto will become the online medium of exchange by 2025. Here’s why.”

 

 

#6. The Story Lead

Stories intrigue people. If there’s something that can guarantee a prospect’s attention, it’s this. You can use this to your advantage by targeting universal dreams and aspirations.

 Provide readers with relatable success stories through testimonials, reviews, and case studies.

 

 

 

Conclusion

After the headline, the lead paragraph is the most important section of your sales messages, since it’s where readers usually decide whether or not to continue reading.

The six leads discussed here have been used by leading marketers  for years and years, since they are proven to hold readers’ attention beyond the headline / title.

 

 

Avoid These Common Marketing Mistakes! Please visit WritingConversions.com and get your free report, 26 Marketing Mistakes & Simple Ways to Avoid Them: How to Attract Loyal Clients on a Small Budget.

Discover 26 of the most serious mistakes that entrepreneurs, small business owners, consultants, and other self-employed individuals routinely make when trying to promote their products and services.

You will also receive:

1. Weekly emails that will help you build a profitable marketing funnel
2. Tips to help you find competent and reliable freelance copywriters and consultants
3. Learn how to use direct marketing methods within your inbound funnel for more effective results
4. Bonus downloads that discuss best practices for building your own marketing funnel

 

 

 

 

 

How To Easily Maximize Customers’ Lifetime Value: a Cost-Effective Strategy

To make it  in the competitive business world, you have to create products and services that will have your client base coming back for more, year after year.

Most businesses don’t survive after the 5-year mark.

Why?

They focus so much on making sales that they ignore the need to build long-term relationships with their customers.

 

They chase customer after customer to stay afloat.

 

Needless to say, this is a highly risky and expensive way to grow profits, and is detrimental to your business’s growth.

Instead of focusing on quantity, businesses should focus on  quality, long-term clients.  

 

 

How Can You Maximize Sales to Current Customers?

 

A lot of businesses make the mistake of investing too much money to acquire new customers.

They maximize the frequency of marketing  tactics, trying to ensure maximum reach.

Even if  you make  huge investments, there’s no guarantee that you will be able to acquire new clients.

Brands and businesses should instead focus on retaining the customers they have.

Your existing mailing list is your lifeline — strengthen it.

Along with producing quality products your clients need, you should also focus on rewarding them for the loyalty they’ve shown you.

 

How to Reward Loyal customers?

These are just a couple of things you can do to reward your loyal customers:

• Offer them discounts
• Create a loyalty/rewards program
• Give away free educational materials
  
• Reward them for referrals

Through mailing lists and social media, you can easily build a relationship between yourself and your customers – making them come back for more and spread the word amongst friends and family.

 

Believe The Numbers

Statistics are a great way to determine whether a certain product, business tactic or strategy is a hit or miss.

If you’re looking to grow your business, you will need new customers, there’s no denying that. This is where you need to strategize.

Focus your attention on the customers that are likely to provide the greatest long-term profits, based on your analytics reports. 

 

 

Conclusion

It’s infinitely easier to retain an existing client than it is to acquire one.

As a business, you should focus on providing services that  make your customers want to stay. You can’t sell a product to a client who doesn’t want it.

This is why you need to understand the needs, wants, and requirements of your customer base and adapt accordingly.

Unlike what they say, sales is not just a numbers game!

 

Avoid These Common Marketing Mistakes! Please visit WritingConversions.com and get your free report, 26 Marketing Mistakes & Simple Ways to Avoid Them: How to Attract Loyal Clients on a Small Budget.

Discover 26 of the most serious mistakes that entrepreneurs, small business owners, consultants, and other self-employed individuals routinely make when trying to promote their products and services.

 

You will also receive:

1. Weekly emails that will help you build a profitable marketing funnel
2. Tips to help you find competent and reliable freelance copywriters and consultants
3. Learn how to use direct marketing methods within your inbound funnel for more effective results
4. Bonus downloads that discuss best practices for building your own marketing funnel

A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) Makes Marketing Much Easier

Marketing products in a world that’s not short on options is not an easy task.

How can you assure customers will flock to your brand when they have plenty of options at their disposal?

In short, why should someone buy from you?

Unless you know the reasons, you will have a hard time creating effective sales offers.

A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) can make it easier to market your products and services.

It draws a defining line between you and your competitors. It allows customers to see what sets you apart from all the others thereby influencing their buying decision.

Importance Of USP in Business
The concept of a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) has been around for decades.

Simply put, it refers to the one specific feature or benefit of your product that helps it stand out – the primary attribute that makes it unique amongst its competition.

While it’s understandable that small businesses and start-ups are wary about traversing through uncharted territory, a USP works just as fine even during the changing times – identifying your USP gives all your marketing a concrete direction and focal point.

A USP is like a guiding star for businesses, however big or small.

For your business to have that edge, you need to locate your brand’s USP and make it work in your favor. Here’s how to get started:

Three Ways to Discover Your USP
Here’s how you can determine your USP and use it to stand out and boost sales:

What You Have to Offer That Is Unique
No customer wants to purchase a product specifically from you that they can get from anywhere else.

Conduct market research and use the statistics to your advantage.

Pull the data and show your customers that what you offer is unique to you.

It can be anything. Quality products, secret and not-so-secret ingredients, your customer service-anything.

Ask yourself, what do I offer clients that others in my business don’t?

Highlight it. Use it to guide your marketing strategy.

 

 

What You Do That Makes You Special
Now that you know how you’re unique from your competitors, use that knowledge wisely.

The services and products you offer are just one part of your business, your customer service and the way you do business are just as important.

Whatever sets you apart from your competitors makes you special. It automatically levels up your performance and puts you high on your clients’ lists.

If you’re working for a cause, let people know. Prospective clients are more likely to invest in a product whose sales can better the world.

 

 

Why Should They Do Business with You?
As a business, you need to be aware of your selling points and your weaknesses. If you can’t locate any, include your customers in the process.

You’d be surprised at the number of people who will voluntarily fill respond to surveys.

Here are a few questions to consider:
● Why do customers decide to buy from you?
● Are your products of better quality than your competitors?
● Is your business customer-centric?
That should answer why customers should do business with you, as opposed to the hundreds of other businesses in the market.

 

 

Conclusion
Use your USP to market your brand. However, be realistic. Not everything works for everybody.

 

A little soul-searching will help you to discover what makes you, your business, or your products special.

Once you know the answer, your marketing and sales efforts will become a lot more persuasive.

 

Avoid These Common Marketing Mistakes! Please visit WritingConversions.com and get your free report, 26 Marketing Mistakes & Simple Ways to Avoid Them: How to Attract Loyal Clients on a Small Budget.

Discover 26 of the most serious mistakes that entrepreneurs, small business owners, consultants, and other self-employed individuals routinely make when trying to promote their products and services.

You will also receive:
1. Weekly emails that will help you build a profitable marketing funnel
2. Tips to help you find competent and reliable freelance copywriters and consultants
3. Learn how to use direct marketing methods within your inbound funnel for more effective results
4. Bonus downloads that discuss best practices for building your own marketing funnel

 

 

 

Directly addressing customers is still one of the best and cheapest marketing strategies businesses can employ.

Using emails to share discounts and offers works great, even in the age of  the soft sale.

It facilitates a direct connection between the business and the client, driving customers to your website and encouraging them to purchase products by offering them incentives, coupons, and benefits.

 

Email Newsletters, as a Direct Marketing technique, is known to provide miraculous results.

 

Email Newsletters: The Key to Boosting Sales

An email newsletter is an effective marketing tool that facilitates sales and motivates  subscribers to purchase from you.

A well-crafted newsletter is informative. It promotes your brand in a subtle way, allowing you to get closer to each customer, while still promoting your products and services.

How do email newsletters boost sales? By:

• Promoting products and events
• Building a  community
• Offering tips, tricks, and hacks
  

 

Craft your email newsletter carefully. It should:

• Be short and precise
• Engage in the art of storytelling
• Be reader-centered
• Have a Call to Action (CTA)
• Be aesthetically appealing

Customer Retention Made Easy with Email Newsletters

Acquiring a new customer is hard. Retaining a customer? Not so much.

With a marketing technique like email newsletters, you can ensure you never lose touch with your existing customer base.

An email newsletter allows your small business to create a big impact. A targeted email will not only help you convert subscribers into customers but will also help you establish a rapport with the existing customer base by offering them additional discounts and reward/loyalty points.

Newsletters have an incredible ROI (Return of Investment). Basically, you can reuse the same articles over and over, as long as they offer valuable information.

Email marketing software allows you to schedule your newsletter messages to be repeatedly sent for as long as you wish.

 

As long as you  put the work in initially and make adjustments along the way, your sales and revenue are bound to increase.

 

Conclusion

If you’re looking to effectively market your products and services, instead of investing thousands of dollars in advertising, experiment with email newsletters.

Email newsletters keep your brand and services in your client’s minds which can influence their buying decision whenever they require a product or see a promotional offer they absolutely cannot afford to miss out on.

Simply put, email newsletters drive traffic to your website thereby increasing sales.

Avoid These Common Marketing Mistakes!

Please visit WritingConversions.com and get your free report, 26 Marketing Mistakes & Simple Ways to Avoid Them: How to Attract Loyal Clients on a Small Budget.

Discover 26 of the most serious mistakes that entrepreneurs, small business owners, consultants, and other self-employed individuals routinely make when trying to promote their products and services.

You will also receive:

1. Weekly emails that will help you build a profitable marketing funnel
2. Tips to help you find competent and reliable freelance copywriters and consultants
3. Learn how to use direct marketing methods within your inbound funnel for more effective results
4. Bonus downloads that discuss best practices for building your own marketing funnel