Work Better, Not Harder

It's always a good idea to review your stats, so you know what people are interested in reading. You might want to spend more effort promoting your top posts - use your best value to attract new readers (something like this article). #1.  Is Your Canadian Small Business Compliant with CASL Yet? The Canadian Anti Spam Legislation came fully info effect on July 1, 2017. Here are the 4 most obvious ways businesses aren't yet fully compliant. #2.  Favourite Free Image Sources and Graphics Tools for Small Business Marketing Wondering where to find free images for your newsletter or blog? These are the most common sources we use for free images. #3.  LinkedIn is a Resource, Not a Mailing List "Can I add my LinkedIn contacts to my email list?" I get asked this a lot with regard to the Canadian Anti Spam Legislation (CASL). Find out if you can, if you should, and if it's legal. #4.  No Love from your Newsletter? Here's Why A newsletter does not make a

This email message below arrived in my inbox shortly after sending out my weekly small business event listing (for Halifax, Nova Scotia) . I love it when instant blog posts arrive by email. Hello Linda I've been getting emails from you for a couple of years and, sorry to say, I've always ignored them. Here are two reasons: 1— your subject line is boring. I get lots of emails like these but only open the ones with an interesting subject, e.g. "How to fight your phone fear" or "Learn web design in our latest WordPress meet-up." 2— There is no website that collects these items in an easy to scan format. As a WordPress developer I can set you up with a terrific visual calendar that can easily talk to your personal appointment book. We can talk about improving your business any time. It was a well-intentioned message; here was my response: The subject line is boring on purpose - you can easily ignore it if you're not interested in knowing about events

If you're buried in holiday preparations - at home or for your business - perhaps blogging is low on your to-do list. What if you knew exactly what to write about for the rest of the year? Here are a few no-fail ideas to wrap up the year with a bang. #1. Top selling products or services Check your sales reports and make a list. You might include additional items like photos, detailed descriptions, tips for use, and customer testimonials. #2. Most read blog posts (or newsletter articles) of the year Check your stats and make a list. Include a short preamble for each and a link to read more. #3. News and trends that impact your target market Do a summary timeline of this past year, or write your predictions for the coming year. This one can be serious or fun. #4. Best of... lists You can do a best of... lots of things: videos, books, trends, apps, tips, resources, infographs, others' articles, music, products, services, customers, suppliers, dates, events, celebr

Whether you're getting started or have been blogging for awhile, you'll find this collection of all my favourite business blogging resources here in one place. Idea Generation Tools hubspot.com/blog-topic-generator creativity-portal.com/prompts/imagination.prompt.html workbetternotharder.com/2014/04/reusable-content-ideas-to-get-you.html Outlining and Writing Resources Quick and Easy Content Creation Workbook podiumcoaching.com/store/free-resources/#!/Tighter-Brighter-Writing/p/45076103/category=11489027 hemingwayapp.com Headline Analyzer coschedule.com/headline-analyzer Image Sources and Tools workbetternotharder.com/2017/03/favourite-free-image-sources-and.html Creating Graphics twirp.ca/2017/01/social-media-image-sizes/ pablo.buffer.com snappa.com canva.com crello.com spark.adobe.com typographyeditor.com Recycling Content workbetternotharder.com/2016/04/my-blog-post-recycling-process.html twirp.ca/2016/06/recycle-content-infograph/ Do you h

Purple is my favourite colour so I couldn't be happier about Pantone's latest announcement . Pantone says, "Inventive and imaginative, Ultra Violet lights the way to what is yet to come." Purple is an emotional colour and has always been considered a little tricky for marketing, tending toward the sentimental and feminine. I'm looking forward to finding ways to use it in my own marketing. How about you? Will you use more purple in 2018? Click to Tweet this Article