SMB Marketing Feed

IRS Cautions Tax Professionals About Increased Spearphishing Scams

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 22:00:54 +0300

The IRS recently issued a warning to tax professionals and businesses about a rise in spearphishing attacks aimed at stealing sensitive information. This alert is part of the IRS’s annual “Dirty Dozen” campaign, which highlights the top twelve scams targeting taxpayers and tax advisors each year.

Spearphishing is a type of email scam where criminals pretend to be potential clients to trick tax professionals into giving away personal and financial information. These attackers send emails that look real but are actually fake, trying to get access to computer systems and sensitive data.

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel stressed the importance of staying alert. “Cyberattacks pose a threat to not just the livelihood of the businesses, but the sensitive tax and personnel information that identity thieves can use to try filing fake tax returns,” he said. “The Security Summit partners continue to urge tax pros and businesses to be on guard and educate their employees. Taking simple steps by using extra caution when opening emails, clicking on links or sharing private client information can prevent tax professionals from being taken advantage of by cybercriminals.”

Tips to Avoid Spearphishing Attacks:

Be cautious with emails: Do not click on links or download attachments from unknown or unexpected emails, especially those that claim to be from new clients.
Verify new contacts: If contacted by a potential new client via email, call them to make sure the email is legitimate.
Use strong security on your accounts: Protect your email with strong passwords and two-factor authentication.
Encrypt sensitive information: Only send sensitive information that is encrypted and password-protected.
Keep your software updated: Ensure that your security software is up-to-date and includes anti-phishing features.

The IRS reminds everyone that while these scams are more common during tax season, they can happen at any time of the year. Tax professionals and businesses are advised to remain vigilant and proactive in protecting themselves and their clients.

How to Report a Spearphishing Attack: If you receive a suspicious email, forward it to phishing@irs.gov with details like the sender’s email address and the date and time it was received. The IRS also provides resources on how to recognize and report phishing attempts on their website.

The IRS encourages reporting abusive tax promoters and dishonest tax preparers using the online Form 14242, or by mailing or faxing the form to the IRS Lead Development Center.

The IRS and its Security Summit partners, which include state tax agencies and tax industry leaders, continue their joint efforts to prevent identity theft and tax fraud through education and heightened security measures.

Image: Envato Elements

This article, "IRS Cautions Tax Professionals About Increased Spearphishing Scams" was first published on Small Business Trends

Sales Commission Rates by Industry

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 22:00:03 +0300

Sales professionals thrive on the thrill of closing deals, and what better incentive than a well-structured commission? In this article, we’ll explore the intricacies of sales commission rates across various industries. From the adrenaline-fueled world of advertising to the data-driven tech sector, we’ll dissect the numbers, uncover trends, and equip you with insights to navigate the sales commission rates by industry.

What are the Average Sales Commission Rates?

Commission rates are the lifeblood of a salesperson’s compensation. They represent a percentage or dollar amount of the gross sale that rewards their efforts. The average commission rate for sales typically sits somewhere between 20% and 30% of gross margins. However, this can depend greatly on the sales structure. Some workers may earn their entire salary through 100% commission, while others earn an additional 10% on top of a base salary.

Sales Commission Rates by Industry

Sales commission rates can vary significantly from one industry to another. The variation is often due to factors such as the complexity of the sales process, the value of the product or service being sold, and the industry’s standard practices. Here’s a look at the average sales commission rates in 12 significant industries:

Sales Reps in the Retail Industry

In the retail industry, sales reps typically earn a commission rate of 3% to 10%of the total sale value.

Real Estate Agents

Real estate agents usually earn a commission rate of 1% to 3% of the total property value or sales price.

Sales Reps in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Sales representatives in the pharmaceutical industry generally earn a commission rate of 2% to 10% of the total sale value.

Insurance Sales Agents

Insurance sales agents typically earn a commission rate of 1% to 10% of the total sale value.

Manufacturing Industry

In the manufacturing industry, sales reps usually earn a commission rate of 7% to 15%.

Technology Industry

Sales reps in the technology industry typically earn a commission rate of 5% to 15% of the total sale value.

FMCG Industry

In the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry, the distributor’s margin, which can be considered a form of commission, may range from 3% to 30% of the sales price.

Automobile Industry

In the automobile industry, sales reps typically earn a commission rate of 30%.

Telecommunications Industry

Sales reps in the telecommunications industry typically earn a commission rate of 5% to 20% of the total sale value.

Financial Services Industry

In the financial services industry, sales reps typically earn a commission rate of 1% to 10% of the total sale value.

Hospitality Industry

In the hospitality industry, the commission rates can vary widely depending on the specific role and the type of establishment. However, a common practice is to offer commission rates based on the total value of bookings or sales made. For instance, the commission for Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) ranges from 10% to 30% depending on the OTA’s influence, the size of the hotel, and the popularity of the destination. The variation in commission rates in this industry can be attributed to factors such as the complexity of the sales process, the value of the service being sold, and the industry’s standard practices.

Health and Wellness Industry

In the health and wellness industry, sales reps often earn a commission based on the total sale value of the health and wellness products or services they sell. The commission rates can vary widely depending on the specific product or service and the company’s commission structure. For instance, in the health and wellness industry, a decent commission rate is 6%, a good rate is 10%, and a great rate is 15%+. The variation in commission rates in this industry can be attributed to factors such as the complexity of the sales process, the value of the product or service being sold, and the industry’s standard practices.

Industry	Commission Rate Range	Notes
Retail Industry	3% - 10%	Based on total sale value; varies by product and company policies.
Real Estate	1% - 3%	Of the total property value or sales price; can vary significantly by location and deal size.
Pharmaceutical Industry	2% - 10%	On total sale value; influenced by product type and sales targets.
Insurance Sales	1% - 10%	Of the policy value; can vary by type of insurance and terms.
Manufacturing Industry	7% - 15%	On total sale value; varies based on the product and contract terms.
Technology Industry	5% - 15%	Based on total sale value; influenced by product type and market.
FMCG Industry	3% - 30%	Distributor's margin; varies widely depending on the product and market conditions.
Automobile Industry	30%	Of the total sale value; varies by dealership and vehicle type.
Telecommunications Industry	5% - 20%	On total sale value; varies by services and contract terms.
Financial Services Industry	1% - 10%	Of the total sale or investment value; varies by service and product.
Hospitality Industry	Variable (commonly 10% - 30%)	Based on total value of bookings/sales; varies by service, location, and agreements.
Health and Wellness Industry	6% - 15%+	On total sale value of products/services; varies by product, service, and company policy.

Sales Commission Structures

Sales commission is a key component of a sales representative’s compensation package. It is a certain percentage of the revenue that the sales representative brings in for the company. The commission motivates sales representatives to increase their sales and contributes significantly to their income. There are several types of sales commission structures, each with its own advantages and characteristics.

Straight Sales Commission Structure

In a straight sales commission structure, the earnings of a sales representative are directly proportional to the sales they make, with no base salary involved. This model is the purest form of sales incentive, offering a clear, straightforward approach where sales representatives earn a set percentage of each sale they close.

Salary Plus Sales Commission Structure

The salary plus sales commission structure is one of the most common commission structures. It provides salespeople with a base salary plus a commission rate. Typically, the base salary is often too low to support someone’s income entirely but it does provide a guaranteed income when sales are low. The standard salary-to-commission ratio is 60:40 with 60% being the base rate and 40% being commission-driven.

Tiered Sales Commission Structure

A tiered commission structure is where sales reps are encouraged to sell more by being offered incrementally higher commission rates for exceeding sales quotas. These quotas can be based on revenue, profits, number of deals closed, units sold, new customers acquired, etc.

Revenue Sales Commission Structure

In a revenue sales commission structure, sales representatives earn a commission that is a percentage of the total revenue they generate. This type of commission structure is simple and straightforward, making it easy for sales representatives to understand how their commission is calculated.

Profit Margin Sales Commission Structure

In a profit margin sales commission structure, rather than paying sales reps the whole amount of money they bring in, commission-based compensation gives them a portion of the profit from each sale. The formula for this is Sales Profit × Commission Rate = Commission.

Territory Volume Sales Commission Structure

In a territory volume sales commission structure, regardless of individual success, sales professionals are paid based on the overall sales generated within their assigned territory. The formula for this is Territory Sales Revenue × Commission Rate = Commission.

Feature/Structure	Straight Sales Commission	Salary Plus Sales Commission	Tiered Sales Commission	Revenue Sales Commission	Profit Margin Sales Commission	Territory Volume Sales Commission
Base Salary	None	Yes, often low	Varies	None	None	None
Commission Type	Percentage of sales	Base salary + percentage	Incremental rates	Percentage of revenue	Percentage of profit	Percentage of territory sales
Incentive Focus	Sales volume	Balance of security & incentive	Sales performance exceeding quotas	Revenue generated	Profitability of sales	Overall territory performance
Complexity	Low	Moderate	High	Low	Moderate	Moderate
Risk for Sales Reps	High (no guaranteed income)	Lower (due to base salary)	Varies (depends on quota levels)	Low	Moderate (depends on profit margins)	Low (shared among territory team)
Suitability	High-turnover products/services	Stable industries with occasional sales fluctuations	Competitive industries, high-value products/services	Services and products with clear revenue models	High-margin products/services	Geographically focused sales teams
Predictability of Earnings for Reps	Low	Moderate	Varies with sales performance	Moderate	Varies with profit margins	Varies with overall territory sales
Calculation Example	Sale Price × Commission Rate = Commission	(Base Salary) + (Sale Price × Commission Rate) = Total Earnings	Exceeding Quota Increases Commission Rate	Total Revenue × Commission Rate = Commission	(Sale Price - Cost) × Commission Rate = Commission	Territory Sales × Commission Rate = Commission

IRS Offers Easy Online Extension for Tax Filers as Deadline Nears" was first published on Small Business Trends

How Retail Needs to Change Right Now

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 14:00:09 +0300

Retail is never ever going to be the same. The practices that allowed retailers to achieve success in the past will not work alone in the future. Plus since post-Covid, consumers’ behavior is changing exponentially and accelerating.

On The Small Business Radio Show this week, I talked with Gary Hawkins, who has been described as a visionary and retail industry expert. He has created a powerful blueprint to help the retail industry thrive in an exponential world. Retailers have a unique opportunity to set aside outdated beliefs and use accelerating innovation and never-before-possible capabilities to create a powerful vision for retail’s future. He has a new book out called “Bionic Retail: How to Thrive in an Exponential World”.

Here is what we discussed in my interview with Gary Hawkins:

How retail technology must change to reflect an evolving society, including changes in customer shopping habits, retail operations post-pandemic, and ultimately, how value is created in retail in in-person spaces.

How to give a customer a reason to walk into your store (and stay and buy something).

Why the principles in Bionic Retail impact more than just economics—but human longevity as well in the future.

What beliefs and systems stand in the way of innovation and how to overcome these obstacles to develop an inspired vision and committed action to create a new future of retail.

Why there is a growing gap between the practices and processes that have made retail success in the past and what’s required for success going forward into the future.

How retail operating models are changing even at Amazon, Walmart and Kroger.

How retailers have an opportunity to create their vision of future retail and what it will look like when they do.

Listen to the entire interview on The Small Business Radio Show.

Image: Gary Hawkins

This article, "How Retail Needs to Change Right Now" was first published on Small Business Trends

Amazon Scrapping Cashierless Technology from Some Stores

Sun, 14 Apr 2024 14:00:26 +0300

Amazon has announced that it will remove its cashierless system from grocery stores and will not feature the technology in new stores.

The move provides lessons to other companies, particularly retailers, about consumer demands. While shoppers generally want speed and convenience, technology that replaces traditional elements of shopping and makes them feel alienated or even intimidated is not always desirable, particularly in physical store settings.

This “Just Walk Out “technology is aimed at helping its stores create a faster way to shop without the hassle of checking out. Featuring shelf sensors, ceiling-mounted cameras and algorithms, the system determines what a consumer has bought and then charges them automatically when they exit the store.

Amazon started to develop the technology over a decade ago, driven by the then chief executive Jeff Bezos, as the company aimed to move its presence into physical stores.

The cashierless system debuted in 2018 at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters, with the opening of a convenience store inside the lobby. Dozens of Amazon Go-branded convenience stores were subsequently opened with the Just Walk Out technology, which was later installed in Fresh Stores and Whole Foods Market locations.

However, as reported by The Press-Enterprise, the technology alienated some consumers, who felt uncomfortable with the entry gates or with how Amazon had transformed traditional grocery stores into high-tech vending machines. The receipting aspect of the technology also proved unpopular, with shoppers receiving receipts digitally after they shop. The receipts could take several hours to arrive and were deemed impractical for larger shops.

Amazon Go stores will still feature the Just Walk Out systems, and the company will continue to license the technology to other retailers. Additionally, smaller stores in Britain will retain the system.

Image: Depositphotos

This article, "Amazon Scrapping Cashierless Technology from Some Stores" was first published on Small Business Trends

Understand Your Customer More With AI at Strategic Marketing West 2024

Sat, 13 Apr 2024 19:00:05 +0300

AI is revolutionizing marketing by offering powerful tools to analyze consumer behavior and personalize experiences. By harnessing AI’s predictive capabilities, marketers can anticipate customer needs, delivering tailored content and offers in real time. Strategic Marketing West 2024 will showcase how AI will improve your marketing so you can better understand your customers.

AI-driven chatbots facilitate seamless customer interactions, while sentiment analysis enhances brand reputation management. Moreover, AI streamlines data-driven decision-making, enabling marketers to optimize campaigns and allocate resources effectively. Ultimately, AI’s impact on marketing translates to improved customer engagement, loyalty, and business growth.

Featured Events, Contests and Awards

Reuters Events: Strategic Marketing West 2024
May 08, 2024, Universal City, California

With a 16-year legacy, Reuters Events: Strategic Marketing West 2024 unites 250+ senior marketing leaders to master data-driven creativity: effectively manage data to capture customer insight, evolve culture alongside consumer trends, and harness cutting-edge technology to its fullest potential.

More Events

Building Business Capability 2024
April 15, 2024, Orlando, Florida
NEMOA: National Etailing and Marketing Organization of America
April 16, 2024, Everett, United States
DigiMarCon Canada 2024 – Digital Marketing, Media and Advertising Conference & Exhibition
April 18, 2024, New Toronto, ON
Insurance Innovators USA 2024 | 22-23 April | Music City Center, Nashville
April 22, 2024, Nashville, Tennessee
TECHSPO Vancouver 2024 Technology Expo (Internet ~ Mobile ~ AdTech ~ MarTech ~ SaaS)
April 25, 2024, Online
NYU Entrepreneurs Challenge: Finals & Awards Ceremony
April 26, 2024, New York, New York
TECHSPO Seattle 2024 Technology Expo (Internet ~ Mobile ~ AdTech ~ MarTech ~ SaaS)
April 29, 2024, Online
Advancing Preconstruction 2024
May 01, 2024, Denver, United States
Think | INNOVATE 2024: Operational Excellence Executive Innovation Conference
May 02, 2024, Columbia, Maryland
DigiMarCon California 2024 – Digital Marketing, Media and Advertising Conference & Exhibition
May 02, 2024, San Diego, California
TECHSPO San Diego 2024 Technology Expo (Internet ~ Mobile ~ AdTech ~ MarTech ~ SaaS)
May 02, 2024, San Diego, California
2024 Broward & Beyond Business Conference
May 03, 2024, Fort Lauderdale, FL
LEAP TA Construction 2024
May 06, 2024, Chicago, Illinois
Telecom Talks 2024
May 08, 2024, Menlo Park, CA
2nd International Conference on Dermatology and Cosmetology
May 09, 2024, Bangkok, Thailand
TECHSPO Houston 2024 Technology Expo (Internet ~ Mobile ~ AdTech ~ MarTech ~ SaaS)
May 13, 2024, Houston, Texas
DigiMarCon South 2024 – Digital Marketing, Media and Advertising Conference & Exhibition
May 13, 2024, Houston, United States of America
The Future of Insurance USA 2024
May 15, 2024, Chicago, Illinois
TECHSPO New York 2024 Technology Expo (Internet ~ Mobile ~ AdTech ~ MarTech ~ SaaS)
May 16, 2024, New York City, United States of America
Innovation Review on Battery Tech
May 16, 2024, Milpitas, CA

More Contests

This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends.

You can see a full list of events, contest and award listings or post your own events by visiting the Small Business Events Calendar.

Image: Depositphotos

This article, "Understand Your Customer More With AI at Strategic Marketing West 2024" was first published on Small Business Trends

How Today’s Business Owners Benefit from Shopify, TikTok, and Other Online Tools

Sat, 13 Apr 2024 14:00:09 +0300

There are so many online platforms and digital marketing tools that can benefit today’s businesses. To make the best possible choices for your business, it helps to learn from those with even more experience. Members of the online small business community are well-versed in the most popular platforms and tools of 2024. Read on for some of their recent thoughts.

Make Money on Shopify

Shopify is one of the top ecommerce platforms available to small businesses. And there are plenty of ways to make money using the tools provided. Read a guide to some top options in this OptiMonk post by Nikolett Lorincz.

Learn About TikTok’s New Features

TikTok is always updating its features to stay relevant with both businesses and individuals. But that means businesses have to constantly learn about these changes in order to stay relevant. This post by Lisa D. Jenkins of Social Media Examiner features several recent updates that small business owners should know.

Use Videos to Market Your Local Business

Video marketing isn’t just for online businesses. This tactic can make a major difference for local businesses as well. Learn more in this Search Engine Journal post by Jeff Riddall.

Learn the Differences Between Multi-Cloud and Hybrid-cloud

Cloud technology is one of the top technologies affecting today’s businesses. But there are multiple types of cloud platforms available, each with its own benefits for small businesses. Check out this Multiquos post by Kashyap Pujara for an explanation of multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud options.

Learn About Internal Developer Platforms

Developers often have to manage several workflows while creating new technologies for businesses. Internal developer platforms offer a solution for managing the various tasks that go along with this. In this Control Plane post, Eyal Katz dives into the concept and provides an explanation for developers and businesses.

Excel in SEO with These Strategies

SEO strategies can vary dramatically from business to business. However, there are some tactics that tend to help many companies see positive results. Megha Khandelwal explores several top strategies in this DZ Insights post.

Gain Maximum Visibility on Twitter (or X)

X, formerly known as Twitter, provides a powerful platform for reaching potential customers. But in order to gain maximum visibility, you need to post at the right time. See tips for doing just that in this Inspire to Thrive post by Lisa Sicard. After reading, head over to BizSugar to see what members are saying about the post.

Stay Informed About Digital Marketing Trends

Digital marketing is constantly changing, so staying on top of trends can help small businesses gain an edge. If you want to learn more about digital marketing in 2024, check out this Decipher Zone post by Mahipal Nehra.

Invest in Risk Protection Software

Risk protection software can help small businesses sidestep major issues. However, not all programs offer the same level of features and support. In this Memcyco post by Eran Tsur, you can read about ten of the top options available for small businesses.

Learn About the Top Tech Tools for Business Growth

The right tech tools can take your business to the next level. But with so many options to choose from, it can be tough to find the right mix for your business. In this Biz Penguin post, Ivan Widjaya goes over some top options that small business owners should know.

If you’d like to suggest your favorite small business content to be considered for an upcoming community roundup, please send your news tips to: sbtips@gmail.com.

Image: Envato Elements

This article, "How Today’s Business Owners Benefit from Shopify, TikTok, and Other Online Tools" was first published on Small Business Trends

Comcast Brings Back Popular Small Business Grant Program

Sat, 13 Apr 2024 13:00:58 +0300

Comcast is one of many corporations that regularly support small businesses through grants. The company’s RISE grant program is an annual offering supporting entrepreneurs in select markets throughout the U.S. Read more about this program and others below.

Comcast RISE

Comcast is launching a new round of funding through its Comcast RISE grant program. This round includes a total of $500,000 in grants, along with technology upgrades, marketing support, media opportunities, coaching, and educational resources. As with past funding rounds, the program focuses on businesses in a few metropolitan areas, including Houston, Atlanta, Southern Colorado, Jacksonville, and Richmond. The program will award 500 total grants, with 100 earmarked for each city or geographic area. Comcast RISE is currently in its fourth year and has already awarded 13,500 grants to small businesses, including a total of $125 million in funds and resources. The application period for this round will run from May 1 through May 31.

Chicago Allstate Main Street Grant Program

Allstate is sponsoring a new grant program for small businesses and nonprofits on the city’s South and West sides. Allstate’s Main Street Grant Program will award at least ten grants of between $5,000 and $25,000 to eligible companies and organizations. To qualify, applicants must be able to demonstrate a positive community impact, like job creation or making essential services more accessible. Businesses and nonprofits can apply for the program now through April 30.

Merchant Maverick Opportunity Grants for Kid Entrepreneurs

B2B resource Merchant Maverick recently unveiled its Opportunity Grants for Kid Entrepreneurs. The program will award $2,000 grants to young entrepreneurs between the ages of 10 and 18. The program originally launched back in 2021 and has since awarded 17 grants to young small business owners that can have limited access to traditional business financing. To qualify, businesses must have a business address located within the United States, have at least six months in business, and be majority-run by someone in the target age group. The application period is now open and will close on May 31, 2024.

Terra Haute Small Business and Nonprofit Grants

The United Way of the Wabash Valley and the City of Terre Haute are partnering to offer grants to small businesses and nonprofits throughout the area. The Small Business and Nonprofit Grant are technically two separate programs, but both use American Rescue Plan Act funding and aim to support the community. For the business program, eligible applicants can request between $10,000 and $100,000, with award amounts varying based on each business’s project or goals. Recipients then must complete their projects within 24 months.

New York City Business Preparedness and Resiliency Program

The New York City Department of Small Business Services just announced a new grant program to support small businesses in flood zones. The Business Preparedness and Resiliency Program offers grants of $5,000 to businesses that may be vulnerable to flooding to help with various projects that may help them prepare or shore up operations. The department is also collaborating with the NYC Emergency Management and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection to teach business owners what to do in the event of a flood. Businesses must first schedule a free assessment with the city to qualify. The department estimates that the program should help about 480 small businesses throughout the city.

North Louisiana BRF Grants

Economic development organization BRF, based in Shreveport, Louisiana, recently received two grants worth a total of $2 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. Though this funding won’t go directly to small businesses in the form of grants, the goal is to accelerate technology entrepreneurship in North Louisiana by increasing access to startup capital and assistance. Specifically, BRF will use funds to expand its Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program (EAP), providing startup services like funding strategies and mentorship.

Image: Comcast

This article, "Comcast Brings Back Popular Small Business Grant Program" was first published on Small Business Trends

AI in Sales and Marketing: A New Era for Sales Teams

Fri, 12 Apr 2024 22:00:52 +0300

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming sales and marketing, opening a new chapter for sales teams. With AI, businesses are achieving remarkable efficiencies and deeper customer insights, reshaping sales strategies. This article dives into how AI revolutionizes sales tasks, enhances customer engagement, and offers a step-by-step guide for adopting AI in sales practices.

Embrace the journey to leveraging AI, setting your team to unmatched success.

What is AI in Sales?

AI in sales refers to using artificial intelligence technology to improve and automate the sales process. This technology analyzes large amounts of data to identify patterns, predict customer behaviors, and provide actionable insights.

It helps sales teams make informed decisions, personalize customer interactions, and increase efficiency by taking over repetitive tasks. Essentially, AI acts as a powerful tool that enhances the effectiveness of sales strategies and operations.

The Emergence of Artificial Intelligence in Sales

The rise of AI in sales marks a significant shift in how businesses approach selling. Driven by the need for more efficient processes and deeper customer insights, companies are turning to AI for solutions.

Initially, AI has shown promising outcomes by automating mundane tasks, providing predictive analytics for better decision-making, and personalizing customer interactions.

This technological leap has not only streamlined operations but also set the stage for more dynamic and responsive sales strategies.

Key Applications of AI in Sales

Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing sales by bringing efficiency and personalization to the forefront. Let’s explore some of the most impactful ways AI is being used to enhance sales processes and strategies.

AI Technology in Lead Scoring

AI improves lead scoring by analyzing vast amounts of data on customer behavior and demographics. This helps sales teams prioritize leads that are most likely to convert, ensuring they focus their efforts where it matters most.

Artificial Intelligence in Sales Forecasting

By leveraging historical data, AI predicts future sales trends, helping businesses plan more accurately. This insight into potential sales volumes allows for better resource allocation and strategy planning.

Chatbots and Virtual Assistants

AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants provide round-the-clock customer service and support, handling inquiries and guiding customers through the sales funnel without human intervention, improving the customer experience significantly.

Customer Relationship Management

Integrating AI with CRM systems enables more personalized interactions with customers by analyzing past interactions and preferences. This leads to more effective communication strategies and stronger customer relationships.

Analyzing Customer Data

AI excels at sifting through vast amounts of customer data to identify patterns, trends, and insights. These insights help businesses tailor their offerings and marketing strategies to better meet customer needs.

Personalized Marketing

AI tools can personalize marketing efforts at scale, delivering tailored messages and offers to individual customers based on their behaviors and preferences, significantly increasing engagement rates.

Sales Automation

From automating email campaigns to scheduling follow-ups, AI can handle repetitive sales tasks, freeing human sales reps to focus on more strategic activities requiring a personal touch.

Upselling and Cross-selling

AI analyzes customer purchase history and behavior to identify opportunities for upselling and cross-selling, making recommendations that are timely and relevant to each customer.

Sales Training and Coaching

AI can also play a role in developing sales teams through personalized training programs and performance coaching, analyzing sales calls and interactions to offer feedback and improvement suggestions.

AI Application in Sales	Benefits	Applications
AI Technology in Lead Scoring	Prioritizes leads most likely to convert	Analyzes customer behavior and demographics
Artificial Intelligence in Sales Forecasting	Predicts future sales trends for accurate planning	Leverages historical sales data
Chatbots and Virtual Assistants	Provides 24/7 customer service and support	Handles inquiries, guides customers through sales funnel
Customer Relationship Management	Enables more personalized customer interactions	Integrates with CRM systems to analyze past interactions
Analyzing Customer Data	Identifies patterns, trends, and insights in customer data	Helps tailor offerings and marketing strategies
Personalized Marketing	Delivers tailored messages to increase engagement rates	Personalizes marketing efforts based on customer behaviors
Sales Automation	Frees up sales reps to focus on strategic tasks	Automates repetitive tasks like email campaigns and follow-ups
Upselling and Cross-selling	Identifies opportunities based on customer data	Analyzes purchase history and behavior for recommendations
Sales Training and Coaching	Personalizes training programs and provides feedback	Analyzes sales calls and interactions for improvement suggestions

The Impact of AI on Sales Teams and Sales Reps

AI is dramatically changing the landscape for sales teams and sales reps, offering both incredible opportunities and new challenges.

On the one hand, AI tools empower sales professionals to achieve better results than ever before and save time through sales automation. On the other hand, the integration of AI brings about a set of challenges that need careful navigation.

Enhancing Sales Performance with AI

AI significantly boosts sales performance by automating routine tasks, allowing sales reps to focus on more strategic activities. For example, AI-powered CRM systems can prioritize leads based on their likelihood to convert, enabling sales reps to target their efforts more effectively.

Additionally, AI-driven analytics offer deep insights into customer behavior, helping sales teams tailor their approach and improve their sales pitch. With AI, sales reps can predict customer needs, offer timely solutions, and ultimately, close deals faster.

Challenges for Sales Professionals

Despite its benefits, AI also presents challenges for sales professionals. One major concern is the learning curve associated with new technologies. Sales teams must invest time and resources to understand and leverage AI tools fully.

There’s also the fear of job displacement as AI takes over more tasks. Moreover, over-reliance on AI could potentially erode interpersonal skills that are crucial for sales.

Ensuring data privacy and managing the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence in sales are additional hurdles that professionals must navigate.

Balancing the advantages of AI with these considerations is key to harnessing its full potential while maintaining a human touch in sales.

How AI is Changing the Sales Process

The introduction of AI into the sales world is reshaping how businesses approach their sales processes. From identifying potential customers to retaining them long-term, AI technology plays a pivotal role in enhancing efficiency and accuracy across the board.

Artificial Intelligence in Customer Acquisition

AI transforms customer acquisition by enabling sales teams to identify and target potential customers more effectively. Through data analysis and predictive algorithms, AI can pinpoint which prospects are most likely to convert, based on their behavior and interaction with your brand. This means sales efforts can be more focused and tailored, significantly increasing the chances of acquiring new customers.

Artificial Intelligence in Customer Retention

Retaining customers is just as important as acquiring new ones, and AI plays a crucial role here as well. By analyzing customer data, AI can help predict customer needs, satisfaction levels, and potential churn risks. This allows businesses to proactively address issues, personalize communications, and engage with customers in a way that encourages loyalty and long-term relationships.

Artificial Intelligence in Sales Forecasting

AI significantly enhances sales forecasting by analyzing vast amounts of data to predict future sales trends. This predictive capability allows businesses to make more informed decisions regarding inventory management, marketing strategies, and resource allocation.

With AI-driven sales forecasting, companies can better anticipate demand, adjust strategies accordingly, and optimize their sales processes for maximum efficiency.

Getting Started with AI in Sales

Embracing Artificial Intelligence in sales not only enhances efficiency but also opens up new avenues for engaging with customers and optimizing sales strategies. Whether you’re just beginning to explore the potential of AI or looking to deepen its integration, there’s a clear pathway to harnessing its power within your sales processes.

Steps to Implement Artificial Intelligence in Your Sales Processes

Integrating AI into your sales strategy can seem daunting, but by following these steps, you can make the process smoother and more effective:

Evaluate Your Needs: Identify the specific areas within your sales process that could benefit most from automation and intelligence enhancements.
Research AI Solutions: Look for AI tools that align with your identified needs, focusing on those with proven track records in sales optimization.
Data Preparation: Ensure your data is clean and structured. AI tools require quality data to provide accurate insights and predictions.
Pilot Programs: Start with a small-scale pilot to test the effectiveness of the AI tool in your sales process without fully committing.
Training and Onboarding: Educate your sales team on the new tools, focusing on how AI can assist and enhance their sales efforts.
Monitor and Adjust: Continuously monitor the performance of AI integrations and be ready to make adjustments. Collect feedback from your team to improve and optimize the use of AI tools.

Choosing the Right AI Tools for Your Sales Team

Selecting the right AI tools for your sales team is a strategic decision that can significantly impact the efficiency and effectiveness of your sales processes. To ensure the success of your AI integration efforts, here are key considerations to keep in mind:

Identify Team Challenges and Goals: Understand the specific challenges your sales team faces and what you aim to achieve with AI integration. This will help you select tools that are directly aligned with your needs.
Compatibility with Existing Tech Stack: The AI tools should integrate seamlessly with your current sales technologies. Compatibility reduces friction in adoption and maximizes the utility of your entire tech ecosystem.
User-Friendliness: Choose solutions that are intuitive and easy to use. Complex systems can hinder adoption and may require extensive training, reducing the overall efficiency of your team.
Strong Customer Support: Opt for tools backed by reliable customer service. Effective support ensures that any issues can be promptly addressed, minimizing downtime and maximizing productivity.
Scalability: The tools should be able to accommodate growth. As your business expands, your AI solutions should scale accordingly to support increased demands.
Security and Compliance: Especially critical in industries subject to strict data protection laws, the chosen AI tools must adhere to relevant regulations and offer robust security features to protect sensitive information.

By considering these factors, you can choose AI tools that not only address your immediate needs but also position your sales team for long-term success. This strategic approach ensures that the technology enhances your sales processes, contributes to achieving your objectives, and supports the overall growth of your business.

FAQs: AI in Sales

What are some of the best AI sales tools?

Some top AI sales tools include Salesforce Einstein for CRM enhancement, Gong for conversation intelligence, and HubSpot for marketing automation. These tools help in lead scoring, predictive analytics, and personalizing customer interactions, making sales processes more efficient and effective. Small businesses can also learn how small businesses can use chatgpt and other natural language processing tools to refine their pit

USPS Indicates Postage and Shipping Rates Could Rise

Fri, 12 Apr 2024 21:00:20 +0300

The US Postal Service (USPS) plans to raise rates on certain products, including a 5-cent rise on First-Class ‘Forever’ stamps from 68 cents to 73 cents.

The request was made to the Postal Regulatory Commission, which has regulatory oversight over the Postal Service. The Commission must deem the proposed hike necessary for the future financial stability of the USPS and approve the request for the rate rise to go ahead.

If the price increase is approved, what equates to an almost 8% rise on the cost of many mailing services products, will come into effect on July 14, 2024.

Similar increases for metered letters, international mail and postcards have also been proposed. Domestic postcard prices will increase from 53 cents to 56 cents, and international postcards from $1.55 to $1.65. Special services are also due to see a price hike, such as certified mail and order fees. The USPS has however confirmed that other services will remain untouched, including Post Office box rentals. Meanwhile, postal insurance will benefit from a 10% reduction when items are mailed.

The price of stamps has soared in recent years. In 2019, First-Class stamps cost just 50 cents. In July 2023, the price was increased by 3 cents and just several months later in January, was raised again by another two cents.

The Postal Service says the price hikes are part of the agency’s ten-year plan to make it more contemporary and competitive. Louis DeJoy, US Postmaster General had warned about the rate hike earlier, saying customers should get used to “uncomfortable” increases. He said that the increases were overdue following “at least ten years of a defective pricing model.”

According to a CNN report, USPS says its “prices remain among the most affordable in the world.”

While online communication has reduced the need for First-Class mail, which has become a smaller part of the Postal Service’s business, many small businesses still rely on the USPS. Reports show that the majority of shipping in the US is facilitated by the USPS, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. In 2020, an Office of the Inspector General survey found that more than 30% of microbusinesses use the Post Office at least once a week.

The increasing cost of stamps and other USPS mailing services will be an additional expense for small businesses, many of which are already struggling with increasing costs in other areas of their business, such as energy and salaries. Small businesses should be aware of the date when the price hikes are expected to come into force, so they can factor in the additional costs accordingly.

Image: Depositphotos

This article, "USPS Indicates Postage and Shipping Rates Could Rise" was first published on Small Business Trends

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This week I'm chatting it up again with the brilliant @brianclark ...all about how to avoid turning empathy into an empty buzzword. Check it out here: #WeeklyWrap http://ow.ly/yc1o50zHbzn

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My 6-Step Content Marketing Formula That Drives 3,549 Visitors

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 15:53:57 +0200

Writing a blog post is easy.

If you don’t write often, you may feel otherwise, but just follow this and you’ll be good to go when it comes to writing. Or, you can just watch the video below.

But still, you write a blog post and then what do you do?

Well, I’ll tell you this… most people forget the “marketing” in content marketing. Most people write content but don’t do a great job of promoting it.

Here’s the thing: I figured out the perfect formula to promoting content.

Best of all, it’s not complex. Heck, it doesn’t even take 30 minutes. It’s so easy that I broke it down into 6 steps.

And just to give you an idea before we dive into the formula, it’s so effective here is the traffic to my latest blog post.

35,492 visits in a week isn’t too shabby. The post didn’t do exceptionally well and it didn’t tank. It was just an average post.

Now you probably won’t see the same results as me as I’ve been doing this for a long time, but your results will be much better than what you are currently getting. Hence, I used the number of 3,549 in the title as you should be able to drive 1/10th of what I am generating.

So, let’s dive right into the formula.

Step #1: Optimize your headline

8 out of 10 people will read your headline, but only 2 out of 10 people will click through on your headline to read the rest of your article.

No matter how well written your content is, promoting it won’t be effective if no one likes your headline.

Now I know what you are thinking… I’ve already published my article, is it too late to change my headline?

Nope, you can always change your headline, just try not to change the URL of the article once it is already published. And if you decide to change the URL, use a 301 redirect.

There’s a really simple way to come up with headlines that work. Heck, it doesn’t even take more than a minute or two.

Just head over to Ubersuggest and type in the main keyword or phrase your article is about.

You’ll see a report that looks something like this:

Now I want you to click on “Content Ideas” in the left-hand navigation.

You should now see a report that looks like this:

This report shows you all of the blog posts around the web that contain your keyword or phrase within their title. And it breaks it down by social shares, backlinks, and search traffic.

You can use this to see what is working in your space.

Ideally, you want to look for headlines that have thousands of social shares (or hundreds if you aren’t in a popular industry), at least 10 backlinks, and more than 100 estimated visits. Just like the example below.

Making your headlines similar to ones that meet those 3 criteria will increase your odds of getting more traffic.

Step #2: Add 3 internal links

The easiest way to get your new content more love is to build links.

Yes, links are hard to build, but internal links are not… plus they are still effective.

I rank for competitive terms like “digital marketing”…

A lot of it has to do with internal links. I link to my main digital marketing page within my sidebar and within my content.

Every time you publish a new blog post, I want you to go into your older content that is relevant to your newly published blog post and add a link to it. Do this to 3 of your older blog posts.

This helps with indexing and it also helps your new content rank higher on Google.

Step 3: Share your content on the social web carefully

The problem with social media marketing is that people think they can just share their content on sites like Facebook or LinkedIn and it will automatically do well.

Sadly, it won’t because billions of URLs have been shared already.

In other words, we just tend to ignore most of the links people share.

But there is a simple way to stand out and get thousands of visitors from the social web, just like I get.

So, what’s my secret?

Well, I will give you a hint. Just look at one of my most recent posts on LinkedIn:

And here is one from Facebook:

Do you notice a pattern?

I’m evoking curiosity. In other words, I am piquing your interest and if you want to know the “solution” you have to click through to my site.

With the LinkedIn post, I tell you that marketing is going to change next year. I also make a point to say how it is going to change in a way that nobody is talking about.

I do this because we all can assume marketing will change. But by saying it is in a way nobody is talking about, it evokes curiosity. And if you want to know how it will change you have no choice but to click through over to my site to read the rest.

With my Facebook post, I also evoke curiosity. I talk about a Google algorithm update, but I hint that I have an answer to leveraging Google’s latest algorithm update. And if you want to know what it is, you have to click through over to my site.

Whenever you post on the social web, evoke curiosity if you want people to head over to your site.

The easiest way to do this is that every time you share one of your articles on the social web, add a few sentences above the link that helps pique peoples’ interest.

Step #4: Message everyone you link out to

It’s common to link out to other sites within your blog posts.

Heck, sometimes I even link out to my competition.

If you don’t ever link out to other sites, you are making a big mistake. It helps with authority and trust.

If you are using stats and data within your article, you want to cite your sources. This brings credibility to you and it helps brand yourself as an expert which can help with Google’s medic update.

Now, when you link out to a site, go and search their email address. You can typically find their email address on their website.

Or if you can’t find their email address, look for a contact page on their site, you’ll typically see a form that you can fill out.

Whether you find an email address or contact form, I want you to message each and every single site you link out to with a message that goes like this:

Hi [insert their first name],
I just wanted to say, I love your content. Especially your article on [insert the name of the article you linked out to].
I linked to it from my latest blog post [insert URL of your blog post]. It would make my day if you checked it out and even shared it on your favorite social network if you enjoyed it.
Cheers,
[insert your name]

When I send out these emails, I am getting 50 to 60% of the people to respond and share my content. But of course, my blog is popular, so for me, it isn’t too hard. But it hasn’t always been that way, and I’ve been leveraging this tactic for ages.

On the flip side, I also use this tactic on a few of my blogs that are in other niches and don’t use my name (no one knows I own them) and I am seeing success rates around 20%.

Just make sure you don’t use this tactic to ask for a link back. Your success rate will be slim.

Step #5: Send an email blast

These last two tactics produce a large portion of my results, and you shouldn’t take them for granted, no matter how basic they may seem.

If you already haven’t, start collecting emails from your site. You can use free tools like Hello Bar to create popups or sliders.

Hello Bar will plug into whatever email provider you are currently using.

Once you are up and running, every time you release a new blog post, send out an email blast.

Here’s an example of one of my email blasts.

It’s so effective it generated 13,544 clicks.

I’ve found that you can drive good traffic from emails as long as you do the following:

Scrub your list – if someone doesn’t open your emails over the last 30 or 60 days, remove them from your list. It helps keep your emails in people’s inboxes.
Send text-based emails – if you look at the email I sent, I keep it simple. No images, nothing fancy, just text and a link back to my site. It’s that simple.
Evoke curiosity – just like how I explained with the social media posts, your emails won’t do well unless you evoke curiosity.

As you write more content you will get more traffic, which will cause your email list to grow. That will also cause you to get more traffic.

Marketing Trends for 2020: Here’s What Will Happen That Nobody is Talking About

Tue, 05 Nov 2019 15:42:54 +0200

The new year is right around the corner. And I know you are already prepared because you read this blog and tons of other marketing blogs, right?

But here is the thing: I also read most of the popular marketing blogs, follow all of the marketing YouTube channels, and listen to the same podcasts you do.

And I’ve noticed that very few people are talking about what’s really going to happen in 2020.

Sure, they will tell you things like voice search is going to account for over 50% of the search queries next year but all of that stuff has already been talked about.

And there are actually more interesting trends that will affect your marketing that no one is really talking about.

So, what are these trends? What’s going to happen in 2020?

Alright, here goes…

Trend #1: Companies who rely on Google Analytics will get beat by their competition

We all love Google Analytics.

Heck, I love it so much I log in at least 3 or 4 times a day. And here is the kicker: I get so much traffic that my Google Analytics only updates once a day.

I really need to break that habit but that’s for another day.

You are probably wondering, what’s wrong with Google Analytics?

There actually isn’t much wrong with it. It’s a great tool, especially considering that it’s free.

But here is the thing… marketing has been changing. New channels are being constantly introduced, such as voice search.

And transactions no longer are as simple as someone coming and buying from you and that’s it.

These days there are things like upsells, down sells, repeat purchases, and even checkout bumps. On top of that, there are so many different ways you can generate revenue for your online business, such as partnerships, affiliate marketing, and even webinars.

This has caused companies to start using analytics solutions that tie into their database better, such as Amplitude. Or better yet, you are seeing a big push into business intelligence.

A central place where you can tie in all of your data and make better-informed decisions so you can optimize for your lifetime value instead of your short-term income.

In 2020, you will see more companies adopting business intelligence solutions… from paid ones to free ones like Google Data Studio.

If you haven’t checked out Data Studio, you’ll want to start now because it is easy to pass in all of your business and marketing data into one place. For example, you can pass in more granular data from your Facebook ad campaigns into Data Studio while that would be a bit difficult to do with Google Analytics.

Trend #2: Companies will optimize for voice search, but not for revenue

According to ComScore, over 50% of the searches in 2020 will be from voice search. But that’s not really a new trend… everyone has been talking about that for years.

So, what’s the big deal?

Optimizing for voice search is a great way to get your brand out more, but how is that going to convert into sales?

I haven’t seen too many solutions so far when it comes to capitalizing on your voice search traffic, but so far there is Jetson.ai.

If you aren’t familiar with Jetson.ai, it makes it so people can buy from your site using voice search. It doesn’t matter if it is Alexa or Google Home, they work with most of the popular devices.

What’s cool about Jetson.ai is that it can learn from each customer and customize the interactions.

For example, if I keep ordering the same toothpaste from a specific store using voice search, Jetson.ai keeps track of that so you can easily keep ordering the same product over and over again with little to no friction.

Heck, it’s easier than logging into your computer or pulling out your phone to make a purchase.

Trend #3: Your lists won’t convert as well, so you’ll have to look for alternative communication channels

Email, it’s something we all use in the corporate world.

But here is something interesting when it comes to marketing emails… I’m in a group with a bit over 109 email marketers across different industries in different parts of the world.

And can you guess what we are all noticing?

Our open rates are staying roughly the same and that’s largely because we all know how to clean and optimizing for deliverability.

But our click rates are going down.

So far as a group we have seen our click rates drop by 9.4% in 2019.

That’s crazy considering as a group we have over 146 million email addresses.

Now does this mean email is dead?

Of course not!!!

Email is here to stay and will be here for a very long time.

But what companies will have to do in 2020 is to leverage more communication channels.

Chatbots will take off drastically. Not necessarily the Intercom’s or Drift’s of the world but more so the solutions like ManyChat and MobileMonkey.

ManyChat and MobileMonkey leverage Facebook Messenger and as they connect it with Instagram and WhatsApp it will get even more popular.

In addition to chatbots, you’ll see more people leveraging tools that allow push notifications like Subscribers.

It’s so powerful, here is the impact I’ve been able to generate from push notifications so far using Subscribers.

You can wait till next year to lever chatbots and push notifications, but I’d recommend you start sooner than later.

How Google’s Bert Update Will Affect Content Marketing

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 14:25:03 +0200

Google announced that it has been rolling out a new update call Bert.

I know what you are thinking… does this update really matter? Should I even spend time learning about it?

Well, Bert will affect 1 in 10 search queries.

To give you an idea of how big of an update this is, it’s the biggest update since Google released RankBrain.

In other words, there is a really good chance that this impacts your site. And if it doesn’t, as your traffic grows, it will eventually affect your site.

But before we go into how this update affects SEOs and what you need to adjust (I will go into that later in this post), let’s first get into what this update is all about.

So, what is Bert?

Bert stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers.

You are probably wondering, what the heck does that mean, right?

Google, in essence, has adjusted its algorithm to better understand natural language processing.

Just think of it this way: you could put a flight number into Google and they typically show you the flight status. Or a calculator may come up when you type in a math equation. Or if you put a stock symbol in, you’ll get a stock chart.

Or even a simpler example is: you can start typing into Google and its autocomplete feature can figure out what you are searching for before you even finishing typing it in.

But Google has already had all of that figured out before Bert. So let’s look at some examples of Bert in action.

Is Bert even useful?

Here are 4 examples of Bert.

Let’s say you search for “2019 brazil traveler to usa need visa”.

Before Bert, the top result would be how US citizens can travel to Brazil without a visa. But look at the search query carefully… it’s slight, but it is a big difference.

The search wasn’t about US people going to Brazil, it was about people from Brazil traveling to the US.

The result after the Bert update is much more relevant.

Google is now taking into account prepositions like “for” or “to” that can have a lot of meanings to the search query.

Here’s another example… “do estheticians stand a lot at work”…

Google used to previously match terms. For example, their system used to think “stand” is the same as “stand-alone”.

Now they understand that the word “stand” has the context of physical demand. In other words, is the job exhausting… do you have to be on your feet a lot?

And one more, “can you get medicine for someone pharmacy” …

As you can see from the before and after picture, it’s clear that the new result is more relevant.

Same with this one on “math practice books for adults” …

Is that the only change?

It isn’t. Google also made changes to featured snippets.

For example, if you searched for “parking on a hill with no curb”, Google used to place too much emphasis on the word “curb” and not enough emphasis on the word “no”.

That’s a big difference… and you can see that in the results.

The new changes this algorithm update brings makes it much more relevant for searchers and it creates a better experience for you and me and everyone else who uses Google.

But how does it affect SEOs?

You need to change your SEO strategy

There are three types of queries people usually make when performing a search:

Informational
Navigational
Transactional

An informational query is like someone looking to lose weight. They aren’t sure how so they may search for “how to lose weight”.

And once they perform the search, they may find a solution such as different diets. From there they may search for a solution, using a navigational query such as “Atkins diet”.

Once someone figures out the exact solution, they then may perform a transactional search query, such as “the Atkins diet cookbook”.

From what we are seeing on our end is that Bert is mainly impacting top-of-the-funnel keywords, which are informational related keywords.

Now if you want to not only maintain your rankings but gobble up some of the rankings of your competition, a simple solution is to get very specific with your content.

Typically, when you create content, which is the easiest way to rank for informational related keywords, SEOs tell you to create super long content.

Yes, you may see that a lot of longer-form content ranks well on Google, but their algorithm doesn’t focus on word count, it focuses on quality.

The context of the tweet from Danny Sullivan, who is Google’s search liaison, is that he wants SEOs to focus on creating content that is fundamentally great, unique, useful, and compelling.

So when you use tools like Ubersuggest to find new topics to go after, you need to make sure your content is super-specific.

For example, if you have a business about fitness and you blog about “how to lose weight without taking pills”, your content shouldn’t focus on diet shakes or supplements or anything too similar to diet pills. Instead, it should discuss all of the alternative methods.

I know what you are thinking, shakes and supplements may not be diet pills and they aren’t the same keyword but expect Bert to get more sophisticated in the next year in which it will better understand what people are really looking for.

Additionally, you should stop focusing on keyword density.

Yes, a lot of SEOs have moved away from this, but I still get a handful of emails each day asking me about keyword density.

Keyword density will even be less important in the future as Google better understands the context of the content you are writing.

So, where’s the opportunity?

As I mentioned, it’s related to creating highly specific content around a topic.

It’s not necessarily about creating a really long page that talks about 50 different things that’s 10,000 words long. It’s more about answering a searcher’s question as quick as possible and providing as much value compared to the competition.

Just like when you search for “what is it like to be in the Olympics”, you’ll see a list of results that look something like this:

Although the first result has the title of “What it’s like to go to the Olympics”, the article doesn’t break down what it is like to go as an attendee, it breaks down what it is like to go as an athlete. Just like a searcher would expect based on the query.

Bert was clearly able to figure this out even though the title could have gone either way. And the article itself isn’t that long. The article itself only has 311 words.

If you want to do well when it comes to ranking for informational keywords, go very specific and answer the question better than your competitors. From videos and images to audio, do whatever needs to be done to create a better experience.

Now to be clear, this doesn’t mean that long-form content doesn’t work. It’s just that every SEO already focuses on long-form content. They are going after generic head terms that can be interpreted in 100 different ways and that’s why the content may be long and thorough.

In other words, focus more on long-tail terms.

You may think that is obvious but let’s look at the data.

It all starts with Ubersuggest. If you haven’t used it yet, you can type in a keyword like “marketing” and it will show you the search volume as well as give you thousands (if not millions) of keyword variations.

In the last 30 days, 4,721,534 keyword queries were performed on Ubersuggest by 694,284 marketers. Those 4,721,534 searches returned 1,674,841,398 keyword recommendations.

And sure, SEOs could be typing in head terms to find more long-tail phrases, but when we look at what keywords people are selecting within Ubersuggest and exporting, 84% of marketers are focusing on 1 or 2-word search terms.

Only 1.7% of marketers are focusing on search terms that are 5 or words longer.

Following the strategy of creating content around very specific long-tail phrases is so effective that sites like Quora are generating 60,428,999 visitors a month just from Google alone in the United States.

And a lot of their content isn’t super detailed with 10,000-word responses. They just focus on answering very specific questions that people have.

Conclusion

Even if your search traffic drops a bit from the latest update, it’s a good thing.

I know that sounds crazy, but think of it this way… if someone searched for “how to lose weight without diet pills” and they landed on your article about how diet pills are amazing, they are just going to hit the back button and go back to Google.

In other words, it is unlikely that the traffic converted into a conversion.

Sure, you may lose some traffic from this update, but the traffic was ruining your user metrics and increasing your bounce rate.

Plus, this is your opportunity to create content that is super-specific. If you lose traffic, look at the pages that dropped, the search queries that you aren’t ranking for anymore, and go and adjust your content or create new content that answers the questions people are looking for.

If you don’t know how to do this, just log into Search Console, click on “search results”, and click on the date button.

Then click on compare and select the dates where your traffic dropped and compare it to the previous periods. Then select “Queries” and sort by the biggest difference.

You’ll have to dig for the longer-term search queries as those are the easiest to fix. And if you are unsure about what to fix, just search for the terms on Google that dropped and look at the top-ranking competitors. Compare their page with yours as it will provide some insights.

So, what do you think about the latest update?

The post How Google’s Bert Update Will Affect Content Marketing appeared first on Neil Patel.

Hi, I’m Neil Patel, Co-founder of NPDigital. Ask Me Anything!

Tue, 22 Oct 2019 16:00:28 +0300

Today, I thought I would do something a bit different, as 66.9% of my website traffic is brand new.

For those of you who don’t know, my name is Neil Patel and I’m the co-founder of a digital marketing agency called, NPDigital, where we help companies of all sizes get more traffic and sales.

I’ve been an entrepreneur for roughly 18 years now and most of the companies I co-founded have been in the software arena, specifically the web analytics sector.

And now, I’m back at it with Ubersuggest, my latest software company.

In addition to that, I’ve angel invested in dozens of companies. Some have done well, and others haven’t.

Overall, I’ve been blessed with a few successes that have made up for my failures plus more.

So today is your day to ask me any questions you have, and I will do my best to answer it. You can ask me about entrepreneurship, marketing, or anything else. I’ve dealt with class-action lawsuits, an FTC investigation (which I passed), and I’ve lost out on acquisitions from Fortune 1000 companies because of stupidity on my part.

All I ask of you is. Please keep your question as short as possible. One to two sentences max as I will get hundreds of comments (potentially even 1,000 or more).

So, what can I answer for you?

*** You may have to scroll a bit down to see the comment section***

The post Hi, I’m Neil Patel, Co-founder of NPDigital. Ask Me Anything! appeared first on Neil Patel.

The Real Secret to My Social Media Success

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 16:09:37 +0300

The other day I was recording a podcast episode with my co-host Eric Siu and he wanted to discuss something in particular.

He wanted to talk about how I got to 62,000 Instagram followers in a very short period of time and without spending any money on ads or marketing.

Eric is a great marketer as well, and when it comes to social media, he spends much more time than me on it and he even has people at his ad agency dedicated to helping him grow his personal brand online.

And of writing this post, he has 4,056 followers.

It’s not just with Instagram either, I beat him on all platforms.

Heck, he even does something that I don’t do, which is smart… he continually pays for advice. For example, he had his team jump on an hour call with Gary Vaynerchuk’s social media team so they could learn from them and grow his brand faster.

So, what’s the secret to my success?

Well, before I get into it, let me first start off by saying I love Eric to death and the point of this post isn’t to pick on him or talk crap… more so, I have a point to make and you’ll see it in a bit below.

Is it the fundamentals?

Everyone talks about strategies to grow your social following… from going live and posting frequently or talking about the type of content you should post and what you shouldn’t do.

I could even tell you that you need to respond to every comment and build up a relationship with your followers, which will help you grow your following and brand.

And although all of this is true, I dare you to try the fundamentals or the strategies that every marketing guru talks about doing. If you do, I bet this will happen…

It will be a lot of work and, if you are lucky, in the next 30 days you may get 10% more followers.

Sure, some of you will get much more growth, but you’ll find that you can’t always replicate it and it won’t be consistent.

So, what is it then?

Is it luck?

Luck is part of some people’s success, but not most. The problem with luck is it doesn’t teach you much and it isn’t easy to replicate.

The reality is, some people will just get lucky and have tons of traction.

In other words, luck isn’t the secret. But if you do want to get “luckier”, then you can always become an early adopter which helps a bit.

How early is early?

When you jump onto a social network when it’s new, it’s easier to grow and become popular.

For example, I got to over 30,000 Twitter followers extremely fast when Twitter first came out.

At that time, I wasn’t as well known… it happened because of a few reasons:

Social algorithms are favorable early on – algorithms are typically favorable and most people will see your content. There aren’t many restrictions, hence it’s easier to grow. After a social network becomes popular, algorithms tighten up.
Algorithms are easier to game early on – when you are early, you can use a lot of hacks to grow faster. For example, on Twitter, I would just follow tons of people a day and unfollow anyone who didn’t follow me back.
First movers’ advantage – social networks want more users, that’s what they need to succeed. In the early stages of any platform, they want to help you gain more of a following so you will keep using their platform.

But here is the thing: even though being an early adopter helps, it’s not the secret to my success.

Just look at Instagram, I am really late to the game. But I started growing fast just this year as that is when we really started.

If you can get in early, you should do so, assuming you have the time to invest. For example, this is the time to get in on Tiktok.

When you get in early, there is always the chance that the social network may end up flopping. But if it does take off, you’ll be ahead of your competition.

So what did I do?

Here was the secret to my growth… and it still works today. Eric Siu is even doing it with me right now.

It’s piggybacking on brands that are already popular.

When I first started, no one knew who I was. And I’m not saying everyone knows who I am today… by no means do I have a large brand like Tony Robbins.

What I did early on in my career was piggyback off of other popular brands.

For example, I hit up Pete Cashmore from Mashable, Michael Arrington from TechCrunch, Adrianna Huffington from Huffington Post, and so many other popular sites like ReadWriteWeb, Business Insider, Gawker Media, and GigaOm to name just a few.

I know some of them don’t exist anymore, but back then they were extremely popular. Anyone who was in tech, and even some who weren’t, knew about each of those sites.

So, when I got started as a marketer, I hit up all of those sites and offered all of them free marketing in exchange for promoting my brand and adding “Marketing done by Neil Patel” or “Marketing done by Pronet”, which was my ad agency back then.

Just look at the image above. TechCrunch used to link to my site on every page of their site… forget rich anchor text, it really is all about branding.

The hardest part is, I had to email and message these influencers dozens of times just to convince them to let me help them for free. And a lot of them ignored me or didn’t accept my offer.

But of a few said yes.

Pete from Mashable was one of the first to say yes. Once his traffic and rankings skyrocketed, his competition hit me up. Especially TechCrunch.

What was funny, though, is that I was constantly emailing TechCrunch and didn’t hear back. 6 months from my first email, they eventually accepted my offer.

I made a deal with Michael Arrington at the time in which once I boosted his traffic, he would add a logo that I did marketing for him, which you saw above.

In addition to that, he would tell all of his venture capital friends what I did for him and share the results (so hopefully they would share it with their portfolio companies, which would help me make money) and write a blog post about me.

He didn’t end up writing the blog post, which is fine, but he did the other two.

When he sent out emails to VCs showing a Google Analytics graph of his traffic growing at a rapid pace, I quickly got inundated with inquiries about my marketing services.

In addition to that, I was building up my brand… and my social media following. I was gaining “social clout” because I was doing good work for influencers.

One could argue that boosting traffic for someone like TechCrunch by 30% is worth millions and I should have charged for my services. Although I spent countless time doing free work, I wouldn’t trade it for any single dollar as it is what made me and helped build up my reputation.

And I didn’t stop there. Even today, I try to associate myself with other popular brands. Just like how I was lucky enough to work with Robert Herjavec, who has a popular TV show in the US along with Mark Cuban…

Here’s how many visitors I was getting for my name “Neil Patel” on a monthly basis before I started working with Robert.

And this is how many visitors I get for my name on a monthly basis a few months after I worked with Robert.

That’s a 37.84% increase in a matter of months!

By piggybacking off of popular brands, it doesn’t just help my website traffic but also helps to grow my social media following as well.

Just like as you can see below with my Instagram growth…

Now it isn’t just me who can do this, anyone can.

How can you piggyback off of other brands?

Just like how I piggybacked off of brands like TechCrunch, Eric is doing something similar to me at the moment.

We have a podcast that generates over 1 million downloads a month.

Eric’s had a podcast for years, but the one he has with me has more than 10x the listeners. This has helped him grow his brand a lot over the last year.

Let’s just look at the data. According to Eric, due to the podcast, he has signed up 6 clients, which has generated 540,000 dollars in annual revenue.

Now when he goes to tech conferences, 3 to 4 people tend to come up to him and mention how they love Marketing School and his work. In addition to that, it has been easier for Eric to set up meetings (people respond back to him more now), and he is also getting advisory shares in companies due to his growing brand. And the best part is, he is getting more paid speaking gigs for up to $10,000 a pop because of the podcast.

The data shows it was a good move by Eric for partnering up with me. He pushed me to do a podcast years ago and I told him no because I was too lazy. He didn’t give up though. Eventually, he got me to say yes and flew to my house in Las Vegas to record our first episode.

He did all of the work and it has been a great mutual relationship as doing this podcast has also helped grow my brand at the same time.

Now you are probably thinking, why isn’t his follower count growing fast enough?

Well, he needs to do what he is doing with me with a few more influencers to really put fuel to the fire. Just like how I didn’t only piggyback off of TechCrunch… at one point the Gawker Media network was linking to me on every page of their sites, which was seen by over 100 million unique people per month.

That really gets your brand out there!

Another example is Brian Dean from Backlinko as he did something similar with me back in the day. Years ago I approached him to write a detailed guide on link building with him and he also created videos that were on my old marketing blog Quick Sprout, which helped him grow his brand.

I can’t take credit for “making” Eric or Brian successful. They would have done well without me… and in the grand scheme of things, I really didn’t do much for either of them.

It’s like saying TechCrunch made the Neil Patel brand. Of course, it helped, and helped a lot… but one partnership won’t make or break you.

And if I didn’t continually blog, create videos, speak at events, or do any of the other stuff that I did, the TechCrunch partnership wouldn’t have been as effective.

Eric and Brian would have grown their brand in other ways because their work stands for itself, hence they would have been successful on their own. I just helped provide a little boost, just like how TechCrunch provided me with a boost.

And once more people get to know you, you’ll naturally do better on the social web.

For example, when Will Smith created his Instagram account, he didn’t have to buy ads or anything. Everyone just knows him already and that’s why his Instagram account blew up really quickly.

And you can do what Will Smith did on a smaller scale. Similar to what I did.

But don’t expect it overnight. Will Smith has been on television for over 20 years. It’s multiple shows, movies, and connections with other famous people that have really helped grow Will’s brand.

Of course, we won’t get on TV as Will has, but you can piggyback on other popular brands multiple times to create a similar (smaller) effect.

All you have to do is help these influencers out for free.

If you are a web designer, offer design services. If you are a marketer, offer marketing services. If you are selling a product or service, keep giving it away for free and maybe someone will talk about your company.

If you don’t have anything you can offer that has value, just look at whatever influencer you want to associate with, see where they may need help, learn that skill, and offer it for free.

It’s the easiest way to become popular on the social web.

Conclusion

That’s my secret to being popular on the social web.

It’s also how I built a decent size company… purely by leveraging other popular brands in the early days.

You can do the same, but you have to be patient. Don’t expect it to happen overnight.

For example, Eric’s brand has been growing but we have been doing a podcast together for over 2 years now.

Plus, he continually pushes on his own and doesn’t just rely on leveraging other influencers.

Remember, nothing worthwhile happens overnight.

You have to be persistent with your emails, your direct messages, your text messages, and whatever else you can do to get a hold of these influencers. Most will ignore you but it is a numbers game and, eventually, you’ll be able to associate your brand with someone popular, which will grow your brand.

And last but not least: Don’t expect an influencer to make you successful. Sure, multiple influencers are better than one, but that’s not what I meant.

If Brian Dean from Backlinko wasn’t good at link building, creating content, SEO, and educating, he wouldn’t do well… no matter who he associated himself with. The same goes for Eric.

Your skills, your abilities, your product… whatever you are trying to brand needs to stand on its own.

So, what do you think about my secret? Are you going to copy it?

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