Create for Cash Blog - Creative Marketing

Can Industry Awards Help Your Small Business?

Several years ago I entered my running product in an industry awards contest that was sponsored by NASDAQ and launched at a large, well-established fitness trade show. After a few rounds it finally ended up being one of the semi finalists.

NASDAQ awards

Before the trade show we were an unknown company with a brand new product, and we were struggling to get some traction and recognition with retail buyers.

Because of the contest we had buyers visiting our booth, which was hidden in the basement floor of the trade show. And at the end of the show NASDAQ had a party for the semi finalists, along with a lot of publicity.

Toyman award

This happened again when we won the Toyman award for innovation and quality, as voted on by consumers, and then became a product of the year in Creative Child Magazine. We got an extra boost in traffic and sales after both of them.

So, is it a good idea for small businesses to apply for awards? Do they help? Here are a few responses from small business owners: [Read more…] about Can Industry Awards Help Your Small Business?

Book Smarts or Street Smarts?

A recent debate at the Eastern Correctional Facility in New York between prison inmates and the Harvard debate team had me questioning whether it’s better to have street smarts or book smarts. In the end the “book smart” Harvard debate team was defeated by the “street smart” prisoners.

But the street smart prisoners didn’t win simply by their street smarts alone. They had a lot of help…from books. Through the Bard Prison Initiative, which gives incarcerated men and women the opportunity to pursue a college degree while serving their time, the prison debate team put themselves through a grueling educational boot camp to prepare. They had no access to the Internet and had to wait for weeks sometimes for a book to be cleared by security.

And this wasn’t a one time fluke. They’ve beaten multiple college debate teams in the past.

Simply having a formal college degree isn’t the answer to everything. Yes, you need it if you want to practice law or medicine, but to succeed in life you need something else that the prison debate team had a lot of… intellectual curiosity AND street smarts.

I put out a request to hear from others about which skill was better. Here’s what I heard:

“I have a sixth grade education and I’ve owned/co-owned three successful businesses over the last 20+ years. I have college graduates wanting to come work for me at $10.00 an hour and they are struggling to pay of $60,000.00+ in student loans. I got my education at the local library for free. I’ve never had to worry about paying back a student loan. [Read more…] about Book Smarts or Street Smarts?

The Future of Work – Freelance

A recent study commissioned by the Freelancers Union and elance-oDesk found that at least one third of the workforce in the United States are freelancers. This number is anticipated to increase in the coming years, and will change the future of work as we know it. In fact, by 2020 it’s estimated that one in three workers will be freelance.

The job market of the past was pretty straight forward. You go to college (or not), pick a career path, and stick with it for life. When someone asked you what you did for a living, you would pick one title. But these days it’s not unusual to have several titles. Publicist/marketer/writer/photographer, etc.

The idea of freelancing is nothing new. It’s been going on since the 1800’s. What is new is the number of jobs and industries that are now included in the freelancing realm. With the advent of the Internet the number of jobs and industries has increased dramatically. You can now easily hire a freelancer from anywhere in the world, and the opportunities for freelancers is only going to get bigger. [Read more…] about The Future of Work – Freelance

4 Facebook Marketing Tips Entrepreneurs Can’t Ignore

Guest post by Ivan Serrano

As an entrepreneur, you have limited resources. Not only do you have to make sure you have enough room in your budget to produce your product or service, but you also have to determine how you’ll build awareness of your business.

When it comes to implementing a social media strategy for your startup or small business, utilize the platforms that will give you the most results. Believe it or not, Facebook is still an extremely powerful tool for building awareness of your business and generating leads. In fact, Hubspot’s State of Inbound Marketing report found 77 percent of B2C and 43 percent of businesses acquired customers from Facebook.

If you’re currently planning your social media strategy, make sure Facebook is a part of your plan. Here are four facebook marketing tips for entrepreneurs:

1. Set a clear goal.

A huge mistake many entrepreneurs and small business owners make with their Facebook strategy is not creating a clear goal. Many businesses think they can start sharing content immediately, however, this can greatly damage your online brand.

Before creating and sharing Facebook content, set a realistic goal for your Facebook page. For example, do you want to build a community for your business? Is it your goal to drive traffic to your website? Regardless of the goal you choose for your Facebook page, make sure it ties into your strategy and how you’ll drive results for your business.

2. Document your Facebook strategy.

The foundation of any social media strategy is to make sure it’s documented. Create an editorial calendar for your Facebook strategy that outlines the type of content you’ll share and how often you’ll post. This calendar will make it easier for you to plan future content and ensure you’re consistently engaging with your audience.

When it comes to finding the right time to post on Facebook, it’s really important to understand your target audience. Do some research on the demographics of your audience and understand what their habits are on Facebook. For example, if you offer a project management app for Millennial business owners, you’ll want to research the best times to reach them on Facebook and they types of content they engage with most.

3. Share posts with photos.

The most important element of a Facebook strategy is visual content. Socialbakers.com performed a study where they analyzed the top 10 percent of Facebook posts created by more than 30,000 brand pages. During this study, Socialbakers.com discovered Facebook posts that included photos included the most engagement. In fact, these posts received 87 percent interactions!

Every post you publish on Facebook should include a visual. Whether it’s a branded image or a photo that captures behind-the-scenes footage of your business, photos can add a large amount of value to your Facebook strategy. People will be more likely to comment and share your images, which means you’ll gain more exposure for your business.

4. Upload video content.

In addition to photos and images, video is a powerful tool for creating brand awareness. According to Hubspot, the amount of video in Facebook News Feed has increased 3.6 times over the last year. Additionally, video posts per person has grown 75 percent over the last year.

There are a number of ways you can use video to promote your business. Publish customer Q&A sessions or create a product tutorial. As long as your video content provides value for your audience, you’ll be able to create content that drives results for your business. Once you’re ready to share a video, make sure you upload it to Facebook. This will ensure it’s played immediately when a customer scrolls by your post.

Although there are a number of social networks to choose from, Facebook remains to be one of the most effective platforms. By following these tips, you’ll be able to design and implement a Facebook marketing strategy that creates awareness and boosts sales for your business.

How do you use Facebook to market your business?

Shark Tank Entrepreneur

Guest post by Ivan Serrano

The Shark Tank Formula for Startup Success

If you’re reading this now, you’re probably an entrepreneur who’s thinking about launching a business. If so, you’re about to learn some valuable advice that can make or break your success as a startup founder.

Over the course of nine seasons, ABC’s Shark Tank has given hundreds of entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to investors (otherwise known as Sharks). Throughout the show, 186 deals were made and the Sharks offered to invest over $20 million in 109 companies.

While it might seem like entrepreneurs who go on Shark Tank are extremely successful, there are a number of lessons to be learned. The reality is, launching a startup is a challenging goal and not every startup is successful even if they receive the funding they need. In fact, only one in 17 startups on the show have actually earned a profit.

When it comes to launching a startup and attracting investors, there are a number of variables to keep in mind. First, it’s absolutely necessary to know your product inside and out. Investors expect entrepreneurs to be able to explain the purpose of their product and how it’ll benefit their target audience. If you’re able to come up with a great product at fills a need, you’re on your way to a successful startup.

Next, it’s important to perfect your pitch and understand your numbers. As you approach investors, they only care about the numbers regarding your business and how you’ll be successful in upcoming years. When you meet with investors, be ready to explain how much profits you plan to earn in the next five years. This will make investors more interested in your idea.

These are just a few of the valuable lessons to learn from Shark Tank. To learn more about the Shark Tank formula for startup success, check out the infographic below: [Read more…] about Shark Tank Entrepreneur

Small Business Customer Service

One thing that differentiates a large corporation from a small business is the level of small business customer service. It’s easier for a mom and pop small business to make judgement calls when it comes to breaking the rules. The larger the company, the more levels of bureaucracy you have to deal with, and the harder it is to get a real person to listen to you. Of course you have to have rules that your company abides by, but sometimes making a good judgement call can net you even more business down the road, and bring in very loyal and devoted customers for life.

Small business customer service

An example happened this past weekend. I was staying at a rustic resort in the middle of nowhere. It was great. No cell phone coverage, no Internet coverage, no TV, and no radio. The nearest grocery store was about 40 miles away. Some people might freak out about that, but for a stressed out and overworked small business owner I thought it was heaven!

So, here’s what happened. They have a main building with about 20 rooms, and separate from the building it’s surrounded by small and large cabins. I was staying in one of the small cabins, which had a refrigerator and microwave. I was suppose to move into the main building for a couple of nights, but what I didn’t know is that the new room didn’t have a refrigerator or microwave. And I had already bought enough groceries to last for the extra days. [Read more…] about Small Business Customer Service

When Branding Turns Negative

I remember making a call to the International Special Events Society and a pleasant voice answered “ISES”. Now, I’m sure no one out there is going to associate an event organization with a terrorist group that beheads journalists, but still, it must suck to have your brand hijacked by a negative situation.

When branding turns negative

Apparently ISES isn’t the only organization having to deal with this. The ISIS mobile app is changing its name to avoid any association with the terror group. Again, I don’t think people would confuse a mobile app with a terrorist group, but as a brand owner myself I can see where it would probably leave a bad taste in your mouth when branding turns negative.

Steve Gause bought a security company in Texas two years ago with the unfortunate name of ISIS. He could argue that the terror group actually infringed on his good name, which has been an upstanding company for many years. But I don’t think you would be successful in getting a group of jihadists into a courtroom over trademark infringement. [Read more…] about When Branding Turns Negative

How to Utilize Google + to Connect with Influences as an Entrepreneur

It’s always nice to hear about modern day rags-to-riches stories like Dropbox or Soundcloud that are now worth millions, but for most entrepreneurs, it’s more of a rags-and-more-rags sort of tale. Bootstrapping a business wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t worth it, but the personal effort involved is steep. Using every tool available is the only way to pull yourself out of obscurity and connect with the right people, which means using even the toughest social media outlets like Google +. Here are some tips to being a Google + entrepreneur.

Google+ certainly had more than its fair share of teasing from the peanut gallery as it failed to become the next big social media hit to topple Facebook. Believing it’s a social wasteland though would be a sizable mistake. Most people agree that while Google+ is not the premier hangout for the average consumer, it has been generously adopted by professionals of all kinds as more of a laid back version of LinkedIn.

While this makes it a small pool teaming with raw influencers for the masses, getting with the right people isn’t as easy as one might assume. Google+ has a much different framework than social forums like Facebook and Twitter. Where these sites pride themselves on equal playing fields of public information, Google+ is built on exclusive memberships within tight circles.

Find the right people in Google +

For any optimistic entrepreneur, the best method to find the right people is find the almost right people that will get you to where you want to be. Share content with people that will take interest and encourage them to repost. As more people positively engage with content, the more circles it will find, eventually leading to those with the largest platforms.

Take Advantage of the Differences

Although Google+ may be more complex than other social media, it shouldn’t be feared but embraced especially by the startup society. Boasting features that other social media sites can’t hold a candle to, Google+ has a unique way of playing to anyone’s strengths allowing for a deeper expression of personality. Hangouts are perhaps the best examples of creating a more immersive and personal experience. “Hangout” with journalists, bloggers, and others that could deeply connect with your ideas. [Read more…] about How to Utilize Google + to Connect with Influences as an Entrepreneur

3 Ways to Make Customers Buy

There’s a lot of discussion out there about how many times a customer needs to see your product before they will buy it. Some go by the rule of three, some by the rule of seven, and some say there are no rules on ways to make customers buy. This discussion has been going on since 1885, when an advertising dude, Thomas Smith, wrote a book called Successful Advertising.

3 ways to make customers buy

According to Thomas a customer needs to see or hear about your product or service 20 times before they will buy it. That sounds like a lot, but the average infomercial could rack that up in a couple of days. There are some companies who think you need to see their products 20 times an hour to get it. It’s like Chinese water torture, where drops of water are slowly dropped on the victim’s forehead until you go insane. I want to get out my credit card and scream “Okay, okay. If I buy the pasta strainer will you make it stop?!”

Successful advertising

Here is the list that Thomas Smith put together for his guide:

The first time people look at any given ad, they don’t even see it.
The second time, they don’t notice it.
The third time, they are aware that it is there. [Read more…] about 3 Ways to Make Customers Buy