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16 Creative Lead Generation Ideas to Try

Lead Generation
April 9, 2020/by
16 Creative Lead Generation Ideas to Try Lead generation is tough, whether in person or online. Sending cold emails and scraping together lists can be difficult because — let's face it — often, people don't want to take the time out of their schedules to talk. What if you could reach your lead generation goals using methods that actually add value for your prospects? And what happens when traditional lead generation methods fall flat due to internal or external circumstances? This lead generation utopia I'm describing is a possibility. To walk you through how to achieve this for your business, we've detailed several creative methods you can add to your lead generation strategy. These ideas provide valuable information that helps prospects rather than simply pushing them to make a purchase. Let's unpack these 16 creative lead generation ideas to spark activity on your content offers, email lists, websites, and conversion rates. Discover all of HubSpot's free lead generation content and resources, all in one place. 1. Share success secrets from thought leaders. Want to provide unique value in your content? Reach out to a thought leader in your industry or even your company. By interviewing an expert to uncover their secrets, you prove to potential customers that you're dedicated to delivering the best advice and insight out there. Below you'll see Groove's take on this approach through an interview with the CEO of The Foundation, Andy Drish. The folks at Groove frequently interview successful founders and ask very specific...
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How to Get the Most out of Your Ecommerce Marketing Strategy

Ecommerce Marketing
April 9, 2020/by
How to Get the Most out of Your Ecommerce Marketing Strategy What do a Hand Forged 1060 High Carbon Black Steel Blade Full Tang Samurai Katana Sword and a 7,541-Piece Lego Millennium Falcon™ Replica have in common? Well, first and foremost, they're both awesome. Second, if you have kids under the age of three, you probably don't want them playing with either — one is a choking hazard and one is a katana. And third, you can buy both through the magic of something called ecommerce — the sale of products or services online. Ecommerce is becoming a staple of companies' sales and marketing operations across virtually every industry. Here, we'll examine some ecommerce marketing strategies your business can employ to land and retain as many customers as possible. Ecommerce Marketing Plan Your ecommerce marketing plan is essentially the sum of the ecommerce strategies and tactics you choose to employ. The most effective plans aren't randomly cobbled together — they're designed with intention. They're often guided by a general marketing philosophy or underlying structure. For instance, the inbound methodology can be applied to an overarching ecommerce marketing plan. In this case, you would tailor your ecommerce marketing efforts to attract visitors, convert those visitors into leads, close deals and turn them into customers, and delight them once they've purchased your products or services to turn them into promoters. There are a number of different strategies to consider when constructing your plan. Here are some of the most effective...
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7 Marketing Alternatives to Tracking Cookies

Analytics Tools
April 9, 2020/by
7 Marketing Alternatives to Tracking Cookies At some point your life, you've probably had a run-in with ads generated by third-party cookies. Think about it. Have you ever browsed an online store, then gone on to a social media network just to see a pop-up advertisement for the exact products you just looked at? Unless you've given your email to the ecommerce store you visited, this ad was likely generated with third-party cookie data. When you visit a site that generates third-party cookies, the site places a tracking code -- or cookie -- on your browser. The code then allows that website to learn about the other sites you're visiting and builds a user profile around you. This enables brands and advertisers to generate and launch the sometimes creepily pinpointed ads. Third-party cookies are different from first-party cookies, which can only give brand information about the sessions a user has on its own site. According to a number of publications, Google Chrome will only phase out third-party cookies, while first-party data is still intact. And, since Safari and Firefox blocked third-party tracking years ago, this strategy was already becoming outdated. However, while this move won't heavily impact some brands, advertisers who've relied on third-party Chrome data for their strategies are frantically wondering. "How will I create the same sense of hyper-personalization without the third-party cookie?" In fact, a number of advertising agencies and organizations have already spoken out against Google's move. Meanwhile, some marketers are also concerned that...
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10 Sites You Can Use for Free Blog Promotion

Blog Optimization
April 7, 2020/by
10 Sites You Can Use for Free Blog Promotion As a marketer, promoting and driving traffic to your blog isn't easy. It can feel like you're talking into a void sometimes. We've all been there. However, there are almost 4.5 billion active internet users. Getting blog readers is all about promoting your content to the right people at the right place and the right time. So, how can you do that? To start, you'll need to diversify your blog promotion strategy so you can get traffic from several sources. You can get generate traffic through content aggregators, social media posts, social bookmarking, or reciprocal sharing sites. Below, let's review the top blog promotion sites you can use to generate traffic and conversions. 1. Medium Medium is an online publishing platform where you can post your blogs. It's one of the most popular blog platforms because the site has nearly 100 million visitors per month. Typically, Medium is used for thought leadership content. Additionally, many freelance writers post their blogs on this site. If you want to post your blogs, you can cross-publish your blogs on this site without hurting your SEO. Your blog will need to meet Medium's standards, but if it does, it can be curated and recommended through the Medium home page. When you publish a blog on Medium, make sure you pay attention to the tags on your posts. Since users can choose to follow tags, this will help your post get discovered. Content can...
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How to Open an Online Business

Ecommerce Marketing
April 7, 2020/by
How to Open an Online Business I can't count how many times I've come up with an idea and immediately said to my friends, "I should start a business!" I never do, but if I did, I know it would be online. Why? Well, in 2018, online businesses generated over $2 billion in revenue. If shopping online wasn't as popular a couple of years ago, it definitely is now. Plus, online shopping makes the experience easier for the customer since they don't have to leave their homes to make a purchase. Another reason I would open an online store is because it would be easier for me. I could use online management systems to execute business functions and set up an ecommerce website to take the place of a brick-and-mortar shop. Aside from physical inventory, almost everything I would need could happen from a computer. I haven't yet landed on the online business idea that will catapult me into success, but you most likely have, and are itching to get going. There's only one problem: where to start. Starting a business is a hefty and challenging endeavor. Here, we're going to focus on how to start one that operates online. If you're interested in starting an online business, we've got you covered with these six steps. There are some fun aspects of building a business — like picking out a name, creating your branding material, and connecting with leads. On the other hand, there are some aspects that...
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6 Secrets to Achieving Work-Life Balance, According to HubSpot Marketing Managers

Remote Working
April 6, 2020/by
6 Secrets to Achieving Work-Life Balance, According to HubSpot Marketing Managers Have you ever heard the phrase, "If you love your job, you'll never have to work again."? Well, that myth is both false and incredibly misleading. In fact, research shows that the more passionate you are about a job, the more work you'll actually do. The truth is, a successful career takes time, initiative, and hours of hard work. And, while some companies enable employees to successfully execute on their roles within 40 hours each week, you'll occasionally need to work later or longer to excel at other organizations When you think you have the perfect job, you might tell yourself, "I clock in 70 hours a week because I'm doing what I love," or "The family dinners I'm missing will be worth it in the long run." But, while your role might not "feel" like a job, working long hours without making time for yourself eventually takes a major toll. In fact, research shows that throwing yourself into work too heavily could cause stress, burnout, and -- commonly -- a lonely personal life. Yes -- Managers value employees who take initiative and put in extra effort when needed. However, your personal life is important to your physical, psychological, and emotional well-being. So, how do you continue to excel in your career while making time for yourself and your loved ones? The truth is, there's no simple trick to achieving an ideal work-life balance. But, luckily, there...
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Where to Find Public and Private Small Business Funding in 2020

Marketing Resources
April 4, 2020/by
Where to Find Public and Private Small Business Funding in 2020 With the recent passing of a $2 trillion U.S. stimulus package, small business owners impacted by COVID-19 have been given options for low-interest loans, financial assistance, and other aid that can help them in this uncertain economic time. Aside from this stimulus package, a number of private, state and local institutions have also stepped up to provide aid, assistance, and loans to small business owners suddenly facing unforeseen challenges. With a number of different options emerging, small business owners might be asking themselves, "Which options am I eligible for?" and "Which funding option is right for my particular business?" To help business owners and entrepreneurs looking for financing options, we've compiled a list of public and private opportunities for small businesses. National Funding Resources for Small Businesses Small Business Administration The Small Business Administration is a federally funded organization that provides loans, debt relief, and other financial aid to small businesses with 500 employees or less. Currently, the Small Business Administration oversees small business loans from SBA-approved lenders, such as banks. While SBA doesn’t lend money directly to small business owners, it sets guidelines for loans made by its partnering lenders, community development organizations, and micro-lending institutions. This process reduces the risk for lenders, which -- in turn -- enables more small businesses to receive loans. Source Here are a few examples of loans that the Small Business Administration coordinates: Paycheck Protection Program This program provides...
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On-Page SEO 101: Tips for Keyword Optimizing the Most Critical Parts of Your Website

Keyword Optimization
April 4, 2020/by
On-Page SEO 101: Tips for Keyword Optimizing the Most Critical Parts of Your Website SEO can sometimes feel like it stands for "Something Extremely Obscure." As marketers, we're responsible for staying on top of what can feel like endless Google algorithm updates. And if we fail to do so, we run the risk of not showing up in search for important target keywords. But keeping pace with all of those changes isn't easy. Thankfully, when it comes to achieving SEO success on your website, there's one rule of thumb that remains a tried-and-tested technique: optimizing your website with relevant and targeted keywords. By having a well-optimized site, you'll start to see results like improved visitor quality, higher conversion rates, and in the end: more closed customers. In this article, I'm going to cover how to add keywords to your website once you've already completed your keyword research. So before you dive into this post, be sure to read this awesome blog post on how to do keyword research. Got your keywords ready? Alright. Read on to learn what on-page SEO is, where to add those keywords to your website, and how to avoid search penalties. What is On-Page SEO? SEO, or search engine optimization, is all about creating content, optimizing it, and promoting it. When we talk about SEO, we often talk about "on-page SEO" and "off-page SEO." What's the difference? In short: On-Page SEO is what a site "says to a search engine." Off-Page SEO is what...
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How Small Businesses Can Take Advantage of the U.S. Stimulus Package

Marketing Resources
April 4, 2020/by
How Small Businesses Can Take Advantage of the U.S. Stimulus Package To aid small businesses and individuals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States government recently passed three landmark acts, including the largest economic stimulus package in history. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (or CARES Act), passed March 27, directs more than $2 trillion to the U.S. economy. The history-making stimulus package allocates funds to citizens, relief-oriented aid, government departments, and businesses of all sizes. Notably for small businesses the package offers low-interest loan options, tax deferrals, and other financial aid opportunities to help companies stay in business during this time. The passing of the 800-page CARES Act comes after the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act was signed into law. This earlier act directs emergency funds to essential government departments including the Department of Health and Human Services, state governments, and the Small Business Administration. The U.S. government has also passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which protects families and individuals from unpaid sick or family leave. This act also directs necessary funding to departments overseeing U.S. unemployment insurance. While the CARES Act, and the other acts noted above, provide urgent relief and assistance to small businesses and individuals, the sheer size of the documents, and the legal jargon within them, can overwhelm anyone trying to make sense of the information. At this time, we recognize that those who run or work for a small business are trying to quickly research...
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