Tag Archives: social-media

5 Photography Tips for Bloggers

The post 5 Photography Tips for Bloggers appeared first on HostGator Blog . Visual content opens the door to retaining your readers’ attention. Creative photography can have a positive impact on building strong audience connections. With only 81% of people skimming the content they read online, pictures give your visitors another reason to stay longer on your blog. It’s another way to communicate without adding an extra block of boring text. Be bold in your blog marketing by using photography to your advantage. Try these five tips below. 1. Set Up a Simple Studio As a blogger, you’re checking off your to-do list with the essential blogging tools you need to be successful. Those tools may include a quiet place to write, a website builder , and a social media account. But what about the photos for your blog? Right now, stock photos aren’t satisfying most readers. Your audience craves original images to capture their attention. For bloggers, your studio may be your smartphone and a blank wall in a room. When you feel more comfortable, you may want to purchase a backdrop, tripod, and starter lighting kit. “Setting up a home photography studio is a relatively simple process with minimum start up costs. You can choose to create your studio in its own specific room or block off areas of an existing space and dedicate it to your photography,” says Shannon Ciricillo , an American fashion, lifestyle, and travel photographer. To boost your blog’s presence, it may be time to invest in photography. That means setting up a simple studio in your home or office to take photos.   2. Use Natural Light Light is a primary element for any photographer. The right amount of light can drastically influence your images. When there is too much light, the subject in the image becomes distorted. When there is too little light, the subject becomes impossible to see. Natural light is the sunlight. It doesn’t come from your lighting equipment. Because the light source is coming from the sun, it’s important to learn how to use it properly. The light’s direction, the weather, and the time of day can impact your photos. Plus, the direction of the light determines how the shadows fall on your subject. Here’s a short video showing how to use natural light: If you decide to shoot outside on a sunny day, try taking the subject of your photo into the shade. You want the light to shine at your subject, not behind. If you want to stay indoors, move towards a window and test out different angles. Natural light is an effective resource for bloggers. Learn as you go, and in no time, you’ll be mastering this new skill.   3. Experiment with Different Angles Seeing things differently sparks your followers’ curiosity. Shooting a photo from multiple angles provides the reader with a diverse perspective. When you’re starting out, you will discover there are several types of angles. There’s the bird’s eye view, the low angle, the eye level, and the oblique angle. Don’t feel overwhelmed to learn every angle; your goal should be to try what works for your blog. For instance, decide the emotion you want to convey in the photo. Chamira Young , an art nerd and photographer, offers advice: “Positioning yourself above your subject often results in a flattering shot. When your subject is looking slightly up at you, it can add a sense of vulnerability, intimacy, and approachability.” In the  image below , the photographer takes a close up of a plant. To mimic this shot, you’ll want to get as close to the subject as possible. And if necessary, use your camera’s zoom feature to get even closer. Depending on your subject, every angle won’t be pleasing to the eye. If you want to take a photo of a burger, you would not use a bird’s eye view angle. So, always consider your blog visitors’ point of view and their expectations.   4. Add Creative Props A photo is more than just its main subject. If you’re looking to enhance your pictures, you’ll want to invest in props. The smallest addition to an image can make a huge difference. Relevant props spark originality. They also give the image more context and character as it relates to your text. When describing specific concepts, it’s better for your blog audience to see what you’re explaining. In the  photo below , the pastries are next to flowers and slices of fruit. Visitors can infer that these tasty treats are fresh with these natural props. While props can improve your photos, it’s also critical not to overuse them. Too many props can dominate your picture, taking away from the main purpose of the shot. Your props should complement your photo, too. Think about the colors, the sizes, and the placement of the props. Readers should know exactly what to focus on in the image.   The right prop provides personality to your already beautiful images. Use them strategically to get the most benefit.   5. Shoot Photos in Advance Preparation is key when developing unique photos for your blog. While some of your pictures may happen on a whim, your best work comes from advance planning. For starters, consider your editorial calendar to map out your photo shoots. If you’re publishing only carrot dishes for your food blog next week, you should plan to get several photos using the vegetable. “It pays off to have everything planned and prepared in advance. That way, you don’t need to think up new poses and compositions or look for clothing or other props at the last minute. This will not only save you time, but also make you trustworthy,” writes photographer Majo Elias . It’s also helpful to create a checklist of what you may need. From people to props, it’ll give you a sense of how to manage your time during a shoot. Planning your photos ahead of time also alleviates the stress of the entire process. When you know your specific goals, you can take action and move on to another blog task.   Picture Perfecta Visual content adds a vivid layer of sophistication to your blog. With photography, you can transform a 100-word description into a beautiful work of art. For more tips on getting more out of your blog, check out our articles on SEO best practices for blogs , networking tips for bloggers , and improving your blog load time . Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading

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Streamline Your Online Donation Process with These 9 Steps

The post Streamline Your Online Donation Process with These 9 Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog . Fundraising for your nonprofit group, school, or personal cause is usually more productive when it’s super-easy for people to donate. But online fundraising faces some of the same challenges as online retail. People often start a transaction, then quit because they get frustrated or distracted. As many as 60% of the people who go to a donation page abandon the process before they complete their online donation. That’s not great, but the best practices that reduce retail cart abandonment can cut donor abandonment, too. Here’s how to make your online donation process easier to complete. 9 Steps to Hassle-Free Online Donations Google’s Retail UX Playbook makes recommendations for eCommerce checkout that you can adapt to streamline your online donation process, too. 1. Make it easy for visitors to stay on the donation page. “Limit exit points” in the payment process, like links to social media accounts and related content, so you don’t lose potential donors to distractions. 2. Show donors how far along they are in the donation process. Have you ever started an online donation, then immediately wondered how long it’s going to take you to get it done, and maybe bailed out because you’re not sure you have time to complete it before your Uber arrives/baby wakes up/boss starts the meeting? It’s not just you (or me). People like to know what they’re getting into, even when what they’re getting into is a relatively short online payment process. Google recommends using a progress bar on the page if the conversion flow has more than 2 steps. 3. Remind your potential donors of why they’re entering their data. Your donation checkout pages should include your fundraising goal, so people are more likely to see the process through to the end. The example above, from the ASPCA, includes three clear reminders of why this person is donating: in the header, in the touching puppy photo, and in the paragraph on the side. By donating, they can be a lifesaver to animals. 4. Interruptions happen, but you can make it easy for donors to finish later. Your checkout page should let people complete their donation on another device, either by emailing themselves a link or saving their data for to come back to on your site. These first four steps focus on what should and should not be part of your online donation process. The next four steps focus on how your online donation form can move  people through the process to complete their donation. 5. Make sure that your online donation form only includes required fields. We’re talking about the fields that are required to verify donors’ identity and payment information. The longer your form is, and the more information prospective donors must enter, the more likely they are to abandon it. 6. Give users instant feedback as they fill out the donation form. Inline validation prevents the frustrating experience of filling out a form completely and then seeing it rejected because of a data entry error.  Set up your form to show a check mark when fields like email addresses, credit card numbers, billing zip codes are entered properly, and your visitors won’t have to scroll back up the page to fix errors. In the example below, from the Red Cross, correctly completed fields receive a green checkmark, while incomplete fields get highlighted in red with a X. 7. Enable autofill for your form fields. The less information people must enter by hand, the more likely they are to complete your donation form. That’s especially true if they’re visiting your site on a mobile phone. 8. Make your donation form mobile-friendly. Your donation form’s fields for card numbers, phone numbers, CVVs, and zip codes should use a numeric keypad. Is there anything more frustrating than trying to enter a credit card number on a typewriter-style keyboard? Especially on your phone? After you set up your form, preview it on several different browsers and devices—especially mobile browsers. When your form is live, it’s a good idea to run A/B tests to see which format delivers the highest conversion rate. 9. Say thank you! Finally, there’s one more thing your donation process should do. Always thank your donors immediately after they contribute. It’s a good idea to follow up again later via email with a progress report or results on your fundraiser. Hold On to Your Donor Data Even if you’re only fundraising for one project right now, hold on to your list of donors (and keep that data secure). Besides sending thank-you notes and project updates, you may want to reach out to those contributors if you have other fundraising projects in the future. And if you’re raising money for a nonprofit organization or political campaign, you’ll need good donor records to comply with reporting rules. Just make sure you abide by GDPR and request their permission to be contacted in the future. A donation plugin like the ones we’ll look at next can help you store and manage your donor information. Donation Plugins for Your WordPress Website The fastest and easiest way to start taking donations is to install a donation plugin on your WordPress site. Here are a few of the most popular WordPress plugins for nonprofits . 1. Give Give lets you customize your donation forms, accept one-time and recurring donations, and accept donations in honor of or in memory of someone. Give’s dashboard helps manage your donor information for receipts, tax reporting, and more. The basic plugin is free. Add-ons for upgraded features, credit-card processing, and branded payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal are available as monthly bundle subscriptions or individually. 2. Seamless Donations Seamless Donations offers a quick setup to link donations to your PayPal account. Seamless also lets donors choose between one-time and recurring contributions. You can buy premium extensions to add functions like custom donation levels, enhanced thank-you notices for donors, and a widget pack that lets you display recent donations, total donations, and other data on your site. 3. Charitable Charitable integrates with WordPress and has a free theme of its own that you can apply to your site. The free basic plugin lets you direct contributions to your PayPal account, and it allows you to set up multiple fundraising campaigns. Premium packages add more payment gateways, email marketing integrations, and more. Ready to Set Up Your Fundraising Website? Get started today with HostGator’s shared hosting plan that keeps your costs low and includes a free SSL certificate to protect your donors’ personal information. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading

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What Is PPC?

The post What Is PPC? appeared first on HostGator Blog . Marketers throw around a lot of acronyms.  For someone new to online marketing, it can be a little overwhelming to parse what people mean when they say PPC, SEM, SEO , CTA or one of many other common marketing acronyms.  This post will provide a thorough explanation for one of the most common and important acronyms online businesses should know about: PPC .  What Is PPC in Marketing? PPC in marketing stands for pay per click, the term used to describe a popular online ad billing model where the advertiser only gets charged for the ad when someone clicks on it.  This billing model represents a shift in how companies pay for advertising on the web versus what has long been common in other advertising formats such as magazine and TV spots.  Instead of paying a lump sum to reach a large number of people and hope some of them take an interest in your message, PPC marketing allows brands to pay only when consumers take a direct action. You don’t pay for the million people to view your ad, you pay for the hundred interested enough in your ad to do something about it.  The Different Types of PPC There are two main types of PPC marketing advertisers can take advantage of. Paid Search Ads Most of the time when you hear someone talk about PPC ads, they’re talking about paid search ads that show up on the search engine results page (SERP) of Google and the other main search engines. Depending on the search term and how much the advertiser has bid for the spot, these can show up above the list of organic results, to the right of them, or below them.  When you advertise with Google, you also have the option of placing PPC ads across their vast display network, which includes additional Google properties like Gmail and YouTube, as well as over 2 million other websites across the web, including popular media properties like the New York Times and Buzzfeed .  In other words, Google’s network for PPC search ads covers a significant portion of the web.  Social Ads The other main option for PPC advertising is social media. Most of the main social media platforms provide ad options using a similar PPC model to that of search engines. PPC social advertising is possible on LinkedIn , Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .  With each social platform hosting over a million users (more than a billion, in the case of Facebook), many of them visiting the site multiple times a day, social PPC advertising is a strong option for reaching more of your audience.  PPC Terms to Know Before we get into more details of what’s involved in PPC advertising in digital marketing, you need to understand the language commonly used in the PPC world. Here are some terms worth knowing: CPA – This stands for cost per action . It’s a billing model offered on some PPC platforms in which, instead of paying for each click, you pay for a specific desired action, such as an email list signup or a purchase. In some cases, the acronym could also apply to the similar term, cost per acquisition, meaning you pay for every time you gain a customer. CPC – This stands for cost per click . In the PPC bidding model, keywords are assigned a value based on how competitive they are. So if there are a lot of businesses vying for a certain keyword, you can expect to pay more for each click than with a keyword that isn’t as popular to advertisers. Understanding the average CPC for the keywords you target is an important part of keeping your PPC campaigns profitable.  CPM – This stands for cost per impression , or more accurately, cost per a thousand impressions. For ad campaigns where visibility is more important than inspiring direct action, most PPC platforms allow you the option of paying based on the number of times someone sees your ad, instead of paying for each click.  CTA – This stands for call to action . It’s a term commonly used in all types of marketing, and plays an important role in PPC as well. It’s widely considered a best practice to include a clear call to action in every text ad you write. Some examples of common CTAs include “Learn more” or “Click here.” CTR – This stands for click-through rate . It’s a metric calculated by dividing the number of impressions (or times people have seen your ads), by the number of clicks they receive. It’s an important metric for gauging the performance and quality of your ads and campaigns. Long-tail keywords – The cost and success of paid search campaigns is directly related to the keywords and keyword phrases you choose to target. The term long-tail keywords is used to describe search terms that are more specific and therefore less competitive than broad keywords. For example, “flower delivery” is a broad keyword, while “same day flower delivery austin tx” is an example of a long-tail keyword that would cost less to target, but still reach a relevant audience.  Quality score – The placement of PPC ads depends on two main factors: the amount a brand is willing to spend, and their ad quality score . The search engine ad platforms want to deliver ads that are relevant to what people are looking for—they value delivering a good experience, in addition to getting money from advertisers. They assign ads a quality score based on factors like CTR and the bounce rate for people that click. If your ads are high quality, you’ll end up paying less for each click.  Remarketing – Any time you’re browsing the web and see an ad for a product you viewed recently, you’re the target for remarketing , sometimes called retargeting . On Google’s display network, you can target past website visitors with ads based on the pages on your website they viewed. This helps you stay top of mind for past visitors and increase the chances of a conversion. ROI – This stands for return on investment , and is a common business term. You may also encounter the similar acronym ROAS, for return on ad spend. It refers to figuring out how what you’re spending relates to the amount of new revenue you’re bringing in from your ads, so you can determine if your PPC campaigns are paying off. SEM – This stands for search engine marketing , the catch-all term for all digital marketing and advertising efforts focused on getting noticed in the search engines. It includes PPC and SEO, the paid and organic versions of gaining spots in the search engine results. SEO – This stands for search engine optimization . Where PPC ads help you gain spots in the advertising sections of the SERP, SEO is how you gain spots in the organic results. SEO is distinct from PPC, but most companies that do one will benefit from having a strategy for the other as well.  Now you can talk about PPC with your peers like an expert, and dig deeper into resources that explain how to do it well. 4 Reasons to Use PPC Marketing Businesses have a lot of different marketing tactics to choose from, and limited budget and resources to put toward them all. PPC is far from your only choice, but it’s one of the most popular online marketing tactics for good reason.  Here are four notable benefits of doing PPC advertising. 1. PPC advertising is targeted. PPC channels—both search and social—allow you to limit who will see your ads based on factors like demographic categories and online behavior. If your product’s target audience is middle-aged women who are really into sports, you can use your PPC platform’s targeting options to set up a relevant audience for your ads that’s more likely to respond to them.  2. You can reach a huge audience with PPC ads. A significant majority of people in the United States now use social media, and an even larger number of people use search engines. The main channels for PPC advertising allow you to reach a massive portion of the people online today—and that’s before you factor in the rest of the Google Display Network, which Google says reaches over 90% of all people on the internet.  PPC advertising allows you to get information about your brand, products, and content in front of just about anyone that uses the internet. 3. PPC produces detailed analytics. In addition to (hopefully) driving new visits and conversions, PPC campaigns produce another valuable result: rich analytics.  Every PPC campaign you launch will result in data that helps you better understand who your audience is, what language they’re using, and what kind of messaging they respond to. Those insights not only allow you to continually improve your PPC campaigns, they can also be applied to your other marketing efforts. You can strengthen your SEO strategy, your social media marketing, and content marketing plans based on what you learn from your PPC efforts.   4.  PPC gets results. Google estimates that businesses get a return on investment of $2 for every $1 they spend on the platform. Your success rates will depend on the quality of your campaigns, how good of a job you do targeting the right audience and keywords, and how well you monitor and adjust them over time. But if you do PPC well, you can count on gaining new leads and customers from it. How to Do Pay-Per-Click Marketing Well Anyone that decides to include PPC as part of a business marketing strategy needs to know a few main things in order to do it effectively. Here are eight PPC best practices to follow.  1. Perform keyword research. For paid search marketing, finding the right keywords is crucial for getting the results you want. Keyword research allows you to identify the terms and phrases your target audience is commonly using when they search for products like yours and answers to questions that you cover on your website.  When you enter a starter list of terms you’ve brainstormed into Google’s Keyword Planner , the tool uses historical data to provide: An estimate of how many times people will see ads that target that term (impressions) in a given period of time An estimate of how many times people will click on those ads The expected click-through rate The average cost per click, as well as the maximum cost per click The Google Keyword Planner will also help you build out a larger list of relevant keywords. You can plug in the list you have now, and the tool will both provide helpful data on your current keywords (average monthly searches, level of competition) and a list of related keywords with the same data provided.  There are also a number of other keyword research tools you can use to supplement the data and suggestions provided in Google’s Keyword Planner. Using what you learn, you can build out a campaign that targets the most relevant keywords your audience is using. 2. Set your budget. Once you set up your PPC account , the platform will let you set a specific budget for your ad campaigns and provide a daily maximum amount you’re willing to spend. Since PPC uses a bidding model, your ad placements will depend on the budget you set. If you’re hoping to show up for competitive keywords with a high CPC, you need a big enough budget to account for that.  Figure out what you can afford to commit to PPC advertising and consider how much the keywords you’re targeting cost in order to work out a budget that makes sense for your business. 3. Use negative keywords. With PPC for search, you have the option to include negative keywords that you explicitly don’t want to show up for. This can help you further refine who will see your ads based on relevance, so you don’t waste money on clicks from people looking for something different than what you offer.  For example, a florist that sells pre-made rose arrangements doesn’t need to show up for people looking for tips on how to grow their own roses. So they might add terms like “how to grow roses” or “rose pruning” to the negative keyword list.  4. Create relevant ad groups. PPC advertising platforms also let you set up specific ad groups so you can tailor your ads based on the specific keywords and audiences they’re most relevant for. That means a florist can use different messaging for a set of keywords related to Mother’s Day flowers than one related to bereavement, and can change the wording of ads targeting middle aged men looking to buy flowers for their wives than those for young couples selecting floral arrangements for an upcoming wedding. With ad groups, you can make your ads more relevant to the specific people who will see them, increasing the chances of success. 5. Choose your audiences. Very few businesses need to reach everybody. What you’re selling is most likely to appeal to a specific subset of the population. If you sell business software, then you need to reach professionals from certain types of businesses in specific roles. If you sell skateboards, you want to reach young people with an interest in skateboarding.  Both search and social PPC options let you choose who will see your ads based on some common categories such as demographics and interests. A click from someone in your target audience is worth much more to you than one from someone unlikely to buy your products. By setting up a specific audience for each of your campaigns, you ensure the clicks you pay for are more worth the cost.  6. Optimize your landing pages. Getting someone to see and click on your ad is a big goal, but that’s just the first step in what you ultimately want them to do. For your PPC spend to be worth it, you also need for them to take the next step you want them to, whether that’s clicking through to read more content, signing up for your email list, or making a purchase. Make sure that the web page those PPC clicks lead to is optimized to match the specific keyword and ad you use. The landing page should always be relevant and designed to achieve your specific campaign goal. Always design a landing page with a clear CTA, and try out different wording and designs to learn what works best.  7. Analyze your results. One of the big benefits of PPC is that you end up with a lot of valuable analytics you can learn from. Don’t set your PPC campaigns on auto pilot and hope for the best. Spend time analyzing the data so you can learn what your audience responds to and tweak your campaigns for better results over time.  In your analysis, make sure you factor in conversions, as well as clicks. In order to properly determine the ROI of specific keywords and campaigns, you need to know how often they drive people to take the specific actions you want them to, beyond earning that initial click. Analyzing your metrics can help you cut out costly keywords that aren’t producing the results you want, and help you put more of your budget toward ads that produce new sales and subscribers.  8. Use retargeting. How many times have you visited a website, checked out a product you liked the look of, but decided that you’d better not spend that money right away. It doesn’t mean you’re uninterested in the product, just that the timing wasn’t right.  Retargeting gives you a way to reach the people who like your products, but for whatever reason just weren’t ready to buy right away. You can re-capture the attention of someone who might otherwise forget about your brand. Get More Sales with PPC  A strong PPC strategy can help you gain more visibility with your target audience, and turn that attention into conversions. But it takes work to learn the ropes and do PPC effectively. If you want to give it a try, but aren’t sure how to get started, hiring a team of skilled PPC professionals can take most of the work off your plate, while increasing your chance of getting great results. Contact HostGator to learn more about our PPC services today. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading

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5 Ways to Drive Leads to Your Website

The post 5 Ways to Drive Leads to Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog . Lead generation is an important part of business operations. As a freelancer or small business owner, you want interested buyers to visit your site and learn about your services. It all begins with attracting qualified traffic to your website. It’s not a complicated task, but you will need to invest your time and some resources. Here are five ways to get leads to your site. 1. Boost Organic Search Results Search engines have become the gateway to learning everything you need to know. For consumers, it’s a tool to do quick research on a brand, find a coupon code, or just casually shop for clothes on lunch breaks. Juno reports that 81% of people perform some type of online research before making a large purchase. Therefore, it’s imperative for your business to rank in search results. If not, you risk the competition swiping your leads. Search engine optimization (SEO) centers around knowing the intent of your ideal visitor. What words do they use? What questions do they ask? Google’s Keyword Planner is a valuable resource for conducting your keyword research. You can discover new phrases that match your services and narrow your keyword list to the ones that really matter. Once you’ve nailed down your keywords, you’re ready to write content. Use on-page SEO best practices , like adding the keyword in the header, to earn more leads. Then, tailor your content to keep visitors engaged. 2. Develop Partner Campaigns Partnerships are key to growing your small business. When you connect with partners, you get access to their resources and audience. In return, you can leverage those assets to influence people to check out your site. Co-marketing campaigns help partners bring their expertise to the partnership and gain a mutual benefit. Jyoti Mali , head of digital marketing at TIS India, agrees: “You can set up partnerships with reputed companies to start your co-marketing campaign. This will help the users to know more about your products and services because they will get a wider platform for exploring your offers.” Your campaign doesn’t have to be super complex. You might partner with a business to create a social media video or run an exclusive promotion. If you got the time, you could host an intimate VIP event in your local area, too. Whatever you decide, stick to your goal of driving leads to your business. Make sure all promotional signage includes your website. It’s also a clever idea to capture people’s email addresses to send them future updates. 3. Advertise on Social Media Small businesses operate on tight budgets. You don’t have the luxury to throw money at every marketing idea. Totally understandable. However, most small businesses suffer when they don’t want to spend any money. They constrain their budgets to where there isn’t any room to execute on sound strategies. If you’re willing to step into a growth mindset, your business should consider testing social media advertising. It’ll drive more leads to your site, in addition to spreading brand awareness. Start with the social media platform that your typical buyer uses. Then, determine your weekly or monthly budget. It can be a few hundred dollars. Next, follow the on-screen directions on the platform. For example, Twitter helps you build your ad from start-to-finish with helpful tips along the way. Make sure your ad uses an eye-appealing image and concise copy. Look at how Walmart crafted their Facebook ad below. The graphic is colorful with the logo prominently displayed, and the copy talks directly to the consumer with a coupon. Don’t be afraid to spend your marketing budget. Social media advertising can be effective for your company. 4. Participate in Online Communities The online world serves as a home for people with different interests, ideas, and beliefs. You can literally find a community for anything, from Star Wars’ fan clubs to dog lovers’ support groups. You can tap into these online communities to drive more leads to your site. Megan Biondi , former social media marketing specialist at Blue Fountain Media, highlights the benefits: “Participating in these conversations increases your exposure as well as the odds of engaging with other group members. If you’re focusing on a select few groups to participate in, it’s the most time efficient to participate in groups that get a lot of views, discussions, and traffic.” Before you go spamming everyone with your marketing messages, it’s critical that you join these communities with a genuine interest to bring value to its members. So, don’t talk about your services every time you engage the group. Plus, you’ll want to join communities that fit your business’s purpose. For instance, it’s not cool to push your floral arrangement businesses in a group focused on college basketball. 5. Send Creative Emails Email marketing is one of the hidden gems of small business. Companies usually get bogged down with executing so many other tactics that they forget about their email subscribers. The first step is to continue building your email list . You can add pop-ups to your homepage prompting visitors to give their email addresses in exchange for a discount. Or you can encourage your social media followers to sign up for your weekly newsletter. Next, focus on sending emails with worthwhile content. The message should entice leads to click to learn more. For instance, if you’re a boxing gym owner, you may send a list of the top five tips on how to be a better boxer. You would include two of those tips in the email and have the subscriber go to your website to get the additional three strategies. Blue Apron is creative in their approach to getting leads to their website. In the email below, they offer their subscribers a $40 off coupon and simple instructions on how to get started with their service. Your subscribers are eager to hear from your business. So, dust off your email list to generate more leads. Get More Customers to Your Site Now is the time to craft your lead generation strategy. Bring more leads to your website through organic search, social media advertising, and email marketing. Customers are waiting to buy from your business. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading

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5 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website from Social Media

The post 5 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website from Social Media appeared first on HostGator Blog . Everyone is spending time on social media. It’s the hangout spot for people to chat with their friends and get the latest updates on their favorite TV shows. It’s also a place for you to attract new customers to your brand. It’s important for people to engage with your website. However, social networks are doing their absolute best to keep people in-platform. But you can change all that! Here are five social media tips for your brand to get people to actually visit your website. 1. Optimize Your Profile It’s very likely for potential customers to learn about your brand on social media before they even land on your website. So, you’ll want to make a good first impression. You’ll need two key people from your team: a graphic designer and a copywriter. The designer will ensure your logo and profile images represent your brand well. You may need to adjust the color schemes or image sizes to maximize your brand’s visibility. Then, work with your copywriter to draft a creative message about your business. You can use your tagline or meaningful saying that will strike an emotional chord with your followers. Here’s an example from Califia Farms . Their Instagram profile shows a clear image of their logo. Plus, the copy sparks curiosity and spotlights their plant-based mission. Lastly, you want to lead people to your site with a link. Experiment with your homepage or a specific landing page. Your goal is to increase traffic and keep your new visitors’ attention. 2. Tease Exclusive Content Consumers love the velvet rope treatment. That’s when a few people receive access to a special offering. It gives people a sense of belonging and labels them as part of the “cool kids” group. Exclusivity can encourage more people to visit your site. Julie Neidlinger , writer, artist, and pilot from North Dakota, provides her perspective: “Exclusivity works because, frankly, people like to be in on the secret. Exclusivity makes people want something. If they can’t have it, they want it all the more. Some of us take a bit of pleasure when others are excluded (though we’d rather not admit that).” Use this strategy to your advantage by only posting links to specific content on your social media channels. For instance, let’s say you did an interview with a well-known expert. You can post the link to the video only on your Facebook account for 48 hours. That exclusivity will motivate your followers to click the link to your site. Another idea is to announce product releases on social media. It’ll prompt your audience to follow you on social media and visit the official announcement page. It’s a win-win for everyone: your fans get the exclusive perk and your brand gets traffic. 3. Engage Followers Directly Social media has earned a bad reputation because businesses like to rely on too many automated processes. This dependence on automation hinders brand engagement. Your customers want personal attention, not a bot sending them a canned response every single time they reply to your social account. To truly get people to your site from social media, you must engage them directly. So, invest in hiring (or outsourcing) a part-time social media manager to craft direct responses to your followers. Whether it’s a potential customer looking for a quick answer or a long-time customer needing assistance, you want someone to provide a unique reply in a timely manner. Footwear and apparel brand Vans offers a good lesson on how to connect with your social media audience. Below the company provides a friendly reply along with a recommended site for the customer to visit. When directing followers to your site, make sure it fits their needs. Matching the right page with their current issue ensures a positive outcome. 4. Connect with Influencers When building your marketing plan, don’t forget the power of relationships. Your team shouldn’t be tackling every task in a silo. Instead, recruit influencers to help you spread your message and get people to your site. Choose influencers within your industry that align with your brand’s values and goals. David Zheng, former contributor to The Daily Egg, offers his insight: “It can be excruciatingly overwhelming to track down influencers…The key to finding the right influencers is to remember that the more you know about your target, the better you can create a pitch that will engage and sell them on your idea.” You’ll want to draw up an agreement highlighting the expectations for the influencer partnership . Will the individual retweet specific posts? Or will the person post about your business three times a week on his account? Moreover, give influencers creative control to develop new social media ideas for your brand. Maybe they can post a series of funny videos or do a takeover on your Twitter account. These innovative approaches will earn your business more traffic. 5. Promote Special Deals A good deal is hard to find. That’s why customers are happy when they find a coupon for their favorite brand. Customers will even go the extra mile to locate a promotional code before purchasing products in their online shopping carts. You brand can leverage people’s need to save money. Start by offering special discounts on your social media accounts. It can be a one-time holiday offer or monthly deals just for your followers. These incentives will get people to your site, and it gives visitors a reason to buy from you now, rather than later. Check out this example below from Letterfolk . On Facebook, the brand is showcasing a special 20% discount on all their inventory for their Mother’s Day Sale. Like any good marketing strategy, don’t overload your customers. You shouldn’t post discounts every day. Also, state any restrictions about the coupon upfront. The last thing you want is followers upset because their coupon doesn’t apply to the items in their cart. Driving Traffic From Social Media to Your Website Social media is all the craze, but you need visitors to come to your site. From profile optimization to direct engagement, there’s an opportunity for your brand to get more traffic. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading

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