If there’s one thing I absolutely LOVE, it’s sharing my opinions. Things I like, things I hate, things I think you should try. This weekly blog post is a summary of the things I found this week that I wanted to share with you. Hopefully at least one item on the list makes your world a little better! We made it through the week! I hope your weekend is amazing! ​

Making big moves in life can come with a full heap of anxiety. Especially if you're trying new things like gives speeches, networking, going back to school ... the list goes on. I really like how this video breaks down our responses to anxiety and how we can start to be in control of it. 

Yeah, so, this left me going "huh?" But it was still interesting enough to mention. Read more about this interesting new flavor on cNet or just go straight to the store to see if it's available in your area. Who's willing to try it? Who's willing to actually buy merchandise around this new Dew flavor??? 

This brought up a question I've never thought of before ... do I actually want to DRINK all of the flavors I like? I love Funyuns, but I'd never drink the flavor ... but if it was a hearty soup? Sign me up.

I'll admit, I'm not great at small talk. My personality goes straight into weird topics and TMI topics. Ask me about the weather and I'll tell you about the time when I was 17 and I had to run to the basement during a tornado. I was topples, wearing only underwear because it was super hot in my bedroom (old farm house) and ended up awkwardly standing next to my sister's boyfriend who was still there late at night. And I now go to bed FULLY dressed each night with a huge fear of being naked in public. 

​Anyway, so I'll read this article from CNBC.com a few times myself because guys, I need it.

Walking around with the weight of toxic people on your shoulders? One conversation can ruin your day. Use these tips to help! 

If you're frustrated with your website or just wondering what you can do to make it work harder for you, then start here! You're not alone in learning what works and what doesn't. These mistakes are common and I'm almost always recommending these changes to clients. You're in good company as you keep hustling to improve your marketing platforms and starting with your website is vital! 

We're humans. You have to tell us what to do. Every.Single.Time. A call to action (CTA) is a statement or blurb that tells your audience how to take advantage of all the benefits you've been touting about your business. Or if they're already on your website and reading about the benefits, it can serve as a reminder to buy what you're selling before they leave your site. 

You wouldn't believe how many sales are lost just because a business owner didn't have a call to action (think of it like a mini 5 word sales pitch) in front of their website visitor. For example ... what if I'm 3-pages deep into your site and love what I'm reading? That would be a great time to have a call to action in front of me. It would remind me to buy what I'm reading about and take advantage of those benefits myself.

Go through your website and look at it from an outsider's point of view. Can your visitors quickly buy what you're selling wherever they are on your website? Read more about call to actions here.

We're humans. We want instant gratification and instant confirmation. So good grief - create some landing pages already! Have you seen someone promote something on social media and you click, so excited to learn more, only to land on their home page or a webpage chock-full of tons of STUFF that you have to sort through to find what you're looking for? I see it all the time. 

This is true wherever you're promoting your products and services (social media, email, podcast, etc.). When you talk about a topic or benefit statement and include a link, the user wants to see that exact statement or topic at the very top of the webpage they visit. They want to know they landed in the correct place, they want the benefit statement reinforced, and they don't want to scroll or search for it. Here's a great layout for landing pages you can use today. 

We're humans. We want more of everything as often as we can get it. Blogs are an excellent way to:

• Add keywords to your website
• Reinforce your expertise in the industry
• Talk about topics that are relevant to your products and services
• Most importantly, connect with your audience

If you don't have a blog yet, then I recommend you start one! You don't have to post everyday. Start with once a month. Then move to twice a month. Then keep adding more as you can. They don't need to be long and don't need a ton of professional photos. Just start with what you have for now. 

Here are topic ideas to help you get started:

• Employee spotlight
• Product spotlight
• Product/service "concerns" with answers for those concerns
• Top how-to questions for your products/services with answers 
• Holiday posts (sales, how a product/service can be used for the holiday, etc.)
• Personal stories (how you got started, motivation for your readers, etc.)

We're humans. We're constantly looking for connection, especially before we spend money. This tip is very important for small-to-medium sized businesses and those who provide "services" ... your "About Me" page is going to be read, guaranteed. What's on yours? Do you have one? You should have an "About Me" page with at least a professional bio. It would be great to add personal touches as well (only give as much personal info as you want. You need to feel safe, too!). You could add a paragraph about why you started your business. Some other personal touches could be: hobbies, projects you're working on, vacations you've taken, how many kids/grandkids you have, etc.

Pick one of these items to tackle each week until you've successfully overhauled your website. Need help? Contact us today! We'll conduct an audit and help you prioritize your to-do list.