An Open Letter to Solicitors and Salespeople

Dear salesperson, Thank you for contacting us regarding the services you’re offering. Here are the reasons we will not be using your services: You clicked our ad, thereby making your prospecting efforts cost us money that is supposed to be spent on prospective clients You filled out a contact form that was obviously designed, written, […]
Who is the best digital marketing agency for your small business?

Long ago when I was developing Stridr, a social media aggregator that helped people discover new people/things to follow on social media, I got one of the best pieces of advice from a friend and mentor I had at the time. At the time, I was feeling pretty frazzled being a one-man tech startup. I […]
Buyer Beware During Pandemic Altruism from Web Developers

This is probably going to be a controversial post from within the web developer community, but this is something that needs to be communicated to storefronts weighing their online options to keep their business afloat. This post was somewhat inspired by a great conversation I had with Kris Trudeau at HPX Media about the business […]
5 Ways to Bring Traffic to Your Website

When many people launch their website, they seem to think to themselves, “Now that I’m online, all I have to do is sit back and let the numbers roll in.” Sure, being online helps, but people aren’t going to come out of nowhere. As a small business, getting people visiting your website generally follows more […]
8 Things Your Web Designer / Developer Should Be Doing for You

Before entering into a lengthy contract and/or getting your digital assets locked into a website developer/host’s hands, it’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into. All too often, I’ve talked to business owners that cannot easily update their website (if at all!), their website gets hacked all the time, or their host/developer is seldom […]
9 Things to Look for in a Web Professional’s Portfolio

Back in the heyday of web marketing, having a website set you apart from the competition. It positioned you as an innovator and with the times. It meant getting more business than everyone else because people could find you on the internet when no one else was online. The simple fact of having a website […]
5 Things to Think About Before Buying An E-Commerce Site

In my quest to help small businesses grow, I see a common thread between entrepreneurial creatives — they all need an E-Commerce website. It makes sense. Etsy commissions are steep, and these days platforms like Instagram and Facebook give you hardly any exposure without paying for an ad to insert yourself in peoples’ feeds. Not […]
Is Your “Marketing/SEO Guru” Subcontracting Offshore?

Something that always comes up when I talk to small business owners is that when they buy marketing services, they eventually find out that the services they purchased are getting subcontracted to people that are not in North America. These people often have limited reading, writing, and comprehension skills in the English language. Today, I’d […]
4 Things to Think About When Budgeting for A Website

How will you bring traffic to your website?No traffic. This is always the biggest shock website customers get once their website goes live. The reality is, most web developers are experts in making websites and not in making website traffic. When buying a website, it is critical to start thinking about how you are going […]
Google Search Ads vs. Professional SEO Maintenance

Before we dive headfirst into how to compare Google Search Ads and Professional SEO Maintenance, let’s get some definitions out of the way:What is SEO?SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization. Examples of Search Engines are Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Duck Duck Go. Optimizing your website for search engines means that when someone searches […]