Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

How Do You Get Found Online?

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IMG_2820Lately as I’ve been talking to clients, I’ve seen an increased request to get found online. But where do you start? Yes you can hire SEO firms to work with you on this, and depending on what you do that might be a great idea. But if you’re a small business owner like me, it may not be in the budget. So where do you start? Here’s what I suggest to my clients:

  1. Setup Your Google Business Page – First things first, start with the big guns. Make sure to completely fill out your profile and add photos and your logo! I also have my blog posts automatically posted to my page so that it’s regularly updated. That way people know I’m alive and kicking, and by people, I mean the Google bots.
  2. Setup Bing Places – Why? Because we live in the Northwest and people actually use Bing. Bing Places is great because you can set it up and forget about it.
  3. Depending on your industry I recommend a few other options: Yelp, Angie’s List, and Houzz are three of the most popular.

There’s a ton or sites out there you can choose from but making sure that the main places that people are finding you are claimed and your profiles are completely filled out is the key. Here’s three resources that I use and recommend for clients:

  1. Moz Local – this website tells you all the spots you’re found online and what’s missing.
  2. Google Analytics – if you have your analytics setup then you can see each month where your traffic is coming from. If I see a new referral source to my site I make sure that my profile is filled out on that site to increase my chance of being found.
  3. Odd Dog Media – my friends over at Odd Dog Media are a great web development and local SEO firm. If you need a company, they’re it. But if you don’t have the budget, they wrote up this awesome and simple guide to Local SEO.

Questions? That’s what I’m here for!

How Often Should You Send Your Newsletter?

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Newsletter FrequencyHow often do you send out your newsletter?

I’ve had this conversation a couple of times in the past week with clients and colleagues. Some send it out weekly, like a blog post. Some send it out only when they have something to sell and promote, and some (like me) send it out monthly.

The frequency of your newsletter depends on your time available to produce content for the newsletter AND how often you notice your audience wants to read it. If I get a weekly newsletter from someone, I tend to skim every 3rd issue it seems like. If I get an email once a month I usually open it up and take a quick look and then read it if it’s something interesting or that I need to read then. And when I only get emails from someone when they want to sell me on a product or service, I tend to unsubscribe pretty quick.

Here’s my suggestions when deciding frequency:

  • What do you want to say each newsletter?
    • Is it a recap of your blog posts with a short note?
    • Is it just when you’re announcing a new product or service or “freemium”
    • Is it updates and reminders to my network? (“now’s the time to schedule your summer appointment”
  • How often can you commit to sending out a newsletter?
    • Monthly works for a lot of people – many of my clients think they can do more frequently but it’s overwhelming unless you have something specific you’re sending out AND you know that’s how your audience wants to receive it
    • Do you have enough for monthly or is every other month enough?

My biggest suggestion with your frequency: Don’t let your audience forget about you. I was just talking to someone the other day who has a service I often need. When someone asked me for the service I forgot about this person because I hadn’t heard from them in so long. Don’t let me forget you’re out there and active and always accepting new clients!

May Pop Culture Round Up!

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Well, May flew right by didn’t it? I had some road trips happening so the DVR got backed up, but my podcast listening was on fleek (that’s still a thing right? no? fine) Here’s what I’ve been up to (and slacking on) this month:

IMG_2589Reading

I’m still chomping away at Fellside – it’s REALLY good, and the chapters are super short, which makes it easy to put down when I get interrupted by something shiny (or Norm). I’m hoping to finish it soon because…

City of Mirrors is out! I picked it up the other day (at Costco, I feel like I’m cheating on Powell’s so will go spend more money than necessary in a few days to make up for it). This is the 3rd in a trilogy that I’ve REALLY enjoyed. I can’t wait to start it!

And I’m way behind on my comics lately – hoping to fix that in June – warmer days get me outside to read in the afternoon!

Watching

Holy crap this season of The Americans has been amazing! The time jump was a great idea, and that dinner with Stan and Pastor Tim was so fantastically awkward. I loved it.

This season of Game of Thrones is keeping me on my toes. Also: Hodor.

I have a few shows that have been really backed up – and I haven’t even started this season of Orphan Black. I know, I’m a disappointment to myself too. I’m really glad finales are happening so I can get caught up on the last half of Nashville this season and maybe finally watch ALL the Netflix shows that are piling up…

Oh – and we saw Captain America: Civil War – and it was a BLAST! I haven’t had that much fun at a movie in a long time – get to the theater to see it!

Listening

The Bill Simmons Podcast with David Chang was really fantastic. As a business owner and delicious food fan, it was an excellent listen.

Play Your Position Podcast – featuring ME! I had my first podcast interview with Mary Lou Kayser at Team PYP – and it was a blast! Give it a listen if you miss the sound of my voice, or need some marketing inspiration.

The Nerdist had a great string of guests lately, from Jodie Foster to Rob Reiner to Anthony Mackie – it was great!

I’m still listening to The Watch and Keeping it 1600 on The Ringer podcast networking – they’re great podcasts for TV and politics!

So that’s me, what have you been reading, watching and listening to this past month?