Tag: Can’t

12 Local SEO Tips For Small Businesses You Can’t Ignore

As a small business, ranking for keyword terms can be difficult. With larger, more resourced businesses targeting those same terms, it can seem impossible to nudge your way to the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs).

How are small businesses expected to rank highly on SERPs? Fortunately, with the use of local SEO, there’s more than a good chance.

If there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s that local SEO has never been more important for small businesses than it is now. Just consider that “where to buy” + “near me” mobile queries have grown by over 200 percent from 2017 to 2019.

In addition, a recent study found that 69 percent of digital traffic is organic and local—meaning it’s more important than ever that your small business tightens up its local organic SEO strategies.

This guide will introduce local SEO for small businesses. We’ll then cover 12 local SEO tips and the tools you need to begin your journey.

What Is Local SEO for Small Business?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website to increase the chances of it being seen when people search terms related to your business. Local SEO is a similar venture but with a particular focus on local keyword terms.

The goal is to drive local traffic to your website—traffic that’s more likely to convert, whether online or offline.

Why Is Local SEO Important for Small Businesses?

With more people relying on online information to make offline purchases, local SEO for small businesses has never been more important. In fact, one study found 78 percent of local searches on mobile result in an offline purchase. You can’t argue with those results!

Other reasons to optimize your website for local SEO include the opportunity to build your website up as an authority and educate your target audience on your products and services.

Your local SEO efforts don’t have to center around increasing sales. You can also use local SEO strategies to drive traffic to your website for the purpose of informing or educating.

12 Local SEO Tips for Small Businesses

Many local SEO tips can be implemented within minutes, while others take considerably more time. However, each of the tips below can greatly benefit your local business, both online and offline.

1. Optimize for Google My Business

Google My Business is a business directory owned and operated by Google. The goal of the platform is to provide the most accurate business information for local businesses to searchers.

With this in mind, most businesses will have a Google My Business listing within a year or so of starting their business. This is done automatically as Google learns of your business through its website crawl bots.

The problem with an automated listing, though, is that information may not be complete or accurate. Only when you claim your listing can you ensure you’re getting the most from the platform.

If you need even more reason to claim or create your own listing, then consider that businesses with 4 or more stars on Google My Business outrank those with less than 4 stars by about 11 percent. As a small business, you can’t afford to lose out on that edge.

How can you completely optimize your Google My Business listing? Here are a few essential steps to get you started:

  1. Claim or create your Google My Business listing.
  2. Complete profile data and publish your listing.
  3. Add photos and videos of your business and offerings to your profile.
  4. Respond to ratings and reviews in a professional and timely manner.
claim your profile for google my business to help local seo for your small business

It’s important that your business information is accurate and updated. You should ensure updates are made at least monthly, though weekly monitoring of your listing is important to success.

2. Claim All Business Directories

Speaking of business directories, you must be sure to stake your claim in all business directories. The most popular include Google My Business mentioned above and Yelp.

You may think that a Google Business Profile is sufficient to bring in traffic, both online and in-store. However, consider that a Yelp page is present in the top 5 results for 92 percent of search queries that contain a city and business category.

What difference does it make for your listing to be in the top 5 results on Google? The top 5 results on the SERPs account for 80 percent of click-throughs on the first page of Google. The first organic result alone accounts for almost 40 percent.

All of this to say, you can’t afford to not claim your business on all directories wherever possible.

Fortunately, business directories make it easy to claim your listings. To claim your Yelp business page, for example, you can begin the process by verifying your business information.

claim Yelp local seo for small businesses

While Google and Yelp are the big dogs, other business directories to consider are Facebook, Bing, Yahoo, and Yellow Pages.

3. Perform a Local SEO Audit

Now that you’re established on business directories, it’s time to understand the landscape. This enables you to see what your competitors are doing so you, too, can make the same improvements (and better) on your website.

Results on the first page of SERPs provide the most insight and inspiration. After all, the first three positions alone account for 66.5 percent of the click-throughs on the SERPs!

As you begin your audit, first consider free tools and analyzers like the SEO Analyzer. These tools give you a detailed overview of your website’s current status and what you can do to optimize.

neil patel seo analyzer for local seo for small business

Next, use your target keywords (which you’ll work out in the next section), and compare your website to the top five of each SERP. Consider types of content, website structure, page elements, and keyword density.

I would recommend keeping a spreadsheet of your findings to easily track and implement your changes.

4. Target Local Keywords

As a small business, keyword targeting can be daunting. You know you’ll be lost in the sea when you target high-volume keywords, but lower-volume keywords tend to yield little return.

As a local business, you actually have an edge when it comes to keyword targeting. “Near me” search term variations increased as little as 150 percent (e.g. “near me now”) to as much as 900 percent (e.g. “near me today/tonight”) in just a few years. This means that targeting a combination of high volume and local keywords can work in your favor.

What do I mean in practice?

Let’s say you own a local flower shop. Your website naturally contains many high-volume keywords, such as “florist,” “flower shop,” and “flowers for sale.” The fact is you’re unlikely to beat out national flower providers, like 1-800-Flowers and Sam’s Club, with those keywords.

The goal should be to optimize your website with local keywords.

local organic keywords for local seo for small businesses

For example, search your website for every instance of “flowers for sale.” You’ll want to be wary of keyword stuffing, but take care to change most of these instances to more specific, local terms, such as:

  • “flowers for sale in [city or zip code]”
  • “[city or zip code] flowers for sale”
  • “flowers for sale [city or zip code]”

You don’t have to target only your specific town and zip code, though. Consider areas within 10 or 15 miles of your business and target those local keywords, too. This is especially good practice if you live in a smaller town outside of a larger city or metro area.

5. Encourage (and Reward) Customer Reviews

When was the last time you visited a restaurant or purchased an item without researching ratings and reviews? If you’re like 82 percent of consumers performing an online local search, then the answer is never.

Customer reviews are the lifeblood of your business. This is particularly true for new and small businesses.

How can you obtain online customer reviews?

First, ensure there is a place for customers to leave reviews. If you’ve claimed your Google My Business profile and Yelp business listing, then you’re off to a great start.

Second, offer an incentive to customers who leave reviews. Whether by word of mouth or marked on in-store receipts, let customers know they will receive a discount or a complimentary item for their rating and review.

The work doesn’t stop there, though. You must respond to all reviews, negative and positive. This gives you an opportunity to engage with your customers, and it can also instill faith in your brand by those who have yet to purchase.

6. Create Local Content

Above we talked about targeting local keywords while avoiding keyword stuffing. The best way to do this is to create local content for your website or website’s blog.

Local content can be a blog post, a news release, or a static web page. You can use these various content types to highlight local events (past and upcoming), local offerings, local business roundups (e.g., local businesses that complement but don’t compete with yours), or even to educate the public on your product or service.

The more natural content you have on your website, the more easily you can target local keywords. It can also help to establish you as an expert in the field, which is crucial for small business owners competing against larger businesses.

Continuing with the example of a flower shop, here are a few content ideas that will naturally target both the audience and the keywords:

  • Blog post: #X [your state] Flowers for Year-Round Decorating
  • Static web page: Our Local [your state] Flower Offerings
  • Static web page: [your state] Garden Flower Offerings
  • Blog post: [your state] Flower Events for [season/year]

7. Implement a Local Backlink Strategy

A backlink is a link to your website from another site. Depending on the quality of the third-party websites and the number of links to your website, this can have a considerable impact on your website’s authority.

Authority is a critical piece in determining how high your website ranks on the SERPs. How do we know this? Consider that the #1 result in Google has an average of 3.8x more backlinks than positions #2 to #10.

How can a small business website begin to build its backlink profile? A few things to consider are:

  • writing guest posts for relevant, high-quality websites in your industry
  • engaging in influencer outreach
  • participating in link outreaches
  • “listening” for brand mentions
  • writing shareable content

Speaking of shareable content, the key to any successful backlink strategy is quality, reasonably lengthy content. After all, it’s known that long-form content receives 77.2 percent more backlinks than short articles.

You don’t want long content for content’s sake, so keep the post relevant, valuable, and free of fluff.

8. Become Mobile-Friendly

Considering 82 percent of smartphone shoppers conduct “near me” searches, you can’t afford not to have a mobile-friendly site.

The hard work isn’t getting traffic to your site, but instead keeping it there once it arrives. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, then local searchers will quickly leave your site and consider a competitor instead.

What is a mobile-friendly site? The four basic elements that every mobile-friendly site should contain include:

  • responsive page display
  • readable fonts
  • proper text formatting
  • optimized media display

Beyond a mobile-friendly website, you must also produce mobile-friendly content. The good news about mobile-friendly content is that it’s also viewable for desktop readers.

What does such content consist of?

  • short paragraphs
  • white space
  • subheadings
  • a summary
  • images
  • lists
  • styling (e.g., bold, italics)

If you’re not a web developer, the idea of creating a mobile-friendly website can be daunting. The good news is that most website platforms incorporate mobile-friendly elements into their themes and overlays. Keep an eye out for “responsive” as an indicator of such options.

9. Optimize Page Structure

Local SEO for business goes beyond business listings and content. An often-overlooked element is page structure.

Page structure includes title tags, headers, meta description, and URL. When used correctly, these can further enhance your content and improve your rankings on SERPs.

Perhaps you’re wondering just how much of an impact these elements can have on your rankings. Here’s the deal: To employ elements that your competitors may not be, you can get ahead.

Which page structure elements are most overlooked by small businesses? From greatest to least, here is what percentage of small business owners use the following key SEO features:

  • Title tag: 99 percent
  • Robots.txt: 88 percent
  • Sitemap.xml: 73 percent
  • Meta description: 72 percent
  • H1: 68 percent
  • Schema.org: 44 percent

You can address the title tag, meta description, and H1 most easily. However, robots.txt, sitemap.xml, and schema.org also have their place on a well-structured website.

10. Get Involved on Social Media

Social media isn’t just for big brands and influencers. A local business page can benefit from social media usage, too.

More specifically, a local business page can be a great place to keep customers up-to-date on the latest sales, events, and changes (e.g., hours of operation). That’s because even with a website, a social media profile is more like a “living” version of your business.

Perhaps Facebook users benefit most from local business pages. After all, ⅔ of Facebook users across all countries surveyed say they visit the Page of a local business at least once a week. However, other social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok can also offer your business an edge.

A few examples of the benefits of maintaining social media profiles for your small business include relationship building, trend tracking and analysis, and social commerce.

Here’s how small businesses can get involved on social media:

  1. Decide which platforms are right for your business based on features and target audience.
  2. Post quality content on a regular basis.
  3. Use scheduling and automation tools to test and improve engagement.
  4. Participate in local events and roundups.
  5. Make it easy for customers to purchase your products and services online.

Depending on your business and target audience, social media may or may not make up a large percentage of your sales and traffic. However, either way, a strong social media presence is a must for small businesses.

11. Participate in Local Business Events

Would you be surprised to learn you can do a lot offline to improve your website’s local SEO? 48 percent of marketers invest at least 20 percent of their marketing budget in live events.

Participating in local business events, especially those with a strong social media presence, can help grow your business in a few ways. They’re an opportunity to market your business but also are an easy way to get to know your audience and the community you serve. There’s likely to be a return on such events, too.

As a small business, you have the versatility to host your own event or sponsor and join with larger community events. An event you host yourself would likely yield a larger return, but a community event may be ideal for smaller budgets.

12. Invest in Google Ads With Local Keywords

Small business usually means small budget. It’s important that you invest wisely in the growth of your business online. Where should you hedge your bets? For most businesses, Google Ads is a good place to start.

Google Ads is a paid advertising platform that enables you to appear in prominent places on the SERPs.

google ads for local seo for small businesses

You may think that you could never compete against big businesses. One way around this is to highlight your local status by targeting local keywords and local audiences. For example, instead of targeting “flowers for sale,” target “flowers for sale in [your city or zip code].”

How can we know this will be successful? According to Think with Google, 72 percent of computer or tablet users and 67 percent of smartphone users want ads that are customized to their city or zip code. Users want to find the options most local to them, so give them what they want.

It’s true that starting with Google Ads can be daunting, but fortunately, you have the option to invest in an advertising agency to help you set up and manage your account and keywords. If you want to go it alone, though, follow these essential steps:

  1. Conduct keyword research: This will include keywords you want to target but also keywords you want to exclude from your campaigns (negative keywords).
  2. Decide how your ad groups will be structured: Ad groups are ad campaigns grouped by a common element, like target audience, target keyword, or even location. Decide how your groups will break down so you can begin to create your campaigns.
  3. Create your first campaign: A campaign is a step above ad groups in that it encompasses a larger target audience. For example, you can have a “Wedding Flowers” campaign that includes ad groups like “Wedding Flowers in Queens” and “Wedding Flowers in Brooklyn.” This is where you will set campaign-level goals and settings.
  4. Create your first ad: Google Ads has multiple ad types. A text ad is a good place to begin, though your ad groups can contain multiple ad types, and it’s important to experiment with what works for your audience.

Continuous monitoring and tweaking of your campaigns are necessary for success.

Local SEO Tips for Small Businesses Frequently Asked Questions

As a small business, should I get an agency to help with my local SEO?

As a small business, budget can be a constraint. While you can make many changes yourself, a consulting agency can offer invaluable advice and resources.

How does local SEO help small businesses grow?

With local search intent being what it is, local SEO can be a boon to small businesses. It can put you on the map (or SERPs, as it happens) for keywords you may not have ever ranked for on a larger scale.

How much should a small business pay for local SEO?

The amount you invest will vary depending on what you find to be meaningful and valuable to your business. If you must invest, I recommend you do so in two places: 1) in an SEO consulting agency, and 2) in paid advertising.

What kind of small businesses need local SEO?

Local SEO can benefit small businesses of all kinds. If you provide products or services in a specific area (or multiple areas), then you can benefit from its use.

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Conclusion: Local SEO for Small Business

As a small business owner, you know that hard work and dedication is needed to grow your sales. Much the same can be said for local SEO. While SEO can take time and patience, it can pay off in the long run.

With the 12 local SEO tips outlined above, even the smallest businesses can benefit. From keyword research to social media marketing to paid advertising, you can begin to make changes today to see benefits in the future.

Which of these local SEO tips for small businesses will you implement first?

How to Craft Lead Magnets Your Customers Can’t Ignore

Getting traffic to your site is nice, but there’s not much of a point if those visitors don’t convert.

There’s one tactic I use above all others to generate new leads:

A lead magnet.

They aren’t some newfangled tech trend. They’ve been an essential marketing tool for decades.

With lead magnets, you give people something for free in exchange for an email address and permission to send them more offers—for example, a free ebook or an SEO checklist.

However, not all lead magnets are effective.

Let’s take about how lead magnets work and explore how to create one that drives leads.

How Lead Magnets Can Grow Your Business

The lure of ‘free’ is compelling, according to Predictably Irrational author Dan Ariely.

He proved this by giving groups of people the option to select from different Amazon gift cards. Respondents could choose from receiving either:

  1. A $10 Amazon gift card for free, or
  2. A $20 Amazon gift card for only $7

If you were to look at that objectively, based on cold hard math, you’d see that the second option was the better value ($13 vs. $10.)

Check out the third column on the far right to see which one won:

the power of free how to create lead magnets that work

It wasn’t even close! Everyone sampled chose the free $10 option instead.

Ariely calls this the Zero-Price Effect because humans don’t see the downside to something that’s free.

Ariely ran a related experiment. They staged a promotion for free tattoos and had people line up outside the store.

These people were waiting in line with full knowledge of what they were doing.

Yet when Ariely asked them if they’d be waiting to get the same tattoo if it wasn’t free, 68 percent of respondents said no!

would you get this tattoo if it wasnt free guide to lead magents

In other words, people took time out of their busy schedule to commit permanent ink to their skin simply because it was free.

Good lead magnets, when done correctly, have the same effect (albeit without the same long-lasting effects).

They pass along a useful ebook, webinar, or email course, asking for very little (if anything) in return from visitors.

You leverage the power of free to kickstart the first step in your customer value optimization process.

Lead magnets are nothing new.

They get a lot of attention today because of how persuasive and powerful they can be.

One of the best ways to incorporate them today is with a content upgrade. People are already on your site, seeking something out.

Think about it:

They went to Google and typed in something specific to end up on your blog post.

A lead magnet sweetens the pot by providing additional insight on the same exact topic they were reading about.

Brian Dean used the content upgrade strategy to boost his conversions by 785 percent in one day.

Brian Harris of Video Fruit is seeing a 20-30 percent opt-in rate from blog posts where he links not one, not two, but three times to his lead magnet.

For example, the first comes right in the introduction:

lead magnet example video fruit

Then he follows up that up with another two more for good measure down at the bottom:

lead magent example use content upgrages

The blog post goes through an in-depth analysis of how content upgrades can get you more leads. Then it distills those insights and actionable tips down so that you can easily start implementing the same tactics on your site (after downloading the lead magnet, of course).

If you want to see the same results, your lead magnet has to abide by a few rules.

The form or medium doesn’t matter necessarily. Instead, success typically comes down to a few >key ingredients:

  1. Does your audience care about it?
  2. Is there value to it?
  3. Does it solve a problem and/or give the audience something they need?

So how do you figure those things out?

Let’s dive into what the best lead magnets have in common to find out.

How to Create Lead Magnets That Drive Conversions

Now that you know why lead magnets are important (to get you more leads!) let’s talk about how to create one that drives conversions like mad.

Find Out What Your Customers Want

Saying you need to “know your audience” sounds obvious and trite. However, it’s one of those things that everyone talks about, but no one seems to know how to do.

The big clue is in the reception. If your digital copies aren’t flying off the shelf when it goes live, your issue typically comes back to a mismatch with your audience.

Thankfully, this can be an easy fix if you know where to look.

Start by looking for what people are already paying for.

That might sound counterintuitive because lead magnets are free.

However, if someone is willing to part with their hard-earned cash for something, it’s a sure sign that they’re committed.

For example, one of my favorite places to start is the Kindle Marketplace.

Let’s say I’m about to create a lead magnet in an industry I know nothing about: cooking. (Seriously, nothing.)

I could guess or make a few assumptions about which cooking lead magnet would work best. Or I could head on over to the Kindle Marketplace and see what’s already working well.

It’s not just the topic you’re looking for at this point, but also the ‘format’ that resonates with an audience.

Here’s what I mean.

Go to the Amazon Kindle Marketplace look at the sidebar on the left-hand side. There, you’ll find all the book categories and then subcategories upon subcategories upon subcategories. (In other words, drilling down to find your niche and your audience.)

Here’s what the bestsellers look like in European cooking and food:

lead magnet example cook books

Ok, now we’re getting somewhere.

Most are unsurprisingly recipe books. However, that first one is especially interesting.

It’s a “cooking for two,” book which means the people buying it are looking for quick, no-fuss meals in smaller portions.

See?

That tells you a lot about the audience and what their preferences are. The Mediterranean one on the far right is another indication — those meals tend to be easy and healthy.

So these people might be looking for a new recipe cookbook, but that doesn’t mean they want some haute cuisine that requires working for hours in the kitchen.

Instead, these (presumably) busy people want something relatively quick and healthy.

Next, the trick is to put something together that’s like these examples but somehow different, better, or unique.

For example, let’s dive a little deeper into books reviews to see what they say.

Here’s a positive review to kick things off:

book review example for lead magnet guide

Awesome! Two of our assumptions are already being proved correct.

People like this example because it provides recipes that are “quick to prepare. “

Busy moms might be foodies. However, foodies probably aren’t going to be buying this book.

That completely changes how you might create, package, design, and even promote this ebook already.

Positive reviews are helpful to start with, but many times you can learn more from negative reviews. Check this out:

lead magnet example

First, this book’s organization and table of contents aren’t up to snuff for this reviewer. They’re even giving you the answer here, too: “… organizing the dishes into categories or even providing an index.”

Good ideas! These are the little details that you or I wouldn’t have thought of because we might not be experts on cooking already.

However, a little bit of research has already revealed a few nuggets of wisdom.

Then, this reviewer goes on to complain about some of the editing and attention to detail towards the bottom.

Easy — let’s also have a subject-matter expert help edit this work to ensure accuracy (critical in cooking) is on point.

Use Audience Feedback to Refine Your Lead Magnet Idea

Now let’s take this one step further by simply asking the audience which versions of our idea they’d prefer.

For example, write up a simple blog post that explains what you’re thinking about creating and ask for ideas or improvements.

This does two things at the same time:

  1. It helps you get feedback to incorporate into the creation of your lead magnet.
  2. And it helps you ‘seed’ the market so that people are already primed to download it when you push the lead magnet live.

Soliciting feedback from people who aren’t yet on your email list can help you better understand how to get them on the list eventually. Here’s what I mean.

Take this post on how an Instagram user-generated more than $300,000.

how I generated money from instagram lead magnet example

If you take a close look at the comments section of the post, you’ll find a couple of readers asking about how the Instagram user made her lists.

lead magnet example ask questions to develop a magnet people want

Multiple people are now requesting the same information in the comments, which means there must be built-in demand for this information.

Lead magnets are ‘free,’ but users still have to part with their precious contact info. They won’t do that for just anything.

So you need to create content that interests the audience.

Let’s check out Google Analytics to see which pages (and topics) are performing best:

neil patel GA dashboard for lead magnet example

Start by segmenting all your posts into categories.

Sometimes your site already has this done if you included categories in your URL string. For example, Unbounce uses the category “PPC” in this blog post:

find a lead magnet idea screenshot of URL

So you can search for URLs in your most popular content that feature PPC.

You’ve now painstakingly compiled insight into what your customers want. Your next job should be insanely easy at this point: Give them what they’re asking for!

Being Specific About The Value

Picture someone on your site reading your perfectly crafted blog post about the latest trends in European cooking when a pop-up appears offering a printable “Be a Better Cook” guide.

Huh? That generic printed piece of paper is going to make them a better cook? How?

No, thank you.

What if it was a printable checklist on the “Ten Top-Rated Dinner Recipes from France and Italy?”

Now imagine you visit the landing page for Digital Agency Day because you want to see when the upcoming date is to make sure you don’t miss any of the great information.

DigitalAgencyDay microsite cropped lead magnet example

You’re hemming and hawing about signing up for the live event because you’re not sure if you’ll be able to make it.

Then an exit overlay catches you before leaving, suggesting you sign up to receive the recordings when ready:

DAD overlay for lead magnets

Ok, that’s something you can get behind.

It’s specific and relevant, so it immediately makes sense.

So you’ll probably hand over your email.

It’s no surprise that this example resulted in a 19.03 percent conversion rate increase.

DAD Rooster results

People aren’t going to sign up for something they don’t think is useful.

For example, check out this 9-part lesson from Brennan Dunn:

Charge what youre worth course 1

It targets a massive pain point for freelancers (“charging what you’re worth”).

It’s incredibly detailed and in-depth (“9-lesson course”).

There’s social proof that proves its value (“20,000 other freelancers”).

Brennan could easily charge for something like this, and people would still buy it.

It’s that good.

Checklists or cheat sheets can provide immediate value by giving people something they could put to use right now.

A longer multi-part course (like this example) or in-depth ebook can provide that long-term value people will reference for weeks (and months) to come.

Side-step these three issues, and you won’t just churn out another cookie-cutter lead magnet.

Instead, you’ll create a marketing asset that kicks off a long, profitable relationship with a new customer.

Design A High-Quality Lead Magnet

Remember the complaint on the first cookbook a few minutes ago? The poor organization and presentation detracted from the content and overall experience for that reviewer.

Now imagine what happens if you gave your email to get a downloadable guide filled with poor image quality and lots of typos. Same thing, right?

Unsubscribe.

The goal here is to get these users to move on from the freebie and eventually make a purchase. You can’t do that without attention to detail. You also need to show your value.

Check out this checklist from Bryan Harris of Video Fruit.

Looks pretty snazzy, right? Not just another boring rundown filled with typos.

video fruit lead magnet example

Don’t have the design skills or staffing to get this done? Hire a professional from Dribbble or Behance.

If you need a little extra help to enhance your own work, check out Beacon.

You can even hire a pro on Fiverr to do this for you, or you can do something similar by using a simple Google Doc.

Lead Magnet Frequently Asked Questions

What is a lead magnet?

A lead magnet is a free offer businesses offer in exchange for contact information from prospective leads. Examples include an ebook, discount code, free course, or checklist.

What makes a great lead magnet?

A great lead magnet must be valuable to your target audience. Aim to solve a problem or make their job or life easier in some way. For example, a business coach might offer “10 things to do before your next job interview.”

How much does a lead magnet cost?

They should be free to your leads. For businesses, the costs should be for research, creation, and distribution. These consts can vary widely based on the lead magnet and resources available. For example, if you have an in-house marketing team and graphic design person, the costs would be minimal.

What are the best types of lead magnets?

The best lead magnet is one your users find valuable, which can vary by industry, business model, and target audience. Common examples include ebooks, white papers, webinards, checklists, work sheets, coupon codes, and short courses.

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“acceptedAnswer”: {
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“name”: “How much does a lead magnet cost? “,
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“text”: “They should be free to your leads. For businesses, the costs should be for research, creation, and distribution. These consts can vary widely based on the lead magnet and resources available. For example, if you have an in-house marketing team and graphic design person, the costs would be minimal. ”
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Lead Magnets Conclusion

Lead magnets are one of the best ways to gather audience insight, generate leads, and even start the nurturing process to make the ultimate conversion (to revenue) easier.

Once they’ve signed up for the useful, relevant, and high-quality freebie, you establish yourself as a thought-leader on that topic and create a new customer relationship.

This means they’ll think of you when they need more information. They’ll come back for more. And they’ll come back to buy.

The good news is that these aren’t difficult to create, either. You need to take the time to dive deep into what your customers want and what they don’t want.

Then all you have to do is give them exactly what they’re already asking for.

What is your favorite lead magnet example?

6 Ways to Fund Your Startup When You Can’t Get a Government Business Loan

Those who died in military service did so for our freedom. Part of that freedom is the ability to open a business. In fact, you can even get a government business loan to do so. However, that option will not work for everyone. How can you fund a startup when you can’t get a government business loan?

Discover Other Ways to Fund a Business When a Government Business Loan Isn’t An Option

First, you may not qualify. They typically require good credit and some sort of collateral. Likewise, even if you do qualify, a government business loan may not be enough.  What are the other options?

1.The Credit Line Hybrid

The Credit Line Hybrid is a funding option that may offer an even better interest rate than a government business loan.  Yet, you get the money faster and easier also.  Furthermore, you don’t have to supply any bank statements or check stubs.  You can get funding in a few days rather than weeks, without supplying any collateral or documents.

It is revolving, unsecured financing that allows you to fund your business without putting up collateral, and you only pay back what you use.

How to Qualify for the Credit Line Hybrid

Your personal credit score should be at least 680.  In addition, you can’t have any liens, judgments, bankruptcies or late payments.  Furthermore, in the past 6 months, you should have less than 6 credit inquiries.  Also, you should have less than a 45% balance on all business and personal credit cards. You need to have at least two credit cards with limits of $2,000 or more and at least a year and a half of good payment history as well.

Yet, if you do not meet all of the requirements, you can still get this funding. You can take on a credit partner that meets each of these requirements.  Many business owners work with a friend or relative to fund their business.  If a relative or a friend meets all of these requirements, they can pair with you to allow you to tap into their credit to access funding.

Learn business loan secrets and get money for your business.

How Much Funding Can You Get?

Generally, approval is up to 5x that of the highest credit limit on your personal credit report. Sometimes, you can get interest rates as low as 0% for the first few months, allowing you to put that savings back into your business.

The process is pretty fast, especially with a qualified expert to walk you through it.  Another benefit is, with the approval for multiple credit cards, there is competition.  This makes it easier, and even likely if you handle the credit responsibly, that you can get interest rates lowered and limits raised every few months.

2. Retirement Account Financing

This Credit Suite program offers a flexible and powerful way for a startup to leverage assets that are in a 401(k) plan or IRA. It even has the blessing of the IRS. In fact, they  have their own name for it. It’s called a Rollover for Business Startups (ROBS).

How to Qualify for Retirement Account Financing?

No financials have to be submitted, and you do not need good credit. In fact, all the lender will ask for is a copy of your two most recent 401(k) statements.

If the plan has a value of more than $35,000,  you can get approval. This is true even if you have really bad personal credit. You can get however much of your 401(k) is “rollable.” Sometimes, you can secure a low-interest credit line or loan for 100% of your current 401(k) value.

The plan you use cannot be from a business where you currently work. It will have to be from previous employment. Also, you can’t still be contributing to it.

The cost is 5.25% (prime +2) and the term is 5 years. There is a $1,995 lender fee rolled in as well, which  includes 5 years of management and consulting.

3. Line of Credit

The difference between a traditional loan and a traditional business line of credit is that the line of credit is revolving credit rather than a term loan. Like a credit card, you only pay back what you use. Also, lines of credit typically have lower interest rates than business credit cards. The trade off is, there are no rewards like cash back or air miles.

Learn business loan secrets and get money for your business.

At Credit Suite, our funding partners offer an unsecured line of credit that has a minimum FICO score requirement  of 600.  You also must show business tax returns with net profits over $20,000 if you have been in business between 6 months and a year.  If you have been in business for over a year, you need to show $10,000 in monthly revenue. These requirements are much easier to meet than those typically set forth by lenders.

Terms are 6 to 18 months and interest rates range from 12% to 25%.  You can get up to $250,000.

4. Alternative Lenders

There are a number of non-bank lenders that will lend to startups. You do have to be careful, as there are a lot of predatory lenders out there. They also tend to have higher interest rates.  However, they aren’t all bad. Here are a few decent options for startup loans if a government business loan isn’t available.

BlueVine

BlueVine requires that you be in business for at least 6 months.  If you have at least $120,000 in annual revenue, you may qualify for a loan from them.  The minimum credit score for a line of credit from  BlueVine is 600. Furthermore, if you want invoice factoring, you can get approval with a score as low as 530, 3 months in business, and $10,000 in monthly revenue.

Kiva

Kiva is different. First, the interest rate is 0%.  As a result, even though you have to pay it back, a loan from them is free money. There is no credit check at all. However, you have to get at least 5 family members or friends to donate to help fund your business as well. In addition, you have to pitch in a $25 loan to another business on the platform yourself.

Accion

Accion also may also be a good fit if a government business loan isn’t happening.  It’s a nonprofit that offers microloans. The minimum credit score is 575. You don’t have to already be in business, but if you are not, you must have less than $500 in past due debt. In addition, your business needs to be home or incubator based.

Remember, details such as interest rates and loan requirements can change, so be sure to check lenders directly for the most up to date information.

5.Crowdfunding

This option for startup funding is growing in popularity. With crowdfunding, you get a lot of smaller investments from a lot of people, or a crowd if you will. It is different from getting the bulk of your small business funding from one or two larger investors.

First, you have to figure out which crowdfunding platform is best for your situation. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are two of the most popular. Be sure to take note of the rules each platform has for when you gain access to funds.  They can vary greatly.

Learn business loan secrets and get money for your business.

6.Angel Investors

These are investors that are typically less formal than regular investors. An angel investor can be anyone. For example, it could be a family member or someone you met through networking.

The best way to find an angel investor is to ask people you know. Another option is an angel investors website or network. For example, Gust keeps a database of investors, companies, and programs.

Wait! Don’t Apply for Any Funding Before Your Read This

As you work on starting your business, you need to think about building business credit so that you can get the funding you need as your business grows. Unlike your personal credit score, you have to initially work to establish your business credit score.  The best way to do this is to work with a business credit expert from the beginning. The process is not hard, but if you don’t know what you are doing, it can be difficult to navigate. A business credit expert can help you start off on the right food, and guide you through the process in the right order.  This will save time and money, ensuring you build a strong business credit profile from the start. See for yourself with a free consultation.

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