Etleap (YC W13) Is Hiring a Technical End User Documentation Writer

We are looking for a technical writer to create technical product documentation for our site/product, and help us maintain it on an ongoing basis.

The project is about 3 months half-time to start, and then a few hours a week following that.

What you are going to do:
– Create an intuitive, comprehensive, and readable documentation site
– Work closely with our engineering team to become an expert user of our product and extract insights
– Interview our engineers and users in order to create tutorials for appropriate topics

What we want to see in you:
– Experience writing documentation sites, at least one, ideally two or more.
– Experience writing and understanding for highly technical software products.
– High degree of user empathy – our docs will take hard technical concepts and translate to language that is a pleasure to read.

To apply, send your resume to jobs@etleap.com.


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New comment by koverda in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (April 2021)"

Pulse | Full Stack Engineer | Full Time and Part Time | Remote (Pacific TZ Perferred) – Pulse is an indoor agriculture IoT company that combines hardware, software, and cloud to enable indoor cannabis growers to optimize quality, improve yields, and prevent crop loss. – We’re a rapidly growing, bootstrapped, post-revenue company building tools that …

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The Ultimate Guide to Social Media for E-Commerce

Social media for e-commerce has become a critical element in sales growth for many businesses. Using social media to boost your marketing offers many benefits to help build your business, so don’t wait to explore these valuable channels.

Sprout Social reports that after following a brand on social media, consumers continue to engage in other ways. Ninety-one percent check out the brand’s website or app, 89 percent make a purchase, and 85 percent recommend the brand to someone they know.

Let’s look at what you can do to promote your e-commerce business with social media and which tools and best practices you should use.

14 Steps for E-Commerce Companies to Find Success Using Social Media

The more people integrate social media platforms into their daily routines, the more it makes sense to market to them here. Consumers spend almost two and a half hours per day on social media channels.

Why not reach them with social posts where you know they spend a significant amount of time? For example, eye-catching posts with appealing visuals like these posts from Sephora are a great way to market products on Instagram.

Social Media for E-Commerce - Sephora on Instagram

How can you stay on top of new developments and know what you should be doing to serve your customers best? Follow industry leaders in your feeds and keep tabs on trending topics in your industry. You can also discreetly watch what other companies are doing that seems to gain traction.

While social commerce is still relatively new, it’s making a significant impact on e-commerce businesses and how they market to customers. As each platform improves its features to help users sell, opportunities grow for businesses to tap into these audiences to boost their marketing.

The steps below can help you develop best practices in your business to optimize your social media for e-commerce.

1. Define Your E-Commerce Company’s Social Media Goals

There are two main ways to use social media for e-commerce: to drive traffic to your company website or drive sales. While each can be important in its way, it’s essential to identify which you value most so you can effectively plan how to use your resources.

It’s essential to establish your goals before investing time into strategy and implementation to ensure you’re taking action to move you closer to your goals.

If you don’t set goals, you can’t measure your success or repeat what works.

2. Decide If You Want to Become a Social Commerce Company

Social commerce is selling directly to your customers on social media platforms. Everything from discovering your product or service, to a buying decision, to the checkout process happens in the app or platform they are already using.

Target’s Facebook page, for example, has a shop built right into it where customers can browse and purchase products.

Social Media for E-Commerce - Target on Facebook

You might find success with social commerce if you sell products that a potential customer can quickly evaluate online from a photo and might buy on impulse. Think lower price points and items that aren’t likely to need returning.

An apparel company might successfully sell their clothing and accessories on social media as the process suits how people tend to buy these products.

When is social commerce perhaps not a great fit? If your products or services are higher ticket items where customers want to discern quality in-person. A customer buying an engagement ring will want to spend more time evaluating options and vetting sellers than social commerce might allow.

Start by focusing on the networks your ideal customer and target audience uses the most. Take time to engage your audiences and respond to their comments and questions.

Whether or not you want to pursue social commerce for your business, you should still be investing in social media marketing. Social channels can help boost your visibility, increase website traffic, generate leads, and help you engage with your customers.

3. Create a Social Media Strategy for Your E-Commerce Company

You’ll need a social media strategy for your e-commerce company that considers your goals, your resources, and the best platforms that will help you reach your customers. Once you clarify these parts of your strategy, you can expand on each element to create effective campaigns that fit your goals.

When you work from a social media strategy, you’re also more likely to use best practices to help you be more effective overall. Get a clear idea of your target audience, where they spend time, and their worries. From here, do some research to check which platforms are most popular with your target demographic.

With this information, you’ll be better able to plan where your time and effort will pay off.

4. Determine Which Social Media Channels Your E-Commerce Company Should Target

First, look for established platforms that offer a range of features, different ways to advertise and sell products, and focused targeting. Some may appeal to you because they are an excellent fit for your products.

The apparel brand we mentioned earlier would likely want to use Instagram because it is image-focused, and consumers are already used to discovering and purchasing apparel on the app.

Next, consider which platforms attract your target demographic. You’ll want to go where your ideal customers spend time.

What kind of data might inform your decision? With some research, you might discover 60 percent of Pinterest users are women, and 98 percent of Facebook users access the site via mobile devices. From these and other data points, you’ll be able to pinpoint which platforms might be best for your business.

5. Optimize Your Social Media Accounts for E-Commerce

One of the first steps you’ll need to take is to optimize your social media accounts. Fill out your profiles completely, adding helpful information wherever you can.

Make it easy for people to find the information they need at a glance to understand your business and buy from you. Perform research to identify relevant keywords and hashtags to use so you show up in search results. Make your location obvious.

Be sure to link to pages where customers can find the products they clicked through to see. Use clear CTAs so people know what to do to buy from you.

6. Run Social Media Paid Campaigns Optimized for E-Commerce Companies

Nearly every social platform has a version of paid advertising that can allow you to raise visibility even as organic reach becomes more challenging to achieve.

There are also different ad types on each, so it can be valuable to explore the various options. You may try different types of ads on each platform. You might try retargeting ads on Facebook, but use Shoppable posts on Instagram. Take advantage of audience targeting capabilities on each.

7. Use Automation Tools

If social media is a part of your sales strategy, you’ll need to explore automation tools and use what you can. Why is automation so key to social selling? People expect timely and personal interaction on social media networks. To meet their expectations, you’re going to need help.

It’s simply not possible to run a successful business and spend every waking moment online replying to comments and answering questions. Social media is like a storefront that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week (plus holidays!), so don’t take the chance of turning people away or missing crucial requests or concerns.

8. Consider the Mobile Experience

More people are accessing social media networks and websites via their phones than ever before. When it comes to social media for e-commerce, however, mobile design is just the first step. The whole purchase journey needs to be seamless.

Payment options should be mobile-friendly. Apple Pay, for example, allows you to let users make purchases from their phones. We’ll look at more payment options further down the page.

Consider content formats as well. With more than 100 million hours of video consumed on Facebook every day, you’ll want to offer videos in vertical format for mobile users. People like convenience, a personalized experience, and to feel like they can easily navigate and engage with your site.

9. Optimize Landing Pages for E-Commerce

Optimizing your landing pages for e-commerce helps create a better user experience by providing people with all the information they need to make a buying decision.

If they click through to your site, you want them to understand quickly they’re in the right place. They should be able to move seamlessly to purchasing the item they wanted.

Ensure you have high-quality product images and videos, if appropriate, with well-written product copy outlining features and benefits. Include sizing or specifications on the product page and clear calls to action (CTAs) to help them convert.

10. Create Clear CTAs on Social Media Optimized for E-Commerce

CTAs are what motivate your user to convert to a customer. Take the time to craft these carefully and include them in each interaction you have with potential customers.

You can use different CTAs, like asking questions, including hyperlinks, or simply adding clickable buttons. Your page design might include banners with clear offers, sidebar clickable buttons, or pop-up ads to help customers convert.

11. Ensure Easy Website Navigation

User experience (UX) should be your priority when you launch your e-commerce site. You want shoppers to find products quickly and understand how to move from browsing to purchasing without confusion.

The easier you make it for people to buy from you, the better the chance they’ll convert from visitor to customer. Keep your navigation simple to understand and avoid design elements that are too unusual for people to use easily.

Organize your site information with clear labels for product categories and avoid tricky navigation styles that could create confusion.

Social Media for E-Commerce - H&M site navigation

12. Offer Easy Payment Options for Customers

If you’re going to run a successful e-commerce site, you need to offer reliable and trustworthy ways for people to pay for your products and services.

You can explore a wide range of payment options for your e-commerce business, each with its features and policies. Options include Square, PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and many others.

Some social media platforms allow customers to purchase directly from the app, depending on what features you choose to use. A few of these options include Facebook (with Facebook stores, Messenger Chatbots, and Ads), Instagram (with Stories, Shopping, Live, IGTV, and Ads), and Pinterest (with Promoted Pins, Rich Pins, and Shop the Look Pins.)

You also can investigate third-party websites as a way to advertise and sell your products. Keep reading to learn more about a few of these that may support your e-commerce business.

13. Advertise and Sell on Third-Party Websites

There are other options for boosting your sales beyond your website. Third-party websites allow you to benefit from established functionality and huge audiences while building your legitimacy and website traffic.

One example of third-party website selling is Amazon. While shoppers on Amazon may realize they’re buying from you instead of directly from the retail giant itself, you still benefit from the credibility of their brand and purchasing capabilities. You also get to tap into their vast audience of visitors with a solid intent to buy.

Another option is using sites like Like to Know It, which allows readers to purchase an item or items from an Instagram post by linking the product emailed to them.

RewardStyle is an invitation-only affiliate network focusing on lifestyle, fashion, and beauty products, allowing sellers to earn money through content creation featuring certain products.

14. Track the Success of Your E-Commerce Company’s Social Media Strategy

It’s essential to track your strategy’s results as you implement your ideas, so you can accurately analyze your successes and where you need to improve.

Choose quantifiable metrics representing engagement (such as likes, shares, comments, or retweets). Track your website traffic and how much traffic you are getting from your social media channels. Keep track of sales generated by social media marketing and sales completed online or through your campaigns.

It’s not always easy to tie your efforts to your results, but you can try. With specific metrics, you’ll be better able to repeat the working tactics and revisit the areas that don’t seem to be offering you the same return on investment.

Conclusion

Social media is a big part of everyday life for many people and offers an excellent opportunity to get in front of potential customers and sell your products and services. You can use various platforms to strengthen your brand, increase sales, and develop loyal fans.

If you also sell online, using social media for e-commerce is a natural step for your business as you plan future growth. If you haven’t tapped into the benefits of social media marketing yet, start now, so you don’t miss out on the opportunity it represents.

With the steps outlined above, you’ll be ready to reap the benefits of social media for your e-commerce business. If you haven’t explored these options or want some help to make them work for you, reach out for digital marketing support.

Have you invested in social media for e-commerce in your business? Which of the above tips will you try next?

Etleap (YC W13) Is Hiring VP of Product Marketing

VP of Product Marketing We are looking for a product marketer with previous top-down product marketing experience from a startup who is ready to step up and lead product marketing at Etleap. About Etleap Etleap’s mission is to transform the way businesses drive analytics projects. We started Etleap out of frustration with the exorbitant amounts …

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Electronic Banking as well as Privacy Policies

Electronic Banking as well as Privacy Policies

Personal privacy plan regulations impacts electronic banking equally as it does any kind of various other kind of financial facility. You may wish to maintain your individual info exclusive. It is excellent to understand just how your financial institution deals with personal privacy plan if so.

A research study was done to establish just how well various financial institutions, consisting of electronic banking firms, managed personal privacy plan. All banks need to have personal privacy plans that are customer pleasant. This remains in maintaining with the spirit of the legislation.

The legislation concerned is the Gramm-Leach-Blily Act, or GLB, as it is frequently called. This was established by Congress in July of 2001. It enables to banks to perform organisation in lots of essential methods.

To customers, there is an area dedicated to the personal privacy of financial consumers, consisting of internet financial clients. Financial institutions need to give customers with a duplicate of their personal privacy plan. This clarifies just how your individual details will certainly be utilized by electronic banking procedures and also various other financial institutions.

Your individual info would certainly consist of any kind of details that can be determined as your specific details. Maybe your name, address, social safety number, electronic banking purchases you have actually made in your name, as well as various other details. It can additionally be any kind of info that can be presumed by having a few of this info.

The research reviewed physicals financial institutions, clicks to blocks financial institutions, online financial institution electronic banking procedures, and also various other banks. It contrasted each firm’s personal privacy plan, exactly how they notified customers concerning their personal privacy plan, and also what alternatives customers had with them to “opt-out.”.

You are stating to the firm that you do not desire your details to be shared with various other business that are not connected with the financial institution if you opt-out. Under GLB, electronic banking solutions still have the alternative of sharing your details with associates and also marketing companions, yet they need to educate you that they are doing so.

One trouble has actually been that the personal privacy plan declarations sent to customers by electronic banking firms and also various other financial institutions have actually been difficult for lots of people to figure out. They are not precisely a very easy read. There is a motion to make them less complicated to recognize.

An additional issue is that some electronic banking firms have actually made it really hard to opt-out of having their info shown unassociated organisations. It must be the simplest with electronic banking. Some internet financial firms have on the internet kinds to fill up out so that you can be completed with it in brief order.

Some internet financial websites make it virtually difficult to opt-out. They make you most likely to an 800 number, or compose for a mail-in kind, or they might not have opt-out in all. These remain in the minority, yet you need to expect them when contrasting on-line financial institutions.

The bright side is that digital electronic banking firms that provided basic financial solutions like examining and also interest-bearing accounts racked up the very best in the research. Examine out your net financial organization’s personal privacy plan prior to you authorize up if you desire to maintain your info personal.

Personal privacy plan regulation influences internet financial simply as it does any kind of various other kind of financial facility. A research was done to establish just how well various financial institutions, consisting of internet financial firms, dealt with personal privacy plan. To customers, there is an area committed to the personal privacy of financial consumers, consisting of internet financial clients. One trouble has actually been that the personal privacy plan declarations sent out to customers by web financial firms and also various other financial institutions have actually been difficult for a lot of individuals to figure out. An additional issue is that some internet financial business have actually made it extremely hard to opt-out of having their info shared with unconnected organisations.

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9 Steps to Creating a Landing Page That Reads Your Prospects’ Minds

So you’ve decided to create a landing page to promote your new product or service.

But how do you know if your landing page will convince your readers to convert?

There are a number of things you can do to ensure your readers are enticed by your landing page and want to know more information.

In this post, we’re going to figure out exactly what you need to do to produce a mind-reading landing page. But first, let’s start with the basics.

What is a landing page?

Before you create a landing page, you need to understand exactly what it is.

A landing page is a dedicated web page, often called a squeeze or splash page. The objective is to collect your visitor’s data through a lead capture form.

You might use a landing page to give away a free e-book, webinar, or course in exchange for your audience signing up for your email list.

Or maybe you collect emails before launching your new website.

The best part about a landing page is that it’s only one page.

It’s one page you need to optimize.

Why, then, do so many people make mistakes with their landing pages?

And why do so many people struggle to convert their customers?

A well-crafted landing page will enable you to target a specific audience, create a compelling message, and increase conversions.

But what goes into creating an effective one?

What makes some landing pages successful and some fall flat on their face?

It all comes down to whether you know your audience or not.

Those who know their audience will be able to create the right messaging, hold their audience’s attention, and come up with a mind-reading landing page.

But just how do you do that?

Let’s find out.

1. Create a persona

It all begins with creating your ideal persona. When you know who you’re targeting, you will be better equipped to create a landing page that resonates with them.

Your personas should be your ideal target audience. After all, if the right people aren’t visiting your landing page, you will never convert in the first place.

Your personas should include demographic information like where they live, their ages, and their genders.

But they should go further than that.

If you want to create a mind-reading landing page, you need to know what inspires your ideal personas and what they hope to achieve.

You must find out their opinions and how they feel towards specific ideas.

When you do this, you’ll able to position your offer to them so that it’s irresistible.

Buffer uses personas to connect with their target customers.

Screen Shot 2017 09 20 at 13.57.16

Using the information they’ve put together here, they will have a greater understanding of how to create their landing page.

You want to increase your chance of conversion, so don’t try to make your landing page appeal to absolutely everyone.

Instead, use the data in your personas to produce highly-targeted landing pages that speak to a specific group of people.

You only have a few moments to grab your visitor’s attention. And in those short few moments, they’ll decide whether or not they want to convert.

2. Present the offer

The reason landing pages are so effective is that they isolate the action.

There shouldn’t be a menu or other links on the landing page. It should all guide the visitor toward completing the action you want them to take.

Distracting them with multiple options is a surefire way to confuse them. Your conversion rate will suffer.

Do not give your visitors a choice. Make it clear what you want them to do.

The only option they should have is to convert or not to convert, like in this example from GeicoScreen Shot 2017 09 15 at 16.12.02

The clear landing page means that whoever lands on the page only has one option. Enter their zip code or not.

But just making the chosen action clear isn’t enough to ensure that your visitors convert.

You need to create an offer that resonates with them enough to take the action.

Think about it. A landing page that asks its users to sign up for the newsletter in exchange for nothing isn’t going to convert very well.

Why?

Because there’s no incentive. Why should your visitor do anything for you without getting something in return?

And no, your newsletter alone is not enough of an incentive.

But creating a compelling offer doesn’t have to be a complicated task. You just need to provide your audience something they actually want.

Autopilot knows their readers would be interested in growing revenue with Instapage, so a replay of the webinar would be beneficial to them.

Screen Shot 2017 09 15 at 16.13.29

This is a good example of a strong offer.

If you already have a landing page that you’re looking to improve, ask yourself whether or not as a visitor you would take the desired action.

If the answer is no, then there are changes you need to make.

If you’re struggling to create an offer, but you know you want to build your email list with a landing page, then look at your most popular piece of content.

We can see here that the most popular piece of content on my blog is [enter content].

If you were to offer this content as a downloadable PDF or checklist, people would be likely to give you their email address in exchange.

Why?

Because you already know it performs well. You have proof there’s a need for it.

Here, the hard work is done for you. Find a popular piece of content, find a way to repackage it as a downloadable piece, and offer it to your audience.

But what if your landing page isn’t for an e-book, checklist, or downloadable PDF?

Think about other ways you can provide value to your audience.

3. Write the headline

Once you’ve got your offer down, you need to start working on the headline. The headline must be captivating.

It’s usually the first thing your visitor will see, so you need to perfect it.

The headline is often the deciding factor of whether or not a visitor will convert. And you only have one real opportunity to make it work.

Your headline should be driven by the benefits. You need to outline exactly what will happen to the visitor once they take your desired action.

Capital One makes use of both a heading a subheading to get their point across:

Screen Shot 2017 09 20 at 14.10.15

They know people who are interested in their service are going to want to have their business in order, so they position their offer in that sequence.

Salesforce has a clear headline and message:

Screen Shot 2017 09 20 at 14.01.23

This headline is great because it grabs the audience’s attention. They’re immediately drawn to it. Visitors automatically know what will happen if they fill in the form on the right.

Joanna Wiebe of Copy Hackers says if you’re struggling to find the right words, then look at the language your audience uses.

Why is this effective?

Because if you use your audience’s own language in your headline, it will resonate better with them.

After the headline, you’re likely going to use a subheading.

This is another opportunity to mention the benefits. It’s for people who were compelled by the headline but need some more convincing.

It gives you another chance to keep their attention and draw them closer to your call to action.

4. Create the copy

Good copy sells. You know that.  It’s why some companies pay copywriters thousands to put words on a page.

But it’s not as easy as just writing words on a page. They have to mean something to your target customer.

As we mentioned with the headline, if you’re struggling to find words, then utilize the language your prospects use.

Your copy is there as a tool to help you get your point and message across and increase the chance of conversion.

It all begins with finding the sweet spot for the right amount of copy. Write too little and you won’t have enough words to get your point across. But write too much and the page will become overwhelming.

However, just saying “find the sweet spot” doesn’t help you.

In general terms, the amount you write depends on the offer. For things that need a lot of explaining and persuading, you’re going to need more copy.

For things that require the prospect to provide you with more than just their email address, i.e. when they are making a purchase, you are naturally going to need to use additional copy to ensure all the necessary details are there.

When it comes to actually writing your copy, you should mirror your brand’s style.

Keep in mind that it’s not about you. It’s about the customer, so the phrasing you use should be customer-centric and focus on them.

Evernote personalizes their landing page copy by avoiding using words like “we” or “our” and instead opts for words like “your” and “you”:
Screen Shot 2017 09 20 at 14.11.57
These words highlight to your prospects that the main reason for this landing page (and your business) is to help them solve their problems.

5. Use visual aids

Like we said, your landing page is only one page, so everything should be there for a reason and have a purpose. The same rule applies to any images or videos you use.

When you’re adding images to your landing page, you should utilize ones that help your visitors visualize their life after they’ve taken your action.

Airbnb is a business that focuses on people. So it makes sense that they should use images of people on their landing page:  Screen Shot 2017 09 15 at 16.23.39

They want their users to feel accomplished and happy if they sign up as an Airbnb host, so they include an image of a woman smiling.

For anyone thinking about signing up for the Airbnb platform, seeing an image like this will encourage them it’s a good idea.

Shopify, an e-commerce platform, uses images to show visitors how their shop could look:

Screen Shot 2017 09 15 at 16.24.15

You can utilize images to guide your audience towards the call to action.

The images make your offer more human.

Your audience cannot touch or hold your product. Your landing page should make use of images to help them visualize it.

6. Include social proof

When creating a mind-reading landing page, understand that one question your audience will have is, “Do I need this?”

This is true for every landing page.

One way to read their minds is to address their question through the concept of social proof.

People are more inclined to take action if they know other people just like them have taken action and benefited from it.

Using social proof on your landing page provides prospects with another layer of trust. They feel like it’s more likely your product/service will actually do what you say it will because they can see what other people thought about it.

For example, check out what Freshdesk does on their landing page:Screen Shot 2017 09 20 at 14.16.30

Do you have reviews and testimonials for your product you can use on the landing page?

Visitors get to experience how their life could be different from signing up. And they learn that from other people just like them.

7. Utilize a call to action

Your call to action button is important. It’s perhaps the most important element on the page.

If your audience can’t see your button clearly, they’re not going to know what to do.

Each landing page should have a call to action. The call to action is there to guide your user’s attention.

Let’s talk about your call to action button copy.

Your button copy should be action driven and relate to the offer available.

“Download” copy on the call to action is vague, and the visitor might not even remember what it is they’re downloading.

Take a look at the call to action button on Hired. It stands out as the only red button on the page:

Screen Shot 2017 09 20 at 14.22.19

Alexa uses the “Try 7 days free” copy, which takes the pressure off the visitor. They don’t have to fully commit to using the service, and won’t be charged if they’re not happy with it:

Screen Shot 2017 09 15 at 16.27.59

Both Hired and Alexa use excited copy like “Get started.” Using the word “get” psychologically makes people feel as though they are getting something in return for giving you their details.

8. Measure your results

If you don’t measure the results of your landing page, you have no real way of understanding whether or not it is converting successfully.

Use Google Analytics to measure how many visitors came to your landing page and converted by giving you their data.

When looking at the effectiveness of your landing page, consider your bounce rate.

Your bounce rate is the number of people who landed on your landing page and didn’t convert.

If your bounce rate is low it could mean one of the following things:

You aren’t using the right keywords. Your keywords should be relevant to the audience you want to attract. If not, you will have a bunch of untargeted prospects coming to your site with no interest in what you’re offering.

The design on your landing page is poor. Consider how often the average person spends on your landing page. If it doesn’t follow a logical flow or is too confusing, they’re more than likely going to bounce.

9. Make sure you test

The only way to know if your attempts are working is to run tests.

A/B testing your landing page involves splitting your traffic in half, so half the traffic sees one version of the landing page and the other half sees another.

This way you will be able to make informed decisions about what does and doesn’t work.

You can compare two versions of your landing page and test different elements.

Do you have two headlines you want to use, but you aren’t sure which will work best? Use A/B testing.

Then after you’ve generated enough traffic, you’ll be able to see which led to the highest number of conversions.

With this data, you can continually improve your landing page to ensure it converts the most people.

When testing elements, don’t try and test everything all at once. If you do this, you’ll have no clear idea what you need to change and what you need to keep the same.

Instead, change a few elements at a time and keep the other elements the same as a control variable.

Conclusion

Your landing page has one job, and one job only: To convert.

So why are you not doing everything you can to encourage your visitors to take your desired action?

It all begins with planning.

But the planning begins even before you start thinking about what you will have on your landing page.

If you want it to be successful, you have to read your prospects’ minds.

Essentially, you need to know your customers really well.

Once you know them, you’ll determine what words, images, and reasoning resonate most with them.

And once you start using their own ideas on your landing pages, your conversion rates are going to increase.

But, with everything in marketing, there is no one size fits all.

Follow the best practices listed in this post and develop your understanding of your audience, and you’ll be able to create winning landing pages for all your offers.

What strategies do you use to improve your landing pages?

The post 9 Steps to Creating a Landing Page That Reads Your Prospects’ Minds appeared first on Neil Patel.

How Do I Build Business Credit? A Step-by-Step Guide

Building business credit is entirely different from building personal credit.  With personal credit, it simply builds passively as you use credit throughout the course of your life.  Business credit is a different story. You have to actively take steps to ensure that your business transactions are reported on your business credit report, not your personal credit report.  

How Do I Build Business Credit? 3 Definitive Steps for Building Business Credit

When you ask yourself how do I build business credit, you have to understand that business credit works differently than personal credit.  For example, unlike personal credit, there are at least 3 distinct steps you need to take to build business credit. However, it can be helpful to first understand the relationship between business credit and fundability.  This will provide much needed perspective as you work through each step.

Check out our best webinar with its trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit

How Do I Build Business Credit? The Relationship Between Fundability and Business Credit

Business credit is important to the fundability of your business.  However, it is not the sole source of your business fundability. A foundation of fundability is necessary for business credit, and business credit is necessary for fundability.  If you have poor business credit, your business cannot be fundable. Likewise, if your business is not set up to be fundable, you will not be able to build business credit. So, now you are really asking yourself, how do I build business credit? 

How Do I Build Business Credit Step 1: The Foundation of Fundability

If you ever want your business to be fundable on its own, apart from you, it must be set up in this way.  That’s not to say that your personal credit will not ever affect fundability, but if you do not set your business up to be a separate entity, business credit will never even be on the table. 

Like any foundation, it is best to start at the beginning.  It will be faster and easier if you do.  However, if your business is already up and running, you may not have that option.  That’s okay. It’s never too late to start, but start now.  The longer you wait the harder it will be, for several reasons. How do you set up a fundable foundation?  

Separate Contact Information

The first answer to the question of how do I build business credit,  is to separate your business from yourself. One step in this process is to make sure you and your business have separate contact information.  Your business needs its own phone number, fax number, and address.  That doesn’t mean you have to get a separate phone line, or even a separate location.  You can still run your business from your home.  You don’t even have to have a fax machine.  

In fact, you can easily get a business phone number and fax number that will work over the internet instead of phone lines. Even better, the phone number will forward to any phone you want it too so you can simply use your personal cell phone or landline.  Whenever someone calls your business number it will ring straight to you. 

Faxes can be sent to an online fax service, if anyone ever happens to actually fax you.  This part may seem outdated, but it does help with appearances. 

You can use a virtual office for a business address. This isn’t what you may think.  it is a business that offers a physical address for a fee, and sometimes they even offer mail service and live receptionist services.  Also, there are some that offer meeting spaces for those times you may need to meet a client or customer in person if you do not have a place.

Get an EIN

The next thing you need to do is get an EIN for your business.  This is an identifying number that works in a way similar to how your SSN works for you personally.  Some business owners use their SSN for their business. However, it really doesn’t look professional to lenders, and it can cause your personal and business credit to get all mixed up.  When you want to work on fundability and business credit, you need to apply for and use an EIN.  You can get one for free from the IRS.

Make Sure You Incorporate

Incorporating your business as an LLC, S-corp, or corporation is necessary to both fundability and business credit.  It lends credence to your business as one that is legitimate. It also offers some protection from liability. 

Which option you choose does not matter as much for fundability as it does for your budget and needs for liability protection.  The best thing to do is talk to your attorney or a tax professional.  What is going to happen is that you are going to lose the time in business that you have.  When you incorporate, you become a new entity. You basically have to start over. You’ll also lose any positive payment history you may have accumulated.. 

This is why you have to incorporate as soon as possible.  Not only is it necessary for fundability and for building business credit, but so is time in business.  The longer you have been in business the more fundable you appear to be.  That starts on the date of incorporation, even if you were in business before that time.

Open a Business Bank Accounthow do I build business credit Credit Suite

You have to open a separate, dedicated business bank account.  There are a few reasons for this.  First, it will help you keep track of business finances.  It will also help you keep them separate from personal finances for tax purposes. 

Also, there are several types of funding you cannot if you do not have a business bank account.  Many lenders and credit cards want to see one with a minimum average balance.  In addition, you cannot get a merchant account without one. That means, you cannot take credit cards payments.  Studies show consumers typically spend more when they can pay by credit card.

Pay Attention to Licensing Requirements

For a business to be legitimate it has to have all of the necessary licenses it needs to run.  If it doesn’t, red flags are going to fly up all over the place.  Do the research you need to do to ensure you have all of the licenses necessary to legitimately run your business. 

Make Sure Your Website is Professional 

How can a business website can affect you ability to get funding? These days, you do not exist if you do not have a website.  However, having a poorly put together website can be even worse.  It is the first impression you make on many, and if it appears to be unprofessional it will not bode well for you with consumers or potential lenders. 

Spend the time and money necessary to ensure your website is professionally designed and works well.  Pay for hosting too. Don’t use a free hosting service.  Along these same lines, your business needs a dedicated business email address.  Make sure it has the same URL as your Website. Don’t use a free service such as Yahoo or Gmail. 

How Do I Build Business Credit Step 2: Get Accounts Reporting

This is the part that a lot of business owners miss the boat on.  It isn’t easy to get credit in the name of your business when you don’t have credit to begin with. There are a few tips that can help you jump over this hurdle however.  Once you break this wall down, you can work your way up through the credit tiers. 

Check out our best webinar with its trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit

The other part that is missed by many is that you have to have a D-U-N-S number for this to work. Dun & Bradstreet is the largest and most commonly used business credit reporting agency, and if you do not have a D-U-N-S number, you do not have a file with them.  If payments are reporting to them and there is no corresponding D-U-N-S, the payments will not be counted. To build business credit you absolutely have to have this number. Find out more about building business credit with D&B here

Tip 1: Ask Current Vendors to Report Payments to Credit Agencies

Vendors you already have a relationship with may be willing to extend credit without a credit check.  If not, they may offer net 30 terms on invoices. They don’t have to, so you will have to ask. The worst that can happen is they say no.  If they say yes, ask them to report the payments to the business credit agencies. 

Tip 2: Ask Utility Providers to Report Payments

You pay things like utilities, rent, and internet each month anyway.  Ask those providers to report your payments to the business credit reporting agencies.  If they say yes, make sure your accounts are set up in your business name with your business contact information.  Again, the worst they can say is no.

Tip 3: Work with Starter Vendors in the Vendor Credit Tier

How do I build business credit?  Starter vendors are the business credit building secret that most business owners are unaware of. There are certain vendors, known in the business credit building world, as starter vendors. These are part of what we like to call the vendor credit tier.  They are certain retailers that will extend Net 30 terms in your business name without a credit check. Then, after you pay, they will report those payments to the business credit report agencies (CRAs). 

This is how you can get the ball rolling with business credit.  Since they do not check your credit score, it doesn’t matter than you do not have one.  Of course, they do have other risk reducing techniques in place. These vary by vendor. Here are a few such starter vendors to help you get started.  When you ask yourself how do I build business credit, starter vendors are a huge part of the answer.  

Quill Office Supplies 

Quill sells office supplies as well as cleaning and packaging supplies. Products range from office furniture and printer ink to snacks and coffee. 

They report to D&B. If you do not already have a PAYDEX score, you will have to place an initial order first. Generally speaking, they establish a 90-day prepay schedule, and if you order each month for three months, they will most often approve you for a Net 30 account. 

Go here to get started with Quill.

Grainger Industrial Supply 

Grainger sells power tools, pumps, hardware and other things. In addition, they can handle maintenance of your auto fleet. You need a business license and EIN to quality, as well as a D-U-N-S number.

You can apply by fax or over the phone. If you need less than $1,000 in credit, you only need a business license for approval. For over $1,000, you will need trade and bank references.  

If you are just starting out and do not have references, the $1,000 is plenty to get you started building your business credit. Check them out here.  

Behalf.com 

Behalf is way of getting paid through an app, but they also offer funding. The more you have your customers pay you through Behalf, the more likely Behalf is to offer you favorable terms when it comes to funding.  

Funding can be through purchase financing or a virtual Mastercard option. Terms run from Net 30 to 180 days, and they report to Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, and Equifax. This fact alone, that they report to all the major credit reporting agencies, makes them an extremely valuable tool in building business credit. 

Find out more here

After you have 8 or so of these types of accounts reporting payments to your business credit report, you should have a strong enough score to move on to the next tier. We call this the retail credit tier.  They are retailers as well, but offer more traditional credit. These are credit cards for use at specific stores such as Office Depot or Lowes. This is also sometimes referred to as store credit. 

After you have several of these store credit account reporting, you can apply for cards in the fleet credit tier.  These are gas cards with companies such as Shell and Fuelman. They can be used for fuel and auto repair and maintenance only. 

Lastly, with accounts reporting from all these tiers, you should have a score strong enough to apply for cards from what we call the cash credit tier.  Of course, that is only if you have been making payments consistently on time. 

These are traditional credit cards that are not attached to a specific store or tied down to certain types of purchases.  They can be used for anything and everything. In addition, they often have better interest rates and nice rewards programs. 

How Do I Build Business Credit Step 3: Credit Monitoring

The last step in building business credit sounds kind of passive, but it is in fact very active and very important. You must actively monitor your business credit reports for a number of reasons.  First, you need to see that all accounts are reporting. Not only that, but you need to see how many you have reporting so you know when to move on to the next tier. 

Check out our best webinar with its trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit

Other than that, you have to monitor your report to ensure you get any mistakes corrected and that all information is updated as needed. You must request corrections in writing, and send copies of supporting documentation.  You can monitor with the CRAs directly, but we can help you monitor with D&B and Experian here for a fraction of the cost.  

How Do I Build Business Credit? One Step at a Time

Business credit is built through a very specific process. It isn’t hard, but it isn’t passive either.  It does take effort. You have to ensure your business is set up to be fundable. In addition, you have to know where to go to get accounts reporting initially.  After that, it’s all about making wise decisions and managing your credit responsibly. 

Don’t forget, business credit is just one part of overall fundability.  Learn more about what else can affect fundability here.

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Exclusive Investor Funding-Get The Money You Need To Invest Now

Exclusive Investor Funding-Get The Money You Need To Invest Now

To sustain brand-new organisation particularly in property, building and construction, amusement you require a back up of exclusive financier financing. You additionally require to have reasonable to superb credit history to acquire personal capitalist financing. There are lots of well-known names in this service.

A person that has actually done well economically and also is prepared to give funding for a service is recognized as an Angel capitalist. Exclusive capitalist financing generally offers you cash versus your personal count on acts, exceptional service concept, and also fluid price of the land or service.

This type of financing includes a high danger and also as a result they require a high roi. People supplying personal financier financing have a leave technique prepared to make sure that the initial financial investment bring them greater than 5 times the return in 3 to 5 years. The departure technique might consist of IPOs or purchase.

An exclusive financier financing is done by examining business strategy. The financing institute or the private after that have a financial investment proposition that is both adequately appealing as well as practical to capitalists. This financing can be increased by a team of capitalists.

Not simply in the United States yet this kind of financing can sustain brand-new companies in establishing nations also. Equity capital as well as personal capitalist financing job together for someone that is establishing a brand-new organisation. Firms utilize these funds to enhance its R&D, sales and also advertising and marketing initiatives.

Exclusive financiers are currently looking for to arrange themselves, making a larger entity than simply functioning independently to get little gains. Once they merge in their financial investments as well as develop a network of personal capitalists they can grow returns and also this suggestion is really appealing.

The lower line: also if you do not have the cash today to spend, you can definitely discover the cash, whether you need to merge your cash with others or acquire personal financier financing from an establishment. Do not allow an absence of funds hold you back; do your research study, create a strategy, as well as begin spending as well as obtaining abundant from the marketplace.

To sustain brand-new company particularly in genuine estate, building, amusement you require a back up of personal financier financing. Personal capitalist financing generally provides you cash versus your personal depend on acts, superb company suggestion, and also fluid price of the land or service. A personal financier financing is done by assessing the service strategy. Endeavor resources and also personal financier financing job hand in hand for someone that is establishing up a brand-new organisation.

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