It seems a little counterintuitive that through many years of internet evolution one of the oldest communication channels is still one of the most effective for brands. 

Even though we know that email marketing is a numbers game, often you can get discouraged by a low open rate. 

This KPI keeps getting into our heads making us wonder if our campaigns are failing due to a poor email list, bad timing or not enough personalization. 

The cause has been always right in front of our eyes, but we take it for granted: good writing. 

The art of writing effective emails involves crafting engaging subject lines and email bodies that compel readers to click, read the entire message, and take action, ultimately leading to more conversions. 

Let’s get right into it. 

The Subject: Set a Hook 

When we are talking about open rates, the first thing that comes to mind is the subject line, as this is the first thing our readers will see. 

Just like a book cover, looking at this few words can make a customer open or ignore emails, so there’s a lot you are playing with this title. 

Now, curiously, you shouldn’t write your subject line at the beginning, rather, end with it. 

Why? Because this title should synthesize what all the email is about. 

Your subject’s quality relies heavily on what you are offering or the message you want to send, it’s a glimpse of what they are about to read. 

So, if you are a travel agency with limited discounts for Greece tours, put something like: 

Subject Line: Go To Greece with This Offer: Only Three Days Left  

A subject with a clear call to action and a sense of urgency.  

Now, if you are a B2B company trying to reach new allies or just doing some outreach email, then dropping some names on the subject line might be another great email opener. 

What does dropping names mean? It’s talking about your specific charge within your company: Head of SEO Coca-Cola or Marketing Director of Disney. 

In the B2B scenario it’s clear that this audience isn’t looking so much for offers or deals within their emails, which is why any “salesy” subject will be discharged immediately.  

Let them know you are an important part of your company, and that you have come to talk about business, this will increase your campaign’s opening rate. 

In the end, segment your email list into various groups with different subjects to ensure which one is getting higher open rates. 

The Body

In this part of the writing process we’ll only focus on two sections: the greeting and the email goal. 

The Greeting 

The greeting falls into a debate between how formal or informal you can be when talking to a client or business partner. Should we call them Mr., or a simple “Hey, how are you?” It will be necessary for the recipient to continue reading the message. 

Well, it depends a lot on your “brand personality.” 

If you are a government entity, an insurance company, or a law firm, it’s understandable that people will expect a somewhat more formal tone from your company.  

Your email templates should start with a Dear [Customer Name] or a “Greetings” that maintains the formal and solemn tone that your company wants to keep. 

Now, many marketers have verified that such a formal tone tends to alienate many clients since it makes the relationship between company and consumer feel very distant, which is why a more pleasant conversational bond isn’t formed.  

If you are a clothing company you could start your email with the following: 

Hey [Customer Name], how’s everything going? “Did you get your outfits for this summer? We’ve got you covered” 

This closeness or friendlier tone makes the customer feel more comfortable with the brand, in some way it removes the “authoritarian tone” from your company and you become another friend. 

This is a tone that many customers tend to prefer, as they see the “salesperson tone” as somewhat dated. 

Of course, remember that there is a limit between being cordial and very friendly. In the end, they are clients or coworkers you are dealing with, so learn to read the room in your interactions. 

The Email Goal 

This is the part where email marketers need to showcase their writing talent.  

This is the section where the email click is, the message that will convince readers to take the next step with your brand.  

To do this, the first step is to clearly define the goal of your email, providing a basis for the content you will write in the body. Some common objectives include: 

• Promoting a new product or offer  

• Reaching out to other blogs for a link exchange  

• Notifying recipients of any company updates.  

With a clear goal in mind, you can avoid going off-topic and focus on the most important information in the email.  

When it comes to emails, it’s important to be concise. Some experts even recommend keeping emails to the length of a tweet, or whatever they call it now in “X”. Therefore, it’s crucial to include only the most essential information in your email. Let’s use the example of the tour to Greece once again: 

“Dear [Customer Name], Are you ready to embark on an unforgettable journey to the cradle of Western civilization?  

Our exclusive tour of Greece offers a unique blend of ancient history, stunning natural landscapes, and vibrant modern culture. Imagine strolling through the majestic ruins of the Acropolis in Athens, basking in the sun on the pristine beaches of Mykonos, and indulging in delectable Greek cuisine while overlooking the azure waters of Santorini. 

This carefully curated itinerary ensures that you experience both iconic landmarks and hidden gems.  

With expert guides sharing fascinating insights into Greece’s rich heritage and comfortable accommodations awaiting you each night, this trip promises to be as enlightening as it is enjoyable.  

Don’t miss this chance to immerse yourself in a country where every corner whispers tales of gods and heroes. Book your spot today for an adventure that will leave you with lifelong memories.  

Warm regards”. 

This email looks pretty okay; it has good writing, mentions all the details about the tour and even gives the call to action for customers. But, what’s the problem, you may ask? 

It’s a little bit too long. 

It’s common for us to focus on an endless number of adjectives when describing product features in order to make the offer more attractive.  

However, these endless qualifiers make the email harder to read. It is similar to seasoning a meal – if you overuse the condiments, the flavor will be overwhelming and, therefore, less enjoyable.  

In email writing, less is more! 

If we make it shorter: 

“Greetings [Customer Name],  

Join us on an exclusive tour of Greece, where you’ll explore ancient history, natural beauty, and modern culture. Highlights include the Acropolis in Athens, Mykonos beaches, and Santorini’s cuisine and views. Expert guides, comfortable accommodations, and iconic landmarks await. 

Don’t miss this chance to immerse yourself in Greece’s rich heritage. Book your spot today for an unforgettable adventure”. 

Add Some Emojis or GIFs 

This tip tends to resonate more with younger audiences, such as Millennials and Gen Z. 

An email that is entirely in black and white with large paragraphs may not be visually appealing and can even appear boring to read.  

With the rise of social media and the new generations, written content is often scanned rather than thoroughly read.  

By incorporating emojis or gifs, you can enhance the appeal of your emails. While this may not directly relate to writing, structure, or grammar, adding some color to your emails can increase the reader’s interest in engaging with the content. 

️Conclusion 

Often, email marketers prioritize technical aspects over writing, neglecting the impact of strong written content.  

While carefully curated lists are crucial for a successful campaign, it’s important to recognize that our messages appeal is heavily influenced by our writing. By prioritizing valuable and engaging content for our audience, we can expect to see a significant increase in our open rates over time.

The post The Art of Email Writing: How to Increase Campaign Open Rates? appeared first on SiteProNews.

The second-in-command is often tasked with enabling the CEO to be more efficient and get more done. However, with more than 40% of the world’s leading companies having the COO role unfilled, the second-in-command are stepping up. But, with the complexity and variety of the modern working landscape, the second-in-command can be one of many types.

There are 7 main types of second-in-command leaders. There are executors, who execute strategies for daily results, agents of change who lead specific business changes, and mentors who mentor a younger or less experienced CEO. There are also partners who co-lead to boost CEO efficacy and other half’s who complement a CEO’s unique skills. Finally, there are heir apparent who succeed the CEO and MVP’s who are kept in the company for the sheer value that they bring.

That being said, all successful second-in-command officers, or COO’s depending on the company, all have some consistent attributes. They all have acuity, organization, process, and structure. Firstly, acuity relates to the ability to quickly grasp complex concepts and to juggle multiple tasks effectively. Secondly, organization relates to the definition of priorities and subsequent allocation of the right amount of time, energy, and overall resources to achieve their goals. Finally, process and structure relate to the ability to reduce complexity for processes, to chunk large goals, and to create accountability while keeping consistency.

With all this in mind, you can see how many tasks a second-in-command may have to juggle or abilities they may need to possess. In the absence of a proper COO the position remains unfulfilled, leading 75% of CEOs to lack a second-in-command. This statistic can be felt by the CEO’s who may experience being overwhelmed, unproductive, and having no time to themselves. Additionally, they also report working on areas that are energy-draining and spending time managing people, rather than growing them.

These feelings are actualized into detriments for the business’s performance. Whether it is the CEO or the second-in-command, the lack of support can cost businesses big. In fact, companies are reported to lose 20% to 30% of their annual revenue due to inefficiencies in the infrastructure or support for executives. Furthermore, many executives are unable to allocate time appropriately. Therefore, the balance between daily occurrences, such as employees and operations, and long-term planning is 2:1.

These challenges can be seen in many areas beyond just time and financial consequences. There are numerous external and internal challenges that compound these, turning them into major problems. Things like worker shortages, supply chain disruptions, and compliance functions are all vital external functions of business that must be addressed by either the CEO or second-in-command. But the internal challenges intrinsic to the role itself also complicate the job. The lack of clarity in the role, a chaotic work environment, changes to priorities, and isolation all muddle many second-in-command.

Between the lack of support for COO’s and the lack of COO’s themselves, it is clear that there must be better support and upskilling for the second-in-command and COO’s. Fortunately, businesses like Diane Integrates help to make exactly that possible with COO coaching. These advisors provide coaching for the second in command or COO within your business, specifically. They can also help to hire talent to fill an unfilled position, as well.

With proper training, the second-in-command can create a measurable impact on growth, improve communication, and provide better clarity to a business. Statistically, these second-in-command’s see increases in individual performance, team performance, and organizational performance by 70%, 50%, and 48% respectively. All this culminates in an ROI increase of up to 788% via coaching alone, not to mention the mitigation of any company inefficiencies.

On top of the traditional coaching, Diane Integrates helps to power your business with AI technology as well. Through the power of Catipult.ai, valuation can be increased, meeting times can be reduced, and larger business goals can be achieved within only 12 quarters. This, in turn, helps to boost COO goals of acuity, organization, process, and structure by simplifying processes further and saving even more time. Fortunately, as a result of this, many companies have seen the value in COO’s, resulting in a 16% uptick between 2018 and 2022.

Whether you intend to upgrade your second-in-command or you acquire a new COO, the growth potential is almost certainly present in every situation. It could be for the coaching for people, or for the AI technology that helps to assist the people utilizing it. In order to take advantage of the numerous benefits of an improved second-in-command, advising companies like Diane Integrates are an important tool for any business.

The post How to Boost Your Business with Your Second-in-Command appeared first on SiteProNews.

That’s how successful email marketing works. Regardless of the effort you put into your emails, if you don’t get them in front of a broader audience, they won’t bring the desired results.

So, the first thing to do is grow your email list.

But think of quality over quantity. Buying email lists is never a good choice. You don’t want a lead forced to join your list, just like you wouldn’t bring a random passerby into your theater. So, it’s not just about acquiring subscribers; you want them to be genuinely interested in your brand, too.

They’re the ones who will convert into loyal customers. How will get those wannabe customers to join your list? The following tips will help you populate your list with qualified contacts who stick around all the way to the final applause.

1.    Use a Reliable Email Marketing Solution

It’s a no-brainer that you need an email marketing solution to grow your email list. Such a tool includes features like list segmentation and email personalization, which are valuable assets for effective contact management. But is that all you should look for in email marketing software?

Definitely not. Your tool of choice should also come with:

• Options to build, customize, and test signup forms, and access templates to save time when designing your forms.
• An intuitive landing page builder to create effective landing pages and optimize them to get the most out of list building.
• Robust analytics to track key metrics that show the effectiveness of your forms and landing pages (e.g., signup and list growth rates).
• Excellent deliverability rates so your emails land in subscriber inboxes instead of the spam folder.
• Integration with other popular tools to ensure seamless and quick list building across multiple channels.

There are several user-friendly solutions that include these capabilities. Tools like Mailchimp facilitate list growth through an extended list of integrations. You can also group contacts based on their signup source, which helps you keep them organized.

But Mailchimp charges users for inactive recipients or even for non-subscribed contacts. So, if someone purchases from your online store but doesn’t opt in to your list, they still count towards your plan limit. This could turn your list growth into a counterproductive and expensive process.

And while Mailchimp has a good deliverability reputation, many users report that their emails end up in spam. That’s why some of them turn to reliable alternatives to Mailchimp that come at a fraction of the cost while offering the necessary features—great deliverability included.

2.    Leverage Well-Timed Popups on your Site

Your website is often the first point of contact between consumers and your brand. So, it’s the ideal space for catching their attention and encouraging email signups, usually through a popup form. By their nature, popups are a dynamic method to engage users. When used with the user experience in mind, that is.

Let’s take standard popups as an example. They appear on a website after a set amount of time, fading over the main content. However, if your timing or messaging is wrong, they can be intrusive and lead to high bounce rates.

Popups can be triggered by a range of user actions, the most common being after users spend time on a page or immediately upon landing. Like on the home page of Britchida.

To target already engaged users, you can set them to appear after visitors click on a link or scroll down a page. One of the most popular options is to add exit-intent popups to turn visitors who’re about to leave your site into email subscribers.

Whatever you choose, make sure your popup adds value to the user experience. Here’s how:

• Employ simple and concise copy to communicate your message.
• Use compelling images or bold colors to grab attention.
• Add straightforward and powerful CTAs to prompt action.
• Clearly state the benefits of subscribing.
• Include relevant incentives to encourage signups.

3.    Add a Compelling Incentive

Don’t you just love free stuff? So do your visitors. This makes incentives a powerful tool to grow your email list. It’s a fair deal where you offer users something free of charge and they give you their email address.

But any incentive won’t do the trick. It should be something relevant both to their needs and your value proposition. Let’s say a luxury accessory brand offers a discount on a fast-food menu. Something wrong with the targeting here, right?

Ensuring your incentive matches the needs of your customers is key. This will help you not only increase the size of your list, but also bring the right people in. There’s no reason to limit yourself to one incentive type, though. Consider mixing up different incentives based on your specific marketing objectives and audience groups.

Here are some ways to kindle their interest:

• A discount on one of your products or services
• A free shipping offer for eCommerce businesses
• An eBook or other type of downloadable material
• A free product sample or a free trial period for your service
• Access to premium content like industry-related blog posts or videos
• A webinar registration or a free course

Blog Tyrant uses a discount and a clever CTA to generate subscribers. Extra points for adding a countdown timer to create urgency and centering the copy around the benefits of signing up:

4.    Let Social Media Give You a Boost

We live in the era of social media. Most consumers are there, which makes these channels a bulletproof way to reach a broader audience. Encouraging your social media followers to subscribe to your newsletter is relatively easy and simple, especially if you’re already using social media marketing as a business tool.

First, use the lead generation options of your email marketing platform to create a dedicated signup landing page. Once you have it up and running, all you need to do is use the link on your social media accounts to invite users to join your list. You have a number of options, such as:

• Placing the link on your Facebook page.
• Including it on your Instagram and LinkedIn profile.
• Adding the link in your Twitter or TikTok bio.
• Including the signup link in the descriptions of your YouTube videos.
• Taking it one step further by highlighting exclusive newsletter content on Instagram Stories or sharing posts about the benefits of joining your list on LinkedIn.

Here’s an example of Moosend’s Facebook page where visitors can click on an email signup CTA to subscribe to the company’s newsletter:

If you don’t have budget restraints, consider using paid ads that incentivize email signups through exclusive discount promo codes. For instance, Facebook Lean Ads allow users to fill in the opt-in form without leaving the platform, minimizing friction points and increasing the chances for more signups. There’s even the option of collaborating with an influencer in your industry, leveraging their audience to grow your email list.

One of the most effective practices, though, is to run a social media contest or giveaway. Through this process, you can ask for users’ email addresses in exchange for entries to win the prizes. Another option is to promote your giveaway through your emails and encourage your existing subscribers to share the news with their social media connections to increase visibility.

5.    Rely on Existing Subscribers

Your loyal customers can prove to be an excellent source of new leads. They already know your business and have probably experienced the benefits of using your products or services. So, they’re more likely to encourage other consumers to put their trust in your brand and offerings. Also, their personal connections will trust a direct recommendation from someone they know more than your brand messages.

Ask your current contact database for testimonials and reviews where they share their experiences with your brand. It’s even better if they come in the form of videos as video content is more captivating and digestible. You can also leverage detailed case studies to show how your products or services improved your audience’s lives. A great idea is to invest in user-generated content. Encourage existing subscribers to create content, such as videos or images, where they use your products or services.

Once you collect the appropriate material, make sure to highlight it in your emails, landing pages, and social media to bring more people in.

Another way to go is to incentivize existing subscribers to refer your business to their friends and acquaintances. Or you could urge them to share your email content with their contacts. To achieve your objective, consider giving your readers something in return.

If you have a points system, let them know how many points they’ll gain for sharing your email or asking a friend to join your list. Different incentives include coupons or discounts, freebies, or free shipping. And you can throw in an incentive for your new contacts to motivate them to subscribe. For instance, you could promise them access to exclusive offers, free webinar registrations, or downloadable material.

6.    Connect with People Offline

Growing your email list offline sounds counterintuitive. But why not benefit from the direct nature of in-person interactions? Offline methods work equally well to expand your reach to new audiences. Let’s see how:

• Print business cards and give them out to people you meet in person, either at events and conferences or your physical stores.
• Ask event participants if they would like to receive email marketing messages from you, notifying them of future events and other business updates.
• Participate in events where you’ll have a registration form for visitors to fill in their email addresses.
• Let your close contacts (friends, family, and acquaintances) know you want to grow your email list, so they spread the world and perhaps share your email content with others.

As with online list building, ensure you stay legally compliant when reaching out to people in-person. Make sure your registration forms include all the proper legal statements and never email people who haven’t explicitly given their consent to receive emails from your brand.

Focus your Efforts on List Growth

Growing your email list doesn’t have to take time and effort or even extra resources. By implementing the tactics shared in this article, you can grow a list of engaged recipients who will be interested in your business news.

While you invest in list growth, remember to use all your resources like your social media and strengthen the bond with existing customers. Every interaction could hold new opportunities to grow your customer base, so try to establish meaningful in-person connections, too.

What matters the most is to make the most of your email marketing strategy, building long-lasting relationships that will also help you further expand your reach to new audiences.

The post How to Grow Your Email List in 6 Simple Ways appeared first on SiteProNews.

1. Define Goals to Choose Provider

Defining your goals is important because it will help you choose the perfect email provider, based on your needs. Think about the size of your audience. A brick-and-mortar business may only need tens of thousands of contacts, but an online business may need hundreds of thousands. Follow these steps to help choose your provider:

• Determine how many people you foresee on your list.
• Decide how many and what type of emails you will send.
• Next, look at pricing to find something in your range.
• Finally, be sure that there is an available option to buy up into the next level as your business grows.
• Compare these categories for all possible providers to find your perfect match.

2. Build and Segment Your List

It is important to segment your list of contacts so you can target emails based on their needs. You should be collecting email addresses in various ways. Use your website, social media and events to gather emails. Also, if you own a brick-and-mortar business, be sure to ask for email addresses in every transaction at the register. Follow these steps to build and segment your list:

• Create ways to capture email on social media. You can offer a free one-page PDF to make this simple.
• Schedule at least one event per quarter in your local area. Provide a door prize and be sure that people provide an email address to sign up for the drawing.
• Always ask for email addresses during transactions. They can certainly say no, but many will sign up, especially if you offer a coupon.
• Your email address provider will have automations available that will sort your customers into categories based on how they sign-up. Use this feature to target your emails to the needs of the customers.
• Always be sure to let the customer know that when they provide an email address to you, they are giving you permission to send them emails.

3. Develop a Strategy for the Content of Your Emails

It is important to develop a strategy as well as a general schedule of your email content. This not only helps you know exactly what kind of email you will be writing but also helps to be sure you are targeting customers’ needs. Follow the steps to develop a content strategy:

• Look at your segmentations. Perhaps you collected email addresses from social media by providing a PDF. Use the same topic in the first few emails that are directed to this group. If they signed up at the register, tell them more about what you offer in your store and provide a coupon. If they signed up at an event, be sure to let them know which events you will be attending in the future. By providing each group with a tailored email, you are more likely to grab their attention. If an email becomes too lengthy, they may not read it.
• Decide how often you want to send emails and put them on a calendar. Regular emails get the most attention.
• Brainstorm a list of ideas for each segmentation group. Jot these down on the calendar so you can see the overview of a given month in front of you.

4. Create Content for Your Emails

It is important to create content that is compelling to your audience so they will continue to open your email and become customers. Follow these steps to create awesome content:

• Get to know your customers, what they love, what they hate, why they buy your product or service, etc. Know who you are writing to.
• Analyze the plan you laid out above. Would you be interested in reading those emails? If not, definitely tweak the topics. Make sure the ideas reflect your business goals and be sure they provide value to the customer.
• Make some content for social media that will match the content in your emails. Deliver them on social media at the same time that you are delivering them by email. Add “sign up for emails to learn more about this topic” in your social post.

5. Use Analytics to Test Email Efficacy

It is important to test email efficacy to know that you are reaching your audience and providing them with value. Follow these steps to analyze your email efficacy:

• Look at each segmentation that you set up to see how many opens you are getting. You want to see an increase in this percentage as time goes on.
• Set new goals for reach based on this information.
• Create and deliver new content to test. Be sure to continue to evaluate the analytics to see which type of content works best for each segmentation group.

Any time you feel your email marketing is not going as well as you had hoped, go back and complete steps three through five. Your marketing will evolve with your business. This is a continual process, but will surely provide value to your customers and to your business.

The post 5 Easy Steps to Start Your Email Marketing Campaign as a New Business appeared first on SiteProNews.

Age gaps need not be a recipe for poor productivity.  In fact, the various books and articles that have been published on the topic of negotiation are rife with examples of how value-creation is rooted in differences.  Different forecasts – you think it’s going to rain, I don’t – my umbrella is worth more to you than to me.  Different preferences – you like fruit and I like veggies – let’s trade my apple for your squash.  Different skills and abilities – let’s assign tasks according to who is better suited for the job.

As a 25-year veteran of the classroom (I was a tenured law professor who taught dispute resolution), I saw a great many wonderful collaborations between students and faculty, between interns and government employees, between judges and their clerks.  Crossing age boundaries gracefully allows more experienced employees to mentor younger ones and for younger employees to bring new information and skills to bear so that more senior employees can stay fresh.

Unfortunately, there have also been many documented instances of senior leaders mismatching management styles with junior colleagues.  It’s natural for some of the most experienced employees to have moved up in the org chart over their tenure with an organization while less experienced ones come in closer to the bottom of that chart.  Thus, we often see Boomers managing Gen Z employees (and lots of other similar gaps).  In a bad match, the Boomer likes formal emails, enjoys reading reports on paper, likes extended in-person meetings – and maybe even wears an analog watch.  In this bad match, the Gen Z employee prefers texts, digital summaries, short meetings (preferably virtual) and probably uses their phone as their watch.

Style is irrelevant until the mission at work suffers.  Then, the formal/informal dichotomy may bleed over into a lack of trust.  The supervisor mistakes an informal communication preference with a lack of work ethic or a lack of precision regarding final work product, and then gives the junior uncomplicated, unchallenging tasks and a commensurately slow path to advancement.  The junior feels devalued and may “quiet quit” or mentally check out.  “Task conflict” transforms into “relationship conflict” and that negatively impacts the workplace and its inhabitants.

Where might age gaps be the most challenging?  In high stress professions that have moved to virtual platforms to do much of their business, the opportunity to form mentorship relationships has decreased.  We see this primarily in the practice of law, medicine, financial services and highly technical service industries.  However, we’ve also observed generational friction in more hands-on situations like the construction trades. 

Where are age gaps more seamless?  While not insulated from cross-gen problems, academia, the judiciary (via clerkships), and other professions that enjoy a robust entry of newbies every year seem to have learned some important lessons about how to adapt to the constantly changing needs of successive generations.

There are three helpful tips for any manager facing generational challenges in the workplace:

1. Start learning.  There are a great many books, videos and courses devoted to understanding the role of multi-generational workforces.  But the learning shouldn’t be confined to multi-generational work.  It’s also very useful to learn about difficult conversations, cross-cultural communications, interest-based negotiation and other skills related to problem solving.  Many managers are promoted from a “line-level” position to management without having an adequate opportunity to amend and enlarge their skill set.  Managing people is a distinct set of skills and excellence “on the line” is not a recipe for unmitigated success as a supervisor.

2. Communicate.  Convene meetings of the team in which you discuss how to communicate most effectively with each other.  Learn about your own preferences and make sure that form doesn’t overshadow substance.  Set an example of how to communicate about your own preferences that doesn’t require others to abandon the style of communication that is most effective for them.  Focus on psychological safety so that people with different approaches feel comfortable sharing with peers, supervisors and subordinates even when the supervisor isn’t present.

3. Leverage outside resources to workshop the issue.  When faced with hard workplace problems, consider hiring experienced professionals who do nothing but facilitate communications around hard workplace issues.  If you think “we should be able to do this ourselves,” ask yourself if a professional painter might do the work quicker or better (or both).  I’m guessing most leaders hire pros for taxes, medical care and internet security.  Why not hire conflict resolution specialists too?

The opportunities and challenges associated with a workforce that is increasingly age-diverse are many.  And no matter when you find yourself on the age/experience spectrum, you can play a role in finding and highlighting the value-creating opportunities and minimizing or eliminating unproductive friction.

Disclaimer:  The content is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.  If you require legal or professional advice, please contact an attorney.

The post Bridging the Divide: Gen Z and Baby Boomers Can Face Generational Workplace Challenges Together appeared first on SiteProNews.

So, what can you do to help move the needle forward? Most people invest their time and resources into planning and executing various SEO (Search Engine Optimization) initiatives. However, with so many different variables to focus on, knowing how to prioritize your efforts can seem like an impossible task.

In this guide, we’ll discuss the most common misconceptions about SEO work and what you should focus on to help your website rank higher, depending on where your current pages are ranking.

Addressing Common SEO Misconceptions

Most people are already familiar with the benefits associated with SEO, especially when it comes to helping to bring in more organic web traffic to their website. However, there are many so-called “SEO experts” out there who all think they have the secret sauce when it comes to getting a site ranked higher on search engine results pages (SERPs) in half the time.

Unfortunately, this leads many people to go down a slippery slope of spammy activities that actually do more harm than good. Below are some common misconceptions surrounding SEO and areas to avoid:

You Should Use Your Keywords As Many Times As You Can

Keyword research and targeting is a core component of SEO. By finding the right keyword or phrases associated with your niche, you can potentially start to rank for various terms that can equate to a large amount of search traffic. However, the thought that you should use as many of these keywords in your content as possible is inaccurate.

While it is helpful to use keywords in strategic places throughout your site and in your content, the necessary density % of these keywords has changed considerably over the years. Search engines have become wise to the tactics that many SEO practitioners have used over the past to try to improve their rankings and have changed their algorithms accordingly.

Today, search engines use literally hundreds of factors to help determine the relevance of a website to a user’s query, but keyword choice and placement are only a small part of the larger puzzle. Placing too much emphasis on keywords can harm an effective SEO campaign.

The More Backlinks You Gain, The Better

Acquiring backlinks to your website can be an impactful way to start building authority for your website domain and play an important role in helping you rank your content much faster. However, over the years, there have been a number of black hat SEO services and techniques used to gain as many backlinks as possible to a website in an effort to scale rankings much faster.

When trying to gain as many links as possible to your website, it’s almost always doomed to fail, considering the strict guidelines search engines like Google now have in place when penalizing websites that participate in black hat SEO practices. In fact, having too many links to your website from anything but reputable or high-authority websites can actually have the reverse impact on your rankings.

Although establishing backlinks to your website is an important element of SEO, quality vs. quantity is the key here. It’s better to have one link from a reputable publication or blog than it is from ten unreliable sources. 

On-Page SEO Is The Most Critical Element

On-page SEO is a critical part of a holistic digital marketing strategy. However, it’s not the end-all and be-all of efforts that can help you bring in more organic web traffic. While it’s important, it shouldn’t monopolize all of your time and resources improving.

Most people place their primary focus on on-page SEO due to its relative accessibility. It’s much easier to make changes on your current website and see some quick results when compared to other external efforts. These other off-page SEO efforts, like link building and social media, often take time and prospecting efforts, which don’t always offer the most immediate benefits.

Still, ignoring other important SEO factors and instead prioritizing only on-page SEO is a mistake. It can make it much harder to rank your content effectively in the long-run.

Strategizing Your SEO Based on Keyword Rankings

Because there are so many variables involved with planning and executing an SEO campaign, it’s only natural to feel a bit overwhelmed by the process. But rather than feeling like you need to throw darts while being blindfolded, there are effective strategies you can apply depending on the current positioning of your keyword rankings on certain pages.

Below are some guidelines you can follow while adapting your strategies as your pages start to rank:

Not Currently Ranking or Higher Than 50

All new web pages you create will take time to be indexed and start ranking. In fact, some never rank at all – it really depends on how well you’ve optimized your site and other elements to support your SEO efforts. However, there are steps you can follow when you see your page not currently ranking or in the 50th or higher position on SERPs.

The most critical thing you can do at this stage is take a better look at your keywords and the type of search intent associated with them. Knowing this information is critical and helps search engines prioritize their results based off of how relevant you are when answering this intent.

The various types of search intent include:

• Navigational – This type of search intent is made by users that already know the type of product or service they’re interested in – they simply want to find a specific website or rand. These types of searches usually have a brand name in the keyword phrase.

• Informational – The majority of searches online are informational in nature, with users looking for answers to specific questions. This might mean you’ll want to format your continent into a how-to guide or more educational content around a particular topic to answer this intent effectively.

• Transactional – When a user has a transactional intent to their query, this means they are close to making a purchase. These types of search terms are generally much more competitive to target, considering that they are closely associated with increased conversion rates. An example of a transactional search intent would be “best 60-inch TVs” or “top marketing software.” 

• Commercial – Someone who is using a commercial intent is typically comparing various brands before moving to a decision-making stage. This is typical when looking to review several types of services before committing to one in particular.

Gaining Some Visibility and Ranking Between 11-40

Once you start to see your rankings climb and rest somewhere between the top 11 and 40 results, you’ll want to start shifting gears in your SEO approach. At this stage, a balanced focus on on- and off-page SEO is preferred.

One of the most impactful things you can do at this stage is to put more priority on your link-building campaigns. You’ll want to invest the time and resources necessary to prospect high-quality, reputable websites and design outreach programs to try to connect and secure new partnerships with these sites.

Although this can be time-intensive, the web authority that you can build over time can pay off considerably and start to help improve your rankings even further.

Achieving First Page Rankings Between 1-10

Getting your website pages to the first page of Google’s SERPs isn’t easy by any means. If you’re able to get to this point, you should take comfort in knowing that your hard SEO work is finally being rewarded. That being said, your work isn’t over yet.

It’s important to look at the state of your website and individual pages of content and focus on ways you can improve the user experience. Search engines like Google highly value websites that keep users engaged and avoid high bounce rates and disconnected experiences. Look for ways you can improve your site’s navigation and incorporate elements that help users stay on your website longer.

The more you can avoid users becoming uninterested in your content, the less chance that they’ll abandon their search prematurely. This gives impactful ranking signals to Google that can improve your website rankings and keep them there.

Maximize The Impact of Your SEO Efforts

By implementing these strategies and focusing your SEO efforts in the right areas, you’ll be able to see more consistent rankings on your website, improving your visibility and increasing your organic web traffic over time.

The post How to Know Where To Focus Your SEO Efforts appeared first on SiteProNews.

Despite this, keeping your brand consistent is essential. Without consistent branding, your business will quickly be forgotten. The only way to keep customers interested in your brand is by making it recognizable. And recognizable means being consistent no matter what. In this article, we’ll show you six great ways to keep your branding consistent.

What Is Brand Consistency Exactly?

Your brand is everything that best represents your business. A brand, however, should be focused and aligned with what you believe your business is. Everything that makes up your business is part of branding. For example, advertisements, matching color schemes and slogans all work to exemplify your business.

Brand consistency is the act of making sure that all of these separate parts follow one unified goal. By focusing on a single aspect of your business, your brand becomes more recognizable. With a single focus, your brand will be easy to remember and even easier to trust.

6 Great Ways To Keep Your Branding Consistent

Have a Clear Focus

Your branding should have a clear purpose. It should be able to tell customers everything they need to know about your business. The important part is that it needs to have a singular purpose. A mixed message should be avoided.

When you’re figuring out your branding goals, take the time to understand what it is you want your business to represent. Coming up with a singular goal or purpose can help you to narrow down your focus. Once you have an idea in mind, you should use it to guide the approach you take when building up your branding.

Think About Each Element

Branding extends to every part of your business. Everything from the color palette to the fonts you use are a key part of branding. Each of these elements should also work towards expanding the message you want your brand to tell. Likewise, how you interact with customers is as much a part of your branding as everything else. Take the time to go over each aspect of your business. Try to come up with a simple plan on how you want each element to express your goals.

How You Interact Matters

Branding doesn’t stop at the uniform your employees wear or the color of your new slogan. The way you interact with the world is just as important. Take word choice for example. The type of vocabulary you use goes a long way in expressing to others what sort of business you are. A more technical audience could be targeted by using complex terms that require industry experience to understand.

Like every other area of your business, it’s important to make sure that how you express yourself to your customers is a reflection of what your business believes in.

Know Your Customers

There is no better way of creating a consistent identity than by focusing your efforts on what your primary customers want. Exploring your targeted demographic can allow you to more effectively create a plan that focuses on their needs. And the better you know your audience, the better you’ll be able to focus your branding towards them.

It’s a good idea to get in touch with your ideal customer. Figure out what they want and try to get a better idea of the big picture. Once you know everything about your target demographics, you’ll have an easier time tailoring your branding towards their needs.

Have a Set Strategy in Place

Planning is an essential part of everything. Branding is no different and a strong strategy can make it easy to keep everything consistent. From how you interact with customers to how you design your visual elements, a branding strategy can give you an idea of where to go. The deeper you figure out this strategy, the easier it will be implemented too. Just like having a clear and singular focus, a strategy is essential in allowing you to keep your messages clear.

Keep Your Marketing Channels Uniform

Marketing is a complex topic that expands across many different avenues of connecting with your customers. Each of these various channels of communication, however, should all follow the same standard of branding as the rest of your business.

Each of your social media accounts, for instance, should be uniform in how you brand them. Logos should be the same and any text should use the same tone of voice. Ideally, you should tailor your branding towards each marketing channel’s specific demographic. The overall image, however, should all follow a uniform vision.

The Power of Branding

Having the right branding is the difference between a successful business and failure. That’s why it’s important to take as much time as you need and really focus down on what you want your business to represent. When you have a single, clear goal in mind, it becomes a lot easier to tailor your brand towards a single idea.

Clear branding is consistent. And when it comes to attracting new customers, a consistent brand leads to prolonged interest. Don’t let your branding be forgettable. Build up your branding with a clear focus and you’ll know that your business will make an impact.

The post The 6 Best Ways to Keep Your Branding Consistent appeared first on SiteProNews.

One of the most difficult challenges organizations face when protecting their digital assets is understanding how modern cyber threats have evolved over the years and what they can do to better secure their systems. 

Thankfully, some effective strategies can be implemented to better identify these threats before they happen and minimize the damage that successful ransomware attacks have on businesses.

The Escalating Danger of Ransomware Attacks

The topic of cybersecurity can be an intimidating one for businesses to discuss. This is especially the case if they haven’t prioritized security initiatives in the past or simply lack the full depth of how serious many modern-day cyber attacks can be.

To put things in perspective, ransomware has become one of the most prevalent forms of cyber attacks around the workplace. In fact, a recent study that polled the security status of multiple businesses representing several different industries found that 71% of them reported that they experienced some form of ransomware attempt in the last year.

The reason why cyber attackers are choosing ransomware as their preferred method for carrying out criminal activity has to do with how quickly these attacks can be distributed. Today, there are many different ways ransomware can be injected into unsuspecting victims’ systems. 

Simply opening an unverified document in an email or visiting a website with malicious web scripts installed is all it takes for malware to infect and take over connected systems and databases.

If this happens, many businesses that don’t have the proper recovery tools in place feel like their only option is to pay the ransom cybercriminals set, fueling the frequency and severity of these attacks over the years.

Why is Ransomware Becoming So Prevalent?

What makes ransomware so dangerous is how effective it is when encrypting data and completely disabling an organization’s ability to remove it once it has been triggered.

Over the years, available technologies have made it possible for cyber attackers to modify and significantly improve the level of sophistication used when executing these attacks. At the same time, most modern businesses have digitized much of their operations, expanding their infrastructures into cloud-based environments and using interconnected technologies.

As organizations continue to expand their digital footprints, these also double as larger attack surfaces (or entry points) that cyber attackers can use and exploit. This has made it much easier to find suitable targets for ransomware campaigns and gives attackers multiple attack vectors to work with in order to compromise a system.

Another challenge businesses need to contend with is how quickly threats are evolving. While some organizations may have prioritized certain cybersecurity initiatives in the past, they may often become outdated or no longer capable of protecting the organization from more advanced ransomware techniques.

Proactive Measures for Keeping Your Business Safe

One of the most effective ways to protect your business from cyberattacks like ransomware is by proactively taking them seriously. By prioritizing cybersecurity, you can significantly reduce the risk of becoming a target.

The reality is that the scale at which ransomware can now be distributed makes it much more likely that, as the years progress, most organizations, regardless of their size, will become intended or even unintended targets for an attack.

However, there are some protective measures you can put in place to reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim:

Implement Essential Security Protocols

It’s important to prioritize the implementation of various security protocols in your business to successfully reduce your attack surface and harden your systems. But before investing in various solutions or making major changes to your operating state, you’ll first need to know what to work on first.

Auditing your systems using benchmarks established by industry-leading security organizations is a great place to start. Depending on the type of business you operate, following guidelines specific to HITRUST certifications or SOC and ISO standards when configuring your systems and implementing security measures can help your organization ensure it follows best security practices at all times.

Conduct Vendor Assessments

As more organizations rely on cloud services and third-party partners to deliver services to their businesses and customers, regularly evaluating the security readiness of supporting vendors has become even more critical. While you may be investing heavily in improving your own organization’s security posture, this may not be the priority of the vendors you’re working with.

Conducting regular vendor assessments is critical to practicing due diligence with your partners and monitoring and controlling your company’s complete risk profile. This involves a comprehensive audit of the policies and active measures your partners have put into place to reduce security risks and protect business and client data.

Invest in Penetration Testing

Organizations can implement various security protocols to help keep their businesses secure. However, waiting until a ransomware attack is attempted to assess their effectiveness isn’t a safe or sustainable way to test your cybersecurity readiness.

Penetration testing is an invaluable service that businesses can use to simulate actual cyberattacks against their security protocols. By working with highly skilled cybersecurity professionals to assess and report on your system and network vulnerabilities, you can safely address them before they become a major liability for your business.

How to Mitigate the Damage of a Successful Ransomware Attack

Unfortunately, even when companies adopt a more proactive security stance when protecting themselves against cyber threats like ransomware, there is always the possibility that systems or databases become compromised.

To mitigate the potential damage that these scenarios can cause to the business, there are some important things you should do:

Evaluate Your Insurance Options

It’s important to know that only around 60% of organizations are ever able to retrieve their encrypted data when they decide to pay a ransom. In nearly all cases, the better option is to have a financial safety net in place that can be used in the event your organization needs to recover from an attack.

Investing in cybersecurity insurance ahead of time can be a safe and reliable way to ensure your business has the resources necessary to recover should you ever need it.

Prioritize Incident Response Planning

Planning for the worst-case scenario for your business is essential to minimize any damages the business can incur from lengthy system downtime. Incident response planning is an essential part of this and provides a systematic process for recovering critical systems and reversing any operational issues caused by a security breach.

Work With a Qualified Managed Security Service Provider

Even if your business already prioritizes cybersecurity, establishing a strong security foundation can seem challenging. However, with the right approach, you can build a robust defense system that safeguards your organization effectively.

Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) can be invaluable resources for helping your business become much more secure. Rather than providing in-house security teams, you can outsource all of your security needs to experienced industry professionals who can help you implement and monitor all of your security measures.

Don’t Become Another Statistic

Every year, ransomware attacks continue to trend upwards in frequency and organizations caught unaware could see potentially devastating consequences. 

By keeping aware of how these attacks are evolving and taking proactive steps to mitigate the risks, organizations can reduce the likelihood of becoming another damaging statistic.

The post Ransomware Explained: Understanding the Growing Threat and How to Safeguard Your Data appeared first on SiteProNews.

• Enhance operational efficiency
• Improve customer experiences
• Create new revenue streams
• Remain agile
• Reduce costs
• Empower a broader range of employees to contribute to accomplishing goals

One platform that is driving these business growth hacks is low code. Over the last few years, the low-code market has expanded significantly, fueled by the demand for faster development processes and high-quality outputs achieved with fewer resources. Over two-thirds (71.8%) of developers are using low-code/no-code tools and more than half (56.4%) anticipate greater reliance on these tools in 2024, according to the 2024 Reveal survey. In addition, nearly all the Reveal survey respondents (90.4%) said that low-code tools boosted developer productivity in their organizations.

Analysts say that by 2025, low code will be the most fundamental factor in almost every digital strategy, revolutionizing how software is built, deployed, and maintained across industries and sectors. Its democratizing effect on application development will empower companies of all sizes to innovate rapidly and stay ahead of the curve.

But how exactly do low-code platforms foster business growth initiatives? Let’s dive into the specifics.

The Power of Low Code

Low-code tools like App Builder simplify the complexities behind traditional coding. Instead of crafting everything manually and from scratch, developers benefit from an intuitive WYSIWYG visual interface, drag-and-drop functionalities, and pre-built reusable components to get them started. There are differentiators like instant code generation for technologies like Angular, Blazor, Web Components, and more, real-time code preview, data binding options, interactions, theming, branding, and BI dashboards for more sophisticated data analytics – just to name a few.

Low-code app development platforms help digital product teams create apps with visual tools that require little to no up-front coding but will need a development team to ‘finish’ an application before deployment. This type of approach is helpful for developers who want to eliminate the need for heavy hand-coding in areas like screen design, UX flows, theming, and branding, and can all but eliminate the need for manual HTML & CSS tweaking, which, according to Gartner, can take up to 60% of the application development time.

Other Ways in Which Low-Code Tools Help Businesses Grow

In their report “Large Enterprises Succeeding With Low-Code”, Forrester notes that “49% of organizations using low-code say it has the greatest ability to automate processes, while 50% say they use low code because it has the fastest speed of delivery.” This is no surprise, considering that low-code platforms drastically reduce the time and effort required for traditional and error-prone hand coding, enabling companies to develop and deploy apps at a fraction of the time and cost compared to conventional methods. This speaks to low code’s immense potential in reshaping the industry landscape.

1. Process Automation

One thing that low-code platforms really excel in is automating mundane tasks and workflows across development teams and other business functions like HR, finance, sales, and more. The biggest challenge for software development teams, for example, is high workloads and insufficient time to complete all the work. And the 2024 Reveal Survey finds that building apps manually consumes most of the development resources, with 28.2% of the developer’s time dedicated to coding and 24.8% to design. Compared to the report from 2023, this marks progress, where coding alone accounted for 43.4% of their time. This improvement is due to the increased adoption of low-code technologies across sectors and teams in businesses of all sizes.

So, instead of writing custom code, developers can go from an idea to a fully functional app by simply converting design files, for instance, eliminating heavy design-developer handoff processes. Screens or entire apps can also be built using a toolbox of pre-built, framework-agnostic components and a full set of features for a more customized UX. All while eliminating disruptions and costly delays.

2. Digital Transformation

Some businesses want to leverage digital technologies to change how they operate, deliver value to customers, and compete in the ever-changing market. And low-code platforms can facilitate digital transformation initiatives aimed at accelerating the process by:

• Enabling organizations to modernize legacy systems
• Integrating other systems more efficiently
• Minimizing errors derived from manual processes
• Cultivating a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning
• Speeding iterative processes, allowing for continuous improvement and innovation

3. Agile Project Management & Democratization

Sometimes, low-code platforms serve as an all-in-one solution to democratize application development. These tools can allow a broader range of users, including non-technical stakeholders, citizen developers, CIOs, etc., to participate in the innovation process – some through observing and managing processes, others by handling less complex development tasks. This way, businesses benefit from improved collaboration, transparency, and agility every step of the way. With real-time visibility into workflows and project updates and better resource allocation, low code speeds up time-to-market and allows teams to adapt to changing requirements faster while keeping everyone aligned with business goals. Whether it is adding a new feature or integrating with third-party systems, low-code platforms provide the flexibility and capabilities required to support business growth and scalability.

4. Cost Optimization

When a company is undergoing digital transformation, teams working with reduced technical debt due to proper resource allocation and project management, faster development processes thanks to automated tasks (like generating production-ready code for any framework of choice), optimizes IT budgets. The reduction in development time translates directly into cost savings, as fewer hours are spent on manual coding, debugging, and updating software applications. This could reallocate resources to other growth initiatives, such as marketing, R&D, or expansion into new markets.

5. Better Customer Experience

In today’s competitive landscape, customer experience serves as a key differentiator. Businesses that not only meet but exceed clients’ expectations and provide exceptional experiences can stand out from the crowd. Therefore, leveraging low-code platforms empowers companies to create customer-facing applications that deliver personalized experiences much faster, thus driving customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.

To further enhance these applications, embedded analytics tools like Reveal can be integrated to provide real-time access to key business insights. This allows businesses to seamlessly incorporate advanced data analytics and visualization capabilities within their apps, enabling data-driven decision-making at all levels. By utilizing these insights, companies can better understand customer behavior, preferences, and trends, ultimately delivering more tailored and impactful experiences.

6. Expanding Presence in the Market

What if a company wants to expand its presence in the market? The strategy here may be to diversify their product categories or service offerings, appeal to new customer segments, and tap into different geographical regions or sectors. This step will enable businesses to maintain or grow market share and capitalize on more opportunities in mature markets where competition is intense.

Low-code tools facilitate strategic expansion by ensuring more agile development cycles, quicker iterations, and the ability to experiment with new ideas, features, and functionalities thanks to pre-built components and their reusability. These streamlined procedures reduce time-to-market and lower the entry barrier for launching new initiatives. Customizations are done in record time; changes are made instantly; businesses can adapt to the changing market and meet specific requirements of different clients or sectors – all due to the scalability, capabilities, and flexibility of low code.

From faster app development cycles and increased agility to reduced costs and expanded market presence, low-code tools have become the ultimate instrument for companies that want to achieve business growth. Businesses that invest in these platforms and make them part of their strategic plans, can focus on innovation rather than being bogged down by overlong development processes, backlogs, technical complexities, and budgetary and cost constraints.

The post How Low-Code Platforms Support Business Growth Initiatives appeared first on SiteProNews.

Establish a Unique Business Identity

In the competitive online marketplace, distinguishing your hobby-based business is crucial. Focus on what sets your business apart by defining a unique selling proposition (USP). This USP should reflect the essence of your hobby and its transformation into a unique product or service. By clearly articulating what makes your business special, you can attract customers who share your passion and are looking for something beyond the ordinary.

Put Reverse Phone Lookup to Work for You

Reverse phone lookup can provide several benefits when starting a hobby business. Firstly, it enables you to screen potential customers or collaborators, ensuring you engage with trustworthy individuals. Secondly, it helps in building a customer database by accurately gathering contact information and demographics. For instance, click here to find details about the 514 area code. Lastly, this sort of tool aids in protecting your personal information and business interests by verifying the identity of unknown callers or contacts.

Assess and Strengthen Your Skill Set

Understanding and improving your skill set is fundamental to your business’s success. Take time to evaluate your current abilities and identify areas needing enhancement. Strengthening these skills ensures you are well-equipped to handle various aspects of your business. This process might involve learning new software, understanding online marketing strategies, or improving customer service techniques, all contributing to a more effective business operation.

Develop a Solid Business Plan

A comprehensive business plan is your roadmap to success. This plan should detail your goals, strategies for funding your business, financial projections, and how you intend to transform your hobby into a profitable business. It should address how to attract and retain customers, manage finances, and navigate the competitive landscape. A well-thought-out plan not only guides your business decisions but also attracts potential investors or partners.

Formulate a Pricing Strategy

Developing a competitive yet profitable pricing strategy is essential. This involves conducting market research and competitor analysis to understand pricing trends and customer expectations. Your pricing should reflect the value of your products or services, attract customers, and ensure a healthy profit margin. Striking this balance is key to establishing a sustainable business model.

Identify and Understand Your Target Audience

Understand the needs, preferences, and behaviors of your target customers through thorough research. Customize your products and marketing strategies to resonate with this audience, fostering a strong connection. Establishing a well-defined target audience is fundamental in creating a loyal customer base for your online business. Your success hinges on how effectively you cater to and engage with these specific customers.

Upskill by Earning a Degree

As you transition from hobbyist to entrepreneur, enhancing your skills is key. Consider online education as a flexible option to broaden your expertise. Here are some degrees that can be particularly beneficial:

1. Business Administration (MBA): An MBA provides comprehensive knowledge in business management, including finance, marketing, and operations, which are crucial for running a successful online business.

2. Marketing: A degree in marketing equips you with the skills to effectively promote your online business, understand consumer behavior, and implement digital marketing strategies.

3. E-commerce: This specialized degree focuses on the ins and outs of online business operations, including online retail, electronic transactions, and digital marketing.

4. Entrepreneurship: Programs in entrepreneurship offer practical skills and knowledge in starting and managing new business ventures, including business planning, innovation, and risk management.

5. Information Technology (IT): An IT degree helps you understand the technical aspects of running an online business, such as website development, cybersecurity, and data management.

6. Accounting and Finance: This degree is crucial for managing your business’s finances, understanding tax obligations, and making informed financial decisions.

7. Digital Media and Design: Learning about digital media and design can help you create engaging content, improve your website’s user experience, and enhance your brand’s online presence.

8. Communication: Effective communication skills are vital for customer service, marketing, and team collaboration in an online business setting.

Each of these degrees can provide valuable insights and skills that contribute to the success of your online business venture.

Turning your hobby into a successful online business is an exciting and fulfilling adventure. The outlined steps serve as a blueprint for transforming your passion into a thriving enterprise. Your success depends not only on your offerings but also on how you present and market them. Dedication, creativity, and strategic planning are key in making this transition. With these elements in place, your hobby has the potential to become a rewarding source of both personal satisfaction and professional achievement.

The post Converting Your Personal Hobby into a Profitable Online Business Venture appeared first on SiteProNews.

There is no straightforward answer to this question as various factors must be considered. With considerable experience in eCommerce, we have seen clients opt for Magento to WooCommerce migration and vice versa. There are cases where the store is based on Shopify or WooCommerce, but the client is actively exploring a Magento solution.

Based on our experience, we can conclude that the best platform ultimately comes down to personal and target market preferences. If you have made your mind about migrating your Magento store by FME Extensions to WooCommerce, you have come to the right place. This article will discuss everything there is to know about Magento to WooCommerce migration and a lot more.

Why Opt for Magento to WooCommerce Migration?

Undoubtedly, Magento is a robust platform that offers unparalleled levels of customisation and flexibility. However, it is not without limitations.

Cons of Magento

Maintenance Cost

Regardless of whether you are using Magento Open Source or Adobe Commerce, the maintenance cost is quite high. The primary reason for it is Magento’s complexity. You need an experienced team of Magento developers to develop and maintain the store.

Complexity

Apart from the cost, Magento is not user-friendly at all. An individual without prior experience in dealing with eCommerce platforms can quickly find themselves scratching their ends in frustration. Indeed, most merchants complain about the steep learning curve when it comes to mastering Magento solutions.

Lack of In-built Features

While Magento offers robust features, very few of them are offered as part of the platform itself. Instead, much-needed features can only be set up by using extensions. In most cases, these extensions are not free. In other words, when factoring the costs associated with running a store on Magento, you must also consider the costs of various extensions.

Portability

Our experience tells us that many merchants opt for Magento thinking that they can easily switch between Magento solution providers. In other words, they can get the store set up from company A and then switch to company B or C onwards. In theory, this is correct. However, the problem is that each Magento solution provider has different coding practices, making it difficult to switch between companies.

Content Management

One of the key aspects of running an online store is quality content. Magento does not have an in-built blog feature. In other words, you need to buy a Magento 2 blog extension. Naturally, an online store cannot realise its full potential unless you upload blogs to educate consumers and drive organic traffic.

Pros of WooCommerce

Now, let’s look at why switching towards WooCommerce from Magento is a good decision.

Cost

Regardless of the store size, every merchant wishes to keep costs low to maximise profits. Luckily, WooCommerce is quite budget friendly. The development and maintenance costs are quite low. For example, a key component of the maintenance is hosting. Top hosting providers like Bluehost, Hostinger, and SiteGround offer reliable WooCommerce hosting for less than $15 per month. If you opt for annual payment, the cost goes down further. For more information, check out the ‘Best WooCommerce Hosting Providers 2024’.

User Friendliness

Unlike Magento, individuals with no prior coding or eCommerce experience can use WooCommerce. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that just by watching a few tutorials, you can set up a robust online store in eCommerce.

Content Management System

Since WooCommerce is integrated with WordPress, the CMS is quite seamless. After all, WordPress was originally a blogging platform. Users can easily upload blogs, add new content, and much more.

Search Engine Optimisation

Optimising the website for the search engines is easy as 1,2,3. With SEO plugins, you can further improve your online visibility. Here’s a detailed guide on WooCommerce SEO for better clarity. 

Support

Lastly, there are dedicated support forums. Regardless of whether you have a very basic question or an advanced query, WooCommerce experts will always be on hand to guide you.

Factors to Consider Before Magento Store to WooCommerce Migration

There are various factors you must consider prior to the migration. If the Magento store is complex, the migration process will be twice as complex. The volume and type of data will have an impact on the time it takes to complete the migration. If you are using custom extensions, you need to ensure they are compatible with WooCommerce.

If not, you must identify alternatives for must-use extensions. Migration will impact your online visibility. Therefore, keep an eye on the URL structures, meta titles, meta descriptions, and other aspects when migrating. Otherwise, recovering your rankings can prove to be a challenge.

Step by Step Guide to Migrate Your Magento Store to WooCommerce

Before elaborating further, you have three options.

Option 1 – Use a Plugin

There are various plugins available that allow you to migrate your entire Magento store to WooCommerce. This involves minimal work except you need to spend money on buying the plugin.

Option 2 – Use a Magento to WooCommerce Migration Service Provider

The second option involves looking for a company that offers migration services. They’ll analyse your store and give you a quote. The best thing about this option is that the company will be responsible for ensuring that all data is compatible with WooCommerce. They can also help with identifying alternatives to existing extensions. We highly recommend using WooCommerce AI Plugins to Future-Proof Your Store.

Option 3 – Manual Migration

This is where you handle the migration process yourself.

How to Migrate from Magento to WooCommerce Manually

Step 1 – Backup Your Magento Store

The first step is to backup all data that you have on your Magento store. Luckily, Magento offers an in-built function to complete the backup. For this, you need to:

• Go to Admin Sidebar
• Select System
• Select Tools
• Click on Backups

Remember, since you are migrating your entire, you need to backup everything. Therefore, ensure that you tick the ‘Include Media folder to System Backup’ option. This will ensure that images and other media are included in the backup process.

Step 2- Set Up a WooCommerce Store

The next step is to set up a WooCommerce account. For the latest guidelines, click here. The guide has been compiled by WooCommerce itself, ensuring that the instructions are always up to date. If you have any queries, you can look for support in the relevant forums.

Step 3 – Export and Import Data

The next step involves exporting data from Magento. Ensure that you export products, customer orders, and customer information. Once the export process is complete, validate the data to ensure there are no inconsistencies. Remember to export the data in CSV format. Afterwards, format the data for use in WooCommerce.

However, this is not required in every case. Now, head to WooCommerce 🡪 Add Products 🡪  Import your products from a CSV file. You can import products using this option but for orders and customer information, you will need a plugin. Lastly, validate the imported data.

Step 4 – Configure the Settings

Of course, you cannot start using the WooCommerce store right after importing the data. You need to configure various settings, ranging from SEO to shipping. We already have an established library of WooCommerce plugins covering various aspects of your store. They can make things easier for you, especially when it comes to shipping methods and rate adjustment.

Your WooCommerce URLs need to be similar to the Magento store URLs. However, if they are not SEO-friendly, we recommend changing them. You can configure the URLs in WooCommerce by heading out to Settings 🡪 Permalinks. To tweak the email settings, head to WooCommerce 🡪 Settings 🡪 Emails. For settings related to user accounts and privacy, go to WooCommerce 🡪 Settings 🡪 Accounts & Privacy.

Step 5 – Perform Tests

This step involves testing your WooCommerce store’s functionality. Firstly, verify the data. You can simply do this by comparing number of products on your Magento store and WooCommerce store. Next, check if the pricing and product descriptions are similar. Use an SEO audit tool to identify SEO-related issues. Work on them before you make the site go live.

Additionally, use performance tools to monitor the store’s performance, especially loading times and mobile responsiveness. We highly recommend that you walk through each step of the consumer buying process to ensure that the experience is seamless. This will also help you identify any issues that a user may encounter. A proactive approach can help you resolve issues long before they affect your users.

Step 6 – Implement Customisations

If you need to customise any aspect of the store or install any plugins, this is the time to do it.

Step 7 – Final Testing

Once all customisations are done, conduct final testing. This should be more rigorous than the previous testing. We recommend asking a professional company to undertake this testing on your behalf. If that’s not an option, ask as many people as possible to browse the website. This will help you identify issues that may have been overlooked previously.

Step 8 – Go Live

Lastly, launch the website. However, this does not mean that your responsibilities have ended. Instead, monitor the website and focus on continuous improvement.

Conclusion

This concludes our article on how to migrate your Magento store to WooCommerce. If you have any questions related to this guide or anything related to eCommerce, feel free to ask our team.

The post A Complete Guide to Migrating Your Magento Store to WooCommerce appeared first on SiteProNews.

However, it doesn’t come without risks. Legal and ethical considerations need to be made in order to protect your customers and yourself from potential implications.

You always need to make sure you’re following applicable guidelines and regulations, which will help you not only ensure compliance but also build trust and loyalty from your clients.

Here’s your guide to ensuring your email marketing practices are both legal and ethical.

Get to know and follow applicable laws and regulations

Legal and ethical email marketing practices are built on understanding the relevant laws and regulations. The basic idea of such laws as the CAN-SPAM Act in the US, the GDPR in Europe, and the CASL in Canada is to keep consumers free from spam and maintain their privacy.

• CAN-SPAM Act (United States). Stipulates that, among other aspects, marketing emails must be furnished with a clear and conspicuous opt-out mechanism and a valid physical postal address of the sender. Messages cannot be sent to those recipients who previously requested not to be contacted.
• GDPR (Europe) requires marketing emails to be sent only after receiving explicit consent from receivers. The law also provides individuals with rights to access, rectification, and erasure of their data.
• CASL (Canada). Requires express consent of recipients before sending any commercial email and also includes specific provisions for identification of the sender and an easy method of unsubscribing.

On top of that, some industries are more regulated than others, with sectors like healthcare, education, and finance facing particularly stringent compliance requirements.

For instance, in healthcare, regulations such as HIPAA in the United States mandate strict guidelines on the handling and protection of patient data.

Similarly, the education sector is governed by laws such as FERPA, which ensures the privacy of student records and imposes significant education compliance obligations on institutions.

Financial services are also heavily regulated, with frameworks like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act setting rigorous standards for data protection, reporting, and transparency.

These industries must implement robust compliance strategies to navigate the complex regulatory landscape and avoid severe penalties​​​​​​​​.

Maintain Transparency and Honesty

Being open and honest in your email marketing practices will help you build a trusting relationship with your audience. Deceptive content and subject lines destroy your brand’s reputation and might get you into some legal hot spots. So, make sure your subject line reflects your content; don’t use clickbait or misleading information to entice recipients to open it.

Use the content of your email to establish a basis of trust and reliability from the language you use. It should also be clear who the email is from and how to contact you.

On top of that, ensure you use an official and familiar email address and always include your company’s physical address in each email to make your emails look more trustworthy.

Add Value and Don’t Over-Email

Ensure that your emails provide some value to the people receiving them: information, a good deal, and an update on what’s happening. 

Don’t over-email or bombard them with content they wouldn’t appreciate. Segmenting the email list will allow you to send highly targeted content relevant to the interests of respective subscriber groups.

More than ever, it’s crucial to ensure that your emails are adding value and reaching only those who actually want to receive them. By doing so, you are not only staying compliant but also building trust between you and the customers.

Put a Robust Opt-In and Opt-Out Procedure

Make sure that only genuinely interested recipients are added to your email list. Provide your audience with an easy way to opt in and explain the benefits of receiving email communications from your organization.

Also, make sure to include an obvious and identifiable unsubscribe link for your recipients in your emails for those who no longer want to receive emails from you. Process these opt-out requests immediately.

Keep Your Email List Clean and Current

By keeping your email list clean, you not only ensure that you improve the deliverability rate of your emails but also that you send messages only to the engaged part of your list.

Occasionally, go through your mailing list to scrub out inactive subscribers who haven’t interacted with your emails within a set timeframe. Ensure the correctness of the contact information all the time.

Send re-engagement emails to inactive subscribers. Use verification email tools to confirm interest in emails; it validates the email address. In turn, this reduces bounce rates and provides an up-to-date email list.

Apply Ethical Data Collection Practices

Clearly state the kind of data being collected from them, why you collect it in the first place, and how it will be used. Ensure you collect and get explicit consent for any other kind of data collection that is not necessary for the email subscription.

Provide a privacy policy delineating your practice in collecting and using data. Offer subscribers the choice to take control of data and privacy settings, putting trust and transparency at the forefront.

Monitor and Analyze Your Email Campaigns

Monitoring and analyzing your email campaigns will help you reevaluate and adjust your email campaigns from time to time. It helps you know what is working and what is not so you can make the necessary tweaks to get the most out of your email campaign efforts.

Email marketing metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates showcase how well or how badly you are faring in your email campaign activities.

A/B tests the most effective email elements, and do not forget to ask your audience for feedback. Getting to know their tastes allows you to improve your email campaigns, making them more exciting and tailored to your audience.

Over to You

Maintaining legal and ethical email marketing practices is not just about compliance but also about fostering trust and loyalty with your customers.

Ultimately, adhering to these best practices not only keeps your email marketing efforts away form legal scrutiny but also enhances your brand’s reputation and customer relationships.

By prioritizing legal and ethical standards, you pave the way for a successful and sustainable email marketing strategy that benefits both your business and your customers.

The post A Guide to Legal and Ethical Email Marketing Practices appeared first on SiteProNews.

Organizations that fail to prevent attacks face severe consequences. The average ransomware cost in 2022 was $4.54 million, which does not include the cost of the ransom, and experts predict the total cost of ransomware attacks for 2023 will exceed $30 billion.

As organizations seek out reliable ways to thwart attacks, many are turning to engineering principles to reinforce their cybersecurity frameworks. This approach enables cybersecurity by design rather than deploying it as an add-on to core infrastructure, which results in a more systematic, proactive, and adaptable approach than that provided by other common security solutions.

Benefits of engineering-based security

One of the key benefits of an engineering-based approach to cybersecurity is that it addresses the vulnerabilities exploited by social engineering attacks. Statistics show these types of attacks, which focus on user failure rather than system weaknesses, are the most common. Phishing — a type of social engineering attack — is the most common cyberattack overall, accounting for more than 3.4 billion spam email messages daily.

Engineering principles can safeguard against these attacks by pursuing user-centered design, since analyzing systems from a human perspective during the engineering phase allows for the introduction of features that reduce unintentional vulnerabilities. Engineering can also proactively create user environments that maximize ease of use and reduce the risk of security failures.

Social engineering vulnerabilities can also be reduced by leveraging engineering to reduce the need for user interaction. Systems can be engineered to empower an enhanced zero-trust approach to cybersecurity in which processes are automated to remove the need for human involvement.

Applying engineering principles also boosts cybersecurity by empowering a systems-oriented view. Taking a holistic, system-wide view of cybersecurity provides insights that may be missed by strategies focused on isolated components, and allows for the identification of interconnections and emerging synergies that may lead to vulnerabilities.

Approaching cybersecurity as an engineering function results in more resilient systems. Rather than just empowering reactive controls designed to repel attacks, engineering principles can empower cybersecurity controls that are resilient to attacks, even when they succeed. Resilient systems limit the negative impact of breaches and increase the speed of recovery because they can adapt their security response once breaches occur, ensuring the negative impact of attacks is minimized.

Overall, bringing an engineering perspective to cybersecurity instills more structure into the security framework. It results in systems that are more rigorous and disciplined.

Methods of applying engineering principles to cybersecurity

One primary method of applying engineering principles to cybersecurity involves taking steps to increase automation while decreasing human involvement. As mentioned, human-induced vulnerabilities are one of the key causes of cybersecurity breaches, with statistics showing that nearly 75 percent of breaches are caused by human negligence such as the failure to install a patch.

Utilizing Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) in the development and deployment process is one approach that leverages engineering to boost cybersecurity. IaC relies on codes and scripts to manage the infrastructure environment, rather than delegating management responsibility to human agents, which reduces the risk of social engineering attacks by removing access authority from the targets of those attacks.

IaC further reduces the risk of cyberattacks by using robot agents to increase the complexity of systems. Distinct runtime accounts utilized within network-isolated environments trigger automated processes, thwarting the effectiveness of attacks like spear phishing and lateral movement techniques.

Fail-safe defaults are another security measure that can be engineered into systems to address human weaknesses. Essentially, the defaults minimize the damage from security breaches by triggering failures that limit attacker access, ensuring a line of defense will stay in place after a breach. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a simple fail-safe device that has become a common cybersecurity feature. Safeguards that require administrator privileges to install programs are another form of fail-safe utilized to prevent damage from malware.

Taking an engineering approach to cybersecurity also allows organizations to build defense in depth. Security controls can be engineered into systems on multiple layers, leveraging tools like encryption, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems. With this approach, a failure at one level can be mitigated by controls engineered into the next.

Compartmentalization involves engineering strategies that segment systems and networks into different zones or compartments. By restricting access to system segments, organizations can reduce threats and contain damage when breaches occur.

Cybersecurity threats are higher than ever, forcing organizations to repel a never-ending barrage of attacks or suffer serious financial and reputational damage. By leveraging the synergy between engineering and cybersecurity, organizations can develop and deploy resilient and responsive systems that address some of today’s most prevalent cyber attack strategies.

The post How Engineering Principles Can Be Applied to Reinforce Cybersecurity Measures Against Evolving Threats appeared first on SiteProNews.

●  The best time of the month is the beginning of the month

●  The best times of the day to send an email are 2 pm, 5 pm or 8 pm

The email marketing company Omnisend analyzed emails from January 1, 2019, to January 1, 2023, to find out what the best time is to send an email.

They found that people most often read their emails on Tuesdays and Fridays at the start of the month. They also prefer to do that either in the middle of the day at 2 pm, at the end of their working day at 5 pm, or before bed at 8 pm. These are effective times for a business such as a Vancouver tattoo shop or a realism tattoo shop to send emails to customers or prospects.

“Knowing a good time to send email can help businesses get the best results from their well-crafted email campaigns. Because businesses are in constant competition for consumers’ time, the attention to detail is crucial,” says Greg Zakowicz, senior email marketing expert at Omnisend. “However, it goes without saying: email timing is just one of many factors that can influence your campaign performance. A well-crafted email sent at the wrong time can perform better than a rushed email sent at the perfect time.”

Businesses should send emails in the middle of the week

Tuesday has an average open rate of 11.36%, but Wednesday and Thursday are very close with 11.33% and 11.29%, respectively.

On Friday the open rates are a bit lower, at 11.07%. However, the conversion rates are significantly higher than on any other day of the week, at 5.74%. This means that even though people open emails in the middle of the week, they make purchases at a better rate on Fridays.

Overall, experts still recommend sending emails in the middle of the week to get the best results for your emails.

“Test this to see which day works best for your brand. Some companies are seeing success sending out emails on low-competition days like Sundays,” says Greg Zakowicz.

Ways to improve your email strategy

1. Optimize your email frequency. Along with email timing, frequency is another factor that can have a surprising impact on each campaign. Sending more emails won’t necessarily lead to more orders. While once per week is a good starting point for most newsletters, the only way to optimize your email frequency is to test out different strategies over time.
   
   
2. Understand your target audience. Knowing your target audience is the most important thing in all of marketing. If you sell to customers in their 20s, you might not have any trouble generating interest in a 10 pm email.
   
   
3. Leverage email automation. With marketing automation, you can configure emails to be sent at specific times and then focus on other tasks. For example, you might trigger a cart abandonment reminder to send 24 hours after a user leaves your site. Include the customer’s name and unique product recommendations based on their browsing history.

The post What is the Best Time to Send an Email? appeared first on SiteProNews.

A team’s strength lies in its people’s individual skills and how they synergistically come together. This is why I invest heavily in our people, providing ongoing training, encouraging open communication, and ensuring that every team member feels valued and heard.

Although we’ve achieved this goal, I also recognize that markets constantly shift, trends come and go, and technology evolves. We may have succeeded in solid recruitment, training, and retention strategies, but I still needed to ensure that everyone could roll with the punches. Every day, I aim to further develop a team that can seamlessly pivot and adjust to evolving market demands, ensuring Bigleaf remains at the forefront of technology and innovation.

Clear mission alignment, role clarity, and accountability

One of the first steps we took was ensuring every team member understood the company’s direction and aspirations. We clarified our product-market fit, value proposition, and the milestones critical to customer satisfaction. This proactive approach ensured everyone on board had a clear view of their roles and how they could take accountability by directly contributing to Bigleaf’s continuous success and progress.

Moreover, we focus on reaching business goals by strategically tying job functions to them. For example, high-quality growth is measured through a key metric at Bigleaf: our Annual Revenue Run Rate (ARR). We do this at least once a year to ensure that the entire team’s focus is headed in the same direction.

Thoughtful performance metrics

Beyond ARR, we learned to balance our performance metrics carefully. Prioritizing one metric over another could lead to unintended consequences. For example, focusing on service quality alone could lead to inefficiency and vice versa. Our practice has evolved to meticulously analyzing and strategically balancing performance metrics. We incentivize the right behaviors aligned with the core of our business, which has worked wonders so far, helping us achieve desired outcomes across the organization. This also minimizes the risk of unforeseen repercussions.

Intellectual safety

Creating an environment where every team member feels safe to share ideas and challenge the status quo significantly influences our performance levels. Intellectual safety in the workplace can drive creativity. This open-door policy encourages open communication,innovation, and risk-taking, allowing the team to collaborate and pioneer solutions to the unique challenges we face in the workplace and the business.

We strive to maintain and solidify this culture to consistently boost morale, engagement, and productivity and, ultimately, drive bottom-line results.

Preventing burnout

To prevent burnout, I focus first on maintaining my own equilibrium. As the saying goes, “You cannot pour from an empty cup.” As for the team, we keep our mission and goals clear, ensuring every task has a purpose.

Having a dispersed work environment comes with its unique perks and challenges. Some members may feel tracking their time and productivity is a form of micromanagement; some may understand that it’s a tool to keep their focus on what really matters and spend less time on other tasks. Regardless, building that personal connection is essential. We hold regular in-person meetings, monthly all-hands-on-deck calls, and an annual company gathering to strengthen that sense of belonging and unity. These initiatives are not merely logistical but crucial to maintaining our team’s overall health and morale.

Learning from mistakes

Every mistake has been a step toward understanding what it truly takes to build a high-performing team. Leaders, as much as you want things done sooner, remember there are no shortcuts, especially in growing a team. Yes, following the more straightforward route or listening to a single opinion is tempting, especially in recruitment, but building comprehensive training programs is worth it.

Gradually integrating new hires into your company culture but leveling expectations upfront yields more efficient results and drives the business forward more consistently. This realization has driven us to prioritize transparent and comprehensive approaches to our recruitment and training processes, cementing our reputation as a leader in the tech industry.

The path forward

Adaptability, curiosity, and open-mindedness have become our guiding principles at Bigleaf. Our work demands that we remain flexible and eager to learn from successes and failures. Similarly, resilience, commitment, and an open heart are the key ingredients to building a high-performance culture focused on team well-being and business growth.

In sharing the Bigleaf story, I hope to have highlighted the undeniable truth that a company is only as strong as its culture and people. For founders and business leaders alike, investing in your people goes a long way. Listen to the folks outside your bubble, and take insights with an open ear. Stay curious, stay open-minded, and don’t be afraid to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves. Building an empire requires grit, and it takes learning from mistakes.

The post In 2 Years, I’ve Grown a High-Performing Team At My Tech Company – Here’s How appeared first on SiteProNews.