I'm the CTO of a company, so I'll answer your original question. One of the areas I'd love to see a SaaS product solution is reporting. Developers like myself often just focus on building the product and if they're smart, like yours truly, we add analytics. But getting a clear picture of the business can still be difficult with different people on the team preferring different methods of communication. Some of our stats go out via email, and the people that like email only see part of the picture. All of our stats go over Slack, but not everyone likes Slack. I ended up building weekly email reports that totals everything up and gives the single, clear picture. Not every team has this capability though, and a single API to report significant events in the application with configurable communication methods for reporting and notifications would definitely be something worth paying for. Along with other people in this thread, I'd definitely recommend talking to as many developers and companies as you can to identify real problems, rather than looking for one where it may not exist.

There is no right answer for this, but definitely, you need to have a 'hustle' aggressive approach when you're launching something new. That means to dedicate some time to get in front of the right people. You can start by joining Facebook groups in your category, going to meetups (as a host and/or as a speaker), and create a Facebook group or a Slack channel for early adopters. The important part is to be in front of as many eyeballs as possible and to build a community of users/supporters.

PHP is not outdated, there is no real concensus on what is the most popular programming language out there, some people are obviously biased, some based it off number of job postings in which case PHP and possibly .NET are the top ones. It depends on what you are doing. See them as upgrades on each other.. not that they are bad, just depending on the workload you'll put it through. With that said, there is no real answer to this either, it depends on who you can find, the number of resources you yourself can find on the language for help, feedback, etc. Go to builtwith.com and it will tell you the stack any website is built upon including the framework and languages :)

Try Nerdy Data or BuiltWith.org to find SaaS companies using Stripe

Yes, thats understandable. If a person if giving you money on the spot, you have to rewards them on the spot for their risk. Their money is not convertible they are essentially exchanging their cash for ownership. Do you know what is a strategic investor? If so, I hope you mean someone who is involved and leveraged in the industry you are staking and will help you directly with not only cash but also connections and on hand work. If this is the case then you will probably have to increase his stake considering this, or have an additional % stock after a certain period on top of what he is getting for his cash.

If you have a substantial community, it's just a matter of sharing the same content (depending on the social media platform) with a different approach and see what they react to. You shouldn't focus that much on research but to see what get people to convert into users or clients. The reality of a startup is that most of the cases, you can't do exhaustive research, and what people consider as proof-of-concept is always going to be sales/conversions.

There are two main standards, the UL (USA's "Underwriter's Laboratory"), and CE (European Union's "Conformité Européenne"). The CE will let you sell in the US, Canada, Australia, and the EU (I'm not sure about the Middle East though). The CE is harder to get than the UL, since it includes standards of safety and functionality, while the UL only includes standards of safety. You can find the UL standards here: http://ulstandards.ul.com/access-standards/ and here are instructions for the CE standards: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ce-marking if you'd like further assistance with what specific standards would work with your product, and/or assistance with US patenting let me know, all the best, Lee

First, this should have been decided before you created the YouTube campaign. Always have your finish line defined before you start the race. Since that did not happen, however, your next best option is to determine what best impacts your business. It is tempting to look at "views" or "likes" or "subscribers" as a measurement of success, but, ultimately, those are vanity metrics. They look good, but they do very little. What do you want people to do after they watch your video? - Buy something? - Sign up for something? - Donate to something? - Take a trip somewhere? - Call a friend? Those actions will be what you should measure the success of your campaign. All the best, -Shaun

Here's a trick you can use. For tech people, search GitHub for people producing code using the tools you require. For COO people, review videos of people giving talks at industry conferences + tradeshows related to skills you require. For CMO look at WordPress.tv + conference videos for people with both tech skills + marketing skills. Sometimes having a CTO with marketing skills is far better than having CMO with tech skills. Another test/question for CMOs... "How much are you currently grossing every month from your personal projects." If you're looking for competent CMO, look for someone making a truck load of money... without ever leaving their house... Then be prepared to pay them even more to get them out of their house.

From my own experience I would say so. Technically platforms like Instapage, which I have extensively used, do have an SEO feature built into them, although I really don't think they work - is very basic and any good SEO person would know that meta tags and key words are only the tip of the search iceburg. Landing pages should always be a/b optimized, if you can pull that off yourself without these platforms then go ahead because ultimately you can customize to full seo needs.

There is a lot of points in your question which unless someone has the exact same setup as you - I don't think you will get the answers you are looking for. I believe you should limit it by asking yourself: What is the ONE thing the MLM plugin I am looking for can do so that it achieves the maximum amount of result to my business by using it? IMHO - it would be the ability to set commissions for the products you sell and award commissions to those affiliates that actually earn you sales. All other features, while nice, are ancillary features that from the perspective of the affiliate - don't really need in order to be successful. In that regard - I would suggest https://affiliatewp.com/. When it comes to running affiliate programs on WP sites, it wins out as the best in my experience. Hope this helps! Glad to assist any further if you need help.

There isn't one. You basically need to scape everyone for the data unless they give you an API. This gets pretty hard. I know a startup in Singapore that could probably help.

Hi, Jeff Walker is a good guy, but of course he didn't come close to inventing the pre-launch or the launch. Concert goers are very familiar with winning concern tickets by calling into radio stations or winning vip treatment, or back stage passes, lunch with a star, the list goes on. Likewise, if you look at "professional wrestling," the whole fitting before the fight is just a pre-launch. PT Barnum was doing this for circus goers over 100 years earlier. And I can only imagine the pre-launch of the Romans for the Gladiator Fights. In more recent history, every type of business from Retail Stores to Real Estate companies have used multiple pre-launch techniques. Believe me, tourists are bombarded with Condo deals when they visit Disney Land. Okay, more to your pre-launch campaign for SaaS. Simply, come up with a taste of what you have, ask a serious question and answer it. At the end of the end of the first "answer and solution" set the potential client up with another problem that is very familiar to them. Tell them that you have the answer. Follow this technique several time. I believe Jeff does repetition this 2 or 3 times, but a famous golfer has sent me literally dozens of how to videos in order for me to take the bait. You might think that giving the answer to a solution makes your product less valuable and your opinion less valuable. If you think that, you would be wrong. Heck, look at what I have given out in this answer. My experience is if you give you will receive. That is if you know what to give, how much to give, and how to receive. I am not trying to sell you on calling me. Really, I am pretty busy with my businesses and consulting. However, I need more info before I could have a greater impact in helping you. Most solutions involved this: Ask, Ask, Ask, then Ask again. Bonus: Here is $10,000 worth of information for free and in a nutshell. Concentrate on the 3 M's. There are actually 7, but 3 will do for now. These are Market, Message, and Media. They come in that order. Who is your target market (customer, clients, buyers, users, etc.)? Tailor your laser focused message for this target market. What is the best media mix to get your message to that market? Here's what you do...first, make it an offer that is so incredible that they cannot resist. Secondly, do all the work for them. Make it so easy to make the purchase now that they can do it virtually without effort. Thirdly, give them an incentive to act right now. Fourthly, offer an almost unbelievable guarantee. Fifth, offer a bonus for acting now. There are many other incredible steps, but these steps should help the novice to the professional sell anything. Whether you are selling B2B or B2C, you have to focus on selling to only one person. You can actually sell to one person at a time while selling to millions at a time. They are one and the same. Don't get off track, what we call digital marketing selling is just selling in print. And that has not changed since Cluade Hopkins wrote "Scientific Advertising." Really long before he wrote the book. The secret to success: I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with some of the biggest names in business, celebrities, actors, entrepreneurs, business people, and companies from startup to billion dollar operations. The number one reason for their success is doing what they know and love while doing it in new, creative, and innovative ways. Ask, Ask, Ask. Have thick skin and learn from each "mistake." In a short while, the market will tell you what you need to do and who and what you need to ask. But get started now even if that just means asking a contact on LinkedIn. While you are thinking, think big and think of something at least 1% better, newer, or different. And being cheaper is not a winning strategy. Make decisions quickly and change decisions slowly..unless you are actually going off a cliff. Remember these two 11 letter words...persistence and consistency. They are two of the most important tools ever invented. Even better yet, remember my 411 Rule of Achievement – It consists of (4) eleven letter words for super achievement (also an 11 letter word). Here it is, my 411 Rule of Super Achievement: Persistence and Consistency can change even the smallest Possibility into a big time Probability Persistence + Consistency = Possibility  Probability By the way, I get a lot of people asking me if I can take phone calls for free (a free sample). Sorry, I can’t. I respect Clarity.fm and what they are trying to accomplish. Treat everybody you talk to and everybody you meet (including yourself) like each is your number one million dollar customer. Remember this for most people who really want to achieve a dream: First: Your dreams are important and those who don’t support and believe in your dreams either don’t understand your desire and ambition or they have some other reason (many times reasons they themselves don’t understand) for not wanting you to spend the time and effort necessary to achieve your dreams. Secondly: If you haven’t achieved your dreams and goals so far, it is not your fault. I know that this goes against what you usually hear, but it is true. Stop blaming yourself. You have a whole world of obstacles that are truly the blame. You only need to figure out how to go over, go under, go through, go around, or go with these obstacles in the direction of your dreams. Thirdly: Fear is normal, but don’t give into it. Use it to motivate you and guide you. Fourth: You are right; there are probably some people who don’t want you to succeed. Fifth: Keep this in mind, there are people competing to get their first, do more, have more, invent what you are considering inventing, or simply trying to win. Believing in yourself and what you are doing is part of a strong recipe for winning over your competition. Best of luck, Take massive action and never give up. Michael Michael Irvin, MBA, RN PS – Many people have “Upvoted” my answers. Thanks to those who do this. I really appreciate it.

Hi, I specialize in healthcare startups and have helped start and grow numerous healthcare organizations from IT to Clinical. It sounds like much of the work you are asking about can be done without an attorney or with less help from an attorney if you do much of the work up front. It has been my experience that healthcare attorneys which work in really large groups are very expensive. Of course expensive is a relative word. One of my clients paid $750/hour for attorneys with a minimum of $20,000 per month. In that particular case, the company was a very large healthcare startup that was later sold to a major healthcare conglomerate. The cost was justified by the profit the company earned. That being said, it also depends on where you are located. If you are a nationwide company you need an attorney who has a broad view of healthcare nationally. If you specifically work with Medicare, you need an attorney who knows about Medicare. The same goes for Medicaid except each Medicaid program and the amount Medicaid pays for services varies greatly from state to state. So, to use a line that all attorneys are taught, "it depends." I would need more information. Meanwhile, I would suggest that you do a search on LinkedIn. My clients have used various attorney groups over the past few years. Some of my clients have used Mark Kaufman (New York). I hope this helps. All upvotes are welcome. Best of luck, Michael Michael Von Irvin Author, Consultant, Serial Entrepreneur

Is it new? To find out if the idea is really new, be thorough in your online search. Search base on descriptions of the the problems it solves, how it is used and the benefits. You should also search Google Patents or the USPTO.gov site to look for existing patents in this area. Does it need to be new? "New" is nice, but in a rapidly developing market space like most IoT applications, there may be a lot of room for "better" or "improved." If there is competition, find out how well it is being adapted and used; you may still uncover new opportunities. Is it feasible? This is clearly a loaded question. To determine market feasibility, you will have to answer a number of individual questions, including: - Will the product address a real problem and deliver tangible benefits - Can you make a product that performs the way you want it to? - Will anyone want it if you do? Why? - How many of them are there and who are they? - Can you market it at a price they will be willing to pay for it? - How can you reach and sell to them? - Do they know they want this, or will you need to educate them? - What obstacles will you need to overcome to make a sale? - What will compete with this purchase, both directly (other products) and indirectly (other ways to solve the problem)? I hope that helps. I have been doing a lot of work in the IOT space and would be happy to walk you through a process to help you answer your question.

Today’s consumers are entering the buying process much more educated and from a number of entry points. Some will come to your brand based on the recommendation of a friend, others will see a sponsored social media post, others will come in “cold” from a generalized search engine query. Your sales process must be able to accommodate these various entry points and anticipate the needs of these folks. The hardened sales process of yesterday will not work for today’s buyers, and certainly not for tomorrow’s. With some simple steps, such as defining your customer’s buying process, behavior monitoring, and measuring; you can begin to create a sales pipeline that is more customer-focused to provide services or products that gets them closer to closing. Sales-Oriented Pipeline vs Customer-Oriented Pipeline A sales-oriented pipeline is outbound focused, it’s mission is to reach as many people as possible, with little regard to the buying stage of the consumer. Sales-oriented is a broad, untargeted blanket. A traditional sales-oriented process is quick to “close the deal” and often leads with the close. This is not only highly ineffective, but is also off-putting to the customer; whose defenses are now high. The sales person has done themselves a great disservice and now must work harder to establish a bond of trust. In contrast, a customer-focused sales process puts the sales person in the shoes of the customer and allows the customer to feel as though they are in charge of the buying decision. The result is a sales process that is much more comfortable for the buyer, thus lowering their defenses and being more open to options and the idea of buying. Customer-oriented process is inbound focused, it’s mission is to attract the right prospect at the right time, meeting them in their time of need. Customer-oriented is highly targeted and focused. Pillars of an Customer-Oriented Pipeline: - Clearly Defined Customer Personas - Content Creation & Marketing Strategy - Lead Nurturing - Monitoring & Measurement Step 1: Defining Ideal Customer Personas A persona is a representation of your ideal customer. There is a careful balance between detail and generalization. A well defined persona addresses your ideal customer’s demographic information, their job title and responsibilities, their daily routines and habits, pain points or frustrations, what they value, their goals, where they seek information (their watering holes), and common objections they present to your product or service. Using High-level Content to Attract Your Personas Next, to attract those customers seeking answers, we must position our website in front of them through search engines. Search engines are driven by high quality, original content that is published on a regular basis. High quality means content that is deep in knowledge, well-written (i.e. uses proper spelling and grammar), and addresses the query that originally brought the visitor to the site. A blog is the perfect tool to publish educational content pieces on your brand’s website. These content pieces are extremely Top of The Funnel and serve to attract visitors to your website to answer their question and establish yourself or brand as an authority. When a blog is frequently updated with fresh content surrounding a particular topic, search engines display the site higher in search rankings. This results in new visitors being sent to your website. TIP: Use the answers to your ideal persona’s objections as fuel for your blog topics. Address one question or objection per blog post. Don’t write content to sell your services, rather, write content that addresses the questions, concerns, or objections of your ideal customer. When trying to think about what to blog about, one simple exercise is to imagine your perfect, ideal customer approaching you on the sidewalk. Imagine they asked you one question facing them. What would you say, if you knew you could not “Sell them”. You have only one sentence to answer their question to the best of your ability – but not sell them. For example, if the ideal customer of my fictional home-building company, Acme Builders & Bricks, was approaching me and asked a very common question: “how do I build a house?” My response would be “Start by choosing a location and blueprint.” Now, I know this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how to build a house, but this is the purest, non-salesy answer I have given the short amount of time I have as I pass this prospective customer. This is a bit of information that he or she can take and improve their life immediately. This answer can be broken into two different blog posts, one that discusses how to choose the perfect location and one that discusses how to design your ideal home. The point is, answering your customer’s questions often leads to more questions – and a bounty of exceptional blogging content. Step 2: Using Offers to Convert Visitors to Leads Sales Process ExampleIn keeping with our fictional home building company, there is a level of information that we freely give away on our blog. There is a secondary level of information that is reserved for those who are more serious about committing to the process. This “premium content” is often referred to as an “offer” available in exchange for some identifying information. As a sales-savvy marketer, if you have done your job correctly, your blog will establish a level of trust and authority that lends itself to your visitor voluntarily giving their contact information for a deeper, more detailed piece. This could be an ebook, a tip sheet, or a How-To pdf. By downloading this, the visitor has gone from an anonymous reader to a Information Qualified Lead. They have begun the formal process of educating themselves about their need and your proposed solution. Step 3: Using Automated Lead Nurturing to Convert Leads to Customers Since the visitor has provided their name and email, we can use a series of automated emails to send supporting content and information to the lead. At this point, we can identify their pain point based on the content offer — or offers — they have accessed. A successful lead nurturing campaign moves the lead through the sales funnel by sending further content that addresses common sales questions, introduces the brand and it’s position, and encourages another download of material. This Middle of the Funnel offer is usually product and service information and clearly answers common push backs of customers. All of this serves to lower the defensive barrier of the buyer. It educates them on the product and brand, without being overly pushy or going for the close too quickly. If a lead converts and downloads a middle of the funnel offer, they have become a Sales Qualified Lead and are often ready for a product demo or sample. This is the ideal time for the sales team to reach out to the lead and schedule an appointment. As you can see, this process saves the sales team an incredible amount of time and allows them to focus on the highly qualified leads, rather than wasting time with lookie-loos. The customer is able to progress through the process at their own rate, but is never pressured into dealing with a sales person until they have expressed interest in learning more. Step 4: Monitoring & Measuring Your Process “If it can be measured, it can be improved.” The last step of any closed-loop marketing system is monitoring your efforts. Without clear analytics, your ability to measure what works and what is failing is nearly impossible. You must be able to track which blog posts are attracting the most highly-qualified leads, which content offers are converting to sales, and which automated lead nurturing emails and producing results. A constant “pruning” may be necessary to maintain optimal performance, but the result is a highly-effecient sales process that generates greater sales and lower wasted time for your sales and marketing team. Measurable Metrics include: Blogging • Organic, Referral & Social Media Traffic • CTA Click Through Rate • New Leads Generated • Quality of Lead Generated Content Offers • CTA Click through Rate • Landing Page “New Contact” Rate • Quality of Leads Generated Email Lead Nurturing • Overall Nurture Rate (TOFU – MOFU) • Email Open Rate • Email Click Through Rate Creating a Closed-Loop Reporting Process • Provides Accountability between sales and marketing departments • Closes the “gaps” and keeps leads in the nurturing process longer, if needed • Identify content that is working, and what is not Understanding Lead Scoring Uses sales team’s time most efficiently Used to identify cool, warm, and hot leads Reduces lead “drop out” within the nurturing process Conclusion This customer-oriented sales process allows the customer to navigate your buying path at their own pace, with minimal, low-pressure sales tactics. Rather than lead with your close, start with by answering the customer’s question, educating them further, and showing how your product is the ideal solution for their need. A customer-focused sales process is efficient, optimized, and highly-profitable. If you would like help designing a marketing blueprint for your brand, I would love to help. Drop me a note and we can schedule a time to talk about your needs and goals.

There are so many possibilities that come to mind, without knowing a lot more about what has lead you to this point, it is hard to offer any actionable advice. The first place I would start investigating is the top of your sales funnel. Are you getting students? Are they just not converting? Are schools just not interested (I don't see this as a viable avenue, but it would be good to know). Are tutors signing up? Are they showing up? You explained a couple different pricing models, none of that matters if no one is coming to the party. I'd be happy to help investigate this and offer insights. If you'd like, schedule a call and we can get started. All the best, -Shaun

It's my opinion that establishing a clear personal brand position and strengthening it in the marketplace is an asset to your employer and yourself. As long as it's not distracting you from delivering on your KPIs, and creating greater positive awareness of your relationship to the business and it's products - you're aiding he business. Many companies can attribute the success of their traction, market positioning and inbound marketing due to the personal brand of its executives. As their brand develops, they can become a powerful beacon and voice for the company. It all comes down to execution, market perception, alignment and positioning.

Assuming, that you're able to effectively communicate to others why your project is a 'tremendous opportunity', then here are some options: - Look up local universities and email the chairperson of whichever programs relate to the type of cofounder you need (i.e. electrical engineering, marketing, etc.). You could even possibly go there in person and put up a sign on a bulletin board.  - There may be relevant Meetups in your area, go there and network with attendees (www.meetup.com).  - If you're specifically looking for engineers, look up local 'hacker' / maker spaces that may exist in your area (see here:https://wiki.hackerspaces.org/List_of_Hacker_Spaces). Also do google searches for local hackathons. - Social Networks: ask your friends and ask them to ask their friends. - Outside your network: --- http://founderdating.com/ --- www.cofounderslab.com --- http://www.joinef.com/ (UK only) --- Linkedin --- https://angel.co/ (AngelList) --- Reddit ----- https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/ ----- https://www.reddit.com/r/startups ----- Or sub-redits specifically relevant to the skill you need

If you’re interested in buying an e-commerce business successfully you need a lawyer that is experienced in M&A both in the deal size and the e-commerce space. You should then look to follow some best practices from other successful deals. My advice first and foremost would be to identify lawyers with relevant experience. Firstly, find attorneys that operate in the same size range as the business in question (e.g. $1M-$5M). The market dynamics and associated legal norms are different at each size range, so its important to get one that is appropriate to the business you are buying or they will frustrate negotiations enormously. The second piece of this is to find one with relevant industry experience. A lot of online business transactions can get into trouble by offline lawyers failing to understand the asset class properly. Make sure your lawyer understands the fundamentals of online businesses and has successful transaction precedents in the space. 2 years of industry specific and 5 years of general transaction history is ideal. Once you have a lawyer you’re happy with, there a couple of practices to follow. Firstly, don’t look to reinvent the wheel. Do not have your lawyer draft legal documents from scratch (and be weary if they suggest this), templates that are customized to the deal terms are absolutely fine and standard. Secondly, you want to ensure your lawyer has a problem-solving mindset from the outset. Rigidity on all deal terms can create major issues towards the closing stages of a deal (legal is usually done after DD is signed off) and quite often deals are killed by lawyers that refuse to negotiate any terms. Its important you and your lawyer adopts a problem solving approach during this key stage of the deal. Happy to answer any other questions you might have in relation to his deal.

I had the same need 6 months ago. I tried 7 legal firms that called themselves "disruptive start-ups" but they could not provide a) timely services b) a modest amount of customer service c) a fixed price or d) any combination of a) b) or c). In the end I went with an established law firm that did provide a), b) and c) but it came at a cost. You get what you pay for.

A convertible note is a possible route. It would provide the owner with a discount to the price set at your next round of funding. For example, assume you give the note holder a 50% discount on your next round. Then your Seed Round sets the price at $10 per share/unit, the note owner would be able to convert their $50,000 for 10,000 shares ($5 per share). You'd have to negotiate more specifics such as interest payments, term length and any assets used as collateral in the event that you end up in bankruptcy. Feel free to reach out with any questions or to set a time to talk.

There is a tremendous amount of buzz surrounding content marketing and its need within a brand’s overall marketing strategy. Doing content marketing is much more than publishing on your blog occasionally and posting your thoughts on social media. “Do stuff and maybe it will work” is not a strategy, it is a gamble. A risky and expensive one, at that. Even so, many brands have yet to create an effective content marketing strategy. What does such a strategy look like? Where are the examples of brands doing it well? Here, I will show you examples of an effective content marketing strategy and offer ways for you to craft your own for your business. What is Content Marketing Content marketing’s purpose is to attract and retain customers by consistently creating and curating relevant and valuable content with the intention of changing or enhancing consumer behavior. It is an ongoing process that is best integrated into your overall marketing strategy, and it focuses on owning media, not renting it. This generation of customers are taking drastic steps to avoid marketing messages. As consumers, we use DVRs to skip television ads, pay internet radio subscription fees to avoid commercials, mentally block out — or use plug-ins to avoid — internet click ads, and gloss over road-side billboards, rendering them useless and ineffective. So how are marketers supposed to combat this shift? Education. Consumers are still buying and making purchases, but the way they go about making a decision has changed. With all of the world’s information at their finger tips, savvy consumers are doing enormous amounts of learning and self-education before stepping into a showroom or talking to a salesperson. Knowing this is a huge opportunity for brands. If you know consumers are looking for information, be the source of that information. Not with sales-y content that puts your priorities before theirs, but information that the buyer really wants and needs. The Marketing and Sales Departments must align to create a buying path for this new era of consumers that provides authentic and transparent information about a product or service (the mission of Marketing) and closing the sale (the mission of Sales). Content marketing closes this gap by using brand-created educational content to satisfy the prospective buyer while helping the sales team convert anonymous visitors into buyers. Thought leaders and marketing experts from around the world, including the likes of Seth Godin and hundreds of the leading thinkers in marketing have concluded that content marketing isn’t just the future, it’s the present (see the video below on the history of content marketing): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OHgMMpGLzk The key ingredient to using content to attract new customers is in the advanced planning. The strategy. What is a Content Marketing Strategy A content marketing strategy is a roadmap; a “User’s Guide” to how your brand will do the following: - Meet the customer at their specific point within their buying cycle - Align the customer’s needs with your knowledge and expertise - Use your brand’s assets to meet these objectives Business-to-Business marketers who have a documented content marketing strategy are 66% more likely to consider themselves effective compared to only 11% of those without a documented strategy. A content marketing plan helps you see the end-game before you have even started. Further, it gives a clear, articulable vision for your entire team and keeps you on track throughout the campaign. Just like New Years resolutions often fade into a foggy memory, our intentions are good – but we allow resolutions to fail. To be successful in any strategy, we need to be intentional. For proper sales and marketing alignment, and for the success of your bottom line, you must have a plan in place. How to Start Your Content Strategy The framework of a content marketing strategy is fairly straight forward: - Who are you targeting? What are their needs? - How are you going to reach them? (Attract new and nurture existing) - What content do you have now to get started? - What is your plan to develop and share more - How will you measure your efforts 1. Personas Take some time to consider who you are targeting. Are they male or female? Does it matter? Do they have a career? Children? Are they affluent? Coupon cutters? What are their goals? What happens if they do not reach them? Is their a monetary penalty for them? Will meeting this goal further their career? Will it make them happy? Clearly defining your targeted personas will save you a lot of time, energy, and money as you continue your business. With this person in mind, your content marketing strategy will begin to fall into place and you will feel that you are having a conversation with this “person”, rather than blindly throwing stuff out there. 2. Outreach Content marketing and social media are often used synonymously. This is a mistake. Content marketing is a broad method of marketing whereas social media is a tool that complements getting your content seen. Imagine your website as your online hub, where all of your brand-controlled content resides, your social media profiles are spokes that lead back to your home base. Social media has the power to reach incredible numbers of potential customers, influencers, existing customers, and even the opportunity to convert customers from competitors. Social media, in and of itself, is not content marketing. It is one of your outreach tools. 3. Available Content Next, take stock of materials you have on hand already. Many of us sit in offices filled with brochures, flyers, handouts, manuals, and documents loaded with helpful information, but we do little to extend that information to potential customers on the web. Make a list of the content available to you immediately and start identifying which persona is most aligned, where they are within their sales process, and what pain point they are currently facing. Getting started, you can use what you have on hand. But I recommend expecting this low-hanging fruit to run out. You should plan on developing your own, unique content. For a number of reasons, search engines reward fresh, unique content. Further, your prospective customers will be looking for information that is not available everywhere. Your unique perspective and “voice” (the tone in which you talk, the way you communicate, and what you share) may be the first experience a prospective customer has with you. This is the beginning of a long business relationship. 4. Schedule and Share Your Content After you have compiled your educational materials, grab a calendar. I recommend looking out 3-4 months to start. Mark holidays, special events, and milestones. Working backwards, prepare your marketing message for these campaigns. For example, one client of ours hosts 4-5 annual sales. They all surround major US holidays (New Years, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving/Black Friday). By knowing this, it is easy for us to prepare everything from banner ads, Pinterest images, blog posts, Facebook Status, videos, and even newspaper ads (don’t shoot the messenger). Once you have those events marked, consider a “theme” of the week for those 3-4 months. With that theme, and your personas in mind, write out the following for each week: - 2 Blog Posts - 8-10 Facebook updates - 20-30 Twitter updates - 4-5 product photos for Pinterest - 3-4 Instagram ideas - 1 Video By no means is this list all-inclusive. It is a starting point to get you thinking about how to plan content. To get a specific content marketing plan designed for your brand, I need to interview you and understand your goals, personas, and timeline. 5. Analytics Finally, how are you going to measure your work? Remember when we set up our goals earlier? Were you specific in identifying how many leads you want to generate? “Get more leads” is a horrible strategy, better is “Gain 50 new leads by September 1st” or “increase from 6% conversion rate to 12% conversion rate” These types of goals are easily measured and tracked. Do you have a mechanism in place to measure, monitor, and gauge your efforts? Further, do you have the right people on your team to help you know what is working and what is not? Can you explain why certain marketing dollars are generating a return on your investment while others fall flat? Final Thoughts Just like runners know the course of the race before they start, your brand should know the route you will take to your finish line. Having a strong content marketing strategy in place will ensure your team is setup for success. I'm happy to help and provide more specifics. All the best, -Shaun

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As the former owner of a web design shop, I can see the appeal of a program like this. The biggest reservation I think a shop owner will have is understanding how you will treat their clients, what expectations have been set, and how much damage control they will have to manage if something goes sideways. Your best bet will be to establish a relationship with these owners so they understand your customer service philosophies, approach, and communication style. I'm happy to help more, feel free to set a call here on Clarity and we can discuss how you might approach them to start this relationship. All the best, -Shaun