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MenuBest resource (book/website/blog/forum) for online marketing for brick and mortar businesses?
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Moz.com is a great resource for any knowledge level. They offer advice spanning from strategic level through to in-depth technical tutorials.
A lot of the online marketing sites as I'm sure you see are geared towards online entrepreneurs. 2 great sites I believe Brick & Mortar business owners can receive great online marketing take-aways are Social Media Examiner & Duct Tape Marketing. Both always have great tips that SMB's can implement in their business.
Here is a great up-to-date guide on Online Marketing that is very insightful. It is provided by Neil Patel and was just released last week. http://www.quicksprout.com/2013/11/07/the-beginners-guide-to-online-marketing/
I consult for a brick & motor family run retail business that has about 50+ stores throughout the country. How can I help?
If you ask me, I will say blogs are more helpful for online marketing for brick and mortar businesses. There are many blogs but most useful among them are as follows:
1. Seth’s Blog: Seth is one of the best marketers of the current age. He has served as the vice president of marketing at Yahoo and served as a consultant for multiple Fortune 500 companies. He is also the author of multiple books on innovation and marketing. His blog is a wisdom-mine. You will always learn something new when you visit his blog. Whether you are planning to market your start-up or working as a marketer, it will help you in both cases.
Topic: Digital marketing as a whole – Permission marketing, performance marketing, organic marketing.
Value: Great for small businessmen and start-up founders.
2. Gary Vaynerchuk’s Blog: Next in our list is Gary Vaynerchuk. If you have been into digital marketing, you must have heard about Gary. He is a pioneer of internet marketing and has built a $60million business just by marketing over the internet. Pre-internet era, Gary’s father had a wine business that was doing simply fine, but not witnessed any major growth. Gary brought it online and started influencer marketing to sell more bottles of wine. From then onwards, there was no looking back. Today, he is one of the most-watched marketers on YouTube. He has authored many books and regularly blogs and produces visual content on his YouTube channel.
Topic: Motivation for start-ups, business plan, start-up mistakes.
Value: Helps young entrepreneurs learn about the things they should avoid in business.
3. Mixergy: Andrew Warner is the man behind Mixergy. People know Andrew for his epic success in the start-up industry when he recorded over $30million in annual sales. He founded his blog so other entrepreneurs can learn and implement the same techniques that he has used. Mixergy regularly carries the best content and publishes interviews with top entrepreneurs and businessmen. Recently, they have started a courses section on the website that tells the beginner entrepreneurs about how to build a successful business from scratch making it one of the best entrepreneurship blogs in 2020.
Topic: Product development, Start-up marketing.
Value: Helps during start-up development and growth stages.
4. Women on Business: Women on Business is a key resource for women entrepreneurs who want to learn A to Z about the science of start-ups. It has everything that a start-up founder would want to learn from creating a feasible business plan to learning about start-up insurance, accounting, and even hiring process – it educates on almost everything related. The blog is active since 2007 and since then it has become a major resource for the female entrepreneurs around the world.
Topic: Start-up, women empowerment, marketing, entrepreneurship.
Value: A dedicated resource for women entrepreneurs.
5. Small Business Trends: Small business trends started in 2003 as a business trend listing website. Many have benefited from it because of the business opportunities it offers. Today, it has become a major trendsetter in the start-up industry itself. It has now a following of over six million readers and counting. This entrepreneurship blog covers almost all major topics from marketing, development, sales, and logistics etc.
Topic: Start-up marketing, product development, sales, and logistics.
Value: Learn the skill sets you need to grow your business. Read the interviews with successful businessmen.
6. Cloud ways Blog: Cloud ways blog provides valuable resources on start-up development, marketing, and ecommerce. Our entrepreneurship blog contains in-depth and detailed posts on a wide range of topics. That is the edge that this blog enjoys. This blog is for budding start-up founders who are just starting out and even to those that have already sustained in the market but are trying to expand their businesses. It has got something for everyone.
Topic: Start-up launch, product development, Start-up marketing, growth hacking, and more.
Value: Provides tips, tricks for entrepreneurs and marketers and inspirational start-up stories for motivation.
7. Brian Solis’ Blog: Brian Solis is an award-winning author, blogger, and keynote speaker. He has studied the patterns of success and the impact of new technologies on the business world. In fact, he has created his wealth by studying and applying the same patterns to his life and then writing about them. Brian is a keynote speaker at many major tech events. His blog is a great resource for advice on customer experience, leadership, and management.
Topic: Industry insights, latest trends in tech.
Value: Learn about the latest industry trends to align your start-up’s focus.
8. Both Sides of the Table: Both Sides of the Table is one resource that guides new start-up founders about fundraising. The start-up magazine is active for the last 10 years and provides actionable advice on the start-up development process. Whether you are a start-up founder or an employee, it can help you in both cases. It is the brainchild of Mark Suster who offers excellent advice for start-up owners and established businessmen, needless to mention one of the best start-up blogs out there.
Topic: Fundraising, Start-up product development, investments, start-up ideas.
Value: Helps you learn about how to properly pitch your start-up to the investors.
9. All Business: All Business is your collection of business and entrepreneurship blogs having expertise in areas ranging from finance to marketing, to sales, and accounting. The diversity in business areas gives it an edge among entrepreneurs and start-up founders. It is not purely a business blog but has become one thanks to the insightful publications it offers. Whether you are looking to find information about your business insurance or applying for a business loan, All Business has something for you.
Topic: Start-up marketing, product development, business, and investments.
Value: Not limited to start-ups. Great resource to learn about the business before indulging in one.
10. Copy Blogger: If you need just one resource for improving your copywriting skills, then Copy Blogger is the resource to follow. Its followers call it the Bible of content marketing. Brian Clark founded Copy Blogger in 2006 and since then it has grown by leaps and bounds. It now earns an 8-figure yearly revenue through courses, eBooks, subscriptions, and premium digital products.
Topic: Copywriting, content marketing, and blogging.
Value: Learn how to make your product sell through the power of words.
11. The Entrepreneurial Mind: Dr. Jeff Cornwall is the man behind The Entrepreneurial Mind, an interactive e-learning platform that focuses on providing in-depth business insights to small business owners. His debates encompass almost everything related to finance and microeconomics. For example, who is the consumer in online education, or why online education courses are all priced at the same price? Jeff also sheds light on personal finance and building a transformational business model.
All in all, it is one business resource to find answers and learn about topics such as growing a business, working with partners, and raising capital.
Topic: Business partnerships, investment opportunities, and finance.
Value: Learn how digital economies are flourishing and creating a name for themselves.
12. Startups.co: Startups.co blog focuses on small start-up and business problems. It features articles on entrepreneurship, start-up mistakes and failures, and interviews of top entrepreneurs and start-up founders. The reason we recommend you read Startups.co is that it is a product of Clarity.fm, a mentorship platform. So, those who do not have the budget to subscribe to Clarity.fm, can also read some of the topics those mentors discuss.
Topic: Small start-up problems, start-up mistakes, start-up failures.
Value: Helps entrepreneurs learn the dos and don’ts of entrepreneurship.
13. Under 30 CEO: Under 30 CEO is not just an entrepreneurial blog focusing on start-ups and entrepreneurship, it has something for everyone trying to beat unproductivity. The purpose if this blog is to feature successful people who are still under 30. With that said, the blog focuses on highlighting their core strengths, so that others can follow and do the same. Sometimes it focuses on freelancers, sometimes, start-up owners, and sometimes investors. The reason why it is helpful for entrepreneurs is that they can learn a lot about the types of businesspeople usually do and realign their own business strategy.
Topic: Productivity, Best business practices, Start-up growth hacking.
Value: Learn from start-up founders who are under 30 but offer some crucial advice for success.
14. Start-up Mindset:
Start-up Mindset is a blog for all start-up founders who are just starting their businesses. It features content on start-up topics such as business growth, leadership, money, finance, and technology. The blog has been publishing start-up content regularly for last eight years and is a prime resource for most entrepreneurs.
Topic: Growth, leadership, money patterns, and tech trends.
Value: Perfect for those who are just starting their business.
15. 500 Start-ups: 500 Start-ups is a venture fund and start-up accelerator based out of China. Dave McClure and Christine Tsai are the people behind this initiative. So far it has invested in more than 1600 companies around 60 countries. The company also runs a regular blog on start-up management and funding. It has a separate team for the blog that provides thorough and in-depth articles on growth hacking, marketing, venture based funding, and product development.
Topic: Start-up marketing, growth hacking, fundraising, and product development.
Value: For those who want to learn start-up marketing.
16. Smart Hustle: Smart Hustle is a print and online magazine focusing on start-up owners’ interviews, blogs, and tips. They publish it on a quarterly basis as a print and digital magazine.
The reason it is called ‘smart hustle’ is that it features the journey of hustle for every entrepreneur. It also features a smart hustle conference every year featuring top business executives.
Topic: Start-up interviews, start-up marketing.
Value: Learn about part-time entrepreneurs and how they juggle their jobs with their side hustle.
17. Marketing and Entrepreneurship: Marketing and Entrepreneurship blog is founded by Larry Kim, the person behind Word Stream and Mobile Monkey. Basically, this blog is a compilation of blogs on entrepreneurship taken from other different blogs. The purpose of this curated blog is to bring all resources to a single place, so entrepreneurs do not have to search around the web to get the information that they want.
Topic: Start-up marketing, product development, business growth.
Value: If you have time to read only one resource, go with this one.
18. The Start-up: Medium is one channel that offers content on multiple resources. Most publications simply repurpose content and post it on Medium while others create content specifically for the website. The answer is simple, it is now one of the top 500 websites and people are really reading content on it. That’s why SWLH (The Start-up) creates posts specifically on Medium. It posts regular content answering burning questions of start-up founders. Whether you want to know about business trends, Blockchain, fundraising, marketing, or something else, the Start-up (medium based blog) has it for you.
It has over 350,000 subscribers as of now and self-claims to be the ‘biggest’ start-up publication on Medium.
Topic: Start-up marketing, finance, Blockchain, fundraising.
Value: Start-up focused blog with over 350,000 subscribers on medium.
19. Start-up Digest: Start-up Digest offers a curated list of articles on all things start-up. Developed as part of the experiment to create curated start-up digest for Indian entrepreneurs, the blog focuses on interviews, tips, questions related to finance, accounting, and marketing.
Topic: Start-up problems, questions about entrepreneurship, finance, and accounts.
Value: Focuses on Indian start-up entrepreneurs.
20. Start-up Grind: Start-up Grind is a project of Google that focuses on UGC articles on start-up and entrepreneurship. It aims to inspire, educate, and connect entrepreneurs from around the world on a single platform. The Start-up Grind blog features success stories and interviews of top start-up founders in over 150 countries where Google for Entrepreneurs is working.
Topic: Start-up marketing, fundraising, investor pitching, start-up ideas.
Value: Real-life stories of top business executives and entrepreneurs.
21. Candy Bar Blog: The CandyBar Blog is a collection of useful stories for small and medium-sized business owners, with a strong focus on those who operate in the brick and mortar world: restaurants, cafés, florists, SPAs, retail, pet stores, etc. The blog provides a good mix between actionable marketing and sales tips, market trends, offline to online transition as well as their Merchant Stories collection, a series about small business owners, their successes and struggles, where they feature real stories from real people. Candy Bar is a tool that allows brick and mortar merchants to set up and run customer loyalty programs.
Topic: SMB Tips & Tricks, Customer Loyalty, Marketing and Sales
Value: Exploring customer loyalty and happiness
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
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