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Congratulations on deciding to write a blog. It can be daunting, staring at a blank page wondering where to start. But writing search engine optimized (SEO) blog articles is a great way to generate a steady stream of high-value leads to your website without having to spend a ton on advertising.

But not just any content will do. The last thing you want is to spend hours or days researching and writing a post that gets five or so views a month. Great content is only great if it gets results.

That's why I'm going to show you how to write a blog post that ranks on Google and, more importantly, grows your business.

How do I know this process works? Because I've used it repeatedly to rank for keywords and phrases in the top ten positions on Google. So, let's get started.

What is a blog post?

A blog post is an article that's published in the blog section of a website. It can be a how-to guide, news piece, event announcement, or podcast link. It covers a specific topic in detail and can range anywhere from 600 to 3,000+ words.

A great post educates and delivers value while also entertaining the readers. It answers your target audience's questions, demonstrates your expertise, builds your credibility, and it can boost your revenue.

To do that, it needs to rank on Google. And for the blog content to rank, it will need to include some, if not all, of the following:

• Images (e.g., an infographic)
• Some form of downloadable intellectual property (IP) (e.g., a template, worksheet, guide, or data)
• Informational or entertaining videos
• Interactive charts

Some posts perform better than others. It all depends on your market segment. What might be the go-to style of blog writing for one niche market could crash and burn in another.

So if you're new to writing a blog post, you need to research your niche to be sure you're crafting content in the format your audience prefers.

Here are a few types of popular blog post ideas:

• The "How-to" post (e.g., How To Write A Lead Nurturing Email Sequence). The purpose of this type of blog post is to explain step by step how to do something, like baking a cake or building a website. It gives the reader the tools and instructions they need to execute effectively.
• The "What is" post (e.g., What Is Direct Response Marketing?) This type of post aims to educate and inform its audience about a particular topic.
• The "Pillar topic" post (e.g., Business Systems 101). A pillar article is the main topic you want to rank for. The purpose of a pillar blog post is to teach. Typically a long article, a pillar post covers the topic in-depth, is packed with valuable information, examples, processes, and much more.
• The "List-based" post (e.g., 9 Steps To Build A Sophisticated Marketing Plan). Checklist blog posts break down the items you need or steps you have to take to fulfill a task, such as writing a LinkedIn post or sculpting your abs. It's simple, straightforward, and effective.

Now that you know the types of blog articles to write, how do you ensure that your blog post gets read.

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What makes a good blog post? (7 key elements)

Understanding how to write a blog post is only the start of your writing journey. More importantly, is how to write a GREAT blog post.

Blogging is all about solving a problem in an engaging and compelling way. Your blog post needs to answer the questions, Why would my audience care about this topic? and What do I need to do to keep them reading?

If you want to write a great blog post, here's what you need to do.

1. Target a niche audience

If you've been a part of your target audience, then you know their struggles. You've experienced,  and hopefully, have overcome those challenges yourself. So you'd know better than anyone else what to write about and what information to share. When you write about a topic that you're intimately familiar with, that's how you build a relationship with your readers and win their trust.

Also, you want to target your niche because those are the people who are most likely to buy your products or services. That's the end goal, right—to sell!

So, if you target everyone, you'll be attracting the wrong kind of traffic to your website. While it might feel good to boost your traffic numbers, if they're not potential leads, your article is essentially a dud.

2. Focus on the pain points early and provide a solution

Start with a bang. You want to get your readers to self-identify immediately. Remember, when you're in pain, you want pain relief. Your post needs to be the aspirin to their headache. So draw them in by stating the problem or challenge and explain how you'll share your secrets to solving it.

If you've done your keyword research, you’ll know that your keyword needs to appear in the opening sentence.

3. Add an intriguing or compelling headline

Believe it or not, headlines can mean the difference between someone reading your post or clicking out of your site.  Search engines don't like it when readers do that. It's a warning signal that your content sucks (even though it may not).

While there are dedicated sites and tons of advice online on how to write a great headline, the best advice I can give you is to answer your target audience's questions.

In fact, a recent study revealed that 14.1% of all Google searches are in the form of a question. With "How" blog posts averaging 8.07% of all searches and "What" posts averaging 4.3%.

So once you settle on the type of post you're going to write, come up with roughly ten potential headlines. Sure, you'll discard most of them, but you'll want to use a different headline for your title tag and article headline.

Here are a few examples of great headlines:

• 33 non-sucky subject lines for emails that people actually open and read
• A little mistake that cost this business owner $85,000
• Direct response copywriting: 7 vital ways to ensure your copy hits the spot and closes the sale
• How to win back dormant customers using an email reactivation campaign

Remember, a great headline solves a problem and brings a little personality or intrigue. Go on, give it a try.

4. Grab your reader's attention

How you write your blog post directly impacts the time your readers spend reading your words. You need to include keywords, to be SEO compliant, and make it gripping. If there’s no hook, your readers won't read your post.

They want to be entertained, to laugh, or to be shocked. So here are a few writing top tips:

• Use original analogies. Cliches are overdone. People want something new; so give it to them.
• Don't be afraid to tell a story. Everybody loves a good story.
• Add personality to your writing. Think about the books you love to read. What is it about the writing that keeps you coming back for more? Maybe it's humor or a self-deprecating tone. Pay attention to the way your audience responds to you.
• Write so a 14-year-old can understand what you're saying. That means short, snappy sentences. Forget the jargon or high-brow language.
• Use an active voice. A passive voice will put you to sleep. Here’s an example of an active voice. Millions of people love chocolate. Now, if I were to write in a passive voice, it would look something like this. Chocolate is loved by millions of people.
• Treat your writing like a conversation. Imagine you're sitting at a coffee shop having lunch with a friend. How would you share your story? That's what you want to keep in mind when writing. Your readers want to feel like they're having a casual conversation with a friend they know, like, and trust, not like they're sitting in an auditorium being lectured to.

5. Meet the word count

This is a tricky subject. No offense, but the typical online user has the attention span of a gnat unless, of course, they find something that intrigues them. Then they have all the time in the world. So what does this have to do with word count?

If you want to stand any chance of getting eyes on your article, it needs to rank in search engines. To do that, it needs to meet the average number of words for that keyword. If that's 600, lucky you. If that's 4,760, you've got your work cut out for you.

Your writing needs to maintain a rhythm without adding words for the sake of word count. A good idea is to add a “contents” section to your blog. Your reader can use it to skip ahead to related topics.

For example, say your post topic is What is a target audience? If you've done your keyword research, you'll know that you also need to answer the questions:

• What is the difference between a target audience and target market?
• Why do you need to define your target audience?
• How do you find your target audience?

So make sure when you're writing blog posts that you address all relevant points.

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6. Add images (designed, not stock visuals)

People consume information in very different ways. Some prefer written text, others like video, and some engage best with visual content. To craft a winning blog post, it's never a bad idea to include all three.

Added to this, Google indexes images, making it another way for readers to find your blog articles. But whatever you design, the visual must include your logo or website URL.

It also needs to be shareable. Look at the visuals that perform well on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. They're not cheesy stock visuals. They’re often illustrations or a beautiful photographs of a scene with an inspirational quote or thought.

You can also use images to break down complex tasks into simple, easy-to-follow visual steps. For example, how to write a marketing plan or how to build a website.

So use images to draw attention to essential stats, processes, ideas, or simply to give the reader a breather.

7. Include a call to action

What do you want the reader to do next? Google wants to see a conversion, and simply reading the post doesn't qualify. You need the readers to take some sort of action.

Adding a call to action is an opportunity to get readers to opt into your email list, download a lead magnet, request a quote, enroll in your course, whatever. This equals dollars in your bank account so make sure you're adding a content upgrade to your post.

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And mix it up. You'll want to include multiple CTAs throughout your blog post. I like to position these just after the introduction, in the middle of the blog, and at the end. This means that I don't lose any readers who jump off within the first few seconds.

Every blog post should include a CTA to join your newsletter and either download a free piece of content or purchase a product or service.

So those are the bones of a good blog post. Now, let's discuss why you want to write a post for your readers.

Why write a blog post? (5 excellent reasons)

There are many reasons why writing a blog post is good for business. Most of these I've mentioned before, but to recap, here's why you want to publish blog articles.

1. It demonstrates your expertise and boosts your credibility.

By sharing advice based on actual experiences, you build trust with your readers. You're also able to bring something new to your market. So much of what's online is regurgitated fluff.

Readers are hungry for new ideas and ways of doing things. When you show proof that you get results, you build your authority and credibility.

2. It attracts and drives high-value traffic to your website.

Blogging is an opportunity to drive qualified traffic or leads to your site. These are your niche readers. They're typing questions into Google for which you have the answers. Your goal is to get them to take a look at your blog posts.

If you publish quality content that delivers a result in advance, you'll become their go-to source for advice and help.

3. It helps you to rank in search engines.

Every blog post is a chance to rank in the top ten for search terms. And before you ask, Does it matter whether or not your writing ranks? Yes, it does.

You want your writing to rank because, to a search engine, you become a trusted source, and this boosts your domain authority.

Publishers and other businesses are more likely to link back to your content, ask you for an interview, or submit a contributor piece.  This means you get exposed to readers who might have not ever heard of your business otherwise.

So, you get more leads and potential customers.

4. It increases your conversion rate and grows your company revenue.

Using your blog to upsell a product or service is a great way to increase your company revenue.

For example, say someone is looking up the benefits of business coaching. You've created a blog that covers that and includes a call-to-action to determine if they'd be a good fit for your coaching program. They click the CTA link, fill in the form, and one of your team members contacts them to learn more about their business, the challenges they face, and where you could help them to level up.

They're impressed and decide to hire you. If you hadn’t created this blog post, they may never have learned of your coaching services and hired you. So blogging is an ideal way to grow your company revenue.

5. It provides content that you can repurpose.

If you're thinking about starting a blog for your business, chances are you already have active social accounts. Sometimes knowing what to say on a Facebook post can be challenging. But not anymore.

Most blogs are long-form. If you cover multiple related topics to your keywords in your blogs, you can repurpose this content for social media, a book, course, even webinars.

You want to use a multi-approach to the media because not everyone consumes information in the same way. So there can be people in your target audience who only ever read Instagram posts or watch YouTube videos. By repurposing your content, you reach a wider audience.

Now that you know the five reasons you want to write a blog post, let's look at how to write a blog post that readers can't wait to share.

Blogging for beginners: 12 best practices for writing blog posts that convert

Every blog writer is unique, and what works for some may not work for others. My advice, use this blogging methodology to get you started. As you create more blogs, you'll begin to develop a writing process that works for you.

Here’s my step-by-step method on how to write a blog post:

1. Build your content plan

A content plan is a spreadsheet of topics your audience is interested in. It lays out the strategy you'll use for writing and promoting your blog content in the coming months.

Your content plan needs to cater to the different buyer journeys. Remember, not everyone in your target market is ready to buy immediately. Some might just be looking to educate themselves. Others might only be interested in your basic plan, whereas a few will want to purchase your premium solution.

So when building out your content plan, you want to craft articles that answer your readers' questions at each stage in the buying process.

Keep in mind the following:

• Whom will you be writing for? You want to create topic clusters based on the different needs of your target audience at every stage of their buying journey.
• What are their burning questions? A great way to build out ideas is to answer your clients’ frequently asked questions. These are the questions they type into Google every day. Start listing these FAQs in your content plan. If you're stumped, you need to do market research. Arrange to speak with your top customers, send a questionnaire to your email list, check out social channels or forums to see what your ideal customer is talking about. Figure out why they buy and why they would buy from you.
• Based on your research, brainstorm content ideas. I explain how to infiltrate your target audience here. Check it out.

Let’s talk about the bones of your content plant. It’ll be broken into topic clusters, pillar articles, and cluster content, with internal links pointing from the cluster content to the pillar article.

Important terminology

• Topic cluster - The broad topic you want to rank for. It focuses on a specific buyer journey.
• Pillar article - The main topic or keyword you want to rank for.
• Sub-topic / Cluster content - A keyword-relevant article that supports (is related to) the pillar article. These can be short 600 - 1000 word articles.
• Hyperlinks - Internal links from the pillar article to the cluster content to build broad search engine authority.

For example, your content plan could look something like this:

• Topic cluster: small business marketing
• Pillar article: What is direct response marketing and why it works?
• Cluster content:
• 8 Characteristics of a direct response ad
• Emotional direct response copywriting
• Powerful examples of direct response marketing
• What are direct response emails?

Make sure you develop smaller articles around your content plan.

2. Choose a topic that interests your ideal target audience

Before you sit down to write your blog article, you need to choose a topic that engages your readers. If you've already fleshed out your content plan, then select a topic from there.

Make sure it appeals to your readers' wants and needs.

For example, if you’re a specialist cycling shop, you could create a listicle type blog post that details the items a beginner cyclist will need to start off-road cycling. The blog would include a freebie downloadable checklist that the reader can print and bring to a store to check off their purchase items.

3. Identify your focus keyword or phrase

The keyword or phrase is the topic you want to rank for. It's what your readers (potential customers) are searching for each month. This keyword will need to be included in your title tag, article headline, and throughout your blog.

Keyword research is crucial because you want to select a keyword that receives a lot of organic traffic. Remember, organic traffic equals high-value leads.

Choosing something obscure with minimal traffic signals that your readers aren't interested in that topic. So don't waste your time blogging about it.

What is worth considering is the type of keyword you attempt to rank for. Neil Patel found that it's easier to rank for questions or long-tailed keywords than it is to rank for two-word keywords.

For example, by zeroing in on beginner cyclist tips, we can see the potential to get 3,500 organic searches for this topic each month.

The keyword cyclist tips is searched 6,600 times a month. It’s a popular search term which means other sites will be competing for it.

Bike riding tips for beginners receive far less traffic, so this could be a great long-tailed keyword to try and rank for if you’re new to blogging. Your domain authority won’t negatively impact your chance of appearing in the top 10.

Once you've finished with your keyword research, you need to take things a step further.

4. Research

Having identified the topic you want to write about, it's time to see which blogs rank for that keyword and why. AHREFS, Neilpatel.com, and , are all excellent for researching popular keywords.

I'm using Surfer SEO as an example. The image below shows you the top five blog articles ranking on Google for that keyword. These are organic competitors. Here are some of the site benefits:

• It gives you the Title text, URL, and meta-description.
• It also shows the content score out of 100 for that keyword. This number represents how relevant the information within the blog is and the quality of writing. The first article has a ranking of 88 out of 100.
• The following number is the domain authority of the site. It's ranked out of 10, with eight and above high scores.
• And it also shows the article’s word count. SurferSEO will then give you an average word limit to target.

Your goal must be to read at least the top three articles. See what topics they cover. What are the H2 and H3 tags? How many images do they include? Is there an opt-in?

You don't need an SEO program to help you optimize your blog post, but it will massively reduce your research time. For example, includes a SurferSEO includes a BRIEF section listing topics and questions you need to cover.

It also lists words that need to appear in your blog, as well as where they need to appear. For example, the algorithm might say you need to mention the focus keyword every 150 words. Or that the word bike should occur at least 24 times in your blog article. Knowing this helps you to draft your blog post outline.

4. Create a blog outline

Some call it an outline. I prefer the term skeleton structure. It's a rough outline of what you want to write. You’ll want to develop a process that works best for you. Here’s what I like to do:

• Create your skeleton draft (outline).
• Write the headline or post title.
• Determine the H2 and H3 header sections. These are the subtopic ideas that you'll need to flesh out. For example, it could answer the question How do I get better at cycling? And What is a good cycling distance for beginners?
• Within each H2 and H3 section, list keywords or topic ideas that you want to cover. You also want to include some relatable story that makes your readers sit up and say, Yup, this is for me.
• Are you offering a free download? Determine where you'll include this CTA and any others you'd like to drive the reader to.
• Add your conclusion. A conclusion needs to wrap up the gist of your blog post. It should highlight the main points and give the reader something to do. For example, if the post speaks about how to make choux pastry, the conclusion should tell the reader to try it and share their feedback. Was it a success? Can they share their finished product as an image on social? This creates meaningful engagements which lead to social shares and drives organic traffic to your post.

Remember, the purpose of an outline is to show you exactly what information to cover in your post. It makes the process of writing your first draft much easier.

5.  Write your first draft

Now it's time to start writing and flesh out your outline. Again, every writer has a unique process.

I like to edit as I write. So I'll work on a section until I feel it's 95% perfect. Other bloggers prefer just to write and get their rough draft done. Then they'll go back over their writing and finesse it.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind.

Set yourself a deadline

Most writers work best on a deadline. You know you need to have completed keyword research by this date, a draft by another date, etc. Adding a deadline means you have to get your act together and get things done.

Block off time to write

It can easily take an hour to get into a writing zone, so block off a day just to write. It'll take you far longer to complete your blog if you're allocating an hour here and there.

Leave your headline until last

Writing headlines is an art form. It takes skill. Not only do you need to entice your readers, but you also have to answer to search engines.

So you need to include your keywords in the headline and make it clickbait-able. I’ll only finalize the headline once the first draft is completed. I don't necessarily know how many steps or points I'll share, so leave your headline until last.

Craft a compelling introduction

The best bloggers craft an introduction that readers literally cannot look away from.

Think of a car accident. A truck ploughs into a 4x4. You know it's a gruesome scene. Somebody has likely died. But still, you've slowed down to 5 miles an hour—not to be safe but so you can crane your neck and eyeball the damage.

So you want your introduction to be unmissable because if it's not, your readers won’t keep reading. Make sure your introduction includes your keywords in the opening line, states the problem you'll solve, and contains a little story.

Add interesting stats (data your readers can trust)

Readers love data. It gives your advice or suggestions credibility. For example, why would I take up email writing just because you say I should. But if you include a stat like email marketing generates $38 for every $1 spent, well, you've got my attention.

The thing is, you need reputable information. If only 100 people were surveyed, taking data as the gospel truth isn't concrete evidence that the wider population shares those opinions. So make sure you check your facts.

• Who conducted the research?
• How many people took part in the focus group or survey?
• Are they part of the target market?
• Was evidence given to confirm the claims made? For example, did the report show examples of different company's campaign results? Don't blindly accept information—question everything.

Give away stuff for free

Let's be honest. People love free stuff. Whether that's a coupon, free trial, eBook, t-shirt, whatever, people love it. IP intellectual property is just as powerful. It's something you own and can brand. It could be a:

• Guide to blogging
• Checklist
• Template for building out your content plan or writing your first press release
• List of the best performing subject lines
• Video series

It gets leads to opt into your website. From there, you just need to market to them until they buy. So make sure you're grabbing your readers’ attention with a free giveaway.

Be prepared to walk away

Writer's block is a reality. There will be times when it feels like you've vomited nonsense onto the page. Step away and do something else. Trying to push through will only result in frustration and feeling like you've achieved nothing that day.

Double-check the final document

Once you've finished writing, you want to re-read your blog post and ask yourself the following:

• Have you answered the question?
• Does it flow? Is there any area where the writing is clunky or disjointed? Are there sentences that you can break up or shorten?
• Have you used transition words?
• Are your subheadings distributed evenly?
• Is it in your company's voice?
• Is it written in first-person narration and second-person narration? We want to address the audience directly, so use words like you and your.
• Have you broken up large chunks of texts? Walls of text are scary for most readers. It feels overwhelming, and this can be a turnoff. Instead, you want to use bullet points, numbers, bold, and italics to break the content into bite-size pieces of information which are easy to digest.

Use Grammarly to help you iron out confusing sentences, incorrect grammar, spelling mistakes, and get rid of plagiarized sentences.

Don't be afraid to reorganize your outline

If you think a topic needs to come higher up, move it. If something feels unnecessary, cut it. Basically, if you're questioning why you've included something, it probably doesn't need to be there.

6. Optimize your blog post using an SEO tool like SurferSEO or Page Optimizer Pro

The best way to optimize your blog post is to use a content editor like SurferSEO. It highlights words and phrases you need to cover in your article, and it will give you a content score out of 100, so you know where improvements can be made.

Here's how you can make sure your blog post is SEO compliant:

• Does it link to your pillar article?
• Does it meet the word limit?
• Have you met the header and bolded text count?
• Have you used enough images? Again, images can break up walls of black and white text.
• Have you ticked most of the keywords? (SurferSEO gives you the keywords that need to appear in your blog post. They will turn green once you’ve met the count for that particular word. See the image below.)
• Are there any keywords that you’ve used too much (in red)? Can you replace some of these with similar words?

7. Edit your writing

The best editors don't write. They specialize in taking your shiny blog post and turning it into a masterpiece. They'll identify where you need to build on a statement, or remove something. They'll pick up grammar and spelling mistakes or deviations from your copywriting style guide.

But if you can't afford an editor, consider purchasing a subscription to Grammarly. It'll do much of the legwork that an editor would. You can also use Hemingways Editor to determine the reading level of your writing. It'll help you to rewrite complex sentences, so they're more readable.

Top tip: If you can't afford an editor, give yourself a day or two between completing the final draft and editing it. You need fresh eyes to edit, and you're more likely to miss obvious mistakes if you immediately dive into editing.

8. Design images for your blog

Long-form blogs need images. Even short-form blogs should include a picture.

Images form a vital component of your blog article. Visuals draw the reader in, break up walls of text, highlight important points or ideas, and explain complex ideas. Plus, Google indexes them.

So be sure to add designed visuals. You can use a program like Canva to create professional-looking visuals without needing a design degree.

9. Format your blog and write your SEO title, slug, and meta description

Once your images and copy deck is approved, place your article into the Content Management System and format it.

• Format it into H1, H2, H3 tags, etc.
• Add in your images and fill in the alt text (alternative text).
• Check all hyperlinks work.
• Include CTAs in your post.
• Write an SEO title that differs from your blog headline.
• Write an enticing meta-description that encourages the reader to click to learn more. Don't assume they will. Include some sort of instruction like, “See for yourself; click to find out more.”
• Choose a featured image for social sharing.
• Add the publishing date.

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10. Hit Publish

Once you've completed your checks, publish the post. Do a final once-over to ensure all links are opening in new tabs and to make sure the opt-ins work.

11. Add internal links to your blog article

Until your blog goes live, you can't add internal links. But make no mistake, internal linking is a vital part of writing. It says to Google that it's an important topic. So straight after publishing your post, add five to 10 internal links to your new blog post.

Then submit it to Google Search Console. This allows your blog to be crawled and hopefully for search engines to start sending organic traffic your way.

12. Promote your blog post on social media

Lastly, you want to promote your blog post on social media. Share it on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Create a similar article on LinkedIn and include a backlink to the original post. The more social shares, the more likely it is for your blog post to be found online.

So that's my exact process on how to write a blog post that doesn't just rank. It also gets read and shared. Now let's take a quick look at some of the tools new bloggers and seasoned ones need to succeed.

Tools every blogger needs to write a great blog post

Take a look at the following must-have tools:

• Make sure to use Grammarly to check spelling and grammar.
• You can also use Hemingways Editor to determine the reading level of your writing.
• Optimize your article with a tool like SurferSEO or Page Optimizer Pro.
• AHREFS and Quora are great for researching topic ideas.

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And that's how to write a post

It doesn't matter if you're new to blogging or you’ve been blogging for years. Following these steps will help you to bring your A-game to every blog post you write.

Remember, it’s about drawing your readers in, piquing their interest early, and giving them something valuable to take away and a reason to come back for more.

Do you really need a business process?

As a startup, probably not. But as your organization grows and takes on bigger accounts or hires new employees, business processes become crucial to productivity, efficiency, and achieving your business goals.

But do you actually know what a business process is or why they're necessary for growing and sustaining a successful business?

Don't worry. This article will bring you up to speed quickly and help you build your internal business processes. So let's get started.

What is a business process?

A business process is a system or structure an organization implements to produce a specific outcome. It outlines the exact series of steps each employee must take to achieve a particular goal and consistent results.

Every task in a business process is defined and documented in a Standard Operation Procedure (SOP). Mapping out a good process requires the input of the team members who'll use the system. Once you have an effective business process, your employees will be more productive and require less management. Most importantly, they'll produce value.

So what would you use a business process for?

Everything, really. From onboarding new employees to sending out customer invoices to writing an email lead nurturing sequence, you need business processes. It's what keeps your business running smoothly.

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Is business process management the same as a business process?

The short answer is no. A business process is a series of interrelated tasks organizations use to achieve a business goal.

The purpose of business process management (BPM) is to improve business processes and more readily achieve business goals. It requires management to review and assess all processes to determine the most efficient way of doing things.

For example,

• What tasks can be automated, what tools do they need to achieve this, and which are manual (requiring human intervention)?
• Where are there delays?
• Why do they consistently see breakdowns in certain phases of a process, etc.?

After using BMP to analyze a process, it's up to management to refine the workflow.

But while processes are vital to expanding and escaping your business, they can cost a lot and demand more resources than a company can afford. In this case, a process will often be outsourced.

For example, a small business with fewer than five employees might outsource its accounting or legal needs to a third party. This is known as business process outsourcing.

Why are business processes so important?

Creating a well-documented and repeatable business process is what sets your business up for rapid business growth. Here are just four ways it positively impacts your business.

1. Automation

Automating specific tasks allows you, the owner, to take a break from your business without worrying that things will fall apart. It also makes your day-to-day role much more manageable because your time is freed up to go after bigger customers and take bigger risks.

And let's be honest, your business would run more efficiently without you handling everything.

2. Consistent Experience

It ensures your customers receive a consistent experience when using your service or product. This is key when scaling your business.

You want to deliver value and do it consistently. Look at the processes you can automate. For example, an email welcome message for new subscribers and an automated thank you message when someone purchases a product.

The development of these supporting processes is crucial in delivering a personalized experience.

3. Attracts investors

It's also very attractive to potential investors. Exiting your business will be your biggest payday, but only if you have processes in place.

Investors want to purchase a well-oiled machine that only requires a little maintenance. If the running of your business resides in your memory banks, you'll never sell it.

4. Easy To Follow Process

But most importantly, it's the gold standard for how things should be done in your organization. Your employees feel empowered because they're not reliant on you for approval at every stage in a task. They take responsibility for their tasks.

Management spends less time policing and more time improving management processes (goal-setting, planning, implementing, and executing activities to achieve a positive ROI). And it improves efficiency across the organizational structure.

And a key to building world-class processes is to automate.

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Why do you need business process automation?

Technology augments your abilities. Think Tony Stark. He's a billionaire playboy genius philanthropist. But with a bit of help from technology, he becomes Iron Man. A badass superhero capable of saving the day.

Organizations use business process automation to enhance and streamline their operations. Leaders love automation because it frees up their time to focus on management processes.

It reduces costs (software takes on the role of certain tasks), there is less need for manual intervention (which reduces the potential for things to go wrong), and your people are more efficient and productive (so it enhances output).

A great example of business process automation is your marketing system. Things like website opt-in forms, email lead nurturing sequences, calendar bookings, and payment gateways continue to work while you sleep.

These are supporting processes that you create once and then don't need to think about again, giving you the freedom to shift from self-employed to entrepreneur.

Types of business processes

Regardless of industry, virtually every facet of running an organization should have a business process.  From invoicing customers to employee onboarding processes, the development of these processes makes doing business much more straightforward. They give your business credibility and are crucial to customer satisfaction.

Here are a few types of business processes, but this list is by no means exhaustive:

• Human resources process
• Marketing process
• Sales process
• Accounting process
• Affiliate programs or JV process
• Product development process
• Recruitment process
• Direct mail process

An example of a business process

Business processes can be found in every successful company. Here’s what a client onboarding process might look like:

Step 1: A lead fills in a web form.

You create a form on your website specifically for warm leads interested in working with you. It captures the following information:

• First name and last name
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Business name
• Tell us a bit about your business

Step 2: Management assesses the lead and reaches out over email.

Management or sales receives the email and follows a series of checks. For example, they might check out the potential client's website and social media channels. If the company falls into the list of organizations they work with, they'll send a follow-up Q&A email.

It's a personalized deep-dive into their business. So it will establish how many people work for the company, how long they've been in business, annual turnover, etc.

This helps them to determine if the organization in question is a good fit.

Step 3: If the lead meets specific criteria, arrange a Discovery Call.

After reviewing all the data, you'll know if this is a serious prospect. Now, you have the expertise to understand what this organization is doing well and where they need improvement.

Nail down goals and objectives. Explain where you can deliver value, how you provide support, and what resources they expect from you.

In my business, not only do my clients get access to my advisors, but I also give them all my SOPs. This is my intellectual property handed over on a silver platter to implement directly into their business so they can start seeing results. But I don't work with just anyone. So this discovery call is a vital step in my customer onboarding process.

Step 4: Draft a contract.

You'll likely have a standard contract already drawn up. But based on discussions, you'll need to adjust it to support your new client's needs.

Include details about deliverables, terms of payment, company policies, and other essential details. Make sure everyone that needs a copy of the contract gets one. This could be your legal team, IT, and other departments.

Step 5: Prepare your team.

Every employee that will be handling the new client and their project must be appraised. Communicate your new client’s goals to the team and decide who will handle what.

You don't want to be fielding questions about your service or product all day. So this is a great time to decide on the point of contact (the first stop for all your client’s questions or concerns). I have business and marketing advisors on my team, but for you, it might be an account manager or support.

Make sure you've defined who does what in your operations manual.

Step 6: Arrange a welcome meeting.

Introduce your new client to the team that will be working on their account. Explain who handles each part of a project and clearly outline the project plan.

Go over goals again. If you use particular software or tools to contact your customers, you need to demo these products and get them set up. For instance, I use Slack to stay in touch with my clients and Calendly to book calls. So I'll get each set up on Slack, and they'll get access to my coaching calendar to book a call with me.

This is just one way I'm able to enhance their experience and deliver greater value.

Remember, using a business process like this can increase customer satisfaction. Where human intervention is not required, automate. It simplifies processes and reduces human error. The next step is to build your first business process. Here's how.

How to build an efficient business process within an organization

1. Start with goal setting.

Define your goals for each task in a process and decide what you want to achieve.  It might be to streamline operations, improve performance, and free up management to focus on growing your business.

2. Plan your process.

Once you've defined your goals, start planning your process. This often requires group discussions with all stakeholders involved in a process.

Who will work on what and when? What software is needed to achieve your goals? Something like Asana, a productivity management tool, could be massively helpful to your people when determining each step in your business process.

3. Map it out.

Now that you've identified your process workflow, map it out. Jot down what resources you need. Who does what and when? What tools are necessary? And any other important element.

Then analyze each step. What can be improved? What takes up the most time or requires the most resources? Can you include examples to help simplify the process? This all needs to be considered when creating your business process.

4. Assign each task in a process.

To implement your process, delegate which tasks your employees will handle and which tasks you can automate.

5. Test the process.

Try a dummy test. This is your chance to catch mistakes and discrepancies early and adjust accordingly.

6. Implement.

That's right, get your process up and running.

7. Monitor the results, review, and revise accordingly.

The first step to improving your processes is to pay attention to them. Just because things are getting completed, doesn't mean the processes are optimized.

Suboptimal processes cost your business money, and they waste resources and time. Work might be duplicated or not done at all, and deadlines may be missed.

Check in with your team and see if they have any helpful suggestions. By monitoring new processes, you're able to create better ways of doing things and, in turn, deliver value.

8. Repeat at scale.

Pretty much everything in your organization should have a business process, so once you've identified a gold standard process, roll it out at scale.

Key Terms

Business process mapping: Like a map shows you how to get from point A to point B, business process mapping visually details each step within an organization's operations.

For example, you might represent the process of writing and publishing a blog post or resolving conflict with customers in a workflow chart.

Use business process mapping to optimize operational procedures and ensure everyone in the company has visibility into how things get done. Remember, mapping makes the business process model possible.

‍Operational processes: Also known as core or primary processes, operational business processes are essential to delivering value to your customers. Core processes are the activities that keep your business up and running. Think of the things you do on a day-to-day basis that would halt your business if they didn’t happen. Those are your core processes.

Knowing which processes are necessary to keep your business functioning properly is a surefire way to keep your customers happy. If an organization spends too much time focused on secondary business processes, customer relationships may fail.

For example,  in some businesses, core business processes may include marketing, manufacturing, addressing customer questions or concerns, etc. It’s necessary to document these processes well.

‍Supporting processes: These are the processes that support and help manage an organization's operational processes. For example, in software development, you need accounting to manage the financial side of your business.

‍Process modeling: This is a visual representation of an organization's workflow or business processes. It shows the set of activities required for each task to be completed. Organizations use process modeling as a gold standard for getting tasks done timely and correctly. It removes confusion, improves performance and productivity, and reduces downtime. Process modeling is a crucial element of process automation.

‍Process improvement: A key feature of business process management (BPM), process improvement focuses on analyzing existing processes, identifying areas of weakness, and re-engineering them to enhance customer experiences to get better results.

‍Management processes: The purpose of management processes is to create more effective managers. These five functions make up a management process: planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling.

‍Business process automation: Using technology or software to perform essential repetitive tasks saves time and money.

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Are you ready to build your Business Process?

The primary goal of every business should be to create processes.

Now that you know how important business processes are for your business, it’s time to start building and implementing yours. As a business owner, you want to identify tasks that currently take up a lot of your time but don't benefit your business financially. Map them out, test them, assign them to key team members, and implement them as soon as possible.

Once you free up your time, you'll be able to focus on the facets of your business that drive growth. If you found this helpful, share this article.

Every business needs to know how to write a press release. Forget about social media. Public Relations (PR) is an essential component of your marketing strategy, and all it costs is your time.

Create breaking news that reporters and editors want to publish, and overnight you can attract qualified leads and build your authority.

It all starts with a good press release. That's why, in this article, I’m going to show you:

• How to identify something newsworthy (an angle or news story) that your target audience and its go-to media sources would care about
• How to write a press release and format it so editors and reporters take notice
• How to pitch your press release to journalists so it doesn’t get deleted or ignored

I’ll also include a free press release template you can download and examples for you to scrutinize and learn from. So let's get into press release writing.

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What is a press release?

A press release or news release (call it what you will) is a brief news announcement or statement sent to the media by a business or PR agency to inform the public about an upcoming event, product launch, company acquisition, and much more.

It can help a brand or company stand out and build a relationship with a particular publication or a news outlet’s audience. It’s about creating news and sharing a story that benefits the public.

A well-written press release provides just enough information for a  news outlet to run the piece as is or follow up with an interview.

Why write a press release?

As a small business, you probably don’t have a huge marketing budget. Paying for a full-page spread in a magazine or newspaper is simply too expensive.

1. Write a successful press release, and you can get free media coverage. If the media runs your news story, you can raise awareness about your brand, product, event, or story without investing in advertising.
2. It also builds credibility and authority. Remember, media outlets and their journalists have spent years building relationships with their target audience. They know what matters to their readers or listeners. So if they publish your press release, essentially, they’re saying your brand and the news or story you share is trustworthy. You can’t buy this kind of press.
3. Getting your press release published also helps with backlinks. Most media websites have a high domain ranking. Typically, they’ll link back to your company website, driving potential traffic. Google views these types of backlinks favorably because the media is considered to be reputable.  So it can increase your domain ranking.
4. Lastly, it’s a great way to manage a public relations crisis. Bad press is bad for business. You need to be able to respond quickly, and this is a great way to do it.

Do you need to hire a public relations firm?

Now you might be wondering if it's better to use a traditional distribution service to handle public relations for your company.

I prefer to keep things in-house. Yes, it can be time-consuming to build relationships with journalists, but you're building your intellectual property (IP). You're not waiting on someone else to write your press release. All you need to do is to have a good idea, write it, put it into a press release format and hit send.

Just download our free press release template and follow our step-by-step guide on press release writing, and soon you'll be creating news.

So let’s look at the types of press releases you can write.

Types of press releases

• Book launch - Publishing houses will write a press release to promote a new book launch or touring author. This is sent to book journalists and often includes an offer to interview the author, review the book or perhaps a giveaway for the media’s audience. This type of press release includes a brief synopsis about the book, the price, author’s name and book title, and the publicist whom the journalist can contact to arrange an interview.

• Product launches - A new product or service on the market is newsworthy. A product launch press release notes price, product specs, and availability.
• New acquisition or merger - A company merger is newsworthy, particularly if it impacts your customers. For example, it could be two medical schemes or airlines merging. In this case, you'd send a merger press release.
• Event - An event press release is an excellent way to get media coverage for your virtual or live event. It offers journalists something timely to share with their target audience. Examples include adventure races, grand openings, music or book festivals, conventions, and much more.
• New hires or promotions - Has your company hired someone noteworthy? It's not unusual for media in certain industries to share news about new company hires. Typically, this would be a niche publication.
• Raising awareness about a cause - Are you trying to raise funds for a good cause? An effective press release can help promote your cause or competition. Think of the Ice-bucket Challenge. It raised $115 million for ALS.

• Product updates - Big brands like Samsung or Apple will send a product press release whenever they launch a new product. This also allows journalists to test the new product and review it.
• Rebranding - As an established brand, it can be a risky move to rebrand your company. What if your raving fans hate it? But rebranding creates conversation, and it can attract a ton of new potential customers. The key is to get it right.

• Grand openings - A great way for new restaurants to attract potential customers is to send a grand opening press release. Invite the media to cover your launch and write about it. Entertainment or foodie journalists typically cover grand openings.

How to write a press release published

Journalists work on tight deadlines. Budgets are being slashed across the globe, and they now have to churn out multiple newsworthy stories each day. If you can make their job easier and provide a news story, they’ll take notice.

But it’s not just about the content you provide. How you structure your press release can impact the journalist’s decision to publish or ignore it.

So when writing a press release, it needs to be grammatically correct and ready to go. If the media can copy and paste your press release into their publication with minimal changes, all the better.

Formatting your press release

Keep in mind that a good press release format is essential when pitching your news to the media. You need to include these elements:

• A company or brand logo
• For your attention / immediate release PLUS Embargo details and dates if necessary and contact details (name, telephone number, email address)
• An attention-grabbing headline
• Include a sub-heading if necessary (one sentence (at most), providing extra information to help sell your story)
• Media release: Include your location and the date
• Intro / first paragraph: summarize your news in two or three sentences without repeating the headline.
• Body paragraphs/body copy: Tell a story, answer a question, include interesting facts or stats, as well as bullet points. Keep sentences short and punchy. Break up walls of text. Avoid repetition, fancy language, and jargon (unless required). Stick to the facts: who, what, where, when, why, and how?
• Quotes: Include one or two interesting sound bites that the journalist can use.
• Call-to-action: What do you want the audience to do next?

Note to editor: Also known as a boilerplate, this is a section where you include details about your company and contact information.

‍

*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ***

*** UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL DATE & TIME *** (only if necessary)

ATTENTION-GRABBING HEADLINE (MAX 20 WORDS)

SUB-HEADING TO HELP SELL YOUR STORY ONLY IF REQUIRED

MEDIA RELEASE: City/Location, Date of Release e.g.: June 1, 2017:

INTRO: In two to three sentences, summarize your news in this paragraph.

BODY COPY: It’s secondary information which is relevant to the story.

• Who is the source of the news announcement?
• What is the news announcement?
• Where is this news occurring?
• When is this news occurring?
• Why is the news important to your reader?

INCLUDE ONE OR TWO INTERESTING QUOTES

ADD photographs, infographics, or videos

INSERT A CALL-TO-ACTION

Facebook – INSERT YOUR COMPANY PROFILE

Instagram – INSERT YOUR COMPANY HANDL

Twitter – INSERT YOUR COMPANY HANDLE

- END –

Note to Editors: For further information, images, or interview requests contact:Name: email address, phone number, mobile number

About: INSERT YOUR NAME/COMPANY NAME

‍Give a brief description about your company (no more than 150 words).

Use these tips to help write your press release:

How to write a press release

Keep in mind, the perfect press release follows these 10 rules.

Rule 1: Select a topic that will generate a buzz

Journalists love to be the first to share the news. So the topic you write about needs to be a scoop, news announcement, or data trend.

Rule 2: Ask yourself, Why would anyone care?

Before writing anything, put yourself in the journalist’s shoes and ask yourself:

• What’s in it for me and my audience?
• What’s the story?
• Why should I care?
• Why should I care NOW?

What value does your press release offer? PR can make your story more influential, but it needs to be factual, credible, and relevant to the publication you’re sharing it with.

Rule 3: Choose an impactful headline

It needs to be an attention-grabbing headline. Can you write something punchy, captivating, and informative? Here are a few ideas for a strong press release headline:

• Use numbers or statistics.
• Have a unique point-of-view.
• Make an audacious promise.
• Use what, why, how, or when.
• Be controversial. If you have an angle in opposition to a commonly held opinion or fact, that’s a great way to get the press's attention.

Rule 4: Create interest with a stat, controversial idea, or authoritative quote

The first paragraph of your press release must outline the topic you’re addressing and the argument that supports your position.

Journalists love data. Facts and figures lend credibility to a story, so if you can show some form of data, do it. But it needs to be the real deal. You can’t survey 100 of your closest friends and hope to be taken seriously. You need to accumulate information from at least 2,000 sources, and they need to be relevant to your industry.

Once you’ve got their attention, use the following sentences to expand on your position.

Rule 5: Establish credibility

To become a source, you need to establish credibility. And to do this, you need to specifically lay out what makes you qualified to speak about a particular subject.

• Have you written a best-selling business book or built a multimillion-dollar business in a year?
• Did you invent something that’s trending?
• Were you a speaker at a TEDx event?
• Have you broken a world record?
• Can you show social proof, for example, podcasts or publications you’ve been featured in?
• How many years have you been in business? Draw on your experiences, and if it’s beneficial to the press release, the mistakes you’ve made.

Basically, what have you done that can lend weight to your press release and make the journalist take notice of you? Make sure you include this information in your press release.

Rule 6: Tell your story in a nutshell

Can you explain what your story is about in three or four sentences?

• How does this impact others?
• Why is it important?
• Who should care?

The body copy is your chance to sum up the angle of your press release.

Rule 7: Keep your press release short

The optimal length for a press release is between 300 and 400 words. You want to give enough information so the journalist can run the story as is, without needing to arrange an in-person or Zoom interview.

You also want to align the tone of your press release with the publication's style and tone.

Stick to the facts, keep it concise, and don’t use flowery language or lots of jargon. Your press release needs to be immediately understood.  A good tip is to write so that a 14-year-old could understand it.

Rule 8: Format your press release

Unless you’re on personal time and reading a novel, walls of text can be intimidating and off-putting. Journalists want to be able to scan your press release and quickly pick out key points. To make your press release more readable use:

• Bullet points
• Numbered points
• Italics
• Bold
• Headers and subheaders

Rule 9: Include a call-to-action

The ultimate goal of your press release is to get a follow-up interview with the journalist. To do that, they need to know whom to get in touch with.

So at the very end of your press release, you must include your contact details:

• Full name
• Email address
• Phone number

For example, (Name) is available for interview or comment. (Include your landline or cell number and email address).

Rule 10: Close with a boilerplate

This is a short description (roughly 150 words) of your company or the author of the press release.

Top tips for sending your press release

1. Don’t bulk email

After putting all this effort into writing a press release,  you need to make sure you generate actual press for your story. Keep these eight tips in mind when sending a press release:

2. Personalize your pitch

Again, something as simple as writing the journalist’s name in the subject line can give you a leg up in the pitching process. Whatever you do, don’t include the wrong name. Another great tactic is referencing an article they’ve recently written that you particularly liked or felt was relevant to your press release.

Or consider taking a contrary view and have the data to back up your thought process. Compelling arguments are hard to resist, so give the journalist a reason to keep reading.

3. Watch your tone

This isn’t your pal, so while you want to be professional and friendly, it’s also important to keep your tone conversational.

4. Use your subject line to summarize the story in under 10 words

Email subject lines are powerful. You need to spend a good amount of time figuring out what would make the journalist stop scrolling and start reading your press release.

5. Explain why your story is interesting

Again, why should the journalist care? How does the information in your press release benefit the media's readers? What are they going to get out of it? If it doesn’t serve their audience, if it’s not new, they won’t publish it. So keep it concise and compelling.

6. Paste the press release in the body of your email

While some PR agencies might tell you to attach your press release, I prefer to include it in the body of the email. I’d also attach a high-resolution image of your company logo or yourself. Alternatively, include a shareable link to your Google Drive where they can download your press pack.

7. Connect with the journalist over social media

If you can, reach out to the editor or journalist and mention that you’ve emailed them. Some PR agencies suggest phoning the journalist. It really depends on where in the world the journalist is located.

In Australia, calling a journalist before you send your press release is good practice. But in the U. S., journalists don’t have time to answer your call. They usually prefer an email or a DM via Twitter or Instagram. So make sure you know the preferences of the journalist you’re engaging with.

8. Follow up two to three days later

If you haven’t heard back from the journalist in two or three days, send a follow-up email. Remember, reporters' inboxes are inundated with pitches from hopeful business owners much like yourself. Some land in their spam folder, so it’s a good idea to send a follow-up email. Something like this:

‍

Hey (their name),

It's (your name) from (brand/company). I'm just checking to see if you received my email about (topic). I sent it a couple of days ago and I'm available to talk things over whenever it's convenient for you.

(Mention why you think the topic would interest their audience. Does it take a stance, back up a new thought or trend?)

Here’s a high-level overview:

(State what the news is.

Mention why it’s important to their audience.

Include compelling stats or data.)

You can read the full press release here. (Make this a hyperlink to a Google folder.)

Thanks for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.

‍

You don’t want to send your follow-up email too soon or follow up more than two times. This will only irritate the journalist or, worse, make you look desperate. Your name and email address will go into their do-not-engage list, and you’ll never get featured in their publication.

Also, avoid boring subject lines like RE: or Checking In. Instead, rephrase it to include the journalist’s name, For example, Hey (name), I haven’t heard from you…

Example of a press release template

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Pitching on behalf of someone

Hi there,

I handle PR for (insert name), the (founder/owner/author/CEO) of (name of business). I’m getting in touch because (state newsworthy angle). Here’s why (this story) would be a great fit for your (publication, talk show, podcast, etc.):

(State why the content is relevant in three bullet points.)

(Close with a call-to-action (plus your business phone number and email address.)

(Include a link to your website and social media networks.)

P. S. (Brand, company, or your name) has an email list of over (00,000) (state the audience, for example, small business owners) that we'd be happy to share the article with.

Note: Paste in press release PLUS attach PDF version and high-resolution images.

Pitching as yourself

Hi (name),

My name is (your name), and I am the (founder/owner/author/CEO) of (your business). I’m getting in touch because (state newsworthy angle – hosting an event, raising funds for a good cause, launching a product, innovating a service etc.). Here’s why (this story) would be a great fit for your (publication, talk show, podcast, etc.):

State why the content is relevant with three bullet points.

(Close with a call-to-action (how to contact you: your business phone number and email address).)

(Include a link to your website and social media networks)

Kind regards,

(your name)

P.S. (Brand, company or your name) has an email list of over (00,000) (state the audience, for example, small business owners) that we'd be happy to share the article with.

NOTE: Paste in press release PLUS attach PDF version and high-resolution images.

Press release example

I’ve compiled a few press release examples you can use to inspire the writing process.

• Company announcement press release:

View the full press release here.

• Book launch press release:

Read the full full press release article here.

• Event launch press release:

• News announcement press release:

Read the full CNN press release here.

• Mergers and acquisitions press release:

Read the full story here.

Make free Press Apart of your Plan

And that's our guide on how to write a press release that gets media coverage. These are tried and trusted tips and techniques that we’ve used to get coverage for our brand. Make it newsworthy, get the format of your press release right, and don’t forget to list your contact information.

If you know how to write a press release that journalists want to cover, you'll always be able to generate free press for your story.

So make sure you include public relations in your marketing plan.

What are you waiting for? The media waits for no one, so start writing your business press release now.

If You Need Help, Consider The 1-Page Marketing Plan Course

It covers how to build public relations into your marketing strategy. Plus, I show you the exact techniques I've used to start, grow, and exit several multi-million dollar businesses, so you can too.

Tell Me More

Ask most people and they’ll tell you they despise dealing with large, dumb companies. Poor service, indifferent staff and out of touch management are hallmarks of large companies. Yet for some reason we keep dealing with them despite knowing that there are probably much better options out there.

One of the biggest reasons behind this is a comfort, that while the experience may not be great, it likely won’t be horrible. As the saying goes, “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”

Fly by night operators and snake oil salesmen have made many people distrust small businesses by default. People know that while a large company might not give the very best service, they are unlikely to be outright scammed by them.

If you run a small business that puts you at an immediate disadvantage.

A customer doing their due diligence on you may come to the conclusion that you are trustworthy and provide great service, but the vast majority of customers won’t go to that effort. They will often take a cursory glance and judge you by your cover.

That’s why it’s increasingly important to present your business in a way that conveys trust and confidence.

Do You Want to Grow Your Business Rapidly?

Then you need to market it. But not just any marketing will do. In my new 1-Page Marketing Plan Course, I show you the exact techniques I've used to start, grow, and exit several multi-million dollar businesses, so you can too.

Tell Me More

On The Internet, Nobody Knows You're a Dog

The strategic use of technology is one way that you can level the playing field.

In times not so long ago, access to business technology tools was cost prohibitive for small businesses and hence was the domain of large companies.

The Internet, software as a service and cloud computing levels the playing field.

As this famous cartoon from The New Yorker illustrates, technology can help make the little guy look like one of the big guys – leveling the playing field and helping fight the trust bias against small businesses:

Fake It Until You Make It

The following are some inexpensive ways you can use technology to help you present your business in a larger and more professional manner.

Other than the fact they will help you fight the small business trust bias, many of these tools will help you run and scale your business in a much more efficient manner.

Website: Your website is probably one of the first places prospects go to check you out. Beware of the following signals which scream to potential prospects that you are small or potentially untrustworthy:

• No phone number listed. Phone numbers should be prominently listed at the top of every page.
• A PO Box address or no address listed instead of a proper physical business address. Even if you work from home, you can use virtual office services to meet with customers and to display a business address on your website.
• A lack of privacy policy and/or terms of use. Templates for these are widely available.
• Poor or cheap looking design. Don’t skimp on design, even if you build the website yourself, attractive easy to use website templates are available at very minimal cost.

Email Address: It amazes me how many small, even medium-sized businesses advertise a Hotmail, Gmail or ISP-issued email address rather than using an email address with their own domain. Who looks more trustworthy johnny14@gmail.com or john.smith@company.com?

A great way of getting the functionality of Gmail with your own domain name is to use the Google Workspace service or Microsoft’s Office 365.

‍Phone Number: Your phone number can say a lot about you. Using a national toll-free number or a toll-free word or “vanity” number can give your business a national and accessible feel. It can also help people recall your phone number on fast moving mediums such as radio or billboards where the prospect has only a split second to take note of your phone number.

CRM: A customer relationship management (CRM) system will help you keep track of customer details. It’s a much more efficient way of managing customer records than just a spreadsheet or some ad-hoc filing system. A great CRM for small businesses is Highrise.

• ConvertKit
• ActiveCampaign
• Ontraport

‍Ticketing System: If dealing with customer support or inquiries, a ticketing system can help you and your customers keep track of requests. This can dramatically lower the burden on you and your staff to respond to status updates phone calls and emails. It also gives the potential customer confidence that their request is trackable and hasn’t gone into some black hole. A great hosted ticketing system for small businesses is Zendesk.

These are just a few of the tools that can help you fight the trust bias that disadvantages small businesses. Using these tools you can punch above your weight and present yourself as a large, professional organization, even if you’re just starting out.

While these tools are not a replacement for having great products and great service, they can help you manage perception. Keep up the good work long enough and soon perception will become reality.

Defining your target audience is essential to the success of your marketing efforts.

But I'll take it a step further. Even if you have no intention of marketing, before you set up your business, you need to know who your target audience is and what that audience wants.

It's not just about creating a product or service that you think fills a gap in the market. You need to understand why. What pain points does your business solve? What research have you done? What data have you collected to back up your theories? Without this key information, you can't be sure you're adequately targeting the right audience.

So let's review the definition for a target audience.

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What is a target audience?

A target audience is the niche group of people most likely to buy your product or service—aka potential customers.

Defining a target audience is a crucial phase in your marketing strategy. It’s the foundation on which your marketing is built. Target audiences determine the message or content you create and the media channels you advertise in, so getting this wrong can massively affect your marketing efforts.

Here's a few examples of a target audience.

One of Zoom's target audiences is small businesses and large enterprises with a global workforce. But during the pandemic, the brand saw the need to assist educators. So they pivoted and expanded their target audience. Now Zoom also targets education customers (e.g., schools) and healthcare educators (e.g., telemedicine).

Target audience vs. target market - is it the same?

There's a ton of confusion surrounding the question, “What is a target audience and how does it differ from your target market?” Many marketers use them interchangeably, but they're not the same. Your target audience is a niche or narrow version of your target market. So your target market is the broad group of people whom your business serves.

For example, my target market is small business owners and entrepreneurs investing in marketing.

My target audience is business owners struggling to build out a marketing plan and successfully implement it to get results. As you can see, I've chosen a very specific audience.

If you need help finding your niche, check out this article on niching down.

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Why you need to define your target audience

Correctly defining your target audience impacts every marketing campaign you create, the social media channels you choose to advertise in, the blog posts you write, and the content you deliver to your audience.

There are two common roadblocks to business success:

1. Targeting everyone doesn't work.

So many business owners make the mistake of trying to find people for their products. In advertising, we call this mass marketing. There are three reasons why this approach doesn’t work:

1. You don’t have enough firepower (money and time) to win at mass marketing. Big brands like Coca-Cola use this kind of marketing, and they’re over 100 years old. Also, their net operating costs for 2020 totalled $33 billion, So that gives you an idea of the kind of money you need to be making.
2. Saying something is for everyone essentially says it’s for no one. In a cluttered marketing space, you have to stand out. And the only way to do that is to be hyper-relevant.
3. Specialists are more sought-after than generalists. By niching down, you make price irrelevant.

So even if your product or service is perfect, universal, or all-inclusive, you’ll never get everyone to buy from you.

2. Unless you've been a part of your target market, you don't really understand them.

Unless you are or have been a member of your target audience, I guarantee you don’t know them as well as you think you do.

You don’t understand their dreams, hopes, struggles, and motivations. You don’t know what makes them tick.

And in a highly crowded and competitive market, really knowing your target audience is your best shot at success and profitability.

Think about some of your best friends. You know what they’re thinking and feeling, how to make them laugh, and how to  get their attention. The same thinking can be applied to your target audience.

Because getting inside their heads is going to dictate any messaging your business creates. If you don’t know whom you’re talking to, you're not speaking to them properly, and they won’t pay attention.

That equals wasted dollars. You might as well cash in your marketing budget and flush it down your toilet.

It's not just about knowing who your target audience is. It’s about understanding why they buy.

How do you define your target audience?

Most people or online marketing posts will tell you to focus on audience demographics.

They’ll tell you to define your target audience in terms of their age, gender (male or female), income, education level, marital status, and other aspects of their lives.

Gathering this data is a vital first step in the audience research phase, but it doesn't reveal their pain points or interests. It's not going to give you insight into their daily lives, the challenges they face, or what drives their decision-making process.

Without audience insights, it's nearly impossible to create a targeted marketing campaign. If you don't know them, you don’t know:

• What message will get them to click on your brand ads
• What media channels to advertise in
• Which social media networks to use

Do these 4 things to find your target audience:

1. Conduct market research.

The goal of market research is to understand who your target customers are and what they like. You'll start with demographic information such as age, gender, location, race, sex, religion, whatever. This answers the who, but it doesn't cover the why.

Next, you want to figure out:

• What social media posts do they like? When are they most active online?
• What ads do they engage with?
• What stresses them out?
• Where do they prefer to shop and why?

You can use google analytics, focus groups, email surveys, and social media channels to gather these vital audience insights.

The point of this exercise is to collate comprehensive data that you can use to inform your decisions. For example, it may reveal that your audience is most likely to engage with social media challenges.

2. Use creative storytelling to build a clear picture of your target audience.

Create a detailed picture of your target audience using the data you gather in the market research phase. This is a customer avatar, but to cut to the chase, I'll use personas.

Identify at least two personas with actual wants and desires.

Choose a photo for each persona. (You’ll have to visualize them in your mind if you're selling to them in the future.)

This persona needs to cover demographic and psychographic information, for example:

• What's their name?
• What's their age?
• What gender do they identify as?
• Where do they live? Be specific.
• What's their education level?
• Do they have kids? Pets?
• What's their life circumstance? For example, did they just get married or buy a new car? Are they a student? Whatever.
• Where do they work? For example, do they own a business? Are they a CEO or a stay-at-home-parent?
• What stresses them out?

Your goal with each persona is to be as detailed as possible. For example, if they went to university, tell me which university they went to, why they chose that school, what informed their decision, and what goals they wanted to achieve.

And don't forget that throughout this process, you want to ask yourself, Is this the type of person who would choose my product over competitors?

3. Think about your audience’s decision-making process.

What makes one person choose between two similar products? Is it price, packaging, product name?

Consider these examples: Patagonia, Burton, and Costco. All are quality brands, but they have very different values which align with their various target audiences.

While a Patagonia buyer prioritizes social responsibility, a die-hard Burton fan prioritizes trendiness and being cool. This contrasts with a Costco brand evangelist who prioritizes value for money.

So buying behavior is something you need to care about.

• How do they think through a purchase? Where do they consult? For example, do they follow influencers on social media, Google reviews, or ask their tech buddies?
• What do they prioritize? For example, do they have a built-in bias in the way they made this decision?

If you don’t understand your target audience’s decision-making process, it’ll be harder to address their pain points, and you won’t attract qualified leads.

4. Refine and repeat your target audience analysis.

Defining a target audience is an iterative process. This exercise is never done. You'll continue to tweak and clarify as you learn more about your target market through conversational sales, and as you add new products and services.

How to find your target audience

Now let's get into the audience research phase. This is the process of finding your target audiences. And here, I want you to think about infiltrating your industry.

You'll use your existing customers and compile data from media, demographics, online content, and social media channels. The point is to form an image of who your audience may be, what interests them, what challenges they face, and what message you need to create to get your target audience to self-identify.

You also want to be able to answer the following:

• What apps are they on all of the time?
• Do they prefer watching short TikTok videos over lengthy Youtube tutorials?
• Are they more likely to watch your live stream on Facebook or Instagram?
• When and where are they most active on their phone? For example, are they most active around 8 or 9 pm when they’re in bed or on lunch break at work?
• What websites do they visit?
• What do they Google?
• Are they into the latest trends or bargain hunting?
• What matters to them most? Is it family, status, jobs, travel, music?

Here's how you can begin to infiltrate your audience and build out your personas:

Step 1: Complete the PVP Index.

Using the PVP Index helps identify the target audiences you want to work with and those you don't. Remember, not all consumers are your target audience. The wrong customer can impact not only your sales but also your team productivity and happiness. So it's vital that your campaigns are targeting the right customer.

Here's how to get started. Look at your current pool of customers and answer these three questions:

• Who do you enjoy working with the most?
• Who most values your product or service? How are you different from competitors? Why do these consumers love your brand?
• Who is most profitable? Which customer is willing to pay top dollar for your products or services?

Answering these questions will help you to define your ideal target audience.

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Step 2: Use Facebook's Business Suite Insights.

Social media giant Facebook has recently transitioned from Audience Insights to Business Suite Insights. You can use this tool to review audience data and view performance trends and metrics across Facebook and Instagram.

So you'll be able to see:

• Demographic data (age, gender, location, education level, job industry, relationship status)
• Interests - pages they have a high affinity for (Page likes on Facebook only)
• Followers (Instagram only)
• Top cities and countries
• Device preference
• The frequency of their Facebook activity, including page likes, comments, shares, clicks on ads, and redeemed promotions

This helps you get an idea of what your existing target audience is into. Once you've done your audience research, you need to review your findings and make sense of the data.

For example, if your target market is 30-45, female, married, has a degree, and lists director or CEO as their title, you can assume they’re swamped. Now, look at their most viewed pages. Around 70% shop online for groceries, clothes, and they order takeout three times a week. From this data, we can confidently assume this audience might value convenience and have little spare time.

This audience research is vital to building your personas. But we've only skimmed the surface. To go deeper, I like to use a tool called SparkToro.

Step 3: Use SparkToro.

Here's why I love SparkToro. It crawls the entire web and all social media channels so you can see:

• What your target audience frequently talks about
• The words they include in their profiles
• The social media accounts or brands they follow
• The content they engage with
• The websites they frequently visit
• The podcasts they listen to
• The hashtags they use

It also gives you access to your customers' top sources of influence as well as where they hang out. This audience insight will help you decide which brands to connect with so you can collaborate with them on ad campaigns.

I want you to remember that data is your friend. It’ll confirm or deny your hunches, so use it.

For example, say your audience—high-powered businesswomen—follow yoga influencers and listen to business podcasts specifically for female leaders. But, they’re also checking out websites on how to raise happy kids and manage work-life commitments.

This insight tells you they’re driven, and they take care of their physical and mental health. But life is more than just their career. These women also worry about their kids and how their work impacts them. So while they may be confident in business, home life offers a host of challenges.

Step 4: Survey your customers using an email Q&A form.

Surveys are a popular method for gathering data. Your business can use electronic surveys like LeadQuizzes or closed focus groups to get to know your customers better. The only problem with surveys as a research strategy is that customers tend to lie. Your audience may give you the answer they think you want to hear instead of a genuine response.

Nevertheless, if you choose to create a survey, remember to:

• Limit the number of questions (because no one has time to spend 10 minutes on a questionnaire).
• Focus on writing closed-ended questions. These are yes/no answers.
• Don't ask leading questions. This prompts the type of answer you're company is hoping to gain.
• Include an incentive of some sort. What do they gain by taking part?

Journalists love statistics, and the data from surveys can tie nicely into free press for your business. Still, you need to collect responses from a couple of thousand people in your target audience for it to be deemed credible. So I'd only use surveys if your goal is to create a report.

As an alternative strategy, I prefer to gain insight into my target audiences by focusing on my best customers. Which brings me to the next step.

Step 5: Engage your Favorite Customer or Client.

Interviewing your favorite customers is the best way to get inside the minds of your ideal target audience.

Perhaps you've tried mass-messaging your followers on social media. Maybe you got a ton of responses, but nothing that definitive. The problem is you’re appealing to an audience that’s too broad.

So when targeting your favorite customers, you're picking a small group of people who do business with your brand or company all the time. They love your product or service, but why? And this is what you need to gain insight too.

For example, I want you to find out:

• What do they love about you or your business? Did they talk about value or quality of service?
• What blew them away?
• What words do they use to describe themselves?
• What words do they use to describe you?

Remember, if they're your ideal client, they're automatically a part of your target audience.

Step 6:  Use Google Analytics to track your website's content performance.

Your website is an asset that does so much more than just promote your business. Combined with Google Analytics, you can quickly learn a ton about the audiences that visit your site.

For example, you can see:

• Which pages generate traffic
• What content performs well—for example, is your target audience drawn to video content or do they prefer written content?
• What topics (or blog posts) receive the most traffic
• Which pages don’t receive traffic
• Your audience demographics—age, location, the devices they use to access your site

So it's key to learning more about your target audience, what topics to cover in your ads, campaigns, and the content you need to be creating.

Step 7: Analyze what your target audience is saying on social media.

Do you use social media to reach your target audience? What type of content do you post? Do you notice similar patterns to the conversations you have with your audiences?

Social media is a great way to collect data. It's fast and easy to engage with your audiences, and you can target your ads or surveys to reach a specific demographic or group of people.

Look, it's virtually instant feedback, so make it a key component of your research.

Step 8: Read your online reviews.

In 2020, Trustpilot reported that 9 out of 10 online shoppers read reviews before buying a product. And they're not only reading reviews about your company. They’re reading the reviews of your competitors.

For your target audience research, you want to read your 1-star and 5-star reviews. Again you'll learn what consumers love about your product or service and what they hate. You can use this insight to make meaningful improvements.

Step 9: Join a forum or browse SUBRedditS.

Reddits posts some interesting content from across the world. Many forums are also open to a global audience, so you're able to gain invaluable insight into your brand or company. This is particularly important if your consumers are located across the world.

Remember, when we speak about targeting, your ads need to be relevant and sensitive to the region it's been shown in.

Here are two examples to consider.

H&M's disastrous children's clothing campaign. Remember the Coolest Monkey In The Jungle? It showed a white boy wearing a tiger jersey and an African boy wearing a monkey.  Consumers were outraged by the decisions made by the marketing team and riots occurred in some South African H&M stores.

And in South Africa, Clicks Pharmacy ran digital ads comparing a white woman's “normal” hair  to an African woman’s  “frizzy and dull” and “dry and damaged” hair. These digital banners didn't just land the retailer in hot water, they caused the brand to be pulled from all stores countrywide.

Consumers are sensitive to the messaging your company puts out there. You can sink your brand if you're not careful.

Stop guessing and start knowing your target audiences.

And that's our complete guide to understanding your target audiences.

We've covered:

• The definition of target audience
• How to use demographics to inform the personas of your target audience
• Various ways to research your target audience
• Why data is key to inspiring and creating meaningful content and targeted ads
• Examples of target audiences

Now it's time to define yours. To help you get started, we've put together a target market challenge. It's going to take you through the process of identifying and understanding your brand's audience.

I speak to business owners from all over the world every day. Most have grown their companies through referrals. Do a good job, and you'll get more business, right? But what happens when things stagnate?

Referrals are a vital part of your marketing strategy. They build customer relationships, lower your customer acquisition costs, and it's a great way to get new customers. But they're random at best.

Not necessarily. There a way to get customers or clients to consistently refer your business to friends and family? You just have to ask. So why don't more businesses do that?

Why businesses don't ask for referrals

Most companies don't ask for referrals because it looks like they're asking for a favor. But think about the last time you referred a business to a friend or connection.

You didn't do it for the business. You did it because you had a great experience. Maybe the product changed your life, or the service was top class. You know it'll benefit your friend or network connection so you refer them.

Referring elevates your status. But you're also risking your good standing with someone. Especially, if the company you're referring do under delivers.

But there's an art to asking for a referral without sounding desperate or pushy.

In this blog, I’m going to cover the right way to ask for a referral through different mediums. Follow these top tips and my email template and you'll consistently attract new business.

What is a referral?

A referral is the act of actively sending someone to a business or expert you believe can solve their problem.

For example, a doctor might refer you to a specialist, an architect might refer you to  an interior designer, a friend might recommend a movie or restaurant, and a colleague might refer you for a job.

Why do Referrals work?

Referrals work because they're coming from a trusted source. This is most likely someone who has experienced your product or service. They've engaged with your business, they know you, like you, and trust you to deliver results.

Most people won't question the referral. They just accept it as a given fact. If you can leverage someone else's relationship, that's powerful.

In the event that people don't have a trusted source, most consumers will research a product or service online before purchasing it. They might read customer reviews, or product reviews by industry publications. They'll probably contact a salesperson to explain the benefits.

It's a far lengthier process and there is no guarantee they will buy.

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Implement a Referral Program

Customer referral programs are a systematic approach to generating referrals. Unlike word-of-mouth marketing, you're using referrals as an active part of your marketing strategy.

The truth is, a word of mouth referral is a lot like getting invited to dinner. Sure, that’s one night you don’t have to worry about cooking but it’s not going to pay your bills or keep your lights on.

You need to systemize your referral process. If you don't, you may ask for a referral from two or three customers, but there's no guarantee that they'll do it for you and no guarantee that you’ll consistently keep asking.

So to be guaranteed a pool of new clients, you'll need to build a referral program.

Unlike other ways to ask for a referral where you only send a thank-you note or whatever, a referral program is built with rewards and incentives.

Here's the step-by-step process for building your own referral marketing program.

Step 1: Offer a referral reward that your customers want.

Think about it. What's that one thing that your customers want? What referral reward would entice to talk about your business to friends, family, colleagues and clients?

It might be a discount on their next purchase, a gift voucher, a freebie, or other rewards that buyers don't typically get.

It doesn't have to be an expensive offer, but it should be something that your customers will find useful and valuable.

Step 2: Clearly explain everything about the referral program.

If you want your existing customers to participate in your referral marketing campaign, they’ll need to know how it works.

• What are the terms and conditions of the referral program?
• What do they get out of it? People won't refer you because you ask nicely. Their reputation is on the line. So make sure you deliver a stellar experience.
• How many referrals do they need to give in order to get an incentive?

Focus on the what, why, and how of the referral program. Lay out all the information clearly on a landing page, or on whatever platform you'll use to promote it. This clears up any confusion customers may have.

Step 3: Promote the referral program to your network.

Of course, people need to know that you're launching a referral program, so you need to promote and advertise it.

Think about all the channels your customer base and target market use. Are they on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram? Or do they typically use LinkedIn and other B2B platforms?

You need to make sure that you're reaching as many customers as possible.

Step 4: Track referring results

As you launch your referral program, make sure that you've set up your analytics. You need to know how many people are aware of the referral program, where they've seen your campaign, and how many are participating.

Most importantly, track how many referrals you're getting regularly. This will tell you if the campaign is effective, or if there are some areas that can be further improved or optimized.

Step 5: Be consistent

As I said, your referral program is an active part of your strategy. Be consistent with it. Instead of acquiring new customers through other forms of marketing tactics, this is a much more cost-effective route.

Sample email referral request:

Hi (FIRST NAME),

I'm X, just emailing because (personalize to why you like what they do).

I'm (designation) for (company name with hyperlink), and this is exactly the kind of thing/product our members read/use and love too.

So, I just wanted to see if there's any chance for us to work with you?

I'm not 100% what that would look like yet (sponsorship/partnership type stuff), but keen to see what's possible.

Would you have time to chat at some point? (email, dm's, zoom, phone - whatever works for you)

Best,

(Your name)

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Send an referral email request when onboarding new clients or Customers

There's a misconception that you have to finish a transaction before you ask for a referral. This isn't true at all. It's acceptable to ask for a referral even before a project starts or a customer buys from you.

You can even use this email referral template as a reference. This is something you can send along with your quote or it’s a card you can give in person to the client.

How to ask for a business customer referral:

Mr./Mrs. Customer,

I’m going to do a fantastic job for you, but I do need your help. Much of our new business comes from customers who refer us. This means we don’t need to pay for expensive advertising and can, as a result, keep our service costs down. Typically, we get about three referrals from new customers.

When we complete the job, and you’re 100% satisfied with the work we’ve done, I’d really appreciate it if you could keep in mind three or more other people whom we could also help.

Now why does this referral template work?

First, you're direct about how you're striving to provide awesome results so you can get great feedback and referrals in return.

Second, this kind of communication builds trust. It puts your customer in power when they think a referral is only given once you've done a great job.

And lastly, you're creating an expectation of the number of referrals you'd like without being pushy. Simply put, it creates a win-win culture.

Use Social Media to ask for referrals

Referral marketing doesn't happen on its own. It needs to be promoted and showcased in different marketing channels—and mainly, I'm talking about social media.

There’s a huge chance your customer base can't live without social media. And they retweet, share, and save all sorts of info on social media, so use this to your advantage.

So here's how to ask for referrals through social media.

1. Use the right social media channels: There's a bunch of platforms to consider before embarking on a referral strategy. Chances are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are great places to start. But don't underestimate the power of platforms like LinkedIn, Pinterest, and TikTok. You want high-quality referrals. So think about where your customers hang out and are most active. Set up profiles on these platforms and start engaging with your audience. The bottom line is, use platforms that work best for your business.
2. Promote the referral program: If you're not sharing your referral program, how do you expect your customers to know about it? Use your website, social media and email to post about your referral program and promote its benefits to your followers. Or at the very least, put the link to the program in places where they can easily find it. For example, you can add it to your Twitter bio or IG story highlights.
3. Engage with your customers: Since social media is all about engagement, use the referral program to thank or reward customers. These work because people love to be socially validated and they love a good deal. If you give a public shout-out or show your appreciation to customers that refer you, more will be inclined to give a referral. And posting a TikTok video, IG reel, or a LinkedIn post about your referral program and sharing its perks will entice followers to get onboard.

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Manage podcast relationships to get referrals

Podcasts might be an underrated way to ask for a referral for your business, but trust me, it works. There are over 2 million podcasts out there, and any podcast with an active audience can help you get maximum exposure.

They also tend to be highly engaging mediums for spreading the good word about your business. Since podcasts are audio programs, listeners hang on to every word, making it effective for delivering messages.

If you're interested in asking for a referral through podcasts, think about the shows you want to be part of. And as you create a list of potential podcasts, consider these two things:

• Reputation: People listen to podcasts because they love the host, and the nature of the program. So you need to think about reputable podcasts that can spread the word about your brand.
• Target audience: Work with podcasts that have the same target audience as yours. This way you can reach more potential customers without all the leg work.

So now, what are the next steps when asking for a referral on a podcast?

1. Personalize your pitch: People know if your pitch is pre-templated or personalized. And, more likely, you'll get a response if you choose the latter.

2. Choose a topic you'd like to cover: Podcasts cover different topics per episode. So think about a topic you'd like to cover which is complementary to your referral program.

3. Set your offer: Podcasts also need more coverage, so offer to feature their episode, or better yet, incentivize them.

Ask for a referral using email

There are two different categories of referral channels: public and private.

Email is private; and people like it because it offers a personal experience. So now, how can you use emails to ask for a referral?

• Send emails to the right people: Referral emails don't get sent to your entire list. It doesn't work that way. Instead, you send them to your best customers—the raving fans—who already love your products and services.
• Send emails at the right time: Timing is crucial. Wait to long to send a referral email and you risk surprising your customer, and not in a good way. Make your customers aware in the onboarding phase that giving referrals form part of doing business with you. Then send a friendly reminder once they've made a purchase.
• Write your referral email: Use this framework. An enticing and attention-grabbing subject line. An offer or incentive that's too good to ignore. A clear call-to-action (CTA) that redirects them to join the referral marketing program or contact you.

Asking for referrals - make it easy

So as you can see, there are many ways to ask for a referral without sounding desperate. You can use your website, a direct mail, email, social media, whatever.

Building an effective referral program will massively benefit your company.

But it's vital you choose and apply tried and trusted methods when asking for a referral. Review the above referral options, choose the best solution for your business, work on maintaining your referral program, tracking progress, and making improvements along the way.

It might take some time, but as long as you're constantly asking for referrals through the right channels, you’ll continuously be connected with potential customers.

Do You Want to Grow Your Business Rapidly?

Then you need to market it. But not just any marketing will do. In The 1-Page Marketing Plan Course I show you the exact techniques I've used to start, grow, and exit several multi-million dollar businesses, so you can too.

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Referral marketing is a touchy subject for many entrepreneurs running small-to-medium-sized companies. Most business owners prefer to focus on delivering excellent service or high-quality products with the hopes it will lead to a word-of-mouth referral and an influx of customers.

But let's be honest. I know why you probably don't have the courage to ask your customers for referrals. You think asking for a referral makes you look weak and needy. And at the very least, it can affect the reputation of your business. I mean, if you're asking for referrals then you must be desperate. But this couldn't be further from the truth.

Referral marketing is a win-win strategy. You get free marketing for your business, a customer gets social validation (or a reward) for recommending your product or service, and their friend gets a recommendation from a trustworthy source.

It's time to break the misconceptions about referral marketing. You don't have to sit and wait until someone spreads the good word about your business. In fact, you can make it an active part of your marketing strategy. So in this blog, I'm going to show you how to do that.

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What is referral marketing?

Simply put, referral marketing is when you get your customers to recommend your products and services to their friends and families.

Compared to other forms of traditional marketing that are meant for the general public, referral marketing requires you to focus on your customer base in order to generate leads, and eventually, convert them into customers.

If you offer quality products and services, you likely have satisfied customers who would be happy to refer your business to other people. This is the core concept of word-of-mouth marketing.

Now, why not maximize the word-of-mouth and incentivize customers to get more referrals from other people? This is basically what a referral marketing program is all about.

Is referral marketing the same as word-of-mouth marketing?

Most resources will tell you that referral marketing is also known as word-of-mouth marketing, but each has distinct differences.

Word-of-mouth marketing is simple. It happens when a customer shares their experience with others and recommends your products or services. Businesses that are focusing on word-of-mouth are typically active on multiple media channels, finding ways to get people talking.

Word-of-mouth marketing works, but it's passive. A customer might be happy about your product or service, but there's no guarantee that they'll spread the word about it. It's not the most effective strategy out there, but it has its place in many businesses.

Meanwhile, referral marketing produces the same effect, but it's initiated and strategized by a business. It requires a program where customers can receive incentives and rewards once they refer the business to other people. Simply put, referral marketing is an ongoing and active strategy.

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Why is referral marketing effective?

Before I tell you more about creating a winning referral marketing strategy, I'd like to share why it’s effective.

Let's talk about the psychology behind a referral.

For a moment, put yourself in the shoes of a customer. Let’s say you can't decide between buying the iPhone 15 Pro or the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The salesperson comes forward to assist you, answers all of your questions, and explains the pros and cons of each model. Not only have they helped you make the best decision, but they’ve also given you a discount.

Now, you're amazed by their service, and you suddenly remember a friend who's about to upgrade their phone so you leave them a message, sharing your experience.

But let's be clear here. You're recommending the store, not because you want to do the company a favor, but because you want the best for your friend.

In the end, your friend thanks you and you both feel good as you share similar experiences with the same purchase. And the store got another customer without shelling out money for promotions or ads. This is what makes referral marketing effective, and why it stands out from other marketing strategies.

What are the benefits of referral marketing?

1. It grows your audience.

There are a lot of ways to grow your audience, but most of them cost a lot or take a ton of time to implement. Referral marketing won’t cost you either of these. Your current customers share your business with their friends and family. And since they’ve heard about your business from a trusted source, they'll likely buy from you. With referral marketing, it takes less effort and time to appeal to more potential customers.

2. It expands your business reach.

Word spreads fast; and you can take advantage of it.

Referral marketing undoubtedly extends your reach, whether under a program or based on word-of-mouth. If you’ve asked for referrals from five of your satisfied customers or enrolled them in your referral program, you’ll likely see an influx of prospects who want to know more about what you sell.

In short, it's one of the most effective ways to generate leads. It's your call on how to nurture them until they become your customers.

3. It creates more loyal customers.

Your new customers can end up being the most loyal ones. Why? First, it's because you were referred by a trusted source, which puts you in a great position. And second, if you'll start incentivizing your customers as well, they'll likely stick with you. It's a win-win for both parties.

In fact, referred customers are 18% more likely to become loyal to your business, possibly increasing overall customer lifetime value (CLV).

4. It boosts engagement with your target market.

This is where you can make use of the psychology behind a referral. Remember, your existing customers are not merely giving referrals for your business's sake, but to get that social validation from recommending a reputable brand.

Use it to your advantage. This should give you more reason to engage with your customers. You can invite your customers to join your referral program, and give them shoutouts and some sort of public praises through social media, emails, and different platforms.

5. It creates a cost-effective marketing strategy.

As I said earlier, traditional marketing can become expensive and time-consuming. It's part of the strategy, but you may wish to find other ways to get more leads and acquire new customers.

Referral marketing is one of those ways. Plus, it's a budget-friendly way to market your brand and get the word out quickly. Word-of-mouth marketing is always free, while setting up a referral program might require you to allocate a budget (but it's not as expensive as running ads or launching a major campaign).

How to implement a referral marketing program?

Step 1: Do your research.

First things first, you need to do your research. The main goal is to discover how you can implement a referral program into your strategy. Would incentives and rewards entice your customers? If yes, what can you offer to make them participate in your referral program?

You can do your research in several ways, but basically, you’ll get the most bang out of your buck by hiring a marketing researcher who studies the buying habits of your customer base.

And if you're not keen on delegating this task to someone else, you can simply conduct customer surveys, asking your customers what would make them join in the referral program. Bottom line, you have to think of possible rewards and incentives that you can offer in return for getting referrals.

Step 2: Create a system for your referral marketing program.

Like I said, you can't simply sit and wait until someone recommends your product to other people. You can make referral marketing an active part of your strategy. So in this case, you need to create a systemized approach for getting referrals.

Here are a few important things you need to set up:

• Procedures for crediting referrals
• The number of referrals necessary to get an incentive or reward
• Tools and software that track referrals and continuously run the campaign
• Launch date (and end date if you're planning to run the referral marketing program in a limited period)
• Promotional materials

Step 3: Promote the referral marketing program to the public.

And speaking of promotional materials, the last step is to create awareness and encourage existing customers to join the program.

If you have a physical store, you can place signs, banners, and posters on different corners and cash registers to invite customers to join the referral program. You can also hand out brochures that contain everything they need to know about it.

This is the traditional way of advertising. So aside from this, you should prioritize promoting your program in the digital landscape. This can be done through social media, email marketing, opt-in/landing pages, and more.

What are the best ways to ask for referrals?

Requesting referrals before doing business

Let's start with an example for a customer during the onboarding stage. You can send a leave-behind note that goes like:

Mr./Mrs. Customer,

I’m going to do a fantastic job for you, but I do need your help. Much of our new business comes from customers who refer us. This means that we don’t need to pay for expensive advertising and can, as a result, keep our service costs down. Typically, we get about three referrals from new customers.

When we complete the job, and you’re 100% satisfied with the work we’ve done, I’d really appreciate it if you could keep in mind three or more other people who we could also help.

Now what makes this effective?

• You're straightforward in letting them know you can deliver great results and offer excellent customer satisfaction.
• You're showing them how they benefit from referring your business.
• You are creating an expectation of the number of referrals you'd like to get without being pushy. This allows them to think of who could be a great fit for your products or services.
• More importantly, you're giving them the power. You let the customer know that the referral is subject to your business doing an awesome job for them.

Requesting referrals after the service is done or a product is bought

It's similar to the onboarding referral request, except that you have to send this after the transaction is done.

Mr. /Mrs. Customer,

It’s been an absolute pleasure assisting you. If you know of anyone who is in a similar situation to yourself, we’d love you to give them the enclosed gift card which entitles them to $100 off any of our services. One of the reasons we’re able to keep the cost of our service down is because we get a lot of our business through referrals from people like you.

Now why should you try this technique?

• Your thank-you note recognizes and appeals to their ego.
• You're not directly asking for a favor, but offering something of value as a discount voucher. And vouchers are nice, small incentives to your customers.
• Lastly, you're giving them a reason to refer your business.

How can you make your referral program successful?

1. Incentivize the referral program.

A great way to get more referrals is to incentivize your customers. And I'm not just talking about treats or goodies that you can easily hand out to anyone.

Think about this:

‍What could you give your tribe of raving fans or your clients that they can pass on to someone else?

‍It needs to be something of value that's going to make them look good. For me, as an example in my business, it's my book—The 1-Page Marketing Plan. I give that book away like I'm handing out candy.

I know if somebody reads my book, they're going to be better educated. They're going to get a ton of value. And there'll be a much better prospect because we're going to be able to talk at a much higher level. We're not going to have to talk about fundamentals because they've already been through the book. They know the fundamentals; they know what I'm about.

Here are some examples of when I've given my book away:

• Attending events - I gave away about 200 copies in exchange for  at an event attended by business owners who are in my target demographic free publicity at an event attended by business owners who are in my target demographic.

• Dealing with clients or potential prospects - I'll often give copies to my clients or potential prospects. So often when I'm talking to someone, whether it's on the phone, on Zoom, at a conference, or whatever, if they look like a prospect, I'll send them a package with two copies of my book, a business card, and a handwritten note. And if you're wondering why I always give two copies of the book away, one book is for the person I've been in a conversation with and the other is for them to pass on to a friend, colleague, or relative. Again, I'm making them look good because they're able to pass on something of value, which is my book.

• Working with someone who has my ideal audience - For example, if I'm working with an accountant, lawyer, or whatever, and they've got small business owners in their audience, I might give away books to their client base.

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There are two main reasons for doing this:

1. Providing your prospect with something of value that they can pass on, makes them look really good. They're giving something of value to their audience, and it's something that can help grow their existing customer base—which is really good for them.

2. It's also good for me because I get access to a brand new audience that I otherwise wouldn't have. It's a really good strategy. And it's a win-win for both of us.

But here's the thing, it doesn't have to be a book. It just needs to be something of value. It could be something like a free report, a gift voucher, a how-to guide, a software trial, or a free sample.

It just needs to be something that people will think twice about throwing away and something that will help educate your ideal target market about you and the product and services that you provide. If there's a monetary value to what you're sending in, all the better, because people really don't like to feel like they're throwing money away.

2. Promote it strategically.

Without strategic promotion, nobody will know about your referral marketing program. You have to make sure that it's visible to your existing customers, so they can join.

Think of different ways to promote your referral marketing program, and list them. Now when I say to promote the program strategically, it's best that you make use of different online marketing channels and platforms.

Use social media. Revamp a part of your website and create a landing page that features your referral program. You can also build an opt-in page that encourages a prospect to sign up. You can also send emails to your existing customer base and invite them to join.

3. Make the experience shareable.

How can you create a shareable buying experience for your customers?

When thinking about how to create a beloved customer experience, think about what will surprise and delight them.

If you're putting yourself in the shoes of your customer, pretend you got what you ordered...but with an extra cherry on top.

Think about what will surprise and delight your customers. Perhaps a freebie included in the package? A product sample? A gift voucher? The decision is up to you.

The bottom line is: You need to do something to make the experience unforgettable and unique for them. This drives your customers to recommend your business to their friends and family.

Need ideas on how to deliver an unforgettable experience? Check out this blog on using direct mail to win new customers.

4. Never compromise customer service.

Happy customers share more. Now, how do you get happy customers?

Simple. It's all about excellent customer service.

Think about aspects of your customer support process you can improve. Sometimes, a fun banter or sense of humor makes the experience better.

5. Collaborate with influencers.

Aside from relying on your customers to spread the word about your business, you can also work with influencers. Influencers have a large audience, and as the name suggests, they have influence over their followers who aim to think, act, talk, and live like them.

They also have a say on which products should trend, go viral, and sell out.

This can become a great opportunity for you to promote your products and services to their massive following.

But of course, unlike some of your loyal customers, influencers don't refer businesses for free. So you have to be ready to offer rewards and incentives to them.

Here's the thing: It doesn't have to be a large-scale, expensive referral marketing campaign. You can start working with micro influencers who have 2,000 to 50,000 followers that focus on a specific niche.

Learn more about niche marketing and finding your niche audience here.

Start Your Referral Marketing Campaign.

Here's my main takeaway: You can't rely on passive, word-of-mouth referrals. You need to be active.

Let's debunk the misconception about asking for referrals, or putting systems in place that generates referrals. While not everyone will refer you, a referral program will be enough to keep you and your business busy and steadily growing.

Now the big question: Are you ready to scale your business through referral marketing?

I've written another blog post that shares more ways on how to ask for a referral. Check it out here.

Have you ever had a great business idea that you instantly dismissed because it requires resources or expertise from a different individual or company? You're not alone—and you shouldn't be afraid to admit it.

Whether you like it or not, some businesses need a collaborative mindset to succeed. You need to go outside your comfort zone, look at the industry as a whole, and ask yourself:

• Whom can I partner with to accomplish my business goal?
• Who is a good fit?
• What are the benefits and risks?

This is what a joint venture (JV) is all about.  It's an agreement between two companies to work together to achieve a certain business goal. Now that could be to attract new customers, enter into new markets, or help launch a new product, whatever.

So joint ventures can be really powerful in helping your small business to grow rapidly.

Now let's look at how to form a joint venture. The process you'll undertake to identify the right joint venture partners and how to put your plan into action.

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The types of joint venture relationships

Joint ventures come in two main forms:

1. Cooperate With Another Company With Limits

This is when you make an agreement to collaborate with another business with limits and specifications. For example, you’ve launched a promising product and a larger company would like to distribute it to a bigger market. You can agree to form a joint venture based on a contract.

2. Set Up A Separate Joint Venture Business

If you want to take things to the next level, you can create a separate joint venture business, where each party owns a percentage of shares and agree on how the business should run or operate.

Now how can you decide between the two? Start thinking of these things:

• What's your goal? Do you want to create a joint venture with limitations? Or are you open to flexibility?
• How much protection do you want for your business?
• How much money can you spend on building this relationship?

When making your decision, think about the pros and cons. What happens next if the venture is a major success? How about if it goes wrong? How much risk are you willing to take?

If you're still doubtful, don't rush things; seek legal advice from a professional. They will give you tips on how a joint venture can specifically affect your business, and how much profit can you gain or lose from it.

How to Start a Joint Venture? Our 10-Step Process

Step 1: Evaluate whether a joint venture is helpful for your business

Will it be helpful or are you just being impulsive in making decisions? Setting up a joint venture can make or break your business. You have to make sure that your decisions will drive business growth, and are not only driven by emotions.

Consider the following:

• Check what other businesses are doing. It's time to do some competitor research. How many of them are in a joint venture relationship? Is it helpful for them? Are they gaining traction? Did anything change when they teamed up with another business through a joint venture?
• Take a closer look within the business. Assess if a joint venture can fill the gaps of your business. Do you really need help from another business? Or can you re-strategize and fill the gaps on your own?

If you decide to set up a joint venture, it may help your business upscale and generate more profit.

Many huge corporations have joined forces with great success. For example:

• Ford and Toyota had a joint venture agreement in 2011 to produce and sell hybrid trucks on the market. Toyota took care of the production through hybrid technology, while Ford took care of advertising and promotion as one of the leading brands in the US.

• Microsoft and General Electric (GE) teamed up through a joint venture in 2011. They launched the Caradigm Project together, which aims to integrate Microsoft healthcare intelligence products with different GW health-related innovations.

• Samsung and Spotify also formed a joint venture together. In 2018, both parties had a deal to make Spotify more accessible to Samsung device users. A year later, they both decided to include Spotify as a pre-installed application on most Samsung phones, even giving new users a six-month subscription for free.

• Successwise, my company, teamed up with Systemology for a joint webinar. We sent invites to both of our lists to promote our certification programs. We each have very similar target audiences and almost everyone who needs Systemology’s services needs ours and vice versa.

Overall, joint ventures are created for win-win success.

Step 2: Choose the right joint venture partner.

Sure, you might think that forming a joint venture is a great idea. But really, it won't be beneficial if your business is not in the right hands.

Just like in any business relationship, both parties should be the right fit and aim for the same goal.

But let's say the market is saturated, and there's a whole bunch of businesses interested to work with you, how can you choose your JV partner?

First, you can start answering the questions:

• Who had your customers before you did?
• Which businesses or brands is your target market also interested in?
• Who's your ideal joint venture partner? (You can think of any popular business entity you want to work with.)

I suggest you focus on brainstorming your ideal JV partner. Basically, you want to collaborate with someone that has skills, experiences, resources, and assets that complement your own. Are there specific characteristics you're looking for?

Second, create a list of existing customers (who have their own businesses) and suppliers with whom you already have a long-term business relationship. You can also consider teaming up with your competitors or other associates.

Then, once you have finalized your list, answer these questions:

• What kind of reputation do they have?
• Do you share the same business objectives?
• How open are they to collaboration? And do they have the same level of commitment as yours?
• Are their core values aligned with your business?
• Can you trust them?

Third, if you want to go beyond the list, and are keen to work with a new potential partner, you can come up with a decision through these questions:

• What kind of reputation do they have?
• Do they already have existing joint venture partnerships?
• Do you have any idea about how they manage and run the business?
• Are they financially secure?
• Can you trust them?

Before getting into a deal, it's very important that you protect your business's interests. Sure, trust plays a big factor in this partnership, but you have to make sure they're worthy of your trust.

Step 3: Approach your potential joint venture partner.

Have you found your ideal JV partner yet?

Now, it's a matter of compatibility. You also need to do your part by showing your potential partner that a joint venture will be a great opportunity for both parties. Here are some tips on how to seal the deal.

Step 4: Grab their attention before making the proposal.

You don't need to wait until you're ready to make the proposal. Get their attention before you approach them.

Do you like their products? Buy some of them.

Are you interested in attending their free workshops and webinars? Sign up and participate.

Make them know that you exist without expecting anything in return. This is a great way to build a relationship, even before a joint venture takes place.

Step 5: Share some of your complimentary resources.

Let's say you've done your research and your potential JV partner lacks some resources that you can provide. If this is the case, go ahead and share your resources with them.

Step 6: Build Rapport.

If you're in the same industry as your potential joint venture partner, building rapport must be smooth and easy. It's a great common ground to start with.

As you initiate conversations, share relatable experiences and just be you. Think of yourself as an acquaintance who wants to get to know more about someone else.

Step 7: Leverage your assets.

Everything should start with some research. Find out what assets they don't have, and which ones are lacking. If your business has the capacity to provide them, make sure you leverage those assets to attract a possible JV partner.

Step 8: Personalize your pitch.

This is very important. Don't send a templated pitch or you won't get anything from your potential JV partner.

If you personalize your pitch, they know it's meant for them. They know that you took the time to get to know about them, and why it can be a great opportunity to join forces. Simply put, personalization gives you a better chance of closing the deal.

Talk about the potential partnership through their language. Mention areas in their business that need help, and prove why you're the right fit to support them. And just make sure that this partnership will be mutually beneficial.

Step 9: Draft your joint venture agreement.

Even if a written contract is not legally required to create a joint venture, I highly suggest you draft one. Just like any business transaction, it's important that the terms and conditions of your JV should be stated in a written joint venture agreement. This ensures that joint venture partners share the same level of commitment in the deal.

Now before anything else, you have to understand that your joint venture agreement should be drafted by a legal professional. You can find pre-templated joint venture agreements online, but it’s important that they’re tailored to your business. You need to consult experts.The draft for your joint venture agreement should include the following provisions:

• The business objectives of the joint venture
• The type of joint venture
• Each party's share or contribution to the joint venture
• Control and management of every joint venture party
• Details about how each party will share profits, losses, and liabilities
• How both parties will make use of intellectual property
• The role of the management and employees in the joint venture
• A confidentiality clause to protect certain commercial secrets of both joint venture parties
• Dispute mechanism between parties
• Procedures for termination of the joint venture
• Details outlining an exit strategy

Step 10: make the joint venture work.

If all the terms and conditions stated in the joint venture agreement are settled, it's time for the fun part. You need to know how to manage and handle the relationship.

Here are some tips for building a good joint venture relationship:

• Give your JV partner a great first impression. It's important that you get the relationship off to a good start. Show that you're reliable and willing to help in case there are any problems or issues with onboarding.
• Communicate with your JV partner. Communication is an essential part of every joint venture relationship. It's a no-brainer. Typically, you have to arrange regular, consistent meetings with business entities involved in the joint venture. Or at the very least, schedule regular virtual meetings if all the key people are working remotely.
• Be transparent. Do you want to know how to gain your JV partner's trust? Just be transparent. Be open to sharing information and resources that can make the joint venture successful. Be honest with what you're really trying to accomplish, and aim for the same goals. And if there are some internal issues within your company that may affect the joint venture, let your business partner know as soon as possible. The last thing you want to happen is to make yourself suspicious and lose their trust in you.
• Be open to changes. Whether you choose to cooperate with another company, it's still important to become flexible. Consider plans and suggestions from the other party that can improve the way the joint venture works—even if it means that you have to implement something new or unique.
• Be fair. Most importantly, be fair. There's no perfect joint venture. And I'm telling you, all partnerships can have conflicts. So if a conflict happens with your business partner, face it with fairness. Come up with win-win solutions instead of outdoing each other. Remember that joint ventures are mutually beneficial agreements. They're not only meant to please you or make you successful.

How to Maintain a Successful Joint Venture

A successful joint venture depends on different factors. But most importantly, everything boils down to the collaboration between two parties. You have to work as a team. Here are some helpful tips for success:

Step 1: Strive for clarity.

Make sure that all the goals and expectations of the joint venture are clear and agreed on by both parties. If there are any issues, discuss them with your JV partner.

Step 2: Balance contributions.

Everything should rely on the joint venture agreement. Always remember to balance all levels of investments and expertise contributed by both parties.

Step 3: Manage the joint venture.

By manage the joint venture we mean consider the company culture and management style of both parties. Entering into a joint venture can be challenging because no two businesses are the same. But it's important to find the common ground in terms of company culture and management style to make the venture successful.

Step 4: Provide support and leadership.

Whatever type of joint venture you choose, make sure you offer substantial support and leadership. It's always a give-and-take.

Make sure your team, and all business entities involved, fully understand what a joint venture is and how it works.

Be transparent with everyone involved in the deal. Allocate the right time to discuss the terms and conditions of the joint venture, how it will affect day-to-day operations and the end goal of the venture itself.

How to End a Joint Venture

For businesses who chose to cooperate with other businesses with limitations, joint ventures are expected to end especially when the goal is achieved or the project is finished.

But for those who chose to create separate joint venture businesses, there might be a few reasons why they have to be dissolved.

Some things change over time. A joint venture might become successful during its early stages, and end up unsuccessful due to consistent conflicts and unresolved issues. Whatever the reason is, if you decide that the deal won't work anymore, you can base your next step on the joint venture agreement. It's important that you know how to settle:

• Unbundling shared intellectual property
• Protecting business confidential information
• Settling who will be entitled to future profit from joint venture activities
• Identifying who will take charge of continuing liabilities

Dissolving a joint venture should be planned wisely. More importantly, aim for a friendly separation. Even if both parties are separating ways, you can still continue to trust each other and open any possibilities for potential collaborations.

Joint Ventures: A Tool for Win-Win Success

Joint ventures can be critical to your business's success. The resources, assets, skills, or knowledge of other businesses can help them scale, boost their reputation, and earn more profit.

On the flip side, there's also a possibility that it won't work for you. So as I wrap things up, I want you to be 100% sure of what you're entering into. Is your business prepared to enter a venture with another business? That's up to you to answer.

Make decisions wisely. Choose a type of joint venture that will benefit your business the most. Make sure to pick a JV partner that shares the same goals and vision as you.

And while the joint venture agreement is active, do your part to make the partnership work. Reach the goal with your business partner and it will become a tool for win-win success.

A joint venture is created when two parties combine resources with a complimentary, non-competitive business to achieve a particular goal. For example, a hairstylist might form a strategic partnership with a nail salon with the long-term goal of attracting new business and increasing profits.

Joint ventures benefit all parties involved. This alliance allows both companies to maintain their separate business structure and legal status while building a jointly-owned entity.

What is a joint venture?

We often think of our customers in isolation. In reality, we're one of many transactions they do each day.

For example, if you're selling some sort of technology—perhaps a CRM— chances are your ideal customer won't only be buying from you. If they've built a remote business, they probably need video communication software, a CMS, a project management tool, an online payment solution—you get the idea.

What I'm trying to say is someone has your customer before you do.

A different business entity has spent its marketing dollars to acquire your ideal customer. So forming strategic partnerships with complementary but non-competitive businesses in your market can be a powerful revenue-building strategy. In a nutshell, this is the concept of a joint venture.

What's the difference between a joint venture and a partnership?

Most people use these two terms interchangeably, but they're not the same. Four key factors differentiate a partnership from a joint venture. They are:

• Purpose: This is probably the most obvious difference between the two structures. A partnership isn't limited to achieving one project or goal. It aims to run the business for the long haul and earn more profit. Meanwhile, a joint venture's purpose doesn't revolve around earning a higher profit. This gives you more flexibility on which goal you're planning to achieve.
• Formation: A partnership is legally bound. This requires an agreement that explains the terms and conditions of the partnership. On the other hand, having an agreement on paper is not a requirement for a joint venture.
• Members: A partnership can be made of two or more individuals who form a recognized association in operating a commercial space. A joint venture can be made by individuals and business entities as corporations and even governments.
• Duration: A partnership can last long until a business is operating. On the other hand, a joint venture typically has a shorter duration since it only aims at a particular goal.

What are examples of joint ventures?

• Affiliate deals: You can promote products of a certain business with an affiliate program and earn a commission for every product bought from you.

• Referral deals: The concept is simple. You can join a referral program and share the best deals from your customers. You earn a commission for every purchase you get. You can also build your own referral program, then invite and reward customers for spreading the word about your brand.

• Gift cards or vouchers for your products and services: These are handed out to your joint venture partner so they can give them to their customers. It's a way to entice customers who tend to buy when there's a reward or a gift.

• Buy or sell leads: I personally don't recommend this. In some markets, this is looked down upon and some industries consider it illegal.

• Exchange leads: This is quite different from buying or selling. If you have leads that are not ideal for your business, pass them on to another complimentary but non-competitive business and expect to get leads in return, too.

What are the benefits of joint ventures?

1. New source of investment

Is your business looking for new opportunities to invest in a project or campaign?

A joint venture can help you test the waters and minimize the risk of seeking opportunities for new investments. Your joint venture partner is expected to contribute a certain amount of funds, assets, and other resources to the project or campaign, depending on the terms of the arrangement.

2. Save on more costs

Launching a marketing campaign on your own can cost you more. For most small businesses, it's like a gamble that never guarantees any worthy returns.

In a joint venture, you'll share expenses with your partner on a project or campaign, putting less of a financial burden on you.

3. Gain knowledge

Like I said earlier, your target market has other wants and needs. If you want to learn about a different niche or industry, a joint venture is the ticket.

4. Enter a new market

Although you'll be closely working with a complimentary, non-competitive business, a joint venture will give you a chance to enter new markets quickly. Some businesses explore more about a certain niche and realize that they can market to them. Don't waste that potential opportunity.

5. Possibility for business growth and expansion

Startups and small businesses typically have limited resources and access to capital for scaling projects. So if you’re going to join forces with a larger company or a popular brand, there's a possibility for business growth and expansion through a joint venture strategy.

6. Acquire intellectual property

IP is an important business asset. And if you think you have limited access to it, perhaps you consider hiring more people to your in-house team.

This is not the only way to acquire intellectual property. Your small business can enter into a joint venture with a different business and gain access to that asset. So, for example, you can work with your JV partner's Facebook ads manager if you're struggling with your campaigns. Start learning the ins and outs until you (or someone from your team) can finally master a certain skill.

7. Boost credibility

One of the biggest dilemmas of a small business is when they're faceless to the public. It can take months or even years to gain traction from a customer base.

Now, a joint venture can speed this up for your business. Forming a joint venture with a well-known brand will help you gain exposure and boost your credibility faster. Take note, many small businesses are doing the same thing, so it can take time for you to find the right joint venture partner that can boost your appeal to your target audience.

8. Avoid competition

One of the main reasons why joint ventures work is that many businesses would like to stray away from competition temporarily. By collaborating with non-competitive businesses, they can achieve their goal (whether to expand on a new market or gain more attention) without putting too much pressure and stress on themselves.

You can choose to team up with a joint venture partner and make marketing fun and valuable for yourself.

Are there risks to consider?

Risk 1: Lack of communication

You might initially gain a great first impression with your joint venture partner, but things won't work without consistent communication. For example, your JV partner makes a decision that doesn't follow the joint venture agreement. And they weren't transparent about it.

This scenario tells you that both parties had a miscommunication, and if it continues further, it will be best to part ways.

Risk 2: Incompatibility

If you and your joint venture partner have different objectives, pursue separate goals, or manage the business in opposing ways, it means you're not a great fit for each other. Typically, businesses only realize this after working with their joint ventures for a while. They might think that everything will go well according to plan. If the joint venture agreement doesn't clearly define terms and conditions, and both parties realize that incompatibility is the issue, it's best to dissolve the joint venture.

Risk 3: Imbalance

Different levels of investment, expertise, and assets among joint venture partners might not be an issue at first. No two companies are the same.

But instead of embracing differences, you should consider that there's a risk with imbalance. For example, the other business or party can begin to feel that their contribution makes up most of the project, and they're not getting enough from the other party. If this happens to you, it's best to talk about it. Consistent and clear communication can help businesses meet halfway and work out the issue.

Reach Your Goals through Joint Ventures

Joint ventures are growing rapidly and have gained importance in the market. Even if most businesses instantly use this strategy to make their way to success, it's important that you understand how it works and why you should be in a joint venture relationship.

Weigh the pros and cons before joining forces with a different business. Are your business's core values aligned with your potential JV partner? Or do you only want to join forces because they're a well-known brand and they can help your business boost visibility within the customer base?

Be careful with this. Just like in any other relationship, compatibility is a huge factor. The business relationship has to be built on trust and transparency. You've both taken risks. Make sure you're transparent with all of your goals, motives, and decisions. Now that you know the benefits of a joint venture, do you have any companies in mind that you could approach to form an arrangement?

• What are your objectives?
• How are all the companies involved benefitting?
• How can you ensure success?

Don't miss the opportunity to gain more access to new resources and work with another business that can help you grow. Check out how to set up a successful JV partnership here.