Digital BrandingLegal BrandingPersonal Branding

Everything You Need to Know about Online Brands’ Path to Profitability

on June 22, 2020

There is a common mistake the vast majority of brands make today — they acquire the funds but have no plan for profitability.

When you start a small business website, you should know that following the practices that most other entrepreneurs follow actually leaves you with a narrow window of success. Operating deep in the red and using that as a sacrifice for quick growth is one of the bigger reasons why many new businesses fail.

If you’d like to know what you need to do to become a profitable business in a reasonable amount of time, keep reading.

Place your focus on margins

Getting to figure out the way to profitability fast begins with knowing the cost variables on an income statement and how you can have them tweaked.

These variables include manufacturing, transportation, employee salaries, office rent, shipping, and marketing. Do know that the most expensive variable for digital brands is usually marketing.

When looking at each unit sold, as a brand, you should find out the total cost of operations and production and compare that figure to what is left. For example, if a brand spends $100 to produce a watch and sells it for $300, its gross profit per product would be $200 and the product margin would amount to 66%.

In order to build a sustainable business, the unit economics on day one should be positive. This is the revenue and cost per item sold. As companies scale, margins usually increase and can vary widely depending on the product type.

For example, apparel brands see margins between 40 and 60 percent. Hence, they need to structure themselves differently than companies selling accessories or prestige beauty where margins can top 80 percent.

Consider hiring a business coach

At this stage, it would be great if you could hire a professional business coach. Sometimes you really need a business mentor you can trust and turn to for advice. It is important to have support coming from a great coach.

This will give you some space to work out challenges that are slowing your confidence down. It is really important in situations where you have to deal with crises or conflicts.

On top of that, a good coach will help you see the forest, not the trees. In other words, a good business coach will always have an objective point of view and the ability to quickly identify problem areas that you couldn’t see.

A good coach will also be able to offer solutions or strategies you might have not considered or push you out of your comfort zone so that you can take your business to the next level.

Finally, experienced coaches are good at helping you triage risks and decide which challenges are worth fighting today and which ones are not worth worrying about until later.

If you are new to the world of business, you should definitely consider having this kind of support along your side.

Do not overspend on marketing

It is easy to get lost when spending on customer acquisition. To be precise, many spend too much on Facebook ads, paid search results, and promoted posts. Unfortunately, that kind of behavior tends to eat up a huge part of the product margin.

As a business owner, you shouldn’t scale unless you are quite confident that you will continue to attract customers without spending irrational amounts on advertising.

Some companies ended in hot waters when it comes to their finances. Various subscription-based services faced this problem when old customers started dropping out, finding new customers became harder to acquire.

So, if you are yet to hit the main growth phase, be very disciplined. Projections for future profitability can be distorted by an unexpected competitor entering the market or by a tweak to an Instagram or Facebook algorithm that raises advertising costs.

Try your best to find a customer acquisition model where you are positive on the first order. That may be difficult, but it is a safe way to play things out.

Your plan should begin with digital ads on Facebook, Instagram, and Google. It is easy to experiment with different messages and formats to figure out what works. Once you build a strong community, the ad game becomes easy.

Reduce the number of failed payments

Unfortunate things happen. A customer can have their credit card stolen, their bank can decline a payment due to a network error or exceeded limit. 

However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try to reduce the churn. You should focus not only on the voluntary churn but on involuntary churn as well. This happens when a customer doesn’t intend to stop using your services and wiring money to your business.

Start tracking involuntary churn and get a sense of your overall monthly churn. This will allow you to determine what portion of it is involuntary and how you should start the failed payment recovery process.

See how many of your customers canceled their subscriptions and see how many stopped paying due to credit card declines.

To find out, even more, take a look at their decline codes. This way you can isolate whether the primary issue is:

  • Expired card
  • Outdated billing info
  • Spendy customers who exceeded the card limits
  • Something else

The more data you gather, the better your results will be when it comes to reducing this type of churn.

Infographic created by Fiserv

 

Take good care of your supply chain

Do not get surprised by unexpected surges in purchases. If you have your own production line, be careful not to underestimate the need for your products.

When there is a spike in demand, it is time to profit. However, if you fail to handle all purchase orders, you might get the whole positive trend to backfire.

So, try to be as flexible as possible. Stock up on your products and keep an eye on the statistics. Be prepared in case a spike in demand occurs.

Try to have the best possible control over the supply chain. This will also contribute to the speed of scaling, which enables your company to meet demand and ensure that all customers are happy.

Do your best to react to demand in real-time and control costs. If you manage to do that, you will only contribute to profitability.

Final thoughts

The journey to profitability is unique for every entrepreneur. As the person in charge, you have to balance your investments in growth with efforts to generate cash flow.

However, it all boils down to one basic thing — the quality of your product or service. A product that makes sense and proves to be useful is generally a guarantee for a bright future.

Lead generation graphic
Digital Branding

5 Things To Consider While Choosing The Lead Generation Company

on June 20, 2020

Choosing the right lead generation company can be a daunting task, especially if this is the first time that you are looking for one. On the other hand, it’s an undeniable fact that generating qualified business leads is imperative for every business out there. Whether you run a small scale business or a large scale business, at some point, you’d have to work on lead generation, and the wiser thing to do is to hire experts for it.

We’ll be honest with you on this one: leads generation is a difficult task. If you are thinking about doing it yourself, you need to be ready to invest proper time in it as you’ll have to do a lot of research. But if you hire some agency for it, things will get easier for you and you’ll get quicker results.

One of the most common challenges that businesses face is hiring a lead generation company while keeping the cost as minimum as possible. Well, it’s true that the cost does play an important role, but there are other factors too that you should consider when hiring a team of experts to boost your business.

Lead generation graphic

1- Look for an experienced lead generation company

As said earlier, lead generation isn’t something you can do within a day or two. This process requires time, and above that, it requires a lot of experience. Before you choose a company to work on your project, you need to ensure that they do have the right amount of experience in this field. This is the very first question that you should ask at the first meetup. At least hire someone with an experience of 3 to 4 years in this field.

2- Ask about the delivery of results and the quality of the lead source

There are several different types of leads, and there are different strategies that companies use to generate quality leads. This is why you should first ask some basic questions to know how the company works. To understand their workings, you should ask about the delivery of results. If they present all the processes to you in a crystal clear way, then yes, you should proceed with them. However, if you see any red flags in their strategies, you should move on and find another agency.

Lead technology

3- What technology do they use to reach out to the potential clients

We are lucky that nowadays, there are a variety of different tools and technologies available for lead generation. But only an expert can tell which tool or technology is going to be effective. One of the most common things companies do is that they opt for internet marketing to generate leads for a business. If some agency tells you the same that they will be using the internet to boost your business, then ask them the strategy they’ll be using. Internet marketing is quite vast, so you should know the platform that’ll be used for lead generation.

4- Cost

Of course, the cost matters whether you are running a huge business or a small startup. You want the expenses to be as minimum as possible so when you are hiring a company, ask about their pricing policy and what they’ll be charging you. If it’s in accordance with their services, then yes, you should hire them. If not, and if you think there is some margin that you can get cheaper rates, then look for other such companies.

5- Online reviews

Online reviews can tell you a lot about a company’s performance and reputation. Use the internet for maximum benefit and read what people have to say about a particular agency and its result delivery. These reviews can tell you a lot about an agency and whether they are worth your time or not.

selecting a lead generation company

Conclusion

With the help of these five considerations, you can end up with the right lead generation company that will take your business to new heights of success.

Legal Branding

Legal Branding Issues: Social Media Mistakes That Could Land You in Hot Water

on June 19, 2020

From Facebook to Twitter, businesses brand themselves by using social media sites and digital marketing. While social media may seem like all fun and games and can be on a personal level, it can land you in hot water when you’re branding a business. Hot water that could land you in court with legal issues. If you’re having legal issues with branding, then turning to a firm like Cory Briggs small business attorney can help, and it’s best to have a lawyer on retainer before you run into trouble. In this blog, however, you’ll find a few of the top social media mistakes that can land you with a ton of legal issues you don’t want to deal with. 

Not Understanding Copyright Laws

From photographs to articles, there are many copyright laws that are easily violated when branding a business. For example, who owns that photograph you’re using? Even more, who is the person in the photograph and will they sue you for using it without permission? You always need to have the proper licenses to a photograph you post on social media. The best way to do this is by only using photographs you take yourself. However, since that’s not always possible, a good attorney will help you determine what can and can’t be done in this department. 

Improper Formatting of Sponsored Posts

You would think that sponsored posts would be easy to share, brand, and post. However, the FTC has buckled down on the improper formatting of sponsored posts, and doing it the wrong way could land you in court these days. If the posts contain numerous hashtags, links, or tags, then you must make sure to separate each legal disclosure. It can be quite confusing, so if you’re in doubt, contact your small business lawyer to ask for legal advice before you format any sponsored posts for your brand. 

Putting Up Fake Testimonials

Customer testimonials can do wonders for your product, service, and branding, as long as those testimonials are true. There are regulators that watch out for fake testimonials on social media sites and you can land in a world of trouble if yours are proven to be fake. This is known as astroturfing and State Attorney Generals are cracking down and enforcing these laws, so you want everything you do to be above board. Just remember, influencer marketing can have serious legal ramifications, and cost you a ton if it’s done improperly. Make sure you do your research and consult with your attorney if in doubt as to whether a testimonial you put on social media could be seen as fake or not. 

Not Reading a Social Media Site’s Terms of Service Carefully

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that all social media sites have the same rules. What’s okay for Facebook might not be okay for Instagram, and can get you in legal trouble for violating their terms of service. For example, some terms of service (TOS) state that you can only post images that you have the right to, while others are completely different. Read every site’s TOS before you start posting, just to be on the safe side and in accordance with their specific rules. 

While this post isn’t meant to scare you away from using social media when branding your business, it’s important to note that it’s not all carefree posting and having fun. There are very real legal ramifications if you make the above mistakes when branding your business on social media. Just be aware of them and avoid them at all costs.

Digital BrandingLegal BrandingPersonal Branding

5 Effective Offline Marketing Strategies You Can Use Today

on June 18, 2020

If there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s that we live in unprecedented times. In no other era of human history have people’s lives been changed so fundamentally by technology. At the same time, in no other era have we been so enamored by the past. According to Business Matters, nostalgia marketing has become more popular than ever, with more and more brands turning to retro iconography and techniques in order to capture the interest of a highly online market.

Looking for ways to mobilize that thirst for nostalgia? Check out these effective offline marketing techniques for ideas on how to stand out in a digital world.

Projection Mapping

One of the best ways to maximize technology in your marketing in the real world is through projection mapping. Business.com describes projection mapping as a highly innovative marketing tool that makes use of digital projections on real objects to create distinctive, kinetic advertisements. While it does need significant prep time and can be costly— an average of USD$ 10,000 per minute of projection— the overall effect is attention grabbing and memorable. Projection mapping can engage a wider audience and increase social reach by cutting through the noise and demanding attention.

Direct Mail

Direct mail is perhaps one of the less flashy but more effective marketing techniques that companies like to fall back upon. They do so with good reason — direct mail has an incredibly high ROI, and can cost less per lead than many other marketing techniques. It doesn’t always have to be boring catalogs or paper coupons, either. An article by Triadex Services on direct mail found that plastic postcard materials are 3-5 times more effective than typical paper postcards, improving an already impressive ROI.

Guerilla Marketing

Guerilla marketing has seen a surge in popularity over the last decade, and it’s not hard to see why. SmallBusiness took a look at three small businesses from the UK that employed guerilla marketing techniques such as a double-decker bus turned cocktail bar and a rap song and found that these campaigns were crucial in raising brand profiles. By employing unconventional techniques and creative strategies, companies are able to get greater responses and engagement than through standard, “traditional” campaigns.

Print Marketing

With the rise of smartphone use and the popularity of digital marketing techniques, you’d be forgiven if you thought that print marketing was dead. The reality is far from this, however, and print is definitely here to stay. All Business reports that 56% of all consumers actually trust print materials more than any other advertising method, even email marketing. While print can be costly and hard to update in a fast-paced world, it can still be an effective part of your marketing strategy, especially when used to complement your online efforts.

Business Cards

Finally, one of the best offline marketing strategies you can use boils down to one thing: the humble business card. While many may take business cards for granted, they are especially useful in a B2B context. Referrals and network-building are an essential aspect of any business, and one of the best ways to do that is through distributing your business cards. BNI founder Ivan Misner has written a piece on the importance of the business card and the most effective opportunities for sharing them.

Once you’ve captured the interest of your customers, then you can start work on keeping them. For more tips on building a stronger, more personal connection with your existing customer base, check out our article on ‘Why Retention Marketing Is the Ultimate Growth Strategy’.

Personal Branding

Why Product Branding Matters to Your Business

on June 18, 2020

If you’re a small or medium business owner, you probably know the importance of branding. Long before customers know what you’re selling, they’ll probably hear your company’s name, see your logo or check out your website. And long after they’ve shopped with you, your logo and branding will keep your company on their minds.

Product branding — the logos, packaging, and package design for individual products or product lines — is often distinct from your business’s branding. This is especially true with the more products and product lines your business offers. This product branding, which is often the first impression a customer gets of your overall company, matters just as much as business branding.

Below, we’ll cover why product branding is so important and offer tips on how to improve it.

Branding Can Encourage Product Recognition

One of the biggest benefits of strong product branding is that it makes your goods both easy to spot in a storefront and easy to remember. Distinctive packaging, over time, helps you build product recognition — which can assist your business in securing sales and new customers.

Word-of-mouth recommendations remain extremely influential, with 83% of consumers saying they trust recommendations from family and friends more than any form of advertising. Your customers can only recommend your products to their acquaintances and relatives if they remember the name and look of them. Strong, distinctive product branding is especially important for this reason — it’s what makes your merchandise easy to remember.

Branding Can Build Credibility

Sleek and professional package branding is a key part of building credibility with your audience. 

While your packaging may seem like it shouldn’t count as much as the quality of the product you’re selling, research shows that consumers put a lot of stake into a product’s appearance. Most Americans say product packaging design influences their purchasing decisions, according to survey data from Ipsos. The younger and more educated someone is, the more likely they are to say that they consider packaging in buying decisions.

Packaging and branding probably aren’t the only factors customers consider. Most customers will also consult reviews and field recommendations from family and friends. However, there is a good chance that your branding will be the first thing to draw consumer impressions. The mental effect of packaging goes beyond credibility. According to the same Ipsos survey, 69% of Americans believe that products packaged in cardboard or paper rather than plastic are more likely to feel “artisanal” or “handcrafted.” 

If you’re trying to appeal to an audience by creating an intimate or crafty feel, opting for plastic packaging could cause your overall brand messaging to fall a little flat. Professional product branding is also helpful in developing retail relationships, which are essential if you plan on relying on big box stores to sell a significant number of your products.

How you brand your product is also how you make it stand out against competitors. It also plays a role in developing a relationship with your audience. At some point, your product will probably be placed in direct comparison with similar ones — whether on a physical shelf or digital storefront. Strong, professional packaging gives customers a reason to take a look at your offerings rather than your competitors’ goods.

Branding Helps Customers Tell Products Apart

Product branding can also help you differentiate similar products in the same line. 

For example, a food and beverage company may sell two versions of the same product with some key differences — a standard bag of chips and one with reduced fat and salt. Subtle branding differences — like using words or phrases like “light” or “low fat,” coupled with a modified color palette and product imagery — can go a long way in helping customers tell the difference between items.

These differences typically aren’t major — most brands want to keep their overall product look unified — but they can show customers that they have options available. The right package branding decisions will help consumers make the right choice, reducing the risk of them going home with a version that doesn’t meet their personal preferences.

Building an Effective Product Branding Strategy

Product branding is often the first element of your company a customer will see. As a result, strong product branding is critical if you want to attract and retain loyal buyers.

If you want to build an effective product branding strategy, remember the benefits it can provide. When creating your product’s appearance, you want to balance professionalism — which makes your goods more credible to consumers — against distinctiveness, which will help shoppers pick your brand out and remember your business. 

You’ll also want to consider the different products and product lines you offer. If a handful of your goods are distinguishable by small but notable differences, your product branding can signal these variations. Even small changes in product packaging can help customers find the version that best fits their needs.

Lexie is a branding enthusiast and web designer. She loves checking out local flea markets and taking her Goldendoodle on hikes. Follow her on Twitter @lexieludesigner and check out her design blog, Design Roast.

Legal BrandingLocal Branding

Why Pursuing a Finance Degree from Online Colleges is Best

on June 18, 2020

When it comes to considering college, there are a number of extremely important factors to consider. What will you major in? What school will you choose? Will I be a full-time student, or is a non-traditional approach the best? While all these questions must be taken into account, the answers may be more related than they might appear at first.

First, choosing a major of study can be very important, as what classes you intend to take can strongly shape your degree program experience. A medical degree, for example, will require in-person courses, as there are heavy lab requirements, internships, and other hands-on learning experiences to consider. If your interests more closely align with the business, however, the options are much more open. Finance degrees, as well as other types of business degrees, are well suited towards non-traditional study, giving students the choice of format that fits their life best. Finance degrees, in particular, are especially online friendly, as much of the coursework revolves around math and accounting concepts that don’t see much benefit from face-to-face contact. While personal contact and social skills like leadership and teamwork are important in business, there are other ways that these kinds of abilities can be nurtured and encouraged from a distance. Group projects, for instance, may still take place online, working with classmates, and coordinating over video chats.

So if education in business and finance online can be just as good, what might help one to decide whether to go online or traditional? For starters, online degree programs are designed to be highly flexible, allowing you to work around an existing schedule if needed. This is one of the main reasons that people go for online degrees: it enables them to keep working, to keep watching the kids at home, or to avoid lengthy commutes back and forth to campus, all while still working towards a degree. Online classes are often “asynchronous,” meaning that you don’t necessarily need to tune in at a particular time on a particular day to get your lecture, as it’s recorded and available to be listened to at any time. Beyond that, however, it also means that you can review and re-listen to the lecture as many times as needed to fully grasp the content, without worrying about slowing down class for your professor or classmates. That’s something that in-person classes will never be able to match, as they typically operate on very tight schedules which leave little to no room for questions. At best, you might be able to stay after or visit the professor during office hours—at a convenient time for the professor, and not for you. A student with questions in an online class need only send an email to get help, and in particularly difficult situations, may be able to get that direct assistance with video chats. Most, if not all transactions, are virtual until that day when you receive your graduate certificate in finance. For a topic like finance, it’s almost an ideal situation, giving both the opportunity to have help when needed and allowing you to progress through the class at your own pace.

Another reason why finance makes an excellent choice is the usefulness of the field. Employment of individuals in finance careers is growing, with nearly every finance job cataloged by the Bureau of Labor Statistics experiencing average or better growth over the next ten years. Some, like financial managers, are even seeing huge growths of 16%, over three times the national average. Finance skills are extremely in demand, and any means of obtaining these skills will be valuable, particularly if it doesn’t impact your ability to continue your life as is. Combining the affordability of online degrees with a work-at-your-own-pace flexible learning style and the highly desirable skill sets of finance makes for one of the easiest ways out there to shift from a current career to the more profitable world of finance.

If you’re looking for a change and think finance is a good fit for you and your talents, it’s definitely worth considering an online program. They’re less expensive, just as good as a brick and mortar university education, and far, far less disruptive of your daily life. Get started today, and before you know it, that high-paying new career will be yours before you know it!

Digital BrandingPersonal Branding

Digital Marketing Essentials for the Medical Community

on June 18, 2020

Technology has transformed different sectors of the economy including the medical sector. The internet has proved to be a critical tool in the marketing world.

Just like any other sector, the medical community has taken advantage of the internet to market their services. According to a study conducted by Google, search engines drive users to medical facility websites three tines compared to other sources. The study also revealed that 44% of patients who search for information via their mobile devices end up booking appointments.

If you are looking to increase your presence online and reach many patients, then consider the following digital marketing essentials:

1. A simple website

Your website is an important element in your digital marketing strategy. It serves as your virtual office. As such, you should ensure that it is designed in a way that makes it easy for users to navigate. This is because not all of your patients may be well versed in technology and the internet.

When people visit your website, they are looking for specific information. You should, therefore make it easy for them to navigate and find whatever information they are looking for – in the shortest time possible.

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization is one of the best digital marketing strategies. If you are serious about your online business, then you need to employ the SEO technique.

The search engine optimization strategy ensures that your website is ranked on the first page of popular search engines. Another advantage of search engine optimization is the ability to focus on a specific category of audience.

That means you are able to create certain keywords that target certain patients in your area. For example, SEO can help bring attention to hydrogen peroxide IV oxygen therapy for those who could benefit from its medicinal potential.

3. Email marketing

Email marketing is another great component of the digital marketing strategy of medical professionals. Despite the fact that social media marketing appears to overshadow the use of emails, the truth is that email marketing is still effective. However, its effectiveness depends on how the strategy is being implemented.

Ensure that you segment and personalize emails to reflect the needs and interests of your patients. You cannot send similar emails to your existing and potential clients. In other words, your emails should be tailored to the needs of every client.

4. Social Media Marketing (SMM)

Social media has taken the world by a storm. It is estimated that there are almost 3 billion active social media accounts today. That tells you how much social media is influential in the modern world.

One area that has significantly been boosted by social media is marketing. Most companies have invested in social media marketing – because of its effectiveness. As a medical practitioner, you are able to reach a larger audience within a short time compared to other sources.

5. Content marketing

Content marketing is all about creating content that’s relevant to your audience. It is a marketing strategy that’s almost similar to search engine optimization.

When using a content marketing strategy, you generate content that will attract and drive traffic back to your website. In other words, content marketing guides you in producing content that’s engaging and relevant to your niche.

American ginseng
Local Branding

How To Find and Sell American Ginseng

on June 17, 2020

Ginseng, also known as (Panax quinquefolium) is a small plant that comes with fleshy roots that look like the shape of a human body. This herb has several medicinal advantages that are being reaped by the traditional Chinese and the Native American Indian nations for more than 5000 years now. 

The word about is now out, which is why there’s an increase in the demand for American Ginseng products. With each passing day, more and more people are buying Ginseng due to the fact that it’s known as a “Cure to all”. Ginseng is also called “Panax” which has a literal meaning of “a cure to all”. This is a tried and tested fact because this herb alone does provide numerous health benefits that no other medications and no other herb does. 

Think about it? Don’t you want to invest your money in a herb that is a solution to all your health issues? Don’t you want to get rid of the medicine box that you have besides your table, with each medicine labeled for a different medical condition? It’s high time to refer to the traditional ways that were used earlier by people when there was no such thing as a “medicine”. 

American ginseng

Finding And Selling American Ginseng 

As much as it’s beneficial for your health, you need to know that selling Ginseng is also one of the most profitable businesses at the moment. A pound of the roots of this plant can bring you hundreds of dollars. In other words, if you are thinking about starting a Ginseng business, you are about to take a great step as it will bring you the profit you are expecting. 

But before you jump to the sweet dreams of earning thousands with Ginseng, you need to know that finding it is one tough task. The American Ginseng is allowed only in 19 states, and this can be an issue for you. 

What makes things more complicated is that in order to harvest Ginseng, you need to take a permit first because if you don’t have any official permission from the state, you can’t harvest it in any forest or any state. 

If you think it won’t be much of a problem to harvest Ginseng without permission from the state, then know that you need to change your mind right now. It’s officially illegal, and you can face some serious charges, which is why first take a permit and then think further. 

Once you’ve got the permission and once you have enough stock to start selling, you need to get a license to start this business too. Getting the license isn’t the hard part. It’s easy, especially if you are selling quality Ginseng. 

Meanwhile, you should prepare a website or social media accounts to promote the American Ginseng you have. It will take time for you to grow as a business, but once you are famous and once people are sure that you are selling high-quality Ginseng, you will see how money starts pouring in.

American ginseng

Overall Verdict 

Selling Ginseng can bring you money, and we’ve told you this before, but the process isn’t as easy as it sounds. One of the biggest challenges is to find Ginseng and then wait for the plant to get mature. Hunting immature Ginseng and selling it won’t bring you any benefit, especially if people know that the roots aren’t mature. You need to wait for the plant to become mature and then hunt it down to sell it. Furthermore, if you know it, it’s your duty too to educate people about the benefits of this herb, this will be good for business! 

Author Bio: Qurban Shah is a freelance writer who offers guest blogging, copywriting, and blogger outreach services. Currently, he is writing a product review and buying guide on MetalDetectorsGuide.

totrillas
Local Branding

Top 5 Cool Things To Do With Tortillas

on June 14, 2020

There was a time when tortillas were considered the national superfood of Mexico, but times have changed now. As of now, tortillas are famous all around the world, and well, it’s justified because they are absolutely delicious if you just know how to use them properly. 

Speaking of which, if you ever want to treat your tastebuds with some of the best-tasting tortillas, you should try Lupe Tortilla. The flavors, the crisp, the sauce, each and everything is finger-licking good. 

chicken tortilla

However, that’s not it! If you want to try making different unique meals out of tortillas yourself, you can easily do that without any hassle. It’s just that you should think about something other than making quesadillas. The coolest thing about tortillas is that even if you are following the renowned “keto diet”, you can still use them. Yes, you read that, right! As per the approved science keto, you can buy low carb tortillas and use them to make some exceptional and fulfilling meals for yourself. 

Here are some of the coolest things you can do with tortillas:

 

breakfast tortillas

1- Make breakfast quesadillas 

Take some shredded cheddar cheese, scrambled eggs, and some crispy fried bacon. Put it all on one tortilla and then top it with another tortilla. Make both the sides brown and enjoy your breakfast quesadilla with some sour cream or salsa sauce (just as you like). 

2- Mexican cheese crisp 

Put some shredded cheddar cheese on a tortilla, cook some ground beef and make sure it’s crispy enough to be used with a tortilla. You can even opt for jalapeno slices or chorizo if you want. Once all the ingredients are in place, just broil it until bubbles appear. This is how you make a Mexican cheese crisp, which is an excellent snack. 

torilla pinwheels

3- Pinwheels 

If you still crave for pinwheels even as an adult, don’t worry because you can always use tortillas to make the all famous, Italian pinwheels. What you need to do is to spread some cream cheese on one side of the tortilla and spread pesto on the other side. Now take some minced basil with sliced prosciutto and sun-dried tomatoes for extra taste. Now roll it all up and put it inside the fridge for a while until you know it’s ready for you to consume. You can cut them in slices and present it to your guests as an evening snack. 

4- Salsa with sweet chips 

There’s no other thing as amazing as the salsa sauce. Especially if you have tortillas in your kitchen, there are high chances that you do have a jar of salsa sauce too. To make the sweet chips, brush some butter on the tortillas and sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon on top. Cut the tortilla in triangles and then bake them until they turn brown. You can then serve your sweet chips with some fruit salsa sauce. 

5- Cream and peaches 

Chopped pecans, mascarpone cheese, sliced peaches, and peach preserves are all that you need. If you have them all, just put them on a tortilla and put it inside a skillet until it turns brown. You can now serve it with a mixture of whipped cream and cinnamon powder. It’s a unique dish, and you’ll absolutely love it. 

tacos with salsa

Conclusion – Making the Best Torillas

These are some of the best and the coolest things you can make with a tortilla. The fact is that there are hundreds of other things that you can make with a tortilla, we’ve just mentioned the simplest and the coolest ones. Try any one of these recipes and use the meal as a snack or dinner. In both cases, it’s going to be fulfilling for you. 

Digital Branding

How to Get Media Coverage and Good PR for Your Startup

on June 12, 2020

When you are first starting out, one of the biggest issues that you may have is getting media attention. It is difficult to build credibility, awareness, and exposure if you aren’t able to gain media coverage. 

It is important to find the right methods of getting media exposure because some may not work when you are first starting out. So, you may need to be a bit creative when thinking about how to get press. This guide can provide you with the tools that you would need to win the media coverage that you need. We will look at:

What is media coverage?

Before you can start applying media coverage tips to your business, you need to know what it is. However many ways you look at it, media coverage basically means publicity and in the world of PR, it can also be called “earned media”.

Your goal is to win earned media, which is a way of building your company’s reputation by using press coverage through third-party media publications. You will also be applying owned media, which would be any content that you are publishing on your own channels.

Earned media vs. Owned Media vs. Paid Media

There are many media and marketing tactics that can grow your company and they may all seem confusing together, but let me break it down for you.

Earned media can include Social media shares, viral content, customer success stories, recommendations, guest articles, product review pages, and media mentions. This is media that you have basically “earned” it comes from the things that you are posting and feedback from your target audience. 

What are the benefits of earned media?

  • Builds awareness: it allows you to reach more of your targeted audience. It opens you up to new customers across different media outlets. It gets more eyes on your product/service. 
  • Heightens your credibility: Producing great articles for publication can demonstrate your industry knowledge and build credibility in your field. It shows that you are informed about the market that you are trying to break through. 
  • Boosts your SEO, Increases your leads and sales, and ultimately increases trust.

Owned media can include Blogs, websites, mobile apps, whitepapers, case studies, social media accounts, and media kits. This type of media is what you create on your own, things that you have put up that are trying to reach an audience. 

Paid media can include PPC ads, sponsored content, display/banner ads, and retargeting. It is basically advertising that is directly paid for. This would include using social media influencers to promote your product/service. It can be very effective in driving traffic to your business, but you would need to gain and receive sufficient trust within your target market, which is where the influencers come in.

STEPS TO GET MEDIA COVERAGE FOR YOUR STARTUP

STEP 1: Build your narrative using owned media

You need to make sure that your internal message, branding, and in-house content is in great condition so that when you pitch to media outlets, it seems like you know exactly what you’re doing. If the things that you are writing and posting are lacking in detail and looks like it has been done by an amateur, you are less likely to even care about giving you media coverage.

Make sure that you convey who you are, what you do, and what your values are.

STEP 2: Identify the most relevant journalists

The media coverage that you are trying to get should and need to be relevant to your business. Which is why it is important that you research where and how you want to win your earned media. 

  • Make a list of all the publications that you read and that you are aware is related to your industry. 
  • Use tools to find publications that your competition has put up and have gained media coverage in 
  • Select a few keywords that are related to your business or industry 

STEP 3: Setup media monitoring

This is relatively related to the last step, it is important once you have posted or been posted that you listen to what your target audience is saying about your brand, your competitors and anything that is related to your business.

STEP 4: PR Tactics for winning press coverage: 

  • Guest articles 
  • Press releases
  •  Podcast appearances 
  • Product Reviews Page 
  • Newsjacking 
  • Interviews

STEP 5: Goal setting

It is important that you set reasonable goals for yourself. Basically state things that you know you can achieve, because if you aim too high and you are not able to achieve them, it would seem that you are unreliable to your audience.

STEP 6: Start building relationships with the press

Make friends with the press, you need them on your team if you want to emerge into the market. You can start building relationships through social media, connecting with them locally, and using programs like HARO to find the relevant journalists and media outlets for you. 

STEP 7: Pitching to media outlets

Once you have developed a relationship with them, you can start pitching to them. However, do not do it in a way that seems pushy. Find a way to connect with them on their level first and then go from there. At the end of the day, they are getting so many messages daily about people that want media coverage, so find a way to stand out and they are more likely to read through your pitch.

Provide a good hook for them to be attracted to by

  • Providing a fresh perspective 
  • Offering new insight 
  • Challenging the norm 
  • Breaking new ground 

Media coverage is a very important part of PR, so figure out a way to be personal and different from the competition. Make sure that what you are doing is relevant to them, don’t waste your time pitching to an outlet that doesn’t accept guest posts, don’t pitch to more than one person at the same publication at the same time, and when you are trying to follow-up, don’t seem too needy or pushy. 

You want them to like you. You want them to be interested in what you are trying to get media coverage for. You want to be different.

To get professional help from our PR professional to create your customized email pitches, press releases, press kits, etc. Check out our website and our packages for more information.

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