There's so many marketing channels out there adding to the noise that is the digital space, it's hard to figure out which ones are worth your time. Here are my top 5:

1. Chaos & Confusion

A sister duo helps you to navigate the digital marketing world with a fun and entertaining approach. They also cover generational differences, mental health awareness, hustle culture, and anything else that may be on their minds that week. There is no shortage of laughs, while also offering up some of their best business marketing hacks. They are on TikTok and Instagram.

2. Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast

Amy Porterfield is always a relatable listen, while providing valuable information for the modern-day entrepreneur. You can find her podcast here. 

3. Social Exchange Marketing 

Lela is a master at incorporating witty humor into her account that also offers up plenty of applicable advice for small business owners. She focuses mostly on equine marketing, but her posts benefit all entrepreneur...

Sometime between millennials being labeled "lazy" and "entitled," and the growing trend of entrepreneurship, rest was out and hustle was in. Then, unsurprisingly, came the burnout epidemic. 

I saw a quote on Twitter the other day that said "Rest is not a reward. You don't have to earn rest. You need rest. You deserve rest. You are worthy of rest simply because you are a living being. And don't ever feel guilty for taking time to rest." As a millennial myself, and one that despises the lazy title, I found myself working until 2 or 3 am every night. I say "found" like it's past tense, and I have gotten better, but I'm still guilty of overworking myself pretty frequently. So this blog is as much for me as it is for you. 

But the truth is, you can't pour from an empty cup. We'll actually get more done if we let ourselves rest properly vs. trying to work incessantly without a break. Research has shown that with regular breaks, productivity actually increases and more is accomplished. 

Re...

I'm dropping a truth bomb here: 

Customers are lazy. That's the honest truth. Before you disagree, listen for a second.

They don't want to be bothered with multiple steps and several clicks or to be brought here and there and everywhere. They don't have the time and chances are, someone else will be doing the same thing as you in less steps and in an easier way that they'll buy from instead. 

Personally, I don't consider myself a lazy person in any way except this one. If I have to go on some extravagant freaking man hunt to buy your product, let me tell you, I'm going somewhere else. Make it easy for me to purchase and I will be back time and time again.

Limit the number of steps to purchasing or receiving the offer to as few as possible. The fewer the steps, the greater your conversion rate. That's all there is to it. 

This is a novel concept to a lot of people, which is funny to me because it's always just seemed like an obvious approach to business marketing in my mind. But you should be treating yourself as a small business even if you aren't. Think: dentists and doctors with their own practice, salesmen, realtors, insurance agents, etc. This is how you set yourself apart from all the others in your industry even if you aren't technically a small business. 

Create business accounts on social media for yourself, spend time engaging with your ICA, create behind the scenes videos, go live, post entertaining, thoughtful content, develop a loyal following, and the in-person business will come easily. 

Hardly anyone in any of the industries that aren't conventionally considered small businesses are marketing in this way. Get started and get ahead of the game before everyone else catches up and the return on investment will be tenfold. Even small businesses in the trades such as plumbers and electricia...

Maybe your product sucks. But if you're confident it doesn't and you're not making the money you want, then you need better marketing.

If profits aren't where they should be, you're either not reaching enough people, not reaching the right people, or not resonating with those people. That is where effective marketing comes in.  

So how do you reconcile this? It's simple. It's not necessarily easy, but it is simple.  You need one or more likely, a combination, of the following: 

+ a stronger brand

+ more relevant content 

+ a defined and strategic marketing plan in relation to specific platforms (email and social media)

+ a more memorable customer experience

These encompass what I call "The Profitable 5 of Digital Minimalism." That is, the five pillars of marketing that will actually move the needle forward in your business. The other so-called strategies and trendy "must-dos" are time-wasters that can be decluttered and purged.

If you're intrigued and could use some more mon...

Marketing is all about connecting right? And nothing fosters connection better than stories. They have the ability to get people to relate to what you're saying on an emotional level like no other marketing strategy can. This is where the power in stories lies. 

 Any story can be used to further develop your marketing strategy, from the things that completely change your life to the every day situations we all come across. No matter the kind of story it is, I highly suggest including all the details you can. The details are where connection happens. For instance, if you're recalling a time from your childhood, and you mention the old Coke machine in the corner... that brings with it a whole feeling of nostalgia for so many people. Maybe the Coke machine isn't technically pertinent to the story, but that's something your audience can connect to. This is not to say, however, that your stories shouldn't have a conclusion or point...they absolutely should. A story with no conclusion is ki...

Here's the scoop: 

If you're attempting to market your business across all the platforms out there, there's no way you can do so effectively, rendering all your time completely wasted. Trying to be everywhere will mean you're effectively showing up nowhere. Unless you're a large corporation, with a huge team, you simply cannot be everywhere well. But maybe of more interest to you? 

There's no need. It's highly unlikely your target demographic is on every platform. I have yet to meet a business owner that has an ICA that justifies them being on all the social media platforms available. My clients will tell me they set up accounts on all the social media sites almost like it's a badge of honor. Following this exclamation, I ask: 

But are you posting consistently on every single account? The answer always to follow is "no."

Are you spending time to intentionally engage and build relationships on every single account every day? "Well...no." 

Did you set up your profile in a purposeful...