Marketing

Best ways to advertise a small business online 

Promoting your business doesn’t have to be difficult with these online tools at your fingertips. Advertising is now easier than ever, thanks to social media and search engines, which are teeming with both obvious and subtle commercials. However, this can also make for an oversaturated market, so smart businesspeople aim for certain types of advertisements that maximize customer engagement for as little cost as possible.    An introduction to digital commercials  Any prospective business needs to consider the likely costs of advertising. Hopefully, some of these stats help.   Small businesses’ average advertising cost for using Google Ads is between $9,000 and $10,000 monthly. Given that 70 to 80 per cent of users ignore sponsored search results, a search engine marketing (SEM) approach is arguably the best since it has the advantages of sponsored content without overly relying on it.    By 2026, it is expected that businesses will increase their annual social media budgets by 11.76 per cent. This shows a rising interest in using these platforms to attract potential new customers. However, there are ways to engage people on social media without spending much more money.   On X (formerly Twitter), 77 per cent of users appreciate a brand more when it responds to their tweets, but typically expect a response within four hours of their tweet going live. Businesses usually take as long as 10 hours to post a response. Thus, as long as it can be done in a manner that best represents the company, it may be worthwhile to build the habit of quickly writing positive responses to customers online.   Cheap ways to advertise in person and offline  Meaningful engagement that doesn’t feel like just business to potential shoppers is one way to make a brand stick inside customers’ heads. Other ways include customer loyalty rewards programs to lock in long-time clients, giveaways or promotions to get new people interested, and even sponsoring a beloved local event.  Hosting events in the local community is also a great way for business owners to get involved in the local area, meet customers face-to-face, and get creative with how they promote their products. However, this strategy requires a good understanding of one’s audience. For example, someone targeting customers who work 9-5 jobs should not plan an event in the middle of a work week.  Press coverage is a great form of free publicity. Its only downside is that reporters need something newsworthy to run a story. Business development should ideally tie into something relevant to the larger world, such as launching a new product that fights against global warming. Knowing how to write a press release is crucial in getting journalists to accept a business story.   Two takeaways for anyone writing a press release: keep it short and put the lede (the most interesting or eye-catching part of a story) at the top. To avoid over-promotion, smart business owners should only reach out to reporters sparingly, that is, when they have a good lede so that their updates appear more important.   Search engine optimization and buying Google results  While advertisements may be shown to at least a few people outside the target audience, good search results can often be exactly what a customer is looking for. Businesses can increase the probability that their name will show up at the top of search results on websites like Google by paying for a specific type of advertisement or using other methods.   For instance, search engine optimization (SEO) is the art of using titles, hashtags, keywords and other forms of content to increase the likelihood of a search engine choosing to display someone’s product. Shoppers use various online platforms to look for products, the most prominent being Amazon and Google, followed by YouTube, Facebook, X and TikTok.  Pay-per-click (PPC) ads are sponsored search results, which can be distinguished from normal search results by a little logo or text box identifying them as ads. Mileage with PPCs may vary. Half of all users cannot distinguish paid search results from organic ones, while 51 per cent of Gen Z uses ad blockers. Besides possible effectiveness, the cost may be a worthwhile factor, with small businesses using PPC ads on Google paying between $100 to $10,000 a month.   The combination of SEO and PPC is known as Search Engine Marketing. This is arguably the best method for increasing traffic to an online shop since it uses paid search results while helping a brand naturally reach more consumers without the potential turnoff of only doing so through ads. 

Enhancing your small business with Adobe Creative Cloud

From marketing to social media, this software offers tools to help further any business. The Adobe Creative Cloud is a handy tool for furthering your career. The software and applications can be used for many jobs and industries, such as social media, marketing and design. No matter what stage you are at in your career, Adobe Creative Cloud can be an essential tool. It can be especially useful to understand if you are an owner of a small business. Apps in the Adobe Creative Cloud can drastically improve the quality of your work and draw new people towards your business. There are many tools with different purposes available with the Adobe Creative Cloud. Here is how some of these applications can help enhance your small business. Photoshop + Lightroom Photoshop is one of the staples of the Adobe Creative Cloud and has a wide range of ways it can be used. You can use Photoshop to edit, alter, or modify different images and visual aspects and if you are comfortable working with the tool, it will greatly improve the quality of your small business. If you run a restaurant or food business, you can use Photoshop to create to market the food options available or adjust some images on your menu or catalogue. Lightroom is also another tool you could use along with Photoshop to improve the quality of your images. You could use Lightroom to further enhance any pictures you take by touching up and modifying details in a photo to make it stand out. Lightroom helps you remove flaws, add effects to images, and edit individual aspects of an image for in-depth editing capability. For example, in a food business, you can use Lightroom to make specific parts of a dish stand out like the main part from the sides or clean the image up by removing some imperfections from the picture. Learning how to work with both Photoshop and Lightroom can help improve the quality of your visuals and the implementation of images in your business. InDesign If you want to create advertisements and market your business, Adobe InDesign is the tool for you. InDesign is useful in creating posters, brochures or flyers. You can combine images with text seamlessly and ,use a specific layout while keeping everything organized. InDesign is great for expanding your brand and business image by helping you create a specific look and marketing direction you want. You can create informative content that will supplement your business and provide more background on what you offer.  Audition If you run a social media account or are looking into doing audio content or podcasting, learning how to use Adobe Audition would be helpful. Audition is used to work on audio content, allowing users to mix, edit or add effects to their audio. There are many ways the Adobe Audition can be used to help the content you make for your small business. If you are doing voiceover for a tutorial video or other video content related to your business, you can edit and refine that voiceover audio in Audition. You can also adjust the audio levels to ensure you are heard well and edit the audio to remove pauses or mistakes. For podcasts or short audio episodes, you can add in sound effects to engage the viewer or transition better from point to point with the use of fades and transitioning smoothly between audio clips. Adobe Audition is crucial to understand if you want to find another way to engage with your audience and create new content.  Premiere Pro If you ever want to add video content to your small business, having some knowledge of Premiere Pro will improve its delivery of our small business. Premiere Pro is a video editing software tool available with the Adobe Creative Cloud, and it has many features. You can cut, trim, or layer different video clips together and add text or graphics to the video as well. You can also edit audio on Premiere Pro and even record voiceovers or audio directly on the software to add to your videos. If you want to create short videos for your small business’ social media, you can do all of that on Premiere Pro. You can add your video clips to the timeline and edit them with the available tools. When you’re done with your editing, Premiere Pro has export presets that make it easy for you to optimize your videos for different platforms and the quality and dimensions on those platforms.   After Effects If you understand how to use Premiere Pro, you can use Adobe After Effects to further enhance your video content. This tool offers users better and more specific video editing tools. You can get movie-like edits and effects with After Effects, which can transform your videos into professional-level content. After Effects is used for motion graphics and animations to elevate your content and add another layer to your work. You can do things such as track individual elements in a video or remove specific content from a video clip. If you want to make better transitions or add unique titles or text in your videos, you can do that with After Effects as well. Apart from video content, After Effects can also be used on static images and logos to bring life to them. You can make your business’s logos or images more unique by editing them in After Effects and adding different animations. Subscriptions and cost Adobe offers users multiple packages and subscription options covering different areas and needs. But, if you want access to all the Creative Cloud apps, there are a few pricing points to consider. Four subscription options are available: Individual, Business, Students & Teachers and Schools & Universities. The Business and Schools & Universities options are meant for users who are part of an organization or enterprise. The Individual plan costs $78.99/month or $863.88/year. If you have a student email address, it will cost $25.99/month or $352.42/year. Learning how to

Online courses you can take to improve your digital skills 

Improving your digital literacy doesn’t have to be hard, with access to learning right at your fingertips. With the increasing usage of and reliance on technological devices, knowing your way around the digital space is important, and even knowledge of basic information can make a difference.   Digital literacy can help you move up in your career by building upon the skills you already have or teaching you new abilities in different areas.   Almost every industry requires at least some knowledge of computers and digital skills. Improving these skills can help you in fields such as business, digital marketing or cybersecurity.   As long as you have a reliable computer and internet connection, it doesn’t take much to acquire digital skills. Learning is as easy as enrolling in an online course and completing your tasks without the need to commute anywhere.   Here are some websites and online courses you can enrol in that can help you improve and grow your digital skills.   Coursera  Coursera is an online learning program that offers various online courses across the world. They work with universities, organizations and companies to deliver online lessons, degrees and certifications to users.   Some of the course subjects available on Coursera include business, physical science, engineering and social sciences.   In addition to all the subjects offered, you can learn digital tools such as the Microsoft Office suite, programming, social media, and computer science.   If you’re interested in learning about web development, you could take this beginner course offered by the University of Leeds as an introduction to web development to get you started.   There are various course levels on offer, from beginner, intermediate, advanced and mixed, allowing people at different stages to learn at their own pace and comfort level.   Users are given a seven-day free trial to start, after which they must pay $67 per month to continue taking an individual course. You could also pay for Coursera Plus, which costs $80 per month or around $545 annually. These subscriptions give users access to over 7,000 courses and professional certificates.   Skillshare  Skillshare essentially is what its name entails. It’s a platform where professionals and experienced instructors share their skills and knowledge with users through video-based lessons. Users can enrol in an online class, watch video lessons and create projects. Skillshare is more geared towards the creative side of digital learning, with many lessons on graphic design, social media, video creation, and others. If you ever want to learn more about YouTube and how to be more successful on the platform, you should check out the lesson taught by Marques Brownlee, a tech YouTuber with over 19 million subscribers.   Skillshare costs $10.75 monthly or $129 a year for the individual premium plan that gives users unlimited access to over 35,000 classes. You will get a one-month free trial to start before getting billed after that month is finished, unless you cancel before then.   LinkedIn Learning  LinkedIn offers online courses for people to advance their careers through LinkedIn Learning — a perk of being a LinkedIn Premium subscriber. Many of the courses are taught in video form, with much of the content broken up into separate videos.   LinkedIn Premium costs around $50 a month. If you’re willing to pay that amount, you’ll have access to over 21,000 courses on a wide range of subjects, including marketing, data analysis, and engineering. There are even lessons that give you advice on how to listen to customers or get what you want in your career. If you want to improve your digital skills and your basic knowledge of computers and software, you could take this beginner-level course on working with computers. You can learn many things through LinkedIn Learning courses and improve your skills on a wide range of topics. Just browse through the course offerings and find out what suits you at this stage.   Udemy, Inc.   According to their website, Udemy is an online learning and teaching marketplace with over 220,000 courses and 70 million students across the world. There is plenty of content and different subjects available with Udemy, including courses on IT and software, design, and photography and video.   If you’re interested in learning about the Adobe Creative Suite, there is a course that will teach you more about Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe XD and InDesign. Similarly, you could learn to get better with other software, such as this course on Microsoft Excel.   While Udemy offers many courses compared to other websites, not all of them are available within a singular subscription like other online learning sites.   Udemy’s personal plan for individuals will cost you $25.83 a month, giving you access to a curated list of over 11,000 courses. Some of the courses you’re interested in might not be available to you within your subscription, and for the most part, you’ll have to pay separately for a course you’re interested in.  

In the know about SEO

Knowing SEO basics is essential for increasing your web traffic and visibility. Search engine optimization (SEO) can be a very effective marketing tool for any business. In fact, according to Terakeet, SEO can help reduce the cost of advertising and obtaining new customers by 87.41 per cent. This strategy can be useful for small businesses that do not have the funding for other marketing options.  With so many terms and concepts to learn, researching this topic can be overwhelming at first. However, simply understanding the fundamentals can make it easier for you to get your website out there.  Keep reading to learn more about the basics of SEO and how it can benefit any small business.    SEO  SEO is the process of improving a website to increase its visibility on search engines. Every time a person inputs a search into a search engine, a series of results pop up on multiple pages. The goal with SEO is to get a website as high up on the first page as possible. Higher visibility means a website will be seen by more people — more potential customers for a business.     SEO can also help businesses boost brand awareness, which refers to the target audience’s familiarity with a particular brand. The more people see a business’s website through effective SEO, the more likely they will recognize the brand and become customers.    According to the Digital Marketing Institute, there are three key components of SEO, all of which are types of optimizations: technical, on-page and off-page. Technical optimization refers to SEO in ways that are behind the scenes, such as submitting a sitemap to Google. On-page optimization means ensuring that a site’s content is relevant to what users are looking for, using keywords throughout a website to help increase visibility. Off-page optimization involves increasing a site’s visibility through activities outside the site itself. This is mostly done by setting up high-quality backlinks to build up and maintain a site’s reputation.    Backlinks  A backlink, also called an external link, is a link to your website posted on another site. Backlinks not only improve a site’s reach, but they also increase the site’s reputation. With backlinks, quality always beats quantity. A few high-quality backlinks are far better than a handful of low-quality ones.   For the best possible quality, a backlink must be natural, meaning site owners should voluntarily choose to place a link to your website on theirs. If search engine algorithms detect that a site owner was paid or manipulated in some way into including a backlink, then the link is considered poor in quality. An effective backlink must also be reputable, meaning the site it came from should be in good public standing. If a backlink does not come from a reputable source, users cannot trust your site to be reputable either. Finally, a backlink should be relevant to a site’s domain and the page where the link is found. For example, if the website of an artist’s portfolio is featured on a business blog that covers local artists, the backlink will have page relevancy (since the specific blog post is about art). It will not, however, top domain relevancy (since the website as a whole is about business). Both page and domain relevancy are required for a quality backlink.   SERP  When a user inputs a search query into Google, the results are known as search engine results pages (SERPs). Google’s SERPs show both paid and organic results. Paid placements are more or less given to the highest bidder, and these are often not the focus for small businesses. Instead, small businesses should aim to be seen among organic results. These placements are “earned” as they are determined to be the most relevant to a given search based on Google’s algorithm.   Obtaining higher organic placements among SERPs largely involves the use of keywords throughout a website. Keywords are any terms added to a website to improve the site’s visibility. Keywords and phrases help Google’s algorithm determine which sites best match any given search. Ranking higher with certain keywords allows users to see your website more easily. The process of researching keywords requires quite a bit of work and often much trial and error, so make sure to keep your site updated with the most effective keywords.   EEAT  Google uses the EEAT system to determine the relevancy of a site to any given search. The acronym was originally only EAT, which stood for expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness — qualities needed to ensure a site’s relevancy. In December 2022, Google added a second ‘E’ to the acronym for ‘experience.’ According to Google, a user may want information on a product or place from someone who has used or visited it. In other words, someone with firsthand experience. Thus, the EEAT system is now used.  Websites should demonstrate EEAT to increase visibility on search engines. The Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab provides 10 guidelines for building and maintaining a site’s credibility, such as these:  Effective SEO can greatly benefit any business by improving its online visibility to grow its customer base. However, keep in mind that this is only an introduction to SEO. Each topic discussed here can easily be explained in more depth, and there are several other topics to explore. Continue to learn more about how SEO can help your business thrive.  

Launching a social media campaign 

Launching social media accounts for your business doesn’t have to be stressful With over 30 million social media users in Canada alone, social media is one of the most important tools that businesses today can use to market themselves. A strong social media campaign not only distinguishes businesses from their competitors but also facilitates connections with new customers locally and globally.  For business owners who are thinking about establishing a social media presence for their business, it can be intimidating to get started. Breaking down the process into smaller steps shows that launching a social media campaign is a highly achievable goal that can bring a lot of success.  Choosing platforms  Businesses have no shortage of social media platforms to promote themselves on. Some of the most popular ones today include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Many businesses elect to have a social media presence across a wide variety of platforms. However, more is not always better. Instead, focus on establishing yourself on the platforms that best suit you, your audience, and your goals.  It’s key to consider the types of posts that you intend to share. Videos work well across most major platforms, while Instagram is ideal for sharing static photos and Facebook allows longer text posts.  Visual branding  Once you’ve chosen your social media platforms, it’s important to maintain visual consistency across them. Use the same profile picture, bio, and header on each page to ensure your followers can easily find your business on every platform.   When designing graphics and other visual content to share on social media, aim to keep the look and feel of your posts consistent over time. For example, establishing a colour palette, using the same fonts, and applying the same filters to images all solidify your brand identity and make each of your posts feel like they’re coming from the same place.  Be deliberate about the fonts you choose for your posts and what they communicate to your audience. For example, serif fonts convey traditionalism and trustworthiness, slab serif fonts feel bold and confident, and sans serif fonts come across as clean and modern. Script and display fonts may work well for logos, but they can impair readability., Pick simple and clear fonts for social media graphics that include a lot of text.  Strategies  Business owners use different strategies to generate buzz online and increase their reach on social platforms. Social media can be a great place to run contests, offer discounts, and promote events. The goal is to make sure your customers find engaging with your social media page as beneficial to them as it is to you. For instance, running a giveaway for followers who share one of your posts to their story not only excites them but also helps you reach new accounts and potentially expand your customer base.  Scheduling tools  Posting consistently and at ideal times can be challenging, especially when there are so many other aspects of a business to run. Social media scheduling tools can make running a social media page much more manageable. It may increase reach, too.  Some popular social media scheduling tools include Buffer, Hootsuite, and Sendible. If you’re working on a tight budget, Buffer is a good option since it offers a limited free plan that allows you to connect up to three different social channels.  Establishing a social media presence takes time and effort, so start slow. Then, gradually build your way up, making sure not to take on more than is manageable. As you go, keep track of which aspects are working well and which aspects may need to be revamped so that you can continue to grow and adapt. 

Colour theory 101: A beginner’s guide for choosing the right colours for your brand

Colours play an important role in shaping a business’s brand identity and public perceptions. While a business can be known predominantly for one colour, having multiple colours available for branding, marketing and other similar ventures is strategic. But how do you choose colours that go well together? How will you know that your colour combination is pleasing to the eye? This is where colour theory comes in. Keep reading to learn the basics of colour theory and how to elevate your brand identity. What is colour theory? Simply put, colour theory is a practical guide for colour mixing and combination. At a fundamental level, colour theory explains relationships between 12 colours across three categories, primary, secondary and tertiary. The three primary colours are red, blue and yellow. The three secondary colours, orange, green and violet, are made by combining primary colours. Finally, the six tertiary colours are created by combining a primary colour with one secondary colour next to it on the colour wheel. The colour wheel The colour wheel places the 12 colours discussed above into a ring or circle. While colours exist on a spectrum,  the colour wheel helps visualize relationships between colours and map out pleasing combinations. Some basic colour combinations include complementary, analogous, triadic and split complementary. These are not the only combinations, but they are a helpful starting place if you are unsure where to begin. Complementary colours Complementary colours are opposites of each other on the colour wheel. For example, red is complementary to green. Complementary colours have the highest contrast and can be harsh when placed beside each other. Consider making one more neutral to lessen the impact, or use one colour as a base and the other as an accent. Analogous colours Analogous colours sit directly beside each other on the colour wheel. Their close proximity means they have less contrast and harmonize well. Sometimes, analogous colours might be too close together, making them hard to distinguish. If this is the case, try changing the saturation or value levels to increase their contrast. Triadic colours Triadic colours are equal distances apart on the colour wheel, forming a triangle. The three primary colours, red, blue and yellow, are an example of a triadic combination. Here, you may encounter a similar issue as complementary colours, and the contrast may need to be lowered. If you use equal amounts of each colour in a triad, none will stand out. To fix this issue, consider using one colour predominantly while using the other two as accents.   Split complementary colours To find a combination of split complementary colours, start by finding two complementary colours that are opposites on the wheel. Then, choose one of the colours and go a certain number of hues down one direction and the same number of hues in the other direction. You now have three colours, as one of the complementary colours has been split into two. For example, take the complementary colours red and green. Looking at the colour wheel, going one space away from green in one direction gives yellow-green, and going one space the other way gives blue-green. This leaves you with a split complementary combination of red, yellow-green and blue-green.  Combinations like these offer the same interesting contrast of complementary colours while covering a wider range of colours. Hue This refers to the position of a colour on the colour wheel and is sometimes called the “base colour.” The saturations and values of different hues are often changed to create contrast and interest in colour combinations. Saturation This refers to how vibrant a colour is. High saturation results in a rich, bright colour, while low saturation is muted. Lowering saturation all the way will result in a shade of grey. Changing saturations can drastically affect how hues look, making saturation a crucial tool for adjusting contrast between colours and improving colour harmony.  Value Value, sometimes called “brightness,”  refers to how light or dark a colour is. Black has the lowest value, and white has the highest. Similar to adjusting saturation, adjusting value is another way to change the contrast between colours without altering the hue. Perception The way we perceive colour is affected by other colours around it. For example, a red box on a blue background will not look the same on an orange background. Keep this in mind when choosing which colours to place beside each other. Placing colours that are too similar beside each other will make them both look washed out, while having too many contrasting colours will cause them to clash. Finding a good balance is important so the colours are perceived the way you intend. Accessibility When designing a website, logo or anything requiring colour, readability should be a primary focus. The colours chosen should be distinct enough from each other that anyone can understand what you are saying. Many free resources are available online, like the Coolors colour checker, which determines if the contrast ratio of two chosen colours is acceptable according to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Several other aspects of colour theory are more complex, but this is a good starting point. Continue to research and experiment with different colours and combinations to see what works best for your business.

The building blocks of creating a business blog

Blogging is a great way to attract customers and keep them interested in your business. By consistently uploading posts, readers will always have new content to look forward to. Blogging is also a great way to increase customer engagement while also enhancing retention rates. One of the most important aspects of blogging is understanding search engine optimization (SEO). SEO describes building a website so it ranks highly in search engine results. The higher your website ranks in search results, the more likely users will click on it. Using SEO principles, such as implementing keywords and having well-written content, when developing blog posts can boost your business performance by driving more traffic to your company’s website and generating more sales. Read on to learn about the key components to consider when starting your business blog to boost web traffic and create customer relationships. Keywords A keyword is a phrase that will lead to your blog post when searched. For example, if you write a post about common website design mistakes, your keyword might be “design mistakes.” Keywords must be researched thoroughly before being chosen to ensure they are effective. It is important to choose keywords that your audience is searching for. In the website design example, selecting the keyword “design mistakes” works well because it is simple but not too broad. If the keyword is too niche,  it won’t matter how high it ranks on search results because barely anyone will be searching for it in the first place. Using keywords that are too broad or popular is also a mistake. If the keyword is too general or popular, countless other websites will use the same keyword, and your website isn’t likely to rank highly among them. The key is to balance specificity and broadness when selecting a keyword. This will require lots of research to see which keywords are currently popular and what other sites are using them. Keyword research also requires knowing your audience well. If you know what specific phrases your customers are searching for, you’re more likely to attract the kinds of people who would be interested in your blog and, by extension, your business. Keyword optimization Once you have chosen a keyword, you must place it strategically across your blog to boost search rankings. This is how search engines will know that the chosen phrase is your keyword. Important places to incorporate your keyword include: Overall, you want to use your keyword several times throughout your post, but you still want it to seem natural. Overusing your keyword can be just as bad as not using it enough, as a reader might find your post clunky to read and inorganic.  Readability Readability refers to how easy your post is to navigate. Readers should be able to quickly find the information they are looking for and shouldn’t have to read your entire post if they’re only looking for specific information. Short paragraphs are a good way to increase readability. Breaking up longer text into smaller chunks makes reading easier on the eyes and less daunting than large text blocks. Another way to improve readability is by using subheadings. This splits your post into groups of relevant information and makes it easier to navigate. Readers only have to quickly scroll to the subheading they are interested in instead of reading through the entire post.  Links There are generally two kinds of links used on a website: internal and external. Internal links lead to other pages of the same website and are a great way to increase page views. By including internal links in your posts, readers will be directed to more of your posts or other pages of your website. Ensure that any links included are relevant to the topic at hand. They should lead to extra information, a more in-depth explanation about a topic, or anything else still related to the original post. External links can also be useful. These links lead to other websites and may be used to explain a topic further or to provide a source for some information. Either way, they lend credibility to a post and help readers trust the information you share. Images Breaking up text by including images is another way to improve readability. Images like graphs and charts can also help readers to understand a topic more easily. Even including simple pictures relevant to the post helps make it more engaging. If you don’t think your post works well with images, try including an infographic. An infographic presents information visually by using diagrams and charts instead of text. This is a great way to present the same information in a different format that is easy to read. Post ideas Constantly creating new blog posts is difficult, so here are some reusable post ideas to get you started. A blog is a great marketing tool for businesses because gaining more readers can increase customer engagement. Make sure to continue researching to understand your audience better and provide them with content they’ll want to keep reading. 

Snail mail or reliable classic: Is email marketing still effective?

With the growing popularity of social media, does email still have a place among today’s marketing strategies? Just as email seemed to overshadow more traditional marketing methods before it, will social media make email marketing less effective? Read ahead to learn about the future of email marketing and if businesses should be redirecting their marketing efforts to newer strategies. The statistics From a statistical standpoint, email still has the potential to reach a wide audience. A report published by The Radicati Group Inc. estimates that by the end of 2023, the number of email users worldwide will reach 4.37 billion. This is a 2.7 per cent increase from 2022. This number is expected to grow by around 2.5 per cent every year, meaning there will be no shortage of customers to reach via email any time soon.  A study published by Management Letters found that the number of existing email accounts is three times as much as Facebook and Twitter accounts combined. Email marketing will likely continue to be an effective tool based on the current and projected growth of email accounts.   Email marketing has also been proven to still be profitable. In 2009, companies could expect around $43.50 in return for every dollar invested into email marketing. A 2019 study updated this value to $42. Despite this slight decrease, email marketing remains one of the most cost-effective marketing methods. Additionally, email marketing contributes to around 21 per cent of total sales on average. Pros and cons Like any marketing strategy, email marketing has its pros and cons. As mentioned before, email marketing is cost-effective compared to other forms of marketing. Since there are no factors such as advertising or printing fees to consider, this helps drive down costs. Another pro of email marketing is that it is permission-based, meaning every customer who signs up for an email list has actively chosen to do so. These individuals are likely already interested in a business if they have signed up for email updates, so they are also more likely to engage with its marketing campaigns. Companies can also easily personalize emails, such as placing customers’ names in the email or including information that specific customers might be interested in. On the other hand, one of the downsides of email marketing is that many email platforms now have more sophisticated junk filters. If a user has not interacted with an email address, emails from that address may be placed into spam or junk folders. This means there is no guarantee that a customer will even see a business’s email in the first place. Another challenge with email is the long-term commitment. Many users come and go from subscriber lists, and it can often be difficult for businesses to retain their customer’s interest over longer periods. Quick tips Though email marketing is still effective, it can only perform well when used correctly. Here are some quick tips to help craft a solid email marketing campaign: Email marketing is still a viable option for businesses despite other online marketing methods becoming more popular. Like any other marketing strategy, creating an effective campaign will require time and research, but it will be well worth it in the end.

Finding your type: Choosing the right font for your business

Different fonts can lend different feelings to the businesses that use them. Whether on a website, a poster or any other media, your chosen font is essential to building your business’s identity. Fonts can help communicate your brand’s value and create a connection with your target audience. Keep reading to learn more about the different types of fonts available.  Serif Serif fonts have extra strokes on the ends of their letterforms called serifs. One theory suggests that serifs originated from extra marks on letters left from brushes or quills after finishing each stroke. These fonts are typically considered more traditional and lend a more professional, authoritative feel to your work. Older, reputable institutions like the New York Times still use serif fonts, suggesting an experience that comes with age. These fonts also have some functional value. At smaller font sizes, serifs can help to make letters more distinguishable, making words easier to read. This makes text more accessible to those with sight-based or cognitive issues.  Some serif fonts include Times New Roman, Georgia and Garamond. Slab serif Slab serif fonts are thick and blocky serif fonts. They are bold and attention-grabbing and are often used in logos or headlines. They stand out and are ideal for making a portion of text more distinguishable from others. Brands like Honda use slab serif fonts paired with bold colours in their logos for an eye-catching result. Due to their blocky appearance, slab serifs can sometimes have less contrast between letters. While words can quickly grab attention, individual letters may get lost in smaller sizes. They can also be overwhelming when used in larger blocks of text, so they are typically reserved for titles, headlines or anything else that needs to draw a viewer in quickly. Some slab serif fonts include Rockwell, Clarendon and Roboto Slab.  Sans serif Sans serif fonts do not have serifs on the end of their letterforms. They have a more modern look than serif fonts and are often used for their high legibility and clean appearance. Sans serif fonts have similarities to today’s writing, as pencils and pens do not produce the serifs that older quills and brushes did, lending to the modern feel of these fonts. Companies like Google use sans serif fonts to establish a cutting-edge brand identity.  Sans serif fonts are ideal for portions of text that are meant to be read quickly, so they are often not used in longer blocks of text. They are also great for signage since they can be read easily from a distance. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) recommends using sans serif fonts for signage to make letters readily distinguishable and easier to read.   Some sans serif fonts include Futura, Helvetica and Public Sans. Script Simply put, script fonts mimic traditional cursive handwriting. They include varying line weight – the thickness of each line – to emulate pressure sensitivity seen in handwriting. Script fonts often give off a sense of creativity or elegance instead of strict professionalism. Companies like Instagram use script fonts to articulate a unique brand identity. While visually pleasing, script fonts can be hard to read because of their elaborate nature. They are best suited for titles or headlines instead of longer blocks of text. The Instagram homepage only uses a script font for the logo, while the rest of the text is in a sans serif font.  Even when used in titles, script fonts should be used carefully. Since they emulate cursive writing, script fonts involve connected letters. Individual words can already look crowded if the spacing is not correct. Some script fonts include Pacifico, Alex Brush and Lobster. At a glance, fonts can say a lot about the brand that uses them. They can change how a website, logo or any other media is perceived, so they must be chosen carefully. The four classifications of fonts outlined here have several subcategories to explore, so there is a lot of material to work with. Experiment with using and combining different fonts to see which works best for the project at hand. Remember, this simple choice of font can help amplify your brand’s message and identity, so research and plan out your font choices thoroughly.

The rise of minimalism in branding: Is less really more?

Many brand logos have recently switched to a minimalist style, opting for simpler designs rather than elaborate detail. For example, the Burger King logo lost its blue swoop and angled text, while the Pringles logo mascot, Mr.P, lost more intricate features, including his hair. Are these changes beneficial? Is minimalist design always the way to go? Keep reading to learn more about minimalism and the viability of this design style. What is minimalism? According to an article published by Themeisle, four main elements make up the foundation of minimalist design: less is more, negative space, visual harmony and colours. The “less is more” ideology is most commonly associated with minimalism. The idea is to remove unnecessary elements and keep only what is essential. This does not always mean having the simplest design possible. Within branding, minimalism usually means stripping away what is not essential to the design’s core. Negative space refers to empty areas or spots where design has been purposely left out. Negative space is particularly powerful in minimalism. A lack of design elements draws a viewer’s focus to where design elements are used, giving the desired design more attention. Achieving visual harmony requires symmetry, a balance of elements across a design where nothing feels too crowded or sparse. Even asymmetry can produce harmony if done correctly. However, designers must be careful not to make an asymmetrical design look too chaotic or favour part of the design too much. In line with the “less is more” ideology, minimalist designers tend to stick to two or three colours. These colours often have enough contrast to be attention-grabbing while also not having too much that they clash. Is minimalism always good? Although minimalism has been growing in popularity, it has its critics. One criticism is that the recent rise in minimalism has caused logos to look the same. A study by Distinctive BAT showed 750 UK consumers a series of logos with the brand names removed and asked them to identify the correct brand. Brands that changed significant parts of their logo in their attempt at minimalism saw lower brand recognition than their original logos. For example, the new Warner Brothers logo, which significantly simplified its monogram, saw at least a 40 per cent drop in brand recognition compared to its old logo. However, some brands, like Burger King and Toyota, saw little decrease in brand recognition despite switching to minimalist logos. The study suggests this is because while these logos dropped certain design elements, they retained the core elements that made the logo distinctive. For example, while Burger King dropped the blue swoosh, the new logo still kept the red text and yellow burger bun design.   Recognizability plays a key role in how successful a minimalist logo will be. Fashion brand Burberry removed its knight design and switched to a sans-serif typeface in 2018. However, it recently changed the logo again after recognizing that it had removed a central portion of the logo. Sticking to its roots, Burberry brought back the iconic knight with a more subtle serif typeface. The redesign saw positive public reception, showing that a logo does not have to be minimalist in order to be well-liked.   While minimalist design is not always a bad choice, it must be used carefully to avoid sacrificing distinctiveness for simplicity. Consider the elements of your current branding or logo that make these designs recognizable. What about these designs helps customers associate the logo with your brand? Knowing which parts of a design are most important can help you decide what to keep if you choose the minimalist route – just don’t lose your brand identity in the process.