Business owners are not always sure how to measure the impact of their online marketing campaign. Accurate campaign statistics point out the strengths and weaknesses of online marketing efforts.

By following five steps, you can more accurately measure the success or failure of an online campaign.

1 – Track Each Campaign Separately

It is much easier to measure the statistics of one online campaign versus the complexity of tracking several campaigns together. Every platform is different. Blogging, direct email marketing and social media outlets all require different categories of metrics.

In order to measure online marketing campaigns separately, you must know what it is you wish to achieve for your business on each marketing platform. Set goals for each online campaign and track those goals separately.

2 – Set Clear Metrics

Thoughtfully selected goals for an online campaign should provide obvious, concise metrics for measurement. [Read more…]

Switching banks doesn’t solve anything for consumers. Retail banks have to be competitive and that means most banks can’t afford to break away from the pack of competitors in any large way. Fortunately, savvy consumers can elect several alternatives without making major lifestyle changes.

Avoiding Banks without Changing Your Lifestyle

Ditching a bank doesn’t mean keeping your cash under your bed or in a safe. Several alternatives to traditional banks are gaining popularity and offer almost identical services. Obviously, we all need to use credit and debit cards and would like to gain some interest on the money we manage to save.

These alternatives can offer exactly that. The strangest part is even the big banks benefit from some of these services since it allows them to partner with companies that can reach a different set of clients. [Read more…]

You don’t need to be a writer to be an author. If you have a skill, an interest or a hobby, then you can help others to learn, achieve or grow by selling a book on whatever subject you like.

You can outsource the writing of the book to a professional writer or you can have a go at it yourself. You’ll find that it’s easier than you think when it comes to putting pen to paper (finger to keyboard), as you just need to lay out all of your ideas.

Structuring the e-book helps with the whole process. If you love cooking, then you could write a short cook book of your favorite recipes, even those passed down from your parents or grandparents. Most any interesting topic will do. Once you have a topic in mind and you have enough content to fill a 20+ page e-book then it’s time to start. [Read more…]

Most website owners are aware of the importance of having a strong social media presence, but once they start working on creating that presence, it’s easy for them to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of social websites that are out there.

A couple of sites will create most of your social traffic.

For most companies, trying to have a presence on every social media site would be a waste of resources. There are a handful of social sites which have a huge user base, and focusing your efforts on those particular sites will generate the best results.

That’s not to say that you should ignore niche websites, just that you should pick the sites that you spend time on carefully. You might want to create accounts on several social media sites and link them to your main profiles so that important announcements get cross-posted; however, it’s not a good idea to spread yourself too thin. [Read more…]

Money is a tricky subject in a marriage. On one hand, sharing your life with someone means combining your finances and choosing to live within a single budget. On the other, your spouse’s spending habits or flexible saving rituals may drive you crazy.

How do you find balance when your financial and emotional health intertwine? Follow these tips to get the conversation started:

1 – Put your opinions on the table.

Loving your spouse doesn’t mean that the two of you agree all the time. You may have completely different perspectives when it comes to money. This fact isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker unless you fail to talk about it. Miscommunication can cause your relationship to spiral out of control. Why is your husband angry that you made a big purchase without consulting him? Why is your wife upset that you paid the rent a few days late? [Read more…]