Everyone needs a helping hand. Look around the world, the country or even your own community and you can find plenty of worthy causes to support. The problem is your resources are limited, so you have to pick and choose. To complicate matters, some of these ‘charities’ will help the people or issues they say they will, while others will just help themselves.

How do you tell the difference? The first place to stop may be the Internet. Here are 3 of the top charity online vetting services:

The answer is not obvious. A better question might be “Should I Change Hosting Providers?” The answer to that question is ‘maybe’.

You likely spent a chunk of change on your website and a reasonable amount more on other marketing driving prospects and clients to your website. In addition, you may have read my articles on why everyone needs a membership site and set one up on your site. Or maybe worst of all, you do eCommerce on your site and it’s not protected.

“Smile.  It confuses people.”   ~ The Joker

It’s almost April Fools’ Day, and no, you don’t have to be an infamous super criminal to take your penchant for pernicious pranks to new heights this April 1st.

You may have already planned a hundred ways to prank a pal, confuse a co-worker or flummox a friend, but have you stopped to wonder how all this April foolery got started in the first place?

And why April Fools’ anyway?

You’ve heard about the importance of social media a thousand times. Tools like Facebook, Twitter and others are the new way to help establish your company in the market. And even if you’ve already carved out a niche, you can’t rest on your laurels. In a constantly changing market, yesterday’s successful media strategy may become tomorrow’s albatross.

So what are the new social media trends that are popping up in 2017?

Featured Resource this week - Time Fusion

Automate Your Appointments

Are you using TimeTrade or Full Slate to give your clients online access for setting appointments with you? If not, you should be!

TimeFusion integrates Infusionsoft with TimeTrade and Full Slate to automate your appointment scheduling!

Check out others who we recommend - solid vendors and products that could benefit your business today.

Lead magnets are as old as time. They are at least as old as selling and advertising. We definitely didn't invent them in our era, even though they are a frequent topic in discussions of Marketing 101 to marketing trends.

First let’s be clear what a lead magnet is, and isn’t.

SBSM is an abbreviation for the Small Business Success Method. It was introduced by Clate Mask at Infusionsoft’s ICON16. It is a complete formula for success for your business, provided that you can follow it accurately, and that is the trick.

Here I just want to outline what it is and perhaps in a future article I’ll identify why you need discipline and determination to follow the method….trust me I know! I might even tell you how I know.

Featured Resource this week - Digital Product Delivery

Digital Publishing for eBooks and Downloads

DPD is an easy to use digital publishing platform for selling and delivering downloadable content. Upload your products to DPD and start selling in minutes. With DPD, all sales are paid directly to you with no per-sale fees, bandwidth charges, or commissions.

Check out others who we recommend - solid vendors and products that could benefit your business today.

When you’re planning out your mid-year marketing, it’s important to remember summer will be back even though it might not feel like it at the moment. More importantly, it’s a chance to remind your customers of it, too. Winter is a harsh time when customers aren’t inclined to open their wallet. Summer brings good memories of sun and fun, and when people are feeling relaxed and comfortable, they’re a lot more inclined to make purchases.

It’s that mindset you want to get them into with your marketing. To do this, look for ways to incorporate summer themes into your marketing.

Featured Resource this week - iMember360

WordPress Membership Plugin for Infusionsoft™

Unleash the power of WordPress and iMember360 to create your Infusionsoft™ driven membership site instantly! iMember360 - a WordPress plugin that turns a normal WordPress site into a full-featured membership site with all the protection controls you can imagine, almost limitless customization, and driven by Infusionsoft’s second-to-none CRM and e-commerce engine.

Check out others who we recommend - solid vendors and products that could benefit your business today.

Featured Resource this week - TurboDial

This Personal Communicator brings the Power of Infusionsoft to your Inside Sales Campaigns!

With turboDial you never leave Infusionsoft – place a phone call to any contact at any time right from MyDay, from a saved search or from contact and opportunity records!

Plan your calls in advance or make them spontaneously – turboDial is the only solution effective for both

Check out others who we recommend - solid vendors and products that could benefit your business today.

Do you write? Words? Music?

Do you draw? Paint? Photograph?

Do you perform? Act? Sing? Dance? Record?

Are you protected?

If you’ve gone through the supermarket or drug store lately, you’ve probably come across a display ad for Calgon soaps. Most of these ads feature attractive young women with dreamy expressions on their faces and the catchphrase: “Calgon! Take me away!”

And if you’re like many of us, the ad probably inspires thoughts of a well-deserved vacation. The cold weather many of us are facing, the deadlines and the pile of work we have waiting for us back at the office, don’t help turn our thoughts away either.

So what type of vacation will it be this year?

April 15th.  It’s a day that’s become seared into the memory of millions of taxpayers each year as they eagerly gather their forms for that nice big refund or perhaps wait until the last minute to make their reluctant contribution to Uncle Sam’s coffers. But depending on how you’ve organized your business, there may be an even more important date on your calendar: the corporate tax deadline on March 15th.

For some types of businesses like sole proprietorships and some single member LLCs, the middle of March is nothing more than another day on the business calendar. However, if you’ve set up your business as a partnership or an S-corporation, you may want take the advice Julius Caesar so flippantly ignored and beware the Ides of March.

Breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day because it helps you start your day out right, giving you the nutrition and energy you need to get things rolling. Just like breakfast, hitting your Q1 goals will help you get things rolling for your business. Your Q1 success is the foundation to base the other three quarters of the year on, and while finishing strong is also important, getting off to a fast start is even better.

So how are you doing with those early goals?