Would you like to learn some highly effective digital marketing strategies? But first of all, what is “digital marketing”? Some people believe it’s a different form of internet marketing, but in truth, it’s actually the same thing. These days people come up with all different kinds of terms to re-describe the same thing. Digital marketing is the same thing – people are just trying to profit off of a different wording of the same topic.I’m sure you’ve probably also heard the terms: “inbound marketing”, “influencer marketing”, “outbound marketing”, and etc. But all of those are the same concepts of internet marketing strategies that have been already tested and proven to work. These people are just now figuring this stuff out. So digital marketing is just internet marketing. And also, some people get it confused with eBook marketing.If you’ve ever heard of someone say “digital download”, that means that a product will be available for you to download immediately after you order. This is called a “digital product”. This is not digital marketing in its full form. Digital marketing is just a familiar term that people interchangeably use to describe tactics for promoting your products on the internet. With that out of the way, would you finally like to learn some highly effective digital marketing strategies?I want to go over a few concepts that will allow you to soar past your competitors and get you the increased traffic, sales, and profits that you are looking for. These tactics are easy to use and implement, and are simple ways that you can improve everything that you’re doing within a short period of time. Let’s take a look at the first strategy that you can use to improve your digital marketing efforts:1) Guest blog postsIt doesn’t matter what industry or niche that you operate in. With guest blog posts, you can stand out and position yourself as the “go to person” in your niche for whatever you do. You will stand out as the authority and the expert that people will instantly think of whenever your line of work comes to mind. This is essential to know, because credibility is everything online, and standing out as the obvious expert is a crucial step in gaining more new sales.So I guess you’re wondering what guest blog posts are huh? It’s okay if you don’t know. A guest blog post is simply a lengthy and informative blog post about something that you’re knowledgeable about. The blog that you submit your guest blog post to should be in your niche, and shouldn’t be a rival competitor of yours. Do you know why this is such a highly effective strategy?Usually high traffic and famous blogs in your niche will have a high readership. This means TONS of free promotion for you and your website – should your information be good – and should the blog owner request that you send more blog posts. If you can get a partnership where the blog owers wants to exclusively collaborate with you because you offer great content, this could be an endless supply of free traffic for you.Plus, you have to think about the syndication that this will get you also on social media. The more blogs you post on, and the awesome job that you do, the more your reputation will increase, and the more you will become an expert on your subject. Soon people will be coming to you, looking for more of your great information that they can use in their lives. Here’s another highly effective digital marketing strategy that you can do:2) Viral eBook marketingViral eBook marketing can do wonders for your website traffic and your business. Imagine writing a free eBook about a topic in your niche, and having it available for download on your website. You can put your website link(s) all over it, and tell the readers that they can offer it for free on their website (as a form of free content), and that they should pass it around to their friends and colleagues.This can be an amazing free traffic tool for you. The more people who download it will have the ability to use it for themselves, offer it for free, and recommend it to others. Soon with enough people downloading your free eBook, it can take off on its own and be a major traffic tool for you without you doing a thing. As long as the content is good and it benefits people, offer it on your website and let it do its thing.You will want to include your homepage link inside of it, your affiliate program link, a link to your blog or articles page, and a link to a page that has your products or services on it. That way while people are reading through your book, they will have the chance to click through to your site multiple times and potentially sign up for one of your offers. This can be a big deal.Not only that, you can submit it to the free eBook directories. eBook directories store your eBook for people to read, download, and use for promotional content on their site. Plus on some eBook directories, they require a direct link – thus giving you a high quality and relevant backlink to your site. This is digital marketing 101, and once you put it into use, you’ll see how well it can work for your business.These are 2 highly effective digital marketing strategies that you can use to improve your traffic, sales and profits right away. There are many more techniques that you can use to boost your sales for your website, but these 2 alone can put you over and above your competitors. The biggest thing to understand is that it takes repetitive efforts, and daily work to make any digital marketing strategy work. You don’t get results and make money if you’re lazy. So keep that in mind. Good luck!

We all hear about the alarming statistics stating spectacular rates of failure for small business in Australia. The numbers are enough to scare off most budding entrepreneurs. Surprisingly, we hear little about the key success factors. Those things, which done well, could help your small business flourish.I talked to Margie Sheedy, author of The Small Business Success Guide, to discuss the keys to the successful operation of a small business. Her insight, as both an entrepreneur, and a small business journalist with more than 20 years experience under her belt, will prove valuable for all small business, regardless of the industry.KP: What do you believe are the keys to owning and operating a small business?Margie Sheedy:Owing a small business is a spectacularly individual adventure. You’ll have different levels of entrepreneurial experience from the small business owner next to you. What is universal is that you’re expected to know a lot about everything in business, from marketing and managing staff to cashflow and customers, often straight away.So one of the major keys to being a successful small business owner is opening yourself up to finding trustworthy, practical ideas, and then putting them into a plan. As a business owner myself, I know how time-consuming this can be. That’s why I wrote The Small Business Success Guide in a question and answer format, so that all the information you need is in one easy-to-understand resource.KP: Why are these ‘success keys’ so important to the running of the business?Margie Sheedy:Getting the right advice means you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. You can hit the ground running. You also will be giving yourself the time to think strategically about your business (working on, not just in your business). That way, you’ll know exactly why you do certain things, and how you could do them smarter, not harder.KP: From your experience, where do you believe most business owners get it wrong?Margie Sheedy:Most people start a small business without having anything written down. They think that having a vision in their heads is enough. But when your business playing field changes – for example, there could be a lull in sales, production prices might go up or your customers’ tastes may change – you won’t have any articulated strategies to help you and your team weather the storm.On the flip-side, when things are going well you will also have problems. You might need finance to grow or you may want to sell your business. Even the most generous bank manager or business purchaser will want to see why your business is worth the investment. And they’ll need more than your word to seal the deal.KP: Many entrepreneurs are wearing many hats, and can feel overwhelmed, what can they do to overcome this situation?Margie Sheedy:Realise that you can’t do it all. Start to think of yourself as the brain surgeon of your business, and value your time. Would you pay a brain surgeon to mop up after an operation? Consider enlisting the help of others to do some of the more menial tasks in your business.If you think you can’t afford to outsource anything, or you like wearing all your hats, you will burn yourself out. Instead, learn to delegate so that you have time to seriously look at your business’ future direction.Another way to take the stress out of wearing many hats is to plan your day in chunks of time. Allocate several times a day to answer calls. Stick to your schedule, not someone else’s. Then at the end of the day, you’ll feel a sense of achievement because you’ll have actually got a few things done and not spent it chasing your tail.And finally, be aware of your stress levels. Recognise how stress affects you physically. When things feel overwhelming, make a conscious effort to stop, take a deep breath and calmly go for a walk to clear your head. It will be time well spent!KP: Despite many claiming the Global Financial Crisis to be over, many business owners are still facing challenges, what is your advice to them?Margie Sheedy:Address the worst things first. In The Small Business Success Guide, I quote Dr. Graham Godbee of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management: he calls this your ‘triage strategy’. What sort of injury (major challenges) is your business encountering? Are you bleeding internally or just in need of a band-aid solution? Look at what’s caused the injury, and how you can fix it. Here are a couple of tips.* Keep a firm eye on your cash flow so that you know exactly where your business is at financially, and how much time you have before any financial challenges make things more serious.* Nurture your existing customers. It’s six times more profitable to sell to an existing customer than to find new ones. So foster relationships and give great customer service: after all, it’s your customers, clients and suppliers who will sustain you through tough times.* Talk to your team. How do they think your business can do things better? Use their brain power to help you work out some solutions to your challenges. By engaging them, you’ll be motivating your team. A healthy business, after all, is somewhere people like to go to every day.* Be honest about your own strengths and weaknesses, and commit yourself to doing things differently if your management style is part of the problem.* Ask for outside help from advisers you trust, such as your accountant or solicitor or business adviser. Remember, a dumb question is only dumb if you don’t ask it.