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organic vs paid marketing for small businesses

Paid ads or organic content: Where should small businesses spend?

When you’re a small business owner watching every dollar, paid ads can feel like throwing money into a black hole. One month, you’re getting leads; the next, crickets. Meanwhile, your organic blog post from six months ago is still bringing in traffic. So, should you focus on organic content? Or

small business noticed online - silver cherry amongst 4 red cherries

12 ways to stand out and get your small business noticed online in 2025

Imagine you’ve just launched a new consulting firm that offers specialized services to growing businesses in your region. You’ve invested countless hours over the years developing your expertise. Successes with previous clients have enabled you to create powerful case studies. You’re confident that your knowledge and skills will impress prospects

website glow up, Blueline logo

Blueline’s website glow-up

You know that moment when someone you’ve known for years shows up with a new haircut, new outfit, and a whole new energy? That’s basically what just happened with Blueline. They’ve been doing big things in the learning space for a while now with their AI-powered simulations, so it was

influence of social media marketing activities on customer loyalty, thumbs up and heart icon

We post for loyalty, not likes

“I haven’t got any leads or made any sales on social media.” “No one likes my posts.” “What’s the point?” Sound familiar? As a small business, you know you need to have a presence on social media. But, especially in professional services, it often seems pointless to show up every

how to find unlinked brand mentions, phone with links

How to find unlinked brand mentions for SEO

Looking for a quick win for your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy? Read on to learn about finding unlinked brand mentions. SEO is generally not a ‘quick hack’ kind of process. That being said, there are easier ways of doing some things—take backlinking, for example. Gaining backlinks from other websites

maintenance marketing strategy, wrench on yellow background

What happens after, “We can’t take any more leads?”

You don’t hear this often: “We can’t take any more new leads.” That’s what our client Financial Solution Advisors (FSA) told us recently, but not in a “we’re trimming budgets” kind of way. They meant it literally, because their pipeline is full, and their calendars are booked. Right now, they’re

pain points marketing, problem to solutions light bulb

No pain, no gain for these middle school theater students

Earlier this year, I found myself in front of a group of middle school theater students, walking them through how to define a target audience and value proposition for a small business. It was part of a cool project—the kids were creating commercials for small businesses in Holly Springs. They

JMH before after blog

Before & after brand refresh for John Merrill Homes

Have you ever felt like you could use an updated wardrobe? Maybe you’ve started a new corporate job and need some smart clothes? Perhaps you’ve started running and need more than one pair of shorts? Or you can’t wait to finally ditch the skinny jeans. In the same way, a

automated marketing messages, blue envelopes

Why you shouldn’t automate your messaging (at least, not all of it)

Who out there loves to receive automated marketing messages? (crickets…) I recently got a LinkedIn message from someone inviting me to subscribe to her newsletter for freelance writers. Sounds nice. Except I’m not a freelance writer. My LinkedIn profile makes that abundantly clear, so she obviously didn’t take the time

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