33 things you can do to grow your business today

Every day you are given the gift of time (OK, so there is never enough of it, but all you can do is make the most out of what you do have).  So what are you going to do during that time?

There are so many demands on your time, your To Do list is growing rapidly and there is always a fire to put out.  BUT what happens is you become too reactive and not proactive enough.  We all spend so much time reacting to things, we never get to being proactive about the important things – the things that will help grow a business.

So let’s set aside some time each day and let’s pick 3 things that will help grow our businesses.

There is no magic pill or fairy dust that produces traffic.  But there are a bunch of activities you can engage in that will produce traffic.  There ARE 3 things you can do today to help grow your business. Then there are 3 more things tomorrow. The next day you could try doing 3 more things.  You get the idea. Daily action puts you a step closer to your goals.

So what are the 3 things you could do? Let me give you some ideas:

1. Check on your exposure in the search engines – there is usually something you can do to boost your SEO efforts.  Add content, check for broken links, look at web stats and Webmaster Tools and identify problem areas, build links, ask your SEO firm how you can help (if you’ve outsourced the work) etc.

2. Get active on Facebook. Some ideas:

• a. If you don’t have a Fan Page – get one. (Need help with that? Email me and I’ll get you a quote).
• b. Invite new friends and fans so you can network and connect.
• c. Post to your Fan page and engage fans.
• d. Look into a contest to grow your fan base.
• e. Make sure your Blog, Facebook, Twitter and site are all working well together for maximum benefit.

3. Get active on Twitter:

• a. If you don’t have an account yet, get one started.
• b. Writer tweets and engage your followers.
• c. Connect with industry leaders.
• d. Share content.
• e. Build followers.

4. Build content for your site or Blog.  Make it interesting, engaging and be sure you include calls to action.

5. Write a newsletter or email offer for your list.

6. Check your Blog’s backend and be sure it’s properly configured with the right plugins to get maximum benefit.

7. Check your web stats and find areas you can improve your site to increase your bottom line.

8. Check for 404 errors and clean up your site.  Not as fun but important none the less.

9. Review Webmaster Tools and see what you can learn to improve the optimization of your site.  (Notice I mentioned it in the first suggestion and then slid it in there again?  It was worth repeating)

10. Review content and make sure there are no errors, make sure your copy is clean and tight and prepared to sell your site visitors when they enter your site.

11. Test your shopping cart to make sure everything works and is user friendly.

12. Invite Guest Bloggers  to add some interest, different perspectives and fresh content to your Blog.

13. Check on your PPC campaigns and see what you can improve.

14. Set up split tests on landing pages to improve results.

15. Find opportunities for you to be a Guest Blogger.

16. Make sure your product feed is working and up to date.

17. Look into mobile search and mobile marketing.

18. Make sure your local listings are all accurate, up to date and optimized for maximum results and exposure.

19. Get active on LinkedIn.

20. Follow up with leads and prospects (follow up is a key area that most businesses fail)

21. Identify opportunities that you have been too busy to take advantage of and get on it!

22. Get a press release out there.

23. Write an article for syndication (just know the rules and guidelines so this doesn’t end up working against you)

24. Get a video online and promote it like crazy.

25. Check out your competitors and see what you need to do to beat them out.

26. Build links. (Yep, another repeat but again worthy of the repeat)

27. Check out Google+ (ask for an invite if you don’t have one)

28.  Add “Like” and “+1” buttons to your site and Blog.

29.  Network and comment on Blogs and forums.  No spamming allowed.  Offer real insight and contribution to the conversation.

30. Plan a webinar or conference call to present to prospects.

31. Create a Whitepaper that people can get after they opt-in and promote via social media to build your list.

32. If you prepare written proposals for clients, look at your template and make sure it’s clean, easy to understand, full of benefits and error free.  Your proposal is going to be what either excites them to talk further about doing business with you or it turns them off because it doesn’t look professional or grab their attention.

33. take ACTION.