This monthly column is intended to inspire action. You know digital transformation is critical to growing your business, but there are so many moving parts and so much to learn! It’s easier to navigate if someone points you in the right direction so you can take the first steps. You don’t have to master anything right now, you only need to move forward and learn as you go.
If one growth tip doesn’t work for your business, pick another one and try that. If you do that over a course of a year, you may be surprised at how much your business has grown and how clear your path is to further growth. A custom strategy will naturally emerge from your efforts, all from trying something new every month.
Content for this column will vary from month to month. We’ll cover what’s trending, motivation, tools, diversification, funding, actionable Canadian data, expert quotes, and how & where to grow your business online over the following month. New posts will be announced in our newsletter, so sign up to ensure you don’t miss a single month of growth.
April Tips for Online Business Growth
Spring kickstarts the growing season in Canada and there’s no better time to position your business for growth. These bite-size tips reveal fast ways to grow your Canadian small business online this month.
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TIP ONE: Is Your Business Growing?
Do you even know if your business is growing?
“Your job doesn’t stop with publishing a website and generating traffic. You’ll also need to track, analyze, and adjust your marketing strategy based on the data generated,” advises 7 Recession Proof Online Businesses to Start From Home. “The sooner you start tracking and testing, the sooner and faster your sales and traffic will grow. Making sound decisions based on this data is especially important during a recession, when every marketing dollar counts.”
You can’t grow your business effectively if you don’t know your starting point. On the other hand, drowning in irrelevant data won’t help either. Define less than 10 key performance indicators (KPIs) for your business, track, and analyze the data. You’ll probably refine and change the KPIs you track over time, but these basics are a smart place to start.
Further Reading: 6 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Online Business Success.
TIP TWO: Diversify Your Revenue Sources
Whether it’s an ecommerce website, blog, or virtually any other online business model, you can add new sources of revenue.
“The ‘holy grail’…is to achieve what we call the Quad-Fecta in your business. This is where you do have all of these products and services being offered in all (or almost all) of the various delivery methods: digital products, physical products, online services, and live services.” ~ Brett Fogle and E. Daniel Miller, Click and Grow Rich
Here are a few ways to bring in revenue from multiple sources online:
Affiliate Marketing
Typically, affiliate programs allow you to advertise for a company and earn a percentage of the sales you generate for them, usually through your website, social media, or email. You (the publisher) become a middleman of sorts between the advertiser and consumers. Affiliate marketing can be a business on its own, and it’s also a favoured way to diversify revenue sources through a website. If you’re new to affiliate marketing, check out How to Start Affiliate Marketing in Canada.
Info Products
Launch a helpful info-product, like a short ebook of tips related to your product/service, a checklist, course, or guide.
Whatever info product you choose, you can double the impact by offering it as a free download when people sign up for your mailing list. Or create another source of revenue by publishing ebooks on Amazon, or by selling courses. Check out these Unique Online Course Ideas & Examples for the 9 Most Profitable Niches.
Bundles
For ecommerce, bundles offer convenience to shoppers and are especially popular with those who aren’t sure what to buy. The top two reasons consumers opt for a bundle are value and convenience. You’ll beat the competition by offering a unique product option, and potentially boost average order values (AOV).
Bundle your everyday products with holiday items, or whatever theme is relevant to your target market at the time (such as back-to-school bundles). Read 16 Best Selling Product Bundle Ideas to Boost Online Sales for more ideas.
TIP THREE: Artificial Intelligence
Can you expand your business or improve your productivity with artificial intelligence (AI)? New research shows Canadian businesses are exploring AI possibilities and putting it to work for them. Make sure you don’t lose your competitive advantage by falling behind. Read New Study Reveals Canada’s SMBs are turning AI Curiosity into AI Action for more info and an infographic.
For inspiration, read AI Business Ideas for Entrepreneurs.
TIP FOUR: April Content
Grow your traffic, grow your business. Timely content can differentiate your business while generating traffic that converts. Following are a few ideas for April.
Note: We post a list of holidays & observances (monthly, weekly and daily) for marketers in the Online Business Canada Facebook group. There’s a lot of them! You’re bound to find some that are a perfect fit for your business.
Here are just a few April holidays & observances:
Car Care Month
Decorating Month
Dog Appreciation Month
Financial Literacy/Capability Month
Food Month
Garden Month
Physical Wellness Month
Stress Awareness Month
Summer Tire Changeover Month
Woodworking Month
Youth Sports Safety Month
April content themes and slants can include Spring, cleaning, renewal, earth, flowers, and rain. Earth Day (April 22nd) is an opportunity to share everything eco-friendly about your company, which is very important to many Canadian consumers.
TIP FIVE: Funding & Competitions
You don’t need access to unlimited funding to grow your business, but it sure helps to have more.
Enter the Canada Post Tale of Triumph Small Business Contest for your chance to win over $500,000 in prizes. Submissions close April 30th.
TIP SIX: Business Books Worth Reading
Here we share quick quotes from business books we’re reading. James Clear’s life advice perfectly applies to changing our business, as well as ourselves.
“Can one tiny change transform your life? It’s unlikely you would say so. But what if you made another? And another? And another? At some point, you will have to admit that your life was transformed by one small change.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits
That’s what we’re hoping to help you accomplish with this monthly column. Changes spread out over the year will combine into powerful results. When growth based on technology overwhelms us, we can make small changes to continue growing and develop further as we feel our way through it.
How will you grow your online business in April? Please share your ideas or questions in the comments below, or join us in the Online Business Canada Facebook group.
For weekly inspiration, insights, tips, and resources, sign up for the Online Business Canada newsletter!
7 Recession Proof Online Businesses To Start From Home
Expert help to choose, start, and run a successful online business!
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Melody McKinnon is an internet entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in a wide range of online business models, backed by a formal business/marketing education and enhanced by training and mentorship. She has owned or managed both educational and ecommerce websites. Her book, 7 Recession Proof Online Businesses to Start From Home, is available from all major ebook retailers.
Melody has worked with many businesses in a multitude of capacities. She can often be found on CanadianDigitalMedia.com, CanadiansInternet.com, CanadianFamily.net, and AllNaturalPetCare.com, as well as other quality digital publications. Her content has earned reference links from highly-respected websites, magazines and university textbooks.
This post has provided a wealth of knowledge, much appreciated.
I’m going to try a couple of bundles for the holiday season this year. Anyone find anything is more effective than others? Like themes or a popular freebie? Thanks for sharing!
Well I forgot all about Earth Day and I sell eco products among other things LOL apparently I need this monthly reminder very much! <3
Love it! I do better work with a to do list and a deadline so this new growth column gets me pumped! I have your newsletter already so I won’t miss any. Thanks for the help!