About This Column
This monthly column on Online Business Canada 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 the 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.
[DISCLOSURE: We may receive compensation for links to products on this website.]
Grow Your Canadian Small Business Online in March
TIP 1: Small Businesses Can Grow with an Affiliate Program
Many small business owners have heard of affiliate marketing and partner programs, but think it’s only for large businesses. In reality, affiliate marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to promote your products or services.
“According to forecasts from eMarketer, affiliate marketing will drive $1 in every $7 in US eCommerce sales next year,” reports Awin. “That’s reason enough to be positive, according to Max Willens (Principal Analyst, eMarketer), who believes such a reading indicates a channel ‘trending in the right direction’”.
You’re in control of the commission rate and ROI. Plus, if you pay per sale (performance-based commission structure), you’ll only pay when it works. You can have hundreds of publishers promoting your product or service on their website, social media and beyond, but only pay a commission on each sale made. Who can pass up a deal like that?
Business.com adds the following reasons to use affiliate marketing in your small business:
- Affiliate marketing helps you track sales progress
- Enhances promotions
- Provides social proof
- Supports online business scalability
- Supports website sustainability
- Provides a strong return on investment (ROI)
- Affiliate marketing increases sales
- Lets you leverage different skill sets
- Opens up new marketing strategies
You can start an in-house affiliate program through your ecommerce platform (such as Shopify), and/or you can join an affiliate network like Partnerstack (SaaS), CJ, or Rakuten.
For tried & true steps to recruiting productive affiliate partners, check out Recruit Your First 100 Revenue-Generating Affiliate Partners.
TIP: It’s absolutely critical to hire a qualified affiliate program manager if you want your program to reach its full potential. Ideally, she’ll have extensive experience that includes both affiliate marketing as a publisher and as an affiliate program manager. Keep in mind that an exceptional affiliate program manager won’t cost you money, she’ll make you money.
TIP 2: AI Powered Growth
Whether you use AI as a tool or your product is AI-driven, it continues to be in a state of rapid evolution. Keeping up with it all seems impossible, especially as it applies to digital marketing or ecommerce. We share as much relevant AI information as possible on our website, social media, and in our newsletter to make it more manageable.
These resources and stories caught our eye most recently:
Google Workspace Gemini Prompting Guide
Marketing to Humans and Machines
These Canadian Small-Town Companies are Quietly Building the Big Future of AI – Meet three small-town entrepreneurs building AI-powered companies, while solving local (and global) problems.
The Future of Agentic Commerce – Hybrid customer experiences aren’t a temporary state, they are the future for consumers.
No Traffic, No Moat: How AI Breaks The Economics Of Destination Publishing
TIP: Watch for upcoming funding and grants that can include AI, such as funding for digital transformation.
TIP 3: St. Patrick’s Day Gold
There are many North Americans of Irish descent who celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, and even more who just like to celebrate it for fun. The largest concentration of Canadians claiming an Irish ethnic origin is found in Ontario (2.1 million), reports Statistics Canada. British Columbia (675,130), Alberta (596,750) and Quebec (446,215) also have a significant Irish presence.
In the U.S., “Consumers plan to spend a record $7.2 billion — or an average of $44.40 per person — on the holiday this year and their top spending categories are food and beverages,” according to the National Retail Federation. “More so, a record 62% or 162 million Americans are planning to celebrate.”
St. Paddy’s Day themes can be applied to a broad range of businesses and their product lines, such as:
- Practically anything that’s green
- Gold & money
- Luck related
- Irish food
- Alcohol
- Party supplies
“Food is especially important to the Irish,” says CanadianFamily.net. “Even now, many generations after suffering through times of starvation.”
For tips on catching these leprechauns for business growth, read Marketing to Canadians Who Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
TIP 4: Grow with Gamification & Interactive Experiences
Interactive experiences, such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), can greatly increase brand engagement and they’re social media gold. Gamification and interactive experiences can captivate consumers as they immerse themselves in your brand’s narrative. It not only boosts retention, but also encourages customers to spread the word about your brand. The internet makes it easy and affordable for even the smallest businesses to give it a try. It will keep visitors on your website longer too.
One of the easiest ways to try interactive experiences is through platforms. eBay, for example, recently launched eBay Live (Interactive Livestream Shopping Experience) in Canada, bringing real-time, community-driven shopping nationwide.
Check out the Sephora Canada Beauty Insider Program, Roots’ interactive online quizzes, DAVIDsTEA’s Digital Loyalty and Surprise & Delight program, and Sport Chek’s Fitness Challenges & Wearable Integration, for inspiration.
Read Brand Management: Top 5 Strategies to Build Customer Loyalty for more ideas.
TIP 5: March Content
Grow your traffic, grow your business! Timely content can differentiate your business while generating traffic that converts.
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 you business.
Following are just a few holidays & observances in March:
Athletic Training Month
Berries Month
Craft Month
Flower Month
Nutrition Month
Read an Ebook Month
Spiritual Wellness Month
Supply Management Month
March content themes and slants can include Spring, renewal, cleaning, flowers, luck, gold, and green. March holidays and observances in Canada include Daylight Savings Time (8th), Commonwealth Day (9th), St. Patrick’s Day (17th), and Spring/March Equinox (20th). International Women’s Day is March 8th.
TIP 6: Business Books Worth Reading
Here we share quick quotes from business books we’re reading to help your knowledge grow with your business, and your business grow with your knowledge.
“What makes content marketing different from simple content is that content marketing must do something for the business. It must inform, engage, or amuse with the objective of driving profitable customer action. Your content may engage or inform, but if it’s not accomplishing your business goals (for example, customer retention or lead generation), it’s not content marketing. The content you create must work directly to attract and/or retain customers in some way.” ~ Epic Content Marketing, Second Edition: Break through the Clutter with a Different Story, Get the Most Out of Your Content, and Build a Community in Web3, by Joe Pulizzi & Brian W. Piper.
Incremental Change
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 March? 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!
“Almost 200 pages of pure gold…”
GET IT ON AMAZON
Or Other Major Ebook Retailers
——————————————
© CanadiansInternet.com – Content on this website may not be used elsewhere without expressed permission. Thank you for respecting the effort that we have put into our original content.
DISCLOSURE: We may receive compensation for links to products on this website. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Our content is provided for informational purposes only and does not guarantee results.
Last Updated on February 28, 2026 by Melody McKinnon, Online Business & Marketing Manager
