About This Column
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.
Grow Your Canadian Small Business Online in September
TIP 1: Diversify Website Traffic Sources
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The volatility of all online traffic sources is one of the hazards of digital marketing. Any one of them could disappear tomorrow. When your traffic and leads come in from multiple sources, you’ll have a built-in backup plan to help compensate if one ceases to work for you.
Try these 7 Ways to Diversify Your Traffic Sources, including:
- Information Products
- Email Marketing
- Online Communities/Groups
- Social Media
- Start an Affiliate Program
- Content Marketing
- Offline Marketing
TIP 2: Digital Data for Growth
Digital data is necessary for benchmarking and measuring growth. It’s also an excellent way to gather solid information to support your content and encourage genuine backlinks from reputable websites. Plus, adding data is an effective way to breathe new life into older content.
For example, specialty engines can help you find the latest and most accurate data available online, scientific or otherwise.
Such as:
Google Dataset Search: Use a simple keyword search to discover datasets hosted in thousands of online repositories.
AI Search Engine for Research: Search through over 200M research papers in every domain of science & academia.
Take your content to the next level this month by adding some supporting data to it!
TIP 3: Grow With Recurring Revenue
A subscription product is ANY product delivered over a period of time that can be paid for on a recurring basis. That may bring to mind subscription boxes and having your favourite dog food delivered every month, but some of the most profitable subscription products are actually digital. You can sell paid newsletters, community memberships, live classes, courses, and book club memberships as subscriptions.
Check out these 11 Money-Making Subscription Business Ideas for Digital Products & Services
TIP 4: Supporting Ecommerce Growth
One of the biggest (and most terrifying) concerns of ecommerce startups is their ability to keep up with growth. It quite often leads to delayed or unfulfilled orders and bloated inventories. The next biggest concern (especially as we head into the holiday season) are the supply chain interruptions that are a constant reality in today’s retail environment.
The right third-party logistics (3PL) fulfillment company can streamline your operations, reduce your operating costs, and help you serve your customers. Additionally, it can help manage supply chain interruptions, both in Canada and around the world.
“For many businesses, the key to a resilient supply chain lies in a partnership with a third-party logistics (3PL) service provider,” writes Merrill Douglas for Inbound Logistics. “Thanks to their expertise, advanced technology, and close relationships with carriers, 3PLs can help shippers stay flexible and efficient enough to reduce the risk of disruption or, when things do go wrong, to recover quickly.”
Typically, the 3PL company will manage inbound shipments, distribution, warehousing, and shipping your orders. Those services alone will save you an extraordinary amount of time and money when it comes to labour, expertise, inventory management, and warehouse space.
The best 3PL companies also offer extended services that include product labeling, bundling, kitting, online store management, returns and customer support, freight forwarding, FBA prep & ship, and much more. They’re designed to work seamlessly across channels and they integrate with all major ecommerce platforms. These services can be used strategically to optimize your supply chain and support sales growth.
Learn more in:
7 Surprising Ways to Boost Ecommerce Profits with 3PL Fulfillment
Is it Time to Outsource Your Order Fulfillment?
Canadian Third Party Logistics (3PL) for Online Sales and Ecommerce
TIP 5: September 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.
Here are just a few September holidays & observances with promotion potential:
Coupon Month
Baby Safety Month
Pain Awareness Month
Happy Cat Month
Literacy Month
Family Meals Month
Healthy Aging Month
Home Furnishings Month
People Skills Month
Self-Improvement Month
Senior Care Health Month
Sewing Month
Skin Care Awareness Month
September content themes and slants can include Autumn, back-to-school/dorm, school extracurricular activities, garden harvesting & food preservation, leaves, apples, pumpkins, and the colour orange. September holidays in Canada include Labour Day on September 2nd and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th. The official first day of Autumn is September 22nd.
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.
“If you’re going to put all the work into building an alliance with an influencer, don’t sell your efforts short by neglecting to turn your partnership into a long-term relationship. The right influencer can be a boon to your business for years to come.”
~ The Influencer Code: How to Unlock the Power of Influencer Marketing by Amanda Russell
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 September? Please share your ideas or questions in the comments below, or join us in the Online Business Canada Facebook group.
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7 Recession Proof Online Businesses To Start From Home
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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 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 & brands 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.
Your experience shines through! Thanks for the online growth ideas to keep me busy in Sept!