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Fundraising Ideas For Sororities And Fraternities
Getting a higher education isn’t cheap. If you want to live the Greek life as well, you will need to be creative with your financing. Fundraisers are one of the better ways for sororities and fraternities to raise money. In order to help you keep member fees down, Stickerbeat is pleased to offer a few fundraising ideas for sororities and fraternities. Fundraising Ideas For Sororities And Fraternities Sell Advertising Space If you have a well-designed website and a good newsletter, you can sell advertising space to any business that caters to students. Restaurants, retail merchants, and car dealerships are a few that come to mind. Auctions And Sales One of the easiest ways to raise money is by selling stuff. There are thousands of potential customers on campus; all you have to do is find a few products that people want to buy. Additionally, weather conditions can create unique selling opportunities. For example, sports fans will gladly pay two dollars for a modified trash bag to keep them dry during a sporting event. Host a Tournament A golf tournament is easy to organize and it can bring in thousands of dollars. Golfers love competitions and you don’t need to spend a fortune in prizes to make it attractive. Host A Benefit Dinner One of the more popular fundraising ideas for fraternities and sororities is to host a benefit dinner. You can either host a diner that is elegant and sophisticated or one that is based on standard fare. In addition, you can kick it up a notch by making it theme-based; a murder mystery theme goes well with the high-end offering while a celebrity dunk tank is guaranteed to make a fun night with the standard fare crowd. Stickers And Decals For Sororities And Fraternities Stickers and decals are an effective way to brand your fraternity or sorority. They also make great items that can be sold or raffled off to raise money. Think of a few cool designs that students would like to have and order in large quantities to keep prices down and profits high. Why Use Stickers And Decals For Sorority Advertising Businesses make extensive use of stickers and decals for advertising because they’re effective and affordable. When made with bright colors and a catchy design, your stickers and decals will make you stand out from the crowd. Professionally made stickers and decals don’t cost much. Leave the homemade option for the groups with less ambition. If you make your stickers and swag with a unique logo and a cool slogan, your fellow students will be glad to paste them on lockers, laptops, backpacks and car bumpers. Select the format of sticker or decal you want and upload your artwork to Stickerbeat. All you have to do is ask, and our professional designers will work with you at no charge to make sure your materials really stand out. Wrap Up – Fundraising Ideas For Sororities And Fraternities You need to get creative to be successful at raising funds for your student organization. Hosting events that are fun and exciting will help you raise money and make belonging to your group a source of pride and achievement. Any of the fundraising suggestions in this article will help you raise money. Each also presents an opportunity to sell your branded stickers, decals and swag. Stickers and decals are the best way to boost awareness of your sorority or fraternity. Automate Your Social Turn off
Learn moreHow To Be A Better Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurs are constantly looking for ways to boost their performance and maximize personal output. Suggestions such as better time management, delegating tasks and improving physical fitness, are useful for getting better results now. However, your strategy on how to be a better entrepreneur should also include long-term tactics. You Don’t Need To Be An Expert As an entrepreneur, you don’t need to be a bona fide expert at something in order to use the knowledge to your advantage. In fact, you can make tremendous gains in any area or discipline if you work at it regularly for an extended period. How To Be A Better Entrepreneur Business philosopher Jim Rhone advocated, what we become in life is more important than what we get out of it. Focusing on what we are becoming leads us to be more creative and more inspired. As a result, getting more comes naturally. Which new skill would make you better at what you do? Are there any holes in your professional background that need to be filled to make you more competitive? Take the time to do a personal SWOT analysis and start working on improving yourself in the area that needs it most. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Embrace The 5-Hour Rule The 5-hour rule is the practice of putting aside one hour each day, or at least five hours each week, to practice something that will help you grow. You must use the time for deliberate daily practice of something that will ensure your personal improvement. Where do you find the time? Take your daily to-do list and pull out those items that belong in a 20-80 list based on the Pareto principle. Try to delegate the rest. Ruminate Ruminating helps you gain perspective on the lessons you’ve learned and it allows you to assimilate new ideas. It helps develop hunches that lead to creative breakthroughs. Some like taking walks alone to process these insights. Others prefer deliberating with conversation partners or in groups. Find what works for you. Set Aside Daily Reading Time Most successful people read a lot. They read news, industry articles, how-to books and biographies. They read to gain knowledge, improve their mindset and to better their mood. Beyond reading, successful people study. They study trends in their industry and beyond. Wrap – How To Be A Better Entrepreneur There are always more things to do in a day than you have time for. That’s why it’s important to focus on what matters most every day. You should have two lists on your desk: a to-do list and a 20-80 list based on the Pareto Principle. As an entrepreneur, you need to focus on the 20-80 list, and delegate tasks that are on the other list whenever possible. Track Clicks & Actions Turn off
Learn moreIt’s Canada’s 150th Birthday
On July 1, 1867, four provinces (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) became united as the Dominion of Canada. That makes 2017 Canada’s 150th birthday. Canadians can be proud of many things including hockey, innovations in medicine and science and significant contributions to arts and culture. And let’s not forget beavertails and hosers eh :) How To Celebrate Canada’s 150th Birthday There are a lot of things going on all across the country this year and we’re just going to touch on a few of them. Visit The Nation’s Capital First on the list is the Nation's Capitol. The city of Ottawa has events planned throughout the entire year to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday. If you plan to be in the Nation’s Capital, you might want to coincide with the celebrations. Ottawa has a website that covers all the festivities here. Enjoy Canada’s Wilderness Because it's a special year in Canada, visitors can obtain a free pass from Parks Canada. The Discovery Pass will allow you to enjoy national parks at no cost. The pass also applies to marine conservation areas and historic sites across the country. You can get your Discovery Pass here. Brush Up On History With Library And Archives Canada Finally, Library and Archives Canada’s (LAC) heritage collection is highlighting a significant event with a series of vignettes called discover today-in-history, every day this year. Visit Canada.ca/OnThisDay to read the stories. You can also subscribe to LAC’s Facebook and Twitter pages or use the #Canada150 and #OnThisDay hashtags. Celebrate Canada's 150th Birthday If you have a business in Canada, or a business in the U.S. that caters to Canadians, this celebration could be the best marketing opportunity of 2017. Canada’s 150th birthday is a celebration that will last until the end of the year. What makes this such a great marketing opportunity for business? The Canadian Government is allowing the use of the Canada 150 logo for free, even for commercial use! Some professional designers are disappointed in the logo because they feel it lacks professionalism; that’s understandable as it came out of an amateur competition. The good news is, you can make your own version and have it approved by the Canadian government within seven to nine days. How cool is that? Here’s where you can get more information about using the Canada 150 logo. Get Free Help With Custom Graphics At Stickerbeat We’re all about marketing here at Stickerbeat and we do everything we can to help you get the most out of your marketing efforts. That’s why we offer free help with your custom graphics to all our clients. Show us what you’ve got, tell us what you want and our pro designers will work with you free of charge. Stickerbeat makes stickers and decals that ROCK and we want yours to look great too. Wrap – It’s Canada’s 150th Birthday Anniversaries are about remembering all the things we have to be grateful for and for creating new memories. They also give us a chance to take a break from our busy lives, have fun and enjoy quality family time. Canada’s 150th birthday provides a great opportunity for everyone on both sides of the border to do just that. Happy 150th Canada! Automate Your Social Turn off
Learn moreHow To Boost Your eCommerce Revenue in 2017
The trend is set. Online sales are growing and retail sales are shrinking. While a good blog and paid-for ads will drive traffic to your site, you need to convert some of those visitors into customers to generate revenue. Here’s a hint on how to boost your eCommerce revenue in 2017: it’s easier and more profitable to double your conversion rate than it is to double your traffic. How To Boost Your Ecommerce Revenue in 2017 Have A Mobile-Friendly Website Twenty-five percent of eCommerce sales were placed on mobile devices in 2016. But twice that many shoppers visited on mobile first and returned on a desktop later to make the purchase. That’s why it’s important to present a consistent presence across all platforms. Additionally, your site should have a mobile-friendly mega menu. It makes it easier for mobile users to navigate the site and it also decreases page load time. Have A Shopper-Friendly Site First-time visitors have no idea whether they’re going to do business with you and it’s easy to scare them away by trying to capture their email too soon. Generally speaking, it’s best to give them a chance to explore the site first. Check your logs to see how long the average visit lasts and time your email capture to load at an opportune time. Provide A Shopper’s Wish List Tool A shopper’s wish list tool is an effective way to get shoppers invested in your site. It’s also the easiest way to turn them into repeat clients. Once they’ve built the list, you can ask them for their email address so they can save the list for later or share it with someone else. Always provide value to the client before asking for their private information. Even a small gift will be more effective than a ‘sign up to our email list to be notified of future posts’. Provide A Save-the-Cart Feature Most online shoppers are comparison shoppers. It's not uncommon for them to have several browser windows open as they compare prices of similar products. That’s why it’s important to let them save carts. How To Boost Your Ecommerce Revenue in 2017 The easiest way to boost your eCommerce revenue is to reduce cart abandonment According to a 2016 study by the Baymard Institute, over two-thirds of shopping carts are abandoned during checkout. That means you could double your sales by reducing cart abandonment by fifty-percent. Here’s the breakdown of why shoppers abandoned their carts: - Extra costs too high (shipping, taxes, fees) 61% - Didn’t want to create an account 35% - Checkout process too long or complicated 27% - Total cost not visible early on 27% - Website malfunction or crash 22% - Didn’t trust site with credit card info 18% - Delivery takes too long 16% - Unsatisfactory return policy 10% - Too few payment options 8% - Credit card declined 5% note: those who were just shopping and not ready to buy were removed How To Reduce Cart Abandonment - Offer free shipping - Disclose all costs up front (especially shipping charges) - Offer a guest checkout option. Forcing users to register is responsible for thirty-five percent of abandoned carts - Simplify checkout and have a clear checkout progress indicator - Have a money-back guarantee that inspires confidence in shoppers - Use Trust Logos from Mastercard, Paypal, Verisign, Thawte etc. - Offer several payment options - Provide an easy way to navigate between the shopping cart and shopping pages Wrap – How To Boost Your Ecommerce Revenue in 2017 Imagine a bricks and mortar store where two-thirds of shoppers abandon their carts and walk out without buying anything. That’s the state of online retail right now. While cart abandonment will probably always be higher in the digital world, it shouldn’t be as high as it is. Check your site against the list above and make changes wherever you can. What’s your biggest beef with your online shopping experience? Track Clicks & Actions Turn off
Learn moreHow To Be More Productive At Work
It can be hard to stay on top of a heavy workload when you have several deadlines to meet. While we don’t have a magic wand for you, we can offer a few suggestions on how to be more productive at work. Unless instructed otherwise, you should assume that prioritizing your workload is just another part of your job. Heavy workloads mean more stress, and it’s pointless to blame your manager for taking on too much work. Bottom line, if your customers aren’t happy, they will go elsewhere. That means the company you work for and your job could be at stake. How To Be More Productive At Work List And Prioritize - Urgent Versus Important Lists work: They keep you organized and focused. They also provide positive reinforcement whenever you check an item off the list. Create lists for urgent and important projects and sub-lists for major tasks required to complete each project. Deadlines matter: Other things being equal, a deadline is the most important factor that determines priority. Customers place a high value on deadlines and you should always strive to meet them if you can’t beat them. Stay focused: Work on one task and get it done, if possible. Juggling several tasks often leads to decreased efficiency. If you have to work on a few tasks, allow a certain amount of time to each one and concentrate on one thing at a time. Be efficient: When reviewing your to-do list, take care of any small task that takes less than a few minutes to complete. Otherwise, you will keep wasting time over the next couple of weeks continually moving small items from list to list. Use shortcuts: Learn to use keyboard shortcuts; you can hit two keys simultaneously long before your hand can reach the mouse, let alone find something to click on. Delegate or enlist: Sometimes, you need to enlist additional help despite your best efforts. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help so you can complete an important project. How To Meet Deadlines Without Losing Your Cool Plan your day with a to-do list: create and update at the end of each day; review and edit if needed next morning Use time-tracking software to log time spent on projects: you might be surprised and make a few changes Deal with email efficiently: see this post on effective email management Take advantage of your most productive time of day: we’re all different; don’t squander your peak productivity time Avoid situations that waste your time. Here are some examples: - Time stuck in traffic – leave for work earlier, stay later - Unnecessary meetings – bow out if possible or try to limit how long you stay Stay positive: feeling down and depressed saps your energy and leads to procrastination Stay in shape: you will be more productive at work Invest In Yourself: take courses to be more effective at whatever it is you do Wrap Up – How To Be More Productive At Work It’s important to realize that we’re never done learning how to be more productive at work. Of all the tips in this article, I think the last one is the most valuable, especially in the long term. Invest in yourself. Learn how to do things faster and better. Take courses, read, watch productivity videos. Lastly, reward yourself after completing a big project. You will feel reinvigorated and ready to tackle the next one. Track Clicks & Actions Turn off
Learn moreStickers For University Teams
Building a strong brand image is essential for university teams. It helps build community support and it attracts the best quality student-athletes. Stickers for university teams are very effective in this regard. You can use them to decorate athletic facilities, and other school property as well. For example, we can design stickers and decals with your team logo, to commemorate former star players or, to celebrate winning years. Positive branding builds team loyalty, team spirit, and attracts team sponsors. Custom Stickers For University Teams You need to do something different if you want to stand out from the crowd. Stickerbeat can make your custom stickers and decals in a matte or glossy finish with any color or design you choose. Simply choose the style and dimensions for the sticker or decal you want and upload your graphics. If you need help however, contact us and one of our graphic designers will work with you at no charge. How’s that for service! Unique Ways To Use Stickers Some university teams use helmet stickers to boost the level of competition within the team. No player wants to be the one without stickers on his helmet, even early on in the season. Helmet stickers also have a psychological effect on the other team; imagine facing a guy wearing a helmet plastered with outstanding performance stickers. Swag For University Teams Not many things have a wider following than sports and sports fans are committed to their favorite teams. You can reward them by offering a variety of free or low-cost mementos. Not only will your fans love you for it, they will proudly display their team swag wherever they can. In addition, stickers and decals of various sizes are perfect to turn your fan’s favorite tools and toys into team billboards. They can be attached to cell phones, tablets, laptops and backpacks. What raving fan could resist pasting their favorite team’s bumper sticker on their car? Boost Your Home Team Advantage The home location confers an advantage to the local team in most sports. While referee bias is considered to be the biggest part of this, there can be no doubt that crowd support and familiar surroundings help boost confidence. Branded graphics play a big part in building the home team environment. Whether you're playing on a team, competing in an event or just cheering from the sidelines, we can make custom sticky products that show your support. We can personalize stickers with your team logo, favorite player number or any image of your choice. Simply use our online forms to upload your image or logo and choose the size and quantity. Wrap – Stickers For University Teams It is essential for university teams to build a strong brand image. Heavily branded university sports facilities and raving fans decked out with team swag make a strong impression. Stand out from the competition by ordering the best branding graphics direct from Stickerbeat. Track Clicks & Actions Turn off
Learn moreBest Hashtags For Entrepreneurs
Hashtags were first used on Twitter in 2007. Once you post it, the hashtag becomes a clickable link. Anyone who clicks on it is brought to a page that features all the latest tweets and posts with that hashtag. Therefore, if you create a tweet with a link to your blog, you should place the hashtag early and away from the link so you don’t accidentally direct traffic away from your blog. People also use hashtags as search terms to drill down for relevant information posted by savvy internet users. Using hashtags is a great way to build a following or to find prospects and suppliers. Why use hashtags More engagement: Social media posts with hashtags typically get twice as much engagement. When tweeting, only use one or two hashtags in a tweet or it will come across as spam. Reach a larger audience: You will reach a larger audience by using a popular hashtag that relates to your business or one that is trending at the moment. How To Use Hashtags You create a hashtag by placing the hash symbol before the word or phrase you want to use. The three simple rules to remember are: There are no spaces allowed in a hashtag No punctuation marks Use only letters and numbers There is no difference between #HashtagRules and #hashtagrules as far as functionality, but caps do make longer hashtags easier to read. You can make hashtags look more natural by using existing text; if you're tweeting about banners, just place a hashtag before the word banner rather than add a separate hashtag. Best Hashtags For Entrepreneurs Examples of best hashtags for entrepreneurs are #Biztip, #Entrepreneur, #Entrepreneurship, #Leadership, #Marketing, #BizOpp, #smallbusiness. There are many others, and some are probably more suited to your business than others. Which ones should you use? You can take the guesswork out of the equation by going to Ritetag to see how well any hashtag is likely to do. Hashtags on Ritetag are color-coded based on performance: Green: good for short term visibility Blue: good for long term visibility Red: overused right now, avoid it Grey: don’t use, no one follows it Ritetag is a free and excellent resource for hashtags and statistics. Here's a typical screenshot: Can You Own A Hashtag You can trademark a hashtag if the hashtag is being used to identify the source of a good or a service. However, the fact that a company has been using a hashtag on social media or in advertising materials does not automatically mean it warrants trademark protection. In other words, the hashtag must signify a specific source of goods or services. Remember, even if you trademark a hashtag, people will still be able to use it on social media. The trademark will only stop other companies in the same industry from using the hashtag to compete with you. Wrap – Best Hashtags For Entrepreneurs You should use hashtags to boost engagement on social media and to get your tweets and posts in front of more people. Keep your hashtags away from any link to your blog so you don’t accidentally drive traffic away from your website. You should also do research on any popular or trending hashtag before you use it to be sure it represents what you think it does. Finally, use a resource like Ritetag to get the best results from your marketing efforts.
Learn moreSummer Marketing Ideas For Small Business
The warm weather is on its way and it’s time to plan your summer marketing campaign. While some techniques work better for some businesses than others, these summer marketing ideas for small business could be used by any enterprise. Summer Marketing Ideas For Small Business 2017 Press Release: A press release is a great way to kick off your summer marketing campaign. You could announce a sales event, a new product or a new business addition. Summer-themed Promotional Items: Summer-themed promotional items like beer coolers or branded coasters are an inexpensive way to reward your customers and increase brand awareness. They can also be used as an incentive to boost sales when given once shoppers spend a certain amount. Loyalty Program: One of the easiest ways to boost sales is to offer a customer loyalty program. Participating customers typically buy twice as often because of the reward or savings. You can see how Starbucks made this work in a big way here. Summer Events Magnets: The fact that magnets are so useful is what makes them such a powerful branding tool. Everyone posts pictures and notes on refrigerators and computer cases etc. For example, you could print branded magnets that feature a local sports team schedule. Customers will be reminded of your brand every time they reference the calendar. National Holiday Specials: Make sure you tie your marketing campaigns to summer holidays like Canada Day or Independence Day. There are many other holidays and special interest days you could build your summer campaign around here. More Summer Marketing Ideas For Small Business Sidewalk And Floor Decals Advertising: I wrote about the effectiveness of floor decals previously. If you have a retail location, the sidewalk and floorspace are prime areas for advertising. Floor decals are big attention-getters and customers love them. Stickerbeat has great prices and offers free help with your graphics if you need it. Stickers And Posters: People love being outdoors in the summer and that spells opportunity. Your imagination is the only limit when it comes to marketing with stickers and posters. Car door magnets: You can turn your vehicle into a moving billboard with a car door magnet. This is another cost-effective way to advertise your brand everywhere you go this summer. Use bright colors and make sure your phone number and website URL are easy to read from a distance. Post A Selfie Promotion: Nothing sells more than customer referrals. You can harness the power of social media by offering a discount to any customer who posts a selfie while buying or using your product. Make sure they tag your location with @YourBusinessName and use a hashtag with your business name to qualify for the discount. Wrap-Up - Summer Marketing Ideas For Small Business Summer is a great time for marketing. Remember to spread out your marketing effort throughout the entire campaign - pre, middle and post-campaign marketing activities are equally important. If you had a campaign last year, build on it. Don’t be afraid to repeat events. Successful marketing is often built on repetition.
Learn moreWriting 101 For Small Business Owners
Online B2C and B2B sales have increased significantly in the past ten years. To tap into this trend, you need a good website with a blog. In writing 101 for small business owners, we’ll go over some general guidelines to help you get results. The Difference Between Marketing And Sales Marketing is meant to increase brand awareness and advertise a product or service. Efforts should be designed to gain exposure in the marketplace, gain favorable attention and generate leads. Sales is about converting leads into prospects or clients. Marketing is the main reason most businesses have a website. How Shoppers Finds Things Online I wrote about how the shopper’s journey starts at the search bar here. It’s important to understand this because Google is the Global Digital Yellow Pages. The main difference from physical directories is that Google goes through the pages for you and lists results in order of relevance based on various criteria. That’s why it’s important to have a good blog. How Relevance Is Determined Many factors affect your position in search results, but the most important factor is quality content that is related to search queries. The Holy Grail is to come up on page one for queries related to your business. Quality content means posting articles on your blog that are related to your products and services or, of interest to your client base. Writing 101 For Small Business Owners Before you start writing a blog post, ask yourself why you’re choosing that topic. What result do you wish to achieve. Any post should do at least one of these things: - have value in SEO terms (be found online for the product or service you offer) - sell a product of service (link to sales pages) - be informative to your audience (build trust, establish expertise etc.) Keep in mind that posting too many articles with sales links will appear as spam. It’s best to have a mix. Writing 101 For Small Business - Choosing A Topic What are the top competitors in your business blogging about? That’s a starting point to get ideas. Think of your audience. What customers do you want to attract? You’re a small business owner, what interests you? Whatever you choose to write about, your content has to be original. That doesn’t mean you can’t write about the same things others do, but it has to be your content. Over time, you will see which of your posts are most popular, which ones get the most page hits etc. You can then expand on the better ones and make them cornerstone content. You should blog on a regular basis. Establish a routine and stick to it. How often should you blog? That depends on who you are, what you do and what your competitors do. There’s no one answer that is right for everyone. There’s also your budget to consider. Promote Your Blog With Social Media You should promote the articles on your blog with your social media accounts. There’s a difference between Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google Plus and you shouldn’t post the exact same content on each platform. Users expect different content and automatic posting can appear to be spam. Analytic tools can tell you which time of the day gets you the most engagement. WrapUp - Writing 101 For Small Business Your digital marketing effort should include a business blog. Write for people, not search engines. If done properly, links to your website and blog will come up when people do a search for your product or service on Google. That’s the marketing end. Facilitating sales of products and services on your website is where the sales process begins.
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