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Solo's blog provides the resources that microbusinesses, solopreneurs, freelancers, and other super-small businesses need to start, operate, and grow.

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In this article:\nBefore you start: what do you need to know about designing a website?\nHow to build your website\nBest practices for designing an effective business website\nAdditional resources for your online marketing strategy\nDesigning and building a website is an essential part of marketing your business online, even for super-small, one-person concerns. Think of your business website as an extension of your business or a 24/7 sales representative that is constantly feeding your information to potential customers. \nIf you don’t have a business website yet or want to create a new one, you’re in luck. We’re going to walk you through the basic steps of planning and designing your website. We’ll also provide additional resources to help along the way. \nBefore you start designing your website\nThe planning process is almost more important than actually building the website. Before you ever start designing your site, you should have a good idea of what you want it to look like, how you want your pages laid out, and what kind of content your site will have. \nWhat pages do you want on your website?\nContent is king. You can’t have a good or useful website if you don’t have relevant content that helps guide your visitors down the sales funnel. So what kind of content do you need? What pages will you have?\nThe kind of content that you have can really help guide the design of your site, too.\nCommon pages for a basic business website might include the following:\nHome \nAbout\nServices or products\nFAQ\nContact\nLocations\nBlog\nDetermine what kind of content you want on your website and start writing it up before you start designing your site. This will make the design process go much smoother if you have content to actually place on your site as you build it. \nYou may also like: \nImportant market research questions to ask your customers\nAs you think about the pages that you want, also be thinking about how to organize your site. What pages will you place in the main navigation? Will you have interlinking between pages for customers to have multiple ways to access a page?\nIf you’re not sure what to put on your website, check out other websites for businesses within your industry. \nWhat do you want your website to look like? \nIt’s always a good idea to think about what you want for the layout of your website before you start building it. This will guide you in the process and make it easier, rather than testing out every different option that your website builder has available (there are likely tens if not hundreds of different configurations to choose from). \nLook at other websites to see what elements you like. Do you want a big home page banner with a large image or video background? Do you like the accordion layout for an FAQ page? Do you want a contact form on your contact page? Do you prefer rounded pictures or straight edges? All of this will play into the look of your website. \nOne key thing to consider here: always keep your brand at the forefront of your design. Your website should feel like an extension of your business, so make sure it looks that way too. \nThink about the color scheme that you want that matches your brand. \nWhat materials/assets should you gather before putting your site together?\nBesides your written content, there are several other assets you may need to get together before you start building your website. \nThese include:\nLogo\nHigh-quality images\nProduct information\nVideos\nPDFs and other resource-type documents\nForms\nInfographics\nCharts\nAny other media you might want\nPick out your domain name\nIt’s always a good idea to at least have some domain names picked out for your website before you get started, even if you haven’t purchased them yet. \nSome website builders will let your purchase a domain through their platform with a subscription to their hosting fees. Or you may want to go through a third-party domain registrar like GoDaddy or BlueHost. \nTo see what domains are available, visit one of these third-party registrars or the website builder you intend to use and search for the domains that you want. They will show you what is available and provide alternatives if your first pick is not available. \nHow to design your simple business website\nOnce you have your site planned out, it’s time to start the design process. \nFirst, you’ll want to find a website builder that fits the needs of your business. There are several different options available here, but some of the easier (and cheaper) options are \nSquarespace\n and Wix. \nWant more options? Check this out: \n5 best DIY websites for small businesses on a budget\nA website builder is a platform that generally has prebuilt templates that you can choose from to build your website. Most templates are easy to customize to fit the design that you are looking to create. \nFor most website building platforms, you don’t even have to call anyone to get started. You just sign up on the platform you want, choose your template, and start designing. You’ll be able to easily add the sections that you want into your website and create new pages. \nWant a deeper look? Go here: \nHow to build your own business website (step-by-step walkthrough)\n  \nWhen you are done putting together your website on the platform that you choose, you may need to sign up for a subscription or pay for the web hosting and domain fees. So be sure to have your credit card handy in order to get your site launched quickly. \nBest practices for designing your own website\nWe have a few best practices to help guide you along your web design journey.\nKeep your domain name simple\nA long and hard-to-spell domain name is not going to provide a very friendly experience for your customers. Try to find something simple and easy to remember. This will also be useful for your business emails. \nMake sure your brand is prominent\nYou want your customers to recognize this new website as your business, your brand. Make sure your logo is loud and proud on your home page (it doesn’t have to be huge, but keep it prominent). \nAlso make sure that the colors, fonts, and other styles on your website are reminiscent of your brand. If you don’t have branding guidelines, now might be a good time to implement some. \nWrite unique content\nDon’t copy and paste content from other websites. You wouldn’t think we should have to say this, but you’d be surprised how often this happens. Unique content will help you develop the tone that you want to set with your customers. \nGoogle can also detect when you have content copied from other websites, and that could hurt your search engine visibility. If you’re not comfortable writing your own content, find a freelance writer or employee to help you out. \nUse high-quality images (and other media)\nMedia will help diversify your website and keep your audience engaged with your content. Images to click through and videos to watch help increase the engagement on your site. \nThat being said, make sure that you are using high-quality images. Blurry images and slow-loading videos are a sure way to lose some credibility with potential customers. You might want to make sure to have your site reviewed by a competent web developer to make sure it’s loading as quickly as possible.\nIf you can’t afford a professional photographer, that’s okay. Most phones can take images that have good quality for websites. And you can also look through free stock photo sites like \nUnsplash\n to find beautiful images. \nCheck these articles out for more info:\n7 free stock image sites for small businesses\n3 ways to get (and use) professional photos for your business\nKeep it clean and simple\nRemember that less is more. A busy website with too much information, or flashy images and videos, or—Zeus forbid—\nsounds\n on one page can quickly become overwhelming for your visitors. \nKeep your website well-organized so that your visitors can quickly find the information they are looking for. \nPay close attention to how you set up your navigation bar. Ask several people to try to find a particular part of your site during the design process. Pay attention to any hiccups or anything people find counterintuitive. \nMany times, website designers create great-looking sites but the user experience is so confusing as to make the entire website pointless from a business perspective.\nInclude a prominent CTA (call to action)\nWhy do you have a website in the first place? To provide more information for your customers, sure, but also to get more sales!\nMake sure that you have call-to-action prominently placed on your home page and contact page (at the very least) to help guide new customers down the sales funnel. \nThis could be a phone number in your header, a “call now” button, or a “book appointment” link that points to the contact page or your online scheduling app, or even “order now” if you have taken the time to \nset up your online store\n.\nAdditional resources for your online marketing strategy\nA website is just the first step (and a very important step at that) towards improving your online visibility. \nThere are several other things that you can and should be doing to help grow your reputation online and show up in the search engines. \nHere are a few resources that can help you get started:\n\nLocal SEO: 15 free tips for better search rankings\n\n\nHow to get more reviews\n\n

How to design a simple website for your small business


\nIn this 8-minute read, we’ll go over the best lead generation websites for contractors and freelancers, discuss w\nhat is a lead generation website for contractors and freelancers, h\now can you get more leads as a freelancer, the b\nenefits of using lead generation for freelancers and contractors, and go over the t\nop lead generation companies for freelancers and independent contractors.\nAs more people take to freelancing and doing independent contract work to become their own boss, the freelance world is getting that much more competitive. And just as with other small businesses, you need to find the best ways to market yourself and keep up with the competition if you want to thrive in this ever-growing market. \nOne of the best ways that you can ensure continued business and success is to come up with a lead generation strategy. In this article, we’ll discuss some basics that you should have in your lead generation toolbelt as well as some of the top lead generation websites and platforms for freelancers and contractors. \nWhat is lead generation for freelancers and independent contractors?\nLead generation is the process of getting new clients to do business with. Each new potential client is a lead. In order to move forward with success in your freelance career, you’ll want to make sure you have a good lead generation strategy in place. This is how you will gain new customers and continue to grow your income. \nEspecially in the beginning, freelance and independent contract work can be sporadic. If you make enough to cover your bills one month, there’s no guarantee that you’re going to have the jobs in place to continue to cover them the next. And it’s important to make sure you can continue to increase your business and income so that you can save and live the life that you want. After all, that’s why you’re doing this, right?\nComing up with a lead generation strategy can help create a little more consistency in the work that you get month to month and ideally even land you some long-term clients. \nHow can you get leads as a freelancer?\nThere are tons of ways that freelancers and independent contractors can generate their own leads. It all starts with knowing your strengths, identifying your service offerings, and having an ideal client in mind. Once you know those three things, you can really start to market yourself as a freelancer to generate new leads. \nHere are a few basic ways that you can and should be marketing yourself to help get new leads:\nCreate a website. \nEvery business needs a website, and you now have your own business as an independent contractor. Whether it’s a freebie website where you just display your portfolio of previous work or have an in-depth website of your services with an ongoing blog, you should have a website. This will show potential leads that you are a serious professional and provide them the opportunity to learn more about you before reaching out. \nOptimize your LinkedIn profile. \nIt is difficult for businesses to find qualified leads for the jobs they are hiring for and many businesses will take to LinkedIn to look for job prospects. There are several tools out there that help businesses scan through LinkedIn by searching specific phrases, experience, and current jobs. If you optimize your LinkedIn profile to include all of the relevant experience, skills, and job positions that your freelance work provides, that will open LinkedIn up to generate leads for you. \nYou can also join LinkedIn groups that are relevant to your niche. \nGet reviews from your clients. \nLet your previous clients help you shine by providing reviews and testimonials for your work. Place those on your website and various profiles to demonstrate your experience and customer satisfaction to potential leads. Reviews are a power client conversion tool that you should always be growing. \nUse lead generation companies for freelancers. \nLead generation companies and websites provide platforms where businesses are looking specifically for independent contractors to help them out with more specialized services. Create your own profile on these sites and get a couple of clients from it, then let the work come to you once you’ve built up your profile a little bit. \nBenefits of using the best lead generation websites for contractors, freelancers, self-employed\nLead generation websites are a powerful tool for gaining new work as a contractor or freelancer. They almost eliminate the need for external marketing (like LinkedIn and your own website), however you should still market yourself for social proof and to provide more opportunities for gaining new clientele. \nSome sweet benefits of using lead generation websites for freelancers:\nOptimized strategy. Lead generation sites are built for the exact purpose that you need them, to help you gain new clients. The strategy for generating leads is already built into the platform. All you need to do is get your profile set up \nAutomated leads. After you’ve acquired a couple of clients through your lead generation site, and received reviews from them if you can, you may start seeing requests from new clients without any previous outreach to them. Simply having a well built profile and proven experience can be enough to have leads organically come to you \nBuild long-term client relationships. You can find solid long-term clients through your lead generation sites because they are already looking for someone to help with the services you provide. And after trying you out, they may determine that your services are beneficial to their company for the long haul. And the more long-term relationships you can build, the better off you’ll be \nBetter opportunities for reviews. It can be hard for freelancers to get reviews online, but lead generation sites make this easier because it’s built into their platform. Most sites provide the opportunity for your clients to review you and vice versa \nTop lead generation companies for freelancers and independent contractors\nLead generation websites exist within all industries and fields of freelance work, but these are some of the best lead generation sites for general independent contract and freelance work. Most provide opportunities across all fields, so no matter what you specialize in (or even if you don’t have a specialty), you can find some new work. \n1. Upwork\n(Image)\n\nUpwork was created to connect businesses with talent (YOU!) and make everything a little easier for all parties involved. As a freelancer, you can sign up to find work and then start searching through the available opportunities in your field of expertise. Businesses post the jobs that they need done and you can reach out to bid on them. \nOnce you’ve had a few successful jobs, you have a better chance of businesses seeking you out for more jobs too. \n2. Fiverr\n(Image)\n\nFiverr guides you through the process of gaining new business by having you select your skillset and then providing opportunities within that field. Once you are set up as a “seller” on their site, you will be able to bid on available jobs and start gaining new clients. Alternatively, you can also create your own “Gigs” for businesses to find and order. Fiverr prides itself on the fact that you get paid on time, every time, too. \n3. Toptal\n(Image)\n\nToptal touts that it represents the top 3% of freelance talent in business, design, and technology. So if you have the skills and experience to show that you have what it takes to be in the top 3%, then apply as a freelancer on Toptal. They’ll provide you opportunities to work with leading brands and startups. All clients on Toptal are thoroughly vetted so you can feel secure in the people you are doing business with and know that you’ll get paid on time. \n4. PeoplePerHour\n(Image)\n\nIn 2007, PeoplePerHour set out to help entrepreneurial minded people break the 9 to 5 mold and start working for themselves. You do need to apply to become a certified freelancer on this site, and once you are approved, you’ll gain access to available projects all over the globe. Not only can you search through new project opportunities, but you can also create your own offers for businesses to buy your services from you. This provides a great opportunity to build relationships that could turn into long-term clients. \n5. Freelancer.com\n(Image)\n\nFreelancer.com has a wide range of projects from those that require little to no experience to those that need the top talent available. All you need to do is complete your profile by including your skills and expertise, a professional photo, and going through the Verification Center checklist. After that, you can start browsing through and bidding on available jobs.\n6. Guru\n(Image)\n\nGuru is like most other freelance lead generation sites in that it allows you to create a profile and start bidding on jobs (may the best bid win!) But it also has some additional capabilities, like building a team. You can use the WorkRooms features to add team members to your team, assign roles to team members, share files, and keep track of progress. If you have a small team of freelancers that you manage alongside yourself, this could be the perfect site for you. \n7. TaskRabbit\n(Image)\n\nWhile most lead generation websites for contractors and freelancers focus on advertising your specialized skills, TaskRabbit allows people to bid on everyday tasks that individuals and businesses need help with. This allows you to start breaking out on your own and working your own schedule while also not requiring the skills and experience that many other lead generation platforms require. \nWith TaskRabbit, you can run errands, make deliveries, and do countless little jobs to provide yourself extra income while helping those in your community. \n(Image)\nThere you go! 5 top lead-gen sites for freelancers, gig workers, and contractors. Get to work!


Best lead generation websites for contractors and freelancers

In this article:\nOptimize your Google Business listing\nImprove your local ranking on Google search results \nGet more attention from customers\nRank higher on Google Maps\nNews flash: even if you haven’t created or claimed your Google My Business listing, you probably already have one. \nThis is because Google (and other business review sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook, and Foursquare) allows customers to post reviews and info about your business \neven if no official profile exists\n. \nIn other words, until you officially claim your pages, \npeople other than you\n have 100% control over how your business appears online.\nYet, despite the increasing importance of a robust online presence for even small, local businesses, at last count only 44% of Google My Business listing pages had been claimed. Unbelievable.\nIf you want to know how to make sure more people find your Google My Business listing, we recommend you start with these 5 steps.\n1. Claim and update your Google Business listing with current, correct information\nThe critical first step in learning how to improve your local ranking on Google My Business results is to—you guessed it—actually \nown\n your Google Business listing. As noted above, \nless than half\n of businesses have officially claimed their pages. Plus, research shows that businesses that claim their listings on multiple online business reviews sites make 58% more money!\nThe good news is, it’s free and relatively straightforward to claim yours. Click to read our detailed article on \nhow to claim your Google My Business listing\n.\nAfter you’ve claimed your listing (and we recommend you \nclaim your business pages\n on \nall\n the relevant review sites), be sure to complete all of the basic business info, including an accurate physical address, phone number(s), email address, website, and hours of operation.\nAlso, set a daily or weekly reminder to keep your info up-to-date. This may sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many times we’ve found that this basic, yet critical online customer touchpoint is outdated or missing—phone number out of service, website down, email bouncing, location listed incorrectly or not at all, outdated reviews, and more.\nThere are few things more frustrating than when customers search a business online, decide to purchase, and go out of their way to travel to the place of business, only to find it's moved across town or it's closed for the day due to out-of-date information on the Google Business listing. \nWe’ve all been there. It sucks. Some of our staff have vowed never to patronize a business again after suffering such an inconvenience. We know—first world problems, right? But customers are fickle. Don’t give them that chance.\nNot to mention, when your info is complete and you keep your listing up to date, you improve your local ranking on Google search results and rank higher on Google Maps.\nNote: we said “website.” Sorry, but yes, you need a website. Squarespace or Wix make it pretty easy. You don’t need to have an online shopping basket or checkout process (although “order online, pick up in store” is trending very high and a growing number of retail stores and restaurants now use it). \nAs long as your website has some (correct) basic info about your business, some pretty pictures, and valid contact information, that will do until you have some more time and money to spend on a more robust website. Basically, people just want to see that you HAVE a website to make double sure your company is “legit.”\n2. Edit your Google Business listing to include quality photos\nA good Google My Business listing will include several high-quality photos of the exterior and interior of your business (if applicable), as well as relevant product photos if possible. \nThink about businesses that stand out to you when you conduct local searches. They almost certainly have eye-catching photos included. \nIf you’re not a shutterbug and you don’t know any teenagers going through their “photography” phase, consider hiring a professional for half a day (this is also a good opportunity to get some quality photos for your website). \n\nHigh-quality images of your location, products, or services can help you stand out in online searches.\nAsk for clear, high-resolution photos with size, composition, and color optimized for online thumbnail display. In addition to interior and exterior shots of your physical location, these might include photos of customers getting a haircut, autos being serviced, mouth-watering photos of your restaurant’s food and beverage offerings, happy pets being groomed, a display of the large selection of products you offer… you get the idea.\nMost people respond well to catchy visuals, and a small investment here can pay off in more engagement and better search rankings for your business.\n3. To outrank your local competition on Google My Business, add “next level” info\nIf you want to stand out online against your local competition, you should add “next level business info” to your Google listing. What we mean by this is to go beyond the absolute necessities listed above.\nNext level info might involve \nadding a current menu for a restaurant\n, completing the “optional” fields/descriptors such as “casual atmosphere,” “lots of parking,” “free WiFi,” “family friendly,” and any others, as well as including links to any online or scheduling options for salons, auto shops, groomers, restaurants, etc.\nThe more details and info you can include, the more ways there are for the web search engines to find and rank your listing well. In general, Google business profiles with an abundance of info look more appealing than bare-bones listings, even if the bare-bones ones also have a solid star rating.\n4. Your Google Business listing should include a short, inviting business description\nCurrently, Google allows space below the displayed reviews for businesses to post a short message or boilerplate.\nThis is your chance to play marketing copywriter or VP of Business Development. Try to condense all of your business’s qualities into two or three very clean, descriptive sentences. \nYou might refer to your “elevator pitch,” or your business’s mission statement or company vision. Ask someone you trust to proofread it and give you feedback.\nAdding a well-crafted description of your business, products, or services is an effective way to introduce yourself to your potential customers looking for you online, and can help improve engagement and accurate search results.\n5. Add replies to customers’ Google Business listing reviews\nIf a potential customer searches your business, Google displays your basic business profile, including any information you (or your customers) have completed. Google also displays the top three or four relevant reviews for your business as part of the basic profile display.\nThis can be a good thing, if the displayed reviews are 4 or 5 stars, or it might not be so great if you haven’t gotten many excellent reviews yet.\nThis highlights the vital importance of taking control of your business’s online reputation, even for small, local businesses.\nThe “star rating” is almost the first thing anyone sees when searching for businesses like yours in your area, and that rating is calculated by your Google reviews. Click to read our primers on \nhow to get more reviews\n.\nHowever, this goes one level deeper: if you click on the Google map included in your basic profile, or if you click on any of the reviews displayed there, you get a more in-depth listing of the reviews, \nincluding any of your replies to those reviews. \nThis is a fantastic and little-used opportunity for you to show your current and potential customers that you take their feedback seriously and are actively engaged in maintaining a beneficial dialogue with customers online. (Click to read our in-depth article on \nhow to respond to reviews\n.)\nIf you take the 5 basic steps outlined above, you will be well on your way to improving your local ranking on Google, ranking higher on Google Maps, and attracting and retaining more happy customers. 

The top 5 things every small business should include in their Google Business listing

In this article:\nMarket research questions to ask before starting your business\nQuestions to ask your target audience\nWhat questions to ask your current customers\nMarket research questions to ask about your competitors\nWhether you’ve been in the game for a while or you are just starting up, market research is an important part of any successful business. It helps you identify the best opportunities for gaining new customers and growing your business. \nBut where do you start? It can be difficult to know which questions are important to ask and what the answers to those questions might mean for your business. \nWe’ll guide you through the most important market research questions you should ask before starting your small business. \nWe’re going to break these questions up into four categories: \nGeneral\nTarget audience\nCurrent customers\nCompetitors\nLet’s get started! \nMarket research questions to ask yourself before starting your business\nIt’s always a good idea to narrow down your market before diving too deep into the nitty-gritty details. Asking general market research questions will help you do that. Ask these questions of your market to determine the potential reach that your business could have in your current market. \nHow big is our potential market?\nYou’ll want to know the potential that your business has for growth. A larger market generally means more opportunity. A market that is too small or narrow may not provide much room for growth. \nHowever, a narrow market doesn’t mean to avoid it altogether. You may just need to expand into multiple markets for better growth potential.  \nIs this market going to grow or shrink? How much?\nDetermine what the growth trends are for your market. A growing market, again, provides more opportunity. Research the trends and learn whether your market is growing or declining. \nTrends can change, so don’t get discouraged if things aren’t looking up. But be realistic about your income if you choose to enter a declining market. \nimage of people holding up a market growth arrow for small business research\n\nAre there other products/services similar to ours? What are they?\nIt’s good to know what else is out there. Look for products or services that are similar to your offerings and learn more about them so you can do it better. You don’t want consumers to think that you are simply ripping off something that already exists. \nWho are our primary competitors? What is their market share?\nYou need to know who your competitors will be and what share of the market they already own. If they completely dominate the market for your business offerings, it’s going to be much more difficult to enter as a newbie. \nLearn everything you can about your competitors (we’ll have some more questions on this below). \nIs there any significant market share available for us?\nFind out what the demand is for your prospective business offerings. Is there a growing demand and are consumers looking for other options? What share of the market could you potentially grab hold of?\nMarket research questions to ask your target audience\nLearning more about your target audience will help you determine who your ideal customers are and how you can best market to them. You need to learn what makes them tick and how you can solve their problems with your offerings. \nThese questions are a little more straightforward and don’t require additional explanation:\nHow old are they?\nWhere are they located?\nWhat is their income?\nWhat is their profession?\nWhat is their household size?\nWhat is their gender, age, race?\nWhat interests do they have?\nWhat do they need?\nWhat problems do they face each day?\nWhat objections will they have to your business?\nWhat does a typical day look like for them?\nWhat do they enjoy doing?\nWhere do they currently shop?\nHow do they like to make purchases?\nWhere do they spend most of their time?\nWhat media outlets are they using?\nattractive woman average customer for market research\n\nMarket research questions to ask your current customers\nIf you are in the research phase of a new potential business, you likely don’t have customers yet. But you’ll need to test out your offerings, so use those people to determine how your customers would respond to the following questions. \nDo you like the product/service?\nDid our offering solve a need for you?\nWhat did you like most about this product/service?\nWhat did you like least about it?\nHow does this offering fit into your daily workflow?\nHow would you rate your experience with our company?\nWould you recommend us to a friend?\nIf you don’t have existing customers or haven’t tested out your offerings yet, ask these questions to people who use similar products/services. \nwoman pressing virtual emojis during market customer research survey\n\nMarket research questions to ask about your competitors\nYou are going to want to know what you’re up against as you start your new venture. Get to know your competitors on a personal level and through the eyes of their customers. \nWho are your main competitors?\nWhere are they located?\nWhat are they doing well?\nWhat could they do better?\nWhat offerings do they have? Is it more or less than what you plan on offering?\nAre their offerings different from yours?\nWhat are their prices like? Can you compete with that?\nWhat benefits/value do they provide to their customers?\nWhat do their customers like about them?\nWhat potential companies could become competitors in the future?\nHow are they marketing to their customers?\nDo they have good or bad online reviews?\nWhat is their online visibility like?\nThese last couple of questions are key. Online marketing, reviews, and overall visibility in the search engines is something you need to think about as you start your new business. You don’t just have to compete to get customers to visit your physical storefront (if you have one) but also to get them to visit your digital storefront. 


Important market research questions to ask before starting a new business

In this article:\nIs listing services on Facebook Marketplace allowed?\nSelling products on Facebook Marketplace\nFacebook Marketplace is becoming a frequently visited platform and it allows individuals and businesses to browse, buy, and sell products to new audiences. Currently, more than 800 million people are using Facebook Marketplace each month.  \nThis makes it a great opportunity for businesses to sell their offerings and gain new business. But there are some caveats that business owners should be aware of. \nPlease note: this article is intended for informational purposes only. You should adhere to all terms of service for all online platforms you use. Please read and understand them.\nSelling services on Facebook Marketplace by boosting Facebook ads\nLet’s start with local services businesses. In an attempt to reach new audiences and gain brand awareness, many businesses may try putting together a Marketplace listing for one or all of their services. These will probably not be approved by Facebook. \nDespite what some articles out there may say about Facebook Marketplace allowing home services to be listed on its platform, Facebook has clearly stated that all services are against its commerce policies. \nAccording to the social media giant, “All listings on Marketplace must comply with our \nCommerce Policies\n (which list what you can sell on Facebook) and our \nCommunity Standards\n (such as images and descriptions).”\n(Image)\n\nSo, you’re not likely to make it far if you try listing your services on Facebook Marketplace. And we recommend that you don’t even try, because the more you try to do something against Facebook’s policies, the more you risk getting your privileges on Facebook revoked. \nHow to show your services on Facebook Marketplace\nAll that being said, there are still ways that you can advertise your local services business on Facebook Marketplace, even if you can’t place an actual listing there. (Of course, you should always conform to the rules of any platform.)\nFacebook has several different options for advertising your content on its platform, but one way that you can get placements for your ads in the Marketplace is by boosting a post from your Facebook page. \nBoosting a post is a quick way to set up an ad on Facebook without having to set up an Ads Manager account. You can do this right from your business’s Facebook page. \nFirst, create a post about your services that you can boost to new audiences. Video content has the opportunity to get more placements and it generally has higher engagement rates, but you can reach Marketplace with general images and text too. \nNext, publish your post on your Facebook page and click “Boost Post” on the bottom right corner of your published post. \n(Image)\n\nThen, fill out all of the settings for your boosted post. This includes:\nChoosing the button label that you want on your ad and the exact URL that you want the post to link to\nSetting up a special ad category (if applicable)\nChoosing your audience\nSetting the duration and budget\nSelecting your goal (this generally defaults to “Automatic” and that’s fine)\nSet your placements (this allows you to include your ads on Instagram and Messenger if you want to, and if you have an Instagram account linked to your Facebook page)\nPayment method\n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\nAfter all of your settings are filled out, you can click the option to preview your ads in all of the different placements that Facebook allows. This will include:\nFacebook news feed on desktop and mobile\nInstant articles\nFacebook in-stream video on desktop and mobile (if you have video content)\nSuggested videos on desktop and mobile (if you have video content)\nFacebook Stories\nMarketplace on desktop and mobile (this is the entire goal, right?) \nMarketplace search results on mobile\nGeneral search results on desktop and mobile\nWhen you are satisfied, click “Boost Post Now” and monitor your post as it starts to show up for more and more potential customers. \nSelling products on Facebook Marketplace\nWhile selling products on Facebook Marketplace is allowed for businesses, there are some products that are not allowed that we want to bring your attention to. \nThere’s the general “no drugs, drug paraphernalia, alcohol, gambling, sexual content” rule, but there are some other items that Facebook has listed as prohibited in its Commerce Policies. \nOther items that you might not have known about that are against Facebook’s Commerce Policies:\nAnimals and animal parts (however products for animals like cages, toys, collars, etc. are fine)\nHazardous good and materials, including chemical pesticides and flammable/combustible substances\nIngestible supplements, including vitamins, protein bars, and protein powder\nMedical and healthcare products\nSubscriptions and digital products\nWeapons, ammunition, and explosives\nEvents or admissions tickets\nGift cards and vouchers\nThis is not a comprehensive list, it just includes items that are not generally frowned upon. For Facebook’s full Commerce Policies, \ngo here\n. \nIf you’ve determined your products are not against Facebook’s policies, then go forth and sell! \nWe have just the guide to get you started: \nFacebook Marketplace step by step: how to get set up and list items\nAnother quick note about Facebook Marketplace if you aren’t familiar with the ins and outs of it all: Facebook Marketplace is not an ecommerce platform. There is no exchange of currency or shipping options for general listings. A general listing allows you to display your product in Marketplace so that customers can then choose to come into your store to make the exchange. In order to have ecommerce capabilities, you’ll need to set up a shop on your Facebook page (this is also explained in our \nguide\n above.) \nTips and best practices for selling your products on Facebook Marketplace\nAs you set up your product listings, you’ll want to take special care to set them apart from the hundreds or thousands of other listings from individuals and businesses. \nUse these best practices to guide you along:\nUse professional photos on your listings. You can take good quality photos with your phone, or if you have professional product photos available, use those! Before posting, ask another person if the photos look professional\nInclude helpful descriptions of the products. Don’t just list the name of the product, list the details that people are looking for: size, dimensions, weight, color, etc. (depending on the product)\nList the actual price. Don’t just list $1 or $123 to get people’s attention. They want to know what the actual price of your products are\nAlways have a second person take a look at the listing before posting it. They can help check for spelling and grammar errors and give you a second opinion on how the post looks. \n

Can I list services on Facebook Marketplace? (tips to get noticed)

In this article:\nWhy use LinkedIn for your business\nHow to set up a LinkedIn business profile\nHow to use LinkedIn to grow your business\nLinkedIn has more than 645 million members worldwide. That’s a lot of people to connect with to help grow your business. \nThe best part is, any business can set up a free LinkedIn account. With the many opportunities that LinkedIn offers to connect you with potential employees and other professionals in your industry, it’s a great tool to utilize for your business. \nWhy use LinkedIn for businesses\nBeyond just the sheer number of people who use LinkedIn on a regular basis, this professional network can provide your business with tons of opportunities, from spreading the word about a new job to connecting with industry leaders and staying up to date on industry news. \nThe three main benefits your business can get from Linked in are as follows:\n1. Build your professional network\nLinkedIn is a powerhouse for connecting with other like-minded professionals. You can follow industry leaders, trending topics for your industry, and gain valuable insight into what other business owners are doing to thrive in their businesses. \n2. Increase your company’s exposure to attract quality employees\nWhen you create a company page on LinkedIn, you have more opportunities to attract quality employees to your business. You can post job opportunities to gain interest from qualified applicants all over the place. \n3. LinkedIn increases your business’s credibility\nWhen customers and potential employees see that your business has a LinkedIn account, that adds another level of trust to your business. LinkedIn is widely known as a professional network, so simply having a company page can boost your trust and help others learn more about your business. \nHow to set up a LinkedIn company page\nNow that you know why LinkedIn is a good idea, let’s get started on creating an account. \nStep 1: Sign up for LinkedIn\nIf you don’t already have a LinkedIn account, you will need to create one. In order to create a company page, you must create a personal LinkedIn account from which to manage your page. \nGo to \nLinkedin.com\n and click “Join now” to sign up for an account. If you already have an account, sign in and proceed to step 2 to create your company page. \n(Image)\n\nStep 2: Create your company page on LinkedIn\nWhen you get logged in to LinkedIn, navigate to the top menu bar and click the “Work” dropdown menu next to your profile picture. \nFrom there, go to the bottom of the new window and click “Create a Company Page.”\n(Image)\n\nYou’ll then be given the option to select the type of page you wish to create. \nThe options include:\nSmall business (for fewer than 200 employees)\nMedium to large business (for more than 200 employees)\nShowcase page (a sub-page for an existing business page)\nEducation institution (for schools and universities)\nSelect the appropriate page for your business–for most of you, this will be the “small business” option. \n(Image)\n\nNext, you need to add all of your company information. This includes:\nBusiness name (make sure this is the same name you use across all of your company’s online listings)\nA unique URL (you can put your company name here if it’s available)\nBusiness website\nYour industry\nCompany size\nCompany type\nCompany logo (for profile photo)\nTagline\nWhen you have filled out all of your information and added a photo, click “Create page.”\n(Image)\n\nStep 3: Complete your profile\nNow that your company page is created, there are a few things you can do to really round out your LinkedIn profile. \nFirst, add a cover photo. A picture of your location or something that represents your business well should go here. \n(Image)\n\nNext, let’s add a little more information about your company. Click the pencil icon below your cover photo to edit your business info. \n(Image)\n\nIn the next window that pops up, you can first update “Page info.” This is your profile picture, the name of your company and a tagline. You would have entered all of these when creating the page, but if you want to switch anything up, you can do that here. \n(Image)\n\nThen move down to “Buttons.” This allows you to add a custom button to the header of your company page. Click the toggle from “Off” to “On,” select a button name, and enter the URL that you want your button to go to. \nThis could be a contact page on your website, a careers page, or whatever you feel is relevant for the goals of your LinkedIn account. Click “Save” and move to the “About” section. \n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\nUnder “Overview,” you can and should enter a description of your company to help others know what you do. Add your website too if you haven’t done this already and enter your business phone number. \nYou’ll see that your industry, company size, and company type are all filled in from when you created the page. Now you can add the year your company was founded and up to 20 specialties–these can be unique services you offer and the qualities that your company exudes. \n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\nOn to locations. This is where you can add your address to help potential employees and customers find your business easier. \nClick “Add a location” and then fill in the fields for your address. \n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\nNext, add community hashtags to your profile. This will help you see when others are posting about your interests, industry, and brand. Stay in the know by adding relevant hashtags and sharing the content you find with your community. \n(Image)\n\nFinally, add featured groups to your page to show your followers what groups you are involved with and/or interested in. This can say a lot about your company and will help convey the right messages to your connections. \n(Image)\n\nNow your profile is complete! The only thing that’s left it to start posting. Read on to learn more about how you can utilize posts and other features to help grow your business. \nHow to use LinkedIn to grow your business\nLinkedIn has some pretty cool features that your business should definitely take advantage of. We’ve listed a few to help you get started on improving your LinkedIn profile and growing your business. \n1. Content suggestions\nWhen you are on your LinkedIn company page, there’s an option near the top that says “Content Suggestions.” This feature is great for when you aren’t quite sure what to post or share on your page. \n(Image)\n\nClick this and then add filters based on industry, location, and employee level to find the kind of content you’d like to share. Click “View content suggestions,” and LinkedIn will generate a list of content that others have already posted. \nBrowse through this list and share the content that speaks to you and your business. \n2. Job postings\nYou can create job listings from your company page, and LinkedIn will help put your post in front of the most qualified candidates. \nThis feature is not free, but it is so helpful for finding the best job applicants. You need to pay a small daily fee in order to put your job post in front of candidates on LinkedIn. LinkedIn will provide a recommended daily budget based on the type of job you post. The average job post budget ranges from $10-$30 per day. \n3. Analytics and activity reporting\nLinkedIn shows your page’s analytics and the actions that people have taken on your page. With analytics, you can see how many page views, unique visitors, and followers you’ve had and filter these by dates and demographics. \nThe activity reporting will tell you how people have engaged with your company profile and content. If they’ve mentioned your brand, shared or reacted to your content, or commented on your posts, you’ll be notified of it. \nThese reports can help you to know what you’re doing right and where you can make improvements with your page. 

144 articles found in “Marketing”

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