How to Use TikTok for Your Small Business (2026 Guide)
TikTok for small business in 2026: the free Business Account, the $20 and $50 daily ad minimums, what a service business should post, and how to measure it.
10 min read · updated 2026-09-04
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The Dangers of Cold Emailing (And Why We Don’t Do It)
Cold emailing gets flagged as spam, can break anti-spam law, damages your reputation, and wastes time because nobody reads it. What to do with those hours.
5 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Agency Owners: Why Working for Exposure Never Works
Working for exposure means doing creative work free or nearly free. It signals your time is worthless, invites more free requests, and rarely reaches buyers.
6 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Tips to Keep From Annoying Group Members with the @everyone Tag on Facebook
The Facebook group @everyone tag notifies every member. Use it for giveaways, meetups, rule changes, and urgent reminders only. Overuse it and members leave.
3 min read · updated 2026-09-05
Bing Ads Management: What Microsoft Advertising Is Actually Worth
What Microsoft Advertising is worth in 2026, and what managing it involves. Bing’s real US search share, why the clicks cost less, and when running it is a mistake.
4 min read · updated 2026-09-07
Patreon for Podcasters: A Good Idea to Generate Revenue or a Slap in the Face to Advertisers?
Patreon can pay a podcast's bills, but charging listeners for a show advertisers already fund sends the wrong message. Both sides of the argument and a verdict.
4 min read · updated 2026-09-04
BlakSheep Creative Named a Leading Baton Rouge Digital Marketing Agency
Expertise.com named BlakSheep Creative a leading digital marketing agency in Baton Rouge, months after ranking it among the city's best web designers.
3 min read · updated 2026-09-07
How to Track the Right KPIs in Google Analytics
Which KPIs to track in Google Analytics 4: key events, engagement rate, average engagement time, and organic sessions by landing page, plus what to ignore.
7 min read · updated 2026-09-05
Are you Monitoring Your Brand Mentions Online?
How to monitor brand mentions online: free alerts, paid listening tools with current prices, what to track, and the AI answers no tool watches yet.
7 min read · updated 2026-09-05
Why Consistent Branding Is Key to a Successful Business
Why consistent branding is key to a successful business: Lucidpress found 33% more revenue. What branding is, why consistency works, and how to apply it.
7 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Fonts Similar to Futura, and What to Do About a Font That Is Too Fat
When a heading font looks too heavy, change the weight, add letter-spacing, reduce the size, or swap it. Thin picks: Avenir, Helvetica Neue, Futura.
5 min read · updated 2026-09-07
5 Tips for Marketing Your Painting Business Online in a Digital Age
Five ways to market a painting company online: social media, a professional website, Google and Facebook ads, email newsletters, and trade shows.
5 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Socially Responsible Brands: 3 Ways to Make Your Business More Socially Responsible
Three ways to make your brand socially responsible: be transparent about what you give and its impact, get the whole company on board, and stay genuine.
3 min read · updated 2026-09-04
9 Videos Your Business Needs to Be Using to Succeed
Nine video types that work for small businesses: intro, how-to, explainer, testimonial, case study, product, ad, event, and tutorial videos, with tips for each.
20 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Why You Don’t Have to Use WWW
You do not need www in a website address. It adds syllables, characters, data, confusion, and bounced emails, and it can indirectly hurt your SEO.
6 min read · updated 2026-09-05
The Importance of Having a Professional Website for your Podcast
What makes a podcast website look professional: consistent branding, easy navigation, a custom domain, an embedded player, transcripts, and analytics.
11 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Website Owners: Are you Tracking Conversions?
A conversion is a visitor buying, signing up, or contacting you. How to track conversions in Google Analytics and use the data to fix what is losing you leads.
4 min read · updated 2026-09-05
6 Successful Content Marketing Examples from Well-Known Brands
Content marketing examples from Coca-Cola, Patagonia, The New York Times, Netflix, Uber, and Airbnb, with the small-business version of each decision.
8 min read · updated 2026-09-05
9 Simple Tips to Ranking Your Podcast Higher on Google
Nine podcast SEO tips: submit to directories, write a keyword-rich description, use literal titles, optimize cover art, add transcripts, and ask for reviews.
14 min read · updated 2026-09-05
How to Write the Perfect Press Release: The Ultimate Guide
How to write a press release that gets picked up: send it Thursday, make it timely and newsworthy, write a specific headline, keep it short, and distribute it.
8 min read · updated 2026-09-05
9 Digital Marketing Tips for Bands and Singers
Nine digital marketing moves for bands and singers: social media, a real website, SEO, blogging, paid ads, email lists, merch platforms, gig-booking tools, and video.
6 min read · updated 2026-09-04
7 Easy Steps to Writing Irresistible Headlines
Seven steps to headlines people click: keep them to 6 to 8 words, use strong verbs and power words, skip clickbait, write for searchers, add numbers, and test.
5 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Build Trust With Your Audience with the Before-After-Bridge Copywriting Framework
Who actually documented Before-After-Bridge, and how to write each part. The earliest widely cited source is Kevan Lee for Buffer in 2014; there is no named inventor.
8 min read · updated 2026-09-07
Five Easy Steps to Finding Your Brand’s Voice
Find your brand's voice in five steps: know your customers, know your brand, define your tone, settle on a writing style, and keep it consistent.
8 min read · updated 2026-09-04
What are Some Quick SEO Wins You Can Do Yourself?
Eleven SEO fixes you can make without an agency: broken links, load time, SSL, keyword titles, header tags, accessibility, images, links, and content.
8 min read · updated 2026-09-04
You Down With O.P.P.? Why Small Businesses Should Make Optimizing for People a Priority.
Write for people first and search engines second. What that means for small-business content, what to avoid, and where keywords still belong on the page.
11 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Business Networking: Does it Work, or is it just a Buzz Word?
Business networking works when you show up with a goal and wastes time when you do not. The real benefits, the seven downsides, and how to decide.
10 min read · updated 2026-09-04
How to Create a Conversation with Potential Customers
Thirteen ways to start and keep a conversation with potential customers: be sincere, ask, listen, follow up, offer value, and talk with people.
7 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Is Background Research Necessary for Influencer Marketing?
Why background research on an influencer is necessary before you partner, five ways to do it, and how to use what you find in your campaign.
5 min read · updated 2026-09-04
What is Hashtag Hijacking?
Hashtag hijacking is using a popular, campaign, or branded hashtag to promote your business without permission. Three common forms, why it backfires, the fix.
5 min read · updated 2026-09-04
21 Secrets To Increasing Website Traffic Damn Near Overnight
21 ways to increase website traffic fast: searched topics, search intent, email, internal links, Reddit, refreshed posts, video, and Pinterest.
12 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Stop Chasing High Volume, Low Competition Keywords!
Why high volume, low competition keywords are not enough: match searcher intent, write quality content for people, earn backlinks, use social media, and fix UX.
7 min read · updated 2026-09-07
Toxic Links: Google Says Don’t Get Hung Up on Them
John Mueller says Google has no concept of toxic domains and ignores bad links since Penguin 4.0. When cleanup still makes sense and how to find bad links.
5 min read · updated 2026-09-05
Why Choose a Veteran Owned Digital Marketing Agency?
What you actually get from a veteran-owned digital marketing agency: discipline, results focus, flexibility, attention to detail, and accurate targeting for your budget.
3 min read · updated 2026-09-04
10 Rules of Effective Business Online Reputation Management
Ten rules for managing a business's online reputation: keep profiles current, answer every review, monitor mentions, and watch your competitors.
7 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Loom: The Perfect Tool for a Digital Marketing Agency
Loom records your screen and voice in the browser and gives you a share link the moment you stop. Key features, how to record, and how an agency uses it.
5 min read · updated 2026-09-05
How to Monitor your Brand’s Reputation On Social Media
Social media listening means tracking mentions of your brand across platforms and responding fast. What to listen for, which tools work, and how to get started.
9 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Why You Shouldn’t Cut Your Marketing Budget During This Recession
Cutting marketing in a downturn hands market share to competitors and leaves you behind in the recovery. What the research shows and what to do with the budget.
3 min read · updated 2026-09-04
What Marketers Can Learn From Johnny Depp
Seven marketing lessons from the Depp v. Heard trial: brand strength, reputation, public opinion, competence, genuine emotion, controversy, and a good team.
5 min read · updated 2026-09-05
Business Owners: Why People May Be Laughing at your Wix Website
Seven reasons a Wix business website hurts credibility: dated templates, limited customization, Wix ads on free plans, 500MB caps, no export, ownership terms.
6 min read · updated 2026-09-05
We Surveyed 100 Small Business Owners About Their Digital Marketing Budgets; Here’s What We Found
A survey of 100 small business owners found most spend 1 to 5 percent on digital marketing, only 19 percent have a written plan, and 21 percent measure results.
7 min read · updated 2026-09-05
SEO Acronyms and Definitions, Explained in Plain English
SEO acronyms and abbreviations defined in plain English, grouped A to Z, plus status codes, non-acronym terms, and six entries that are out of date or wrong.
12 min read · updated 2026-09-07
What Does Elon Musk’s Purchase of Twitter Mean for Social Media Marketers?
What Elon Musk's $44 billion Twitter purchase was expected to mean for marketers: AI targeting, more video, an open algorithm, verification, and an edit button.
6 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Why Your Business Should Have a Blog: 11 Reasons To Start Today!
Blogging for business, honestly: why most pages get no Google traffic, the seven things a blog does, what it will not do, and a cadence you can hold.
6 min read · updated 2026-09-07
Tumblr for Business: Is It Still Worth Your Time?
Tumblr for business: seven reasons the microblogging platform works for small companies, the three sponsored content options, and five tips for getting started.
7 min read · updated 2026-09-07
11 Fatal Flaws in Your Content Marketing Plan
Eleven content marketing mistakes that quietly kill results, from targeting everyone to skipping a content calendar and never measuring, with the fix for each.
10 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Why Your Solar Company Needs a Professional Website
Why a solar company needs a professional website: first impressions, search visibility, rebate pages, project galleries, lead forms, and an assessment tool.
5 min read · updated 2026-09-04
How to Choose the Right White Label Website Design Provider
White label web design: the eight questions to ask a provider, what in-house really costs, the ownership and NDA terms to get in writing before you sign.
7 min read · updated 2026-09-05
BlakSheep Creative Named a Top Baton Rouge Web Design Agency
BlakSheep Creative was named a top web design agency in Baton Rouge by Expertise.com for the second year running. How the selection works and what it means.
2 min read · updated 2026-09-07
Is the Podcast Market Oversaturated?
The podcast market is crowded, but a show with a clear niche can still find listeners. Which niches are oversaturated and how to market a new show.
5 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Picmaker vs. Canva, Which is Better?
Picmaker and Canva compared on templates, AI tools, stock images, mobile apps, video, and price. Canva wins on ease and video; Picmaker on features and value.
8 min read · updated 2026-09-05
Emotional Marketing: Why You Should Use it
Emotional marketing uses feeling to connect with customers. Why it beats purely rational messaging, how to start, and the research stats behind it.
8 min read · updated 2026-09-05
9 Easy Ways to Get More Leads from Your Architectural Website
Nine ways architects get more leads from their website: simple navigation, a CTA on every page, a valuable download, fresh content, images, and SEO.
11 min read · updated 2026-09-05
How to Get More Engagement from your Social Media Posts
Nine ways to get more engagement from social media posts: relevant content, strong visuals, peak-time posting, fast replies, accurate profiles, and hashtags.
4 min read · updated 2026-09-04
How to Craft a Value Proposition that Sells
A value proposition tells customers why to choose you over everyone selling the same thing. Six rules for writing one, plus four questions that surface it.
3 min read · updated 2026-09-04
What is FOMO, and Does it Really Work?
FOMO marketing uses fear of missing out, through limited-time offers, low-stock alerts, and countdown timers, to drive sales. Where it works and the risks.
7 min read · updated 2026-09-07
11 Simple Tips to Speed Up Your WordPress Website
Eleven ways to speed up a WordPress site: caching, fewer plugins, WebP images, lazy loading, a CDN, database cleanup, gzip, right-sized images, better hosting.
13 min read · updated 2026-09-05
What Marketers Can Learn from the Thinking With My Dick Guy.
A Lafayette Mardi Gras TikTok hit 35 million views with a phone and no script. Six marketing lessons: keep it short, stay authentic, have fun, time it right.
5 min read · updated 2026-09-04
Why Your Business Needs a Content Calendar
What a content calendar is, why a business needs one, what goes in it, and a 10-step setup from goals and topics to post, promote, and analyze.
22 min read · updated 2026-10-16
Graphic Design for Digital Marketing: The Essentials
Graphic design for digital marketing, measured: WCAG contrast ratios, image weight and format, typography that survives a phone, platform crops, and testing.
7 min read · updated 2026-09-05