James McAllister Online

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10 Scams Shady Marketers Use To Trick You Into Spending Money

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In all fields, there are good and bad people.

People that want what’s best for their customers, and those who can only look out for their own selfish interests.

Some say that the internet is like the wild west, where people can pop up, cause harm, and disappear without a trace. In many ways, this is unfortunately still true.

As the internet has evolved and consumers have become more aware, the scams and tricks shady marketers use to steal money from people have as well. Some of these aren’t as obvious as the methods used in years past, and you may not even recognize them even though they’re wildly used.

I recently put together a mini course on identifying these scam tactics, and I’d love to share it with you here.

Let’s take a look at each one of the 10 tactics scammers use, and see how many you can recognize. You’re sure to spot these out there if you pay attention to them!

[Read more…]

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7 Tactics To Foster More Engagement On Social Media

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Yesterday, you were exposed to between 4,000 and 10,000 marketing messages – but how many of those do you actually remember?

Out of those that you remember, how many actually sparked a powerful enough reaction in you to affect your opinion of that company?

Chances are, not very many. In fact, you unconsciously filtered out the vast majority of advertisements without even realizing that they were there – despite the fact that your eyes likely did pass over them.

As entrepreneurs, we often make the mistake of believing that more eyeballs on our offer is a good thing, without taking into account an important fact – if no results are actually being delivered, we are wasting our time and money for no good reason.

As social media marketers, we make the mistake of prioritizing reach – acquiring new followers, going viral, chasing social shares and retweets, even if it means that our messages fall onto deaf ears.

That’s a problem.

Social media marketers do best when they prioritize engagement first, building a framework that actually connects with the audience. Once this framework is in place, only then can it be effectively scaled by amplifying reach.

In this article, I want to help you develop that framework. Let’s look over 7 methods we can utilize to improve engagement on social media, and build a more meaningful connection with our audience. [Read more…]

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7 Exciting Ways Blogging Can Benefit Your Small Business

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Blogging may be the single most effective way to market a small business, yet a surprisingly large number of people fail to take it seriously.

It’s cheap to start, and cheap to scale. It works in almost every industry. It generates sales in the short-term, and is an incredible brand-building tool in the long-term.

When it’s pulled off correctly, it can not only completely transform entire companies, but it can make it incredibly difficult for anyone else to even compete.

The potential here can not be overstated. My first ever hire was a content writer. There’s a reason blogging is at the core of all my companies, (including my eCommerce brands which have gone on to do millions in sales.)

The importance of blogging cannot be understated. In this article, I am going to make the case why it’s time for you to start a blog, and showcase all of the incredible benefits that blogging can offer your small business. Some of these will not be obvious, and I urge you to continue reading with an open mind – taking examples and imagining how they will fit in with your own business, and your existing marketing strategy. [Read more…]