James McAllister Online

Your friend in business, and in life!

by 12 Comments

What To Do When Business Progress Feels Slow

Note: Listen to this post instead using the audio player below, and consider subscribing on your favorite podcast player!

iTunesGoogle PlayPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen In A New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotifySpotify

One of the most disheartening problems that entrepreneurs face is slow progress.

The feeling that you’re giving it all, sacrificing so much, and working an unhealthy number of hours – only to discover that you really haven’t seem to have gone that far.

This is discouraging and hard to swallow, even for the most confident of entrepreneurs. Slow business growth can crush our motivation, and cause us to wonder whether it’s even worth continuing to push on. Why try so hard if ultimately, it doesn’t seem to be amounting to anything?

For better or for worse, this is a common problem that many entrepreneurs experience at one point or another, which means there’s been a lot of discussion on how to get past this mental hurdle.

If you’re about to have a breakdown because your company’s progress seems slow, don’t worry. In this article, I’ll cover my best advice.

[Read more…]

by 8 Comments

The 7 Pillars Of Exceptional Customer Service

Note: Listen to this post instead using the audio player below, and consider subscribing on your favorite podcast player!

iTunesGoogle PlayPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen In A New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotifySpotify

One of the easiest ways to differentiate your business from others in your industry is to make customer service a priority.

Every business likes to think that they have good customer service, but there is an enormous difference between good customer service, and truly exceptional customer service. And your customers can clearly tell the difference.

Fortunately, crafting an exceptional customer service strategy is not all that difficult. The simple fact that you even care enough to read an article like this one shows that you’re likely to do well with the information I’m about to share with you.

There are a number of customer service principles that help buyers at all stages of the sales cycle feel valued and cared for. In this article, I intend to cover each one of these in detail.

Without further ado, here are the 7 pillars of exceptional customer service, and some information on how to implement them into your business.

[Read more…]

by 14 Comments

8 Gadgets That Will Make Your Entrepreneurial Life More Enjoyable

Note: Listen to this post instead using the audio player below, and consider subscribing on your favorite podcast player!

iTunesGoogle PlayPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen In A New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotifySpotify

When’s the last time you’ve bought a gift for yourself?

There are so many fantastic items and gadgets out there that can benefit you as an entrepreneur, and you may not even know that they exist.

If you could spend a little bit of money to make life as an entrepreneur just that little bit better, wouldn’t you agree that it’s money well spent?

In this article, I aim to draw some light to some of these gadgets, most of which I use myself on a daily basis. These won’t just make life more enjoyable, they may help you become more productive as well! So whether you’re treating yourself or looking to buy gifts for another entrepreneur in your life, here are 8 fantastic gadgets worth considering.

[Read more…]

by 9 Comments

2019: Return – A Year In Review

Note: Listen to this post instead using the audio player below, and consider subscribing on your favorite podcast player!

1x
0:00
...
iTunesGoogle PlayPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen In A New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotifySpotify

What an interesting year it’s been!

Having been away from the internet marketing world for several years, 2019 was an interesting year for me. I decided that now was the right time to return to my blog here on JamesMcAllisterOnline.com, and reignite the personal brand I’ve aimed to build since I started in 2013.

At the same time, my two eCommerce brands – the companies I’ve been running since I left several years ago, have continued to blossom and present their own unique challenges as well.

I’ve learned a lot this year, and while not everything that I’ve tried worked as intended, many things have.

In this post, I’d like to take some time to reflect on 2019 – sharing my successes, my failures, and goals for 2020.

Let’s first start with an overview on the year as a whole.’

[Read more…]

by 16 Comments

10 Scams Shady Marketers Use To Trick You Into Spending Money

Note: Listen to this post instead using the audio player below, and consider subscribing on your favorite podcast player!

iTunesGoogle PlayPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen In A New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotifySpotify

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…]

by 20 Comments

What To Do When Your Family And Friends Do Not Support Your Business

Note: Listen to this post instead using the audio player below, and consider subscribing on your favorite podcast player!

iTunesGoogle PlayPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen In A New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotifySpotify

Starting a business is tough. Starting it without a strong support network in place? Even harder.

It’s natural to feel that friends and family are supposed to be our biggest supporters – the ones believing in us when nobody else will. That they should back us up on whatever we set our minds and hearts to, because they love and care for us. Unfortunately, with any major life change, this isn’t always the case.

It can be incredibly demoralizing when we reveal our entrepreneurial intentions to those closest to us, and they ultimately shut us down. For many aspiring entrepreneurs, it can cause them to withdrawal from their idea completely, shelving it off into the back of their minds forever.

For your sake and for your family’s sake, do not let that be the case.

This painful hardship can be overcome, and in fact, you may even be able to turn it into an advantage.

Let’s look at what to do when your friends or family do not support your business. [Read more…]

by 4 Comments

You Can’t Survive With A Website Alone

Note: Listen to this post instead using the audio player below, and consider subscribing on your favorite podcast player!

1x
0:00
...
iTunesGoogle PlayPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen In A New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotifySpotify

The world has changed a lot in the last 10 years.

Technology has evolved, and so has the way that we spend our time. For the majority of people today, the way we spend our day-to-day lives (at least, outside of work) is quite a bit different than they were in the very recent past.

As our daily habits and actions change, so has the way we purchase products and services.

Companies who have been in business for decades or longer are falling left and right, primarily for one core reason:

They fail to adapt with the changing world.

10 years ago, it was possible to make a killing online with only a simple WordPress blog. If your content was good enough, people would take the time to stay updated and read each and every post you published, almost religiously.

If your goal is to achieve massive levels of success online, unfortunately this is no longer possible for most people.

If you want to really form a connection with people, you have to go beyond your own site – publishing content for many platforms, rather than just one.

Let’s look over this a little bit more deeply, and discuss some strategies you can utilize to build a larger, more engaged audience far more easily creating a strategy that will still be relevant throughout the 2020’s.

[Read more…]

by 4 Comments

How To Be A More Productive Writer – 12 Tips To Improve Writing Speed

Note: Listen to this post instead using the audio player below, and consider subscribing on your favorite podcast player!

iTunesGoogle PlayPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen In A New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotifySpotify

How much would your business change if you were able to double or triple the speed in which you write your content?

When it comes down to writing, we all know that quality is what truly matters. Our writing has to be good, or else it won’t retain readers for very long.

At the same time, we all have a limited amount of time each day in order to get things done. When you’re able to write more quickly, you’re literally creating time for yourself – time that can be spent either writing even more content, or focusing on some other area of your business that needs attention.

Whether you’re a blogger, video creator, author, copywriter, or someone else entirely, there are a number of creative writing hacks that can help you to improve your writing speed.

Let’s look over some of my top writing tips to help you write more productively!

[Read more…]

by 4 Comments

This Long-Term Content Strategy Offers An Unbeatable ROI

Note: Listen to this post instead using the audio player below, and consider subscribing on your favorite podcast player!

iTunesGoogle PlayPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen In A New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotifySpotify

When content marketing is done right, it can be one of the most powerful marketing channels available.

Good content marketing can offer a return that far exceeds most other marketing spend, both in the short and the long-term.

Content has the power to drive visibility and awareness to your brand years after its initial publication, and continue making money for you around the clock.

After all, each piece of content can act as an entrance door for your brand, making consumers aware of what you have to offer and naturally moving them closer and closer to a sale.

The potential is insane.

The real power of content marketing however, comes when you can begin utilizing these benefits at scale – releasing more and more content that all works together in a system, each piece building each other up.

By developing a framework that fosters this long-term growth, you ensure that each piece of content that you release continues to build up your brand. Permanently.

In this article, let’s go over how you can create a content marketing strategy that continues to work for you, and build your brand over the long-term. These strategies aren’t specific to any one platform. They’ll work whether you’re utilizing blogging, YouTube, podcasting, social media, something else entirely, or a combination of all of these.

Let’s get to it!

[Read more…]

by 6 Comments

7 Tactics To Foster More Engagement On Social Media

Note: Listen to this post instead using the audio player below, and consider subscribing on your favorite podcast player!

iTunesGoogle PlayPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen In A New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotifySpotify

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…]

0:00
0:00