Find Your Groove in Content Marketing via Lynda.com

As Social Media has become more and more important in reaching target markets, it has become vital for businesses to understand the nature of Content Marketing thoroughly. Luckily, Lynda.com offers 10 Course Certificates in Content Marketing.

With a commitment of 8 hours, 29 minutes, and 20 seconds, you can learn the ropes of Content Marketing and put them to use for your business and brand. See below a synopsis of the 10 courses included.

1. Introduction to Content Marketing with C.C. Chapman.
   This course walks you the what, why who and how of content marketing. It shows you how to move your marketing efforts to the digital world.
2. Content Marketing Fundaments.
   With this course you're learn how to develop, implement and measure the success of a content marketing strategy.
Content Marketing Fundamentals by Dayna Rothman
3. Content Marketing: Staying Relevant.
   You'll learn how to stay on top of trends with you content marketing strategy.
4. Content Marketing: Podcasts and Audios
   You'll learn how to content to with customers using podcasts.
Content Marketing: Podcasts and Audio by C.C. Chapman
5. Content Marketing: Blogs
   You'll learn how to make blogging apart of your content marketing strategy.
6. Content Marketing: Slides
   You'll learn the best methods for implementing slides into your content marketing strategy.
Content Marketing: Slides by Dayna Rothman
7. Content Marketing: Newsletters
   The instructor covers the best practices for including emails and newsletters in your content marketing strategy.
8. Content Marketing Photos.
   Learn how great photos can impact your content marketing strategy.
Content Marketing: Photos by C.C. Chapman
9. Writing Marketing Copy.
   In those course you'll learn how to write compelling market copy that engages your customers.
10. Viral Marketing: Crafting Shareable Content
    In this final course you'll learn how to share content that is shared

After completion of the 10 courses you'll be equipped with the knowledge you need to get things rolling with an effective content marketing strategy that will lead to great results for your business and brand.

Source: Lynda.com All rights reserved. This is not a paid or sponsored post.

How to Make a Quick Bridal Shower Invitation With PicMonkey

So sometimes when planning evens there's not time to hire someone to do the invitations. That doesn't mean you have to settle for less than stellar invitation. With PicMonkey, the online design website you can churn out a fancy invitation in 20 minutes or less and today we're going to show you how step-by-step.

1. Launch PicMonkey, select Design from the menu and then select 5x7.
   
   
   
   
2. Once you get your canvas you need to adjust your background color to your liking. We chose a dark background color for this design. To change your canvas color click on Canvas Color from the menu box.
   
   
   
   
3. The next thing to do is to click on the butterfly icon so that you can add your cliparts and overlays. For the purpose of this design, we're only using cliparts provided by PicMonkey in their wedding section.
   
   
   
   
4. The next step is to add the text for your invite. Click on the Tt icons to take you to the font menus. With PicMonkey, you can use their fonts or your own system fonts. For this invite we stuck with the PicMonkey's fonts.
   
   
   
   
5.  To give the invitation a little sparkle we decided to add stars. By clicking on the apple icon and selecting Celebrate from the menu you'll see the star overlays. Simply add them sporadically to the open background spaces.
   
   
   
6.  The finished result is a cool invitation that you can have printed locally. Another option is to have the invite printed as a photo through your local Walgreens. It would be ready for pickup within an hour.
   
   
   

Now the next time you have an event and you're pressed for time or short on funds, just log onto PicMonkey and design a cool invitation for your event.

Marina Villatoro is A Woman Making it Happen

Welcome to our weekly edition of Women Making it Happen (#WomenMakingItHappen). Each Wednesday on the blog we’ll feature a woman entrepreneur who’s making it happen in the world of entrepreneurship! She's gonna share with us how she keeps it moving for her business venture(s). 

Today’s featured woman is Marina Villatoro,  the owner of The Trader Chick; a business that teaches women how to trade with confidence. We met Marina through the networking group,  Freedom Hackers Mastermind, on Facebook.

"If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman." —Margaret Thatcher

We asked Marina to share a bit about what keeps her pushing and striving to #MakeItHappen!!!

1. First, we’d like to thank you so much for being a featured guest on our blog.Tell us a little bit about your business ventures. Hi, I'm Marina 'The Trader Chick' Villatoro. I teach women, super beginners, how to day trade.
   I've been an expat for over 12 years in Central America raising 2 energetic, trilingual boys. Besides day trading my other passion is travel, which we do 2-3 months out of the year. My main goal is to show how life transforming day trading is, even spiritual and to remove the stigma and fear that is wrapped around it. I want to make it super accessible, fun and doable for women. It can be done with only a few hours a day so that there is plenty of time to be with the family, or to travel, or whatever you want to do!
2. What propelled you to venture off into entrepreneurship? I've always been one :) Even before I became one.
3. What are three important lessons you’ve learned since starting out in your business(es)? To schedule of what needs to get done, or you end up doing nothing. There is no one telling you what needs to be done, so it's crucial to have a plan.
4. Have you faced any particular struggles being a woman owned business owner? Not so much as a woman, as simply the struggles of a business owner. The not knowing if you will have money coming in consistently.
   Constantly hustling, networking. It's all fun, but sometimes it's so nice to sit back and enjoy the wins. But you need to be always on your toes.
5. Tell us a little bit about your support circle; who do you rely upon for support and guidance? I have my mentors, from the day trading world.
   Now, I have developed a group where I help day traders and they actually give me so much support, didn't expect that. Also, women I have connected since I started this business, who are also in the starting points of their business and it's great to do it together.
6. What advice would you give other women seeking to delve into entrepreneurship? OMG - just do it!!!!! The rewards of doing it is sooo huge. Yes, you won't have money coming in right away, but the fact that you are doing what you want, is a feeling that is hard to get.
   It is way way better, more empowering than just wanting to do it and still being stuck in the fear of what if's
7. Supporting other women in business is part of our mantra so tell us how can we support your business ventures? My goal is to let as many women know about Day Trading and how we MUST be doing it. For the freedom it. The fact that it is so flexible and you can spend time with your kids and family. You can do it from anywhere in the world. And you don't answer to anyone at all, but yourself!

We hope you enjoyed the interview with our #WomenMakingItHappen Entrepreneur of the Week, Marina Villatoro. Reach out to her and show her some support! Visit her Facebook Fan Page.

The Trader Chick Fan Page

If you know of a woman who’s pushing to #MakeItHappen in the world business, tag them with the hashtag #WomenMakingItHappen. We’d love to feature them in our weekly blog series. If you are interested in being a featured womanpreneur, visit this LINK to sign up!

Why You Should Host an Online Pop-Up Shop

Well if your business is retail then it's safe to say that you've probably heard of Pop-Up Shops. They're those limited retail establishments offering goods for a limited amount of time. They usually show up some where in high retail traffic zones and some might even show up on festival grounds.

Pop-Up Shops are a good way to test out new products before permanently adding them to your store. Additionally its a great way to add buzz for seasonal products so that you can get more sales too. You can also use the popup shop method to unload old inventory. It's also a great way to generate brand awareness, as well. Most retail niches are flooded with brand leaders and newcomers, so everyone is vying for a little piece of the pie.

However, let's face it when you're a start-up brand, sometimes the funds just might not be available to host a popup shop.  Finding a prime location at the right price can be costly, but it doesn't mean you have to miss out on the fun. Instead of opting for a brick and mortar pop-up shop you can launch an online pop-up shop. Let's look at the benefits.

BENEFITS OF AN ONLINE POP-UP SHOP

1. Low cost: By hosting your pop-up shop online your costs are marginally cheaper than hosting in a brick and mortar location. There's no need to purchase retail store equipment. You don't have to worry about high rent payment for  the space. Hosting on line helps reduce your overall loss on investment.
   
2. You can reach customers worldwide. With a brick and mortar location you're limited to a customer pool within driving distance of the location. However, with an online popup store you can reach customers in all 50 states and worldwide.
   
3. You can choose from multiple platforms to host your popup shop online including: Etsy, Shopify, Big Cartel, eBay and even your blog. Most of these platforms either charge a one time flat fee or a small listing fee for every product that you list.

When creating your online pop-up make sure you create a headline banner that showcases the event.  Make sure to add a special offer for your event like FREE SHIPPING. Add a countdown widget to remind shoppers that the event only lasts a certain time. Make certain that you position yourself so that you can collect customer data. Once the event is over follow-up with all customers who made a purchase and get feedback from them about the event.

MARKETING YOUR ONLINE POP-UP

Marketing for an online pop-up is no different than marketing for a local popup shop. You should still reach out to your local community with flyers and postcards announcing the event online. Be certain to advertise in hot spots where free computer use is offered.

Additionally, you should make use of your social media platforms and create compelling media that generates buzz about your event. The idea is to use buzz words like: "limited offer", "one of kind products", "exclusively available". Use social media to generate the most buzz. Don't be afraid to reach out to social media influencers who promote products in your niche. They can also help you generate buzz for your popup event.

Remember there are no rules for online popup shops so you can use the opportunity to make you and your brand experts on the subject matter of launching and hosting an online popup shop in your niche and industry.