A Marketing Smorgasbord

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I’m offering up a wide variety of topics today starting with WordPress, a side of holiday marketing and finishing up with a serving of gratitude.

WordPress

Recently I talked about what not to do when building your business website…using drop and drag builders. If you missed that, read more here.

I’m going to suggest a better way to build your website…WordPress.

WordPress is a free content management system, which basically means it houses and enables you to publish your website content…text, photos, videos.

With a website built using WordPress you have the ability to create a customized website without knowing how to code. WordPress gives you the ability to add the functionality and customization you want by utilizing custom themes, widgets and plugins.

If you’re not sure what any of that means you can read this previous post where I covered it, or better yet, hire me to deal with it for you.

But here’s another reason you should consider WordPress…

WordPress is now powering 25 percent of all websites. Get the details here.

And that number is only expected to grow. Clearly, WordPress is doing something right, and I am grateful for this powerful tool.

Next up…

The Holidays

The holiday season is upon us complete with Starbucks red cup controversy, some radio stations playing holiday music 24-7 since Halloween and companies duking it out for our dollars by announcing they are open on Thanksgiving so you can get a jump on your holiday shopping.

Let me hop on my soapbox for a minute…

I’m against stores opening on Thanksgiving.

Black Friday, yes, fine, it’s a holiday tradition…sorry REI, although it’s awesome that your employees are getting the extra day off. And by the way, I don’t venture out on Black Friday, but if you want to, great…enjoy!

But let people have the Thanksgiving holiday with their family and friends…rampant consumerism can wait until Friday.

Okay, soapbox over.

I realize this is a vital time of year for many businesses. Are you making the most out of your marketing this holiday season?

Here’s an article with a variety of holiday promotion ideas for small local businesses, including charity drives, contests and hosting special events.

Take a look…it might inspire an idea that not only generates business but promotes goodwill and the spirit of giving.

Thanksgiving is often a time to reflect on what we are grateful for.

I recently read The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan. The book follows the author’s year-long journey on practicing gratitude and how it changes her life. She devotes each chapter to a specific area, such as family, health and work.

In the area of work, Kaplan discovers that practicing gratitude helps people gain a sense of purpose and a desire to achieve, increasing your productivity.

A study cited in the book showed that people practicing gratitude made 20 percent more progress toward their goals. So give gratitude a try at work. You may find you enjoy yourself more and get more accomplished.

While we are on the topic of gratitude…thank you for reading this post. I hope you’re finding it helpful.

Finally, a few questions today…

How do you feel about stores opening on Thanksgiving? If you’re a retailer is this something you are doing?

If the holiday season is a slower time for your business how do you utilize that time and gear up for the New Year?

Let us know in the comments.

Happy Thanksgiving!