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Small-biz tech advice: How to make more money
I’ve run a broadcast business for over 25 years. I joke I’m an overnight success, but the truth is it took a long time to get here. In the beginning, it was like any new small biz, shoved into a small, crappy workspace with bills piling up.
Whether you already run a small business or you’re thinking about starting one, I can help. By popular demand, I’m launching a small-business edition of this newsletter, packed with tech tips, smart strategies and insider tricks to help you grow and make money.
✅ Hit this link to get on the list so you don’t miss issue No. 1 when it drops.
Now, let’s dive into some must-know tips for every business owner.
How to get your business and website listed in AI answers
This one is all over my inbox. The funny thing is your website and online search reputation are the big drivers to getting your company and your content to display in AI results. Yep, AI is fed by the thing it is killing. A few pro tips:
✅ Keep your website fresh. AI is looking for clear, helpful content about your products, services or whatever. The algorithms value reliable sources, so make sure your “About” page boasts all about your qualifications and your FAQ page answers common questions.
✅ Use natural language. Chatbots are trained to prioritize real-world phrasing. Write how you’d talk to a customer.
✅ Ask your loyal customers to pitch in. AI looks for signs people are talking about you. Reviews get the most weight, then social media comments and mentions, too.
Write better CTAs: That’s a call to action, and no matter what you do or sell, yours should be clear, compelling and action-oriented. Skip “Click here” and try something that speaks directly to your audience’s needs. Instead of “Sign up,” try “Get your free guide.” Instead of “Learn more,” play with something like “See how it works.” Struggling? Paste your CTAs into a chatbot and ask it for help making them more clickable.
“Where am I leaving money on the table?” Ask ChatGPT. Never feed in your finances or exact reporting, but you can tell it about your company, what you do and how you make your money, and see if it has any bright ideas to get revenues up.
📈 Cheaper, more effective Facebook ads: Use engagement custom audiences to target people who’ve already interacted with your content, like someone who’s liked one of your posts or watched a video. This cuts the cost of getting a qualified lead. Love that! To get started, go to Ads Manager > Audiences > Create a custom audience.
Turn one piece of content into five: Say you spent time writing a great blog post. Be smart and repurpose it the easy way. Use ChatGPT (or your chatbot of choice) to transform your words into a LinkedIn post, X thread, email newsletter or even video script. Pro tip: Use this line with the bot: “I want you to read this sample and use it to guide your tone and word choice.”
Run a local business? Don’t ignore your Google Business profile. Now you’ll appear on Google Maps, in search results and maybe even in the AI Overviews for inquiries like “coffee shop nearby.” Once that’s done, list your biz in as many online directories as possible. Start with Yelp, then keep going. Pro tip: Make sure your key business information (name, address and phone number) is consistent across every directory or site for the most search cred.
Contract review: You might not be great at legal speak, but AI is. Now, I’ll preface with this: For anything truly important, talk to a lawyer. But for minor contracts, strongly worded letters or anything else you’d handle alone, enlist the help of a chatbot. Give it a prompt like this: “You’re an attorney for an award-winning business law practice.”
I don’t want to freak you out: But relying on the wrong tech person has gotten a lot of businesses into deep trouble. Think about it: An IT employee has access to the heart of your business. That’s every server and database, as well as sensitive customer data. If one leaves, on good terms or bad, make sure you’ve covered all your bases. I’ve got a full guide here.
🤔 If Wonder Woman and Spider-Man went into business together, would they call it Amazon Web Services? Dang, it’s taken.
All right, you know the drill. Share this one with your business partners, entrepreneurial friends and anyone else you think it’ll help.
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