Hi biz-starters!

You made it through 2022, and I trust you found a few things worth raising your glass to!🎉

Or you’re like me, crawling out of a cave from holiday hibernating.

I’ve enjoyed the break with family in Chicago and Texas and learned some new vegan and not-so-vegan recipes!...YUMMY!😋

This is the first edition of the Biz Starter 🚀of 2023, and I’ve got a good feeling about this year!

I’m in Week 2 of working with a group of entrepreneurs, helping them build their email lists. Some have brick-and-mortar businesses, and others have online businesses.

Like them, maybe...

✅You didn’t see the revenue results you wanted last year because you didn’t use email marketing to capture and nurture your leads to grow your business.

✅You only used email marketing sometimes and never created a lead magnet.

✅You only email customers after they've purchased from you.

✅You don’t believe in it…yes, apparently, this is STILL a thing.

Here are a few things you can do now to start falling in love with email marketing early this year:

➡️E-commerce & CRM Integration

Before you begin your email marketing journey, decide whether you’ll use email marketing to engage your audience or sell to them. If you plan to sell to them, ensure the platform you select integrates with your e-commerce site. Some platforms integrate better with selling through email. Don’t forget to integrate it with your customer relationship management program so you can easily manage customer data, plan content, and gather feedback.

➡️Improve Engagement with Personalization

Email marketing rocks because it helps you pull your leads into your orbit with a personal message. You can segment your subscribers to send the right content to the right people. Give a fully tailored experience to keep them engaged and open your emails. If you’re not comfortable writing emails, reply to this email. I know a few dozen copywriters.🙂

➡️Get Interactive and Add Media

Stand outside the normal, static emails with text and images. There’s nothing for your subscriber to do except read and click on links. While having some of your informational emails in this format is necessary, it won’t keep your reader’s attention for long. Add more interactivity by including a short video, audio, gif, quiz, poll, or interactive call to action.

There’s no better time than now to begin your love affair with email marketing to start building and nurturing your email list. Read more.

Cool Biz Starter🚀Resources

• Monetize your content, posts, and expertise in the 7-Day Monetize Challenge. 

• Save time and money growing your business with these Biz-Building Resources.

• Grow your email list and grab your Email Marketing Cheat Sheet.

• Get 1-on-1 help with growth, positioning, and funnels. Book a Consult with me: 30 MIN.

•  Get a complimentary feature in this newsletter.

Also, my favorite tool to grow on Twitter and LinkedIn. Try it for free!

Now, let’s get into this week’s tips, ideas, resources, and the latest news!😎

The Latest from Sherry

More Opens, Clicks, and Sales with These Email Marketing Best Practices

Do you wish you could improve your email marketing efforts? You're not alone. Thousands of entrepreneurs are missing this dynamic tool in their business strategy. Email marketing allows you to engage with your audience with personalized content that educates, inspires, tells a story, builds relationships, and provides solutions. Very few marketing strategies have the ability to achieve all of these successfully. Read this article to learn how you can improve your email marketing efforts.

💹Money Corner a/k/a Get Money‼️

To make it easier for you to discover opportunities to secure money for your business, I share resources to help you Get Money. “Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes." - Zig Ziglar.

The Capital Readiness Program grant competition provides funding to incubators and accelerators across the country, with expertise to assist and train minority and other underserved entrepreneurs seeking resources, tools, and technical assistance.

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) Program is a stimulus program established by the CARES Act. This refundable tax credit is a grant that helps businesses that were able to retain employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The FedEx® Small Business Grant Contest begins January 31, 2023. Get ready for a chance to win $30K for your business.

👩🏽‍💻Digital Marketing News

TikTok announced they are expanding its audience controls feature, allowing creators to restrict their videos to adult viewers. Before this expansion, the adult-only audience controls feature was only available for TikTok Live.

📆Tweets of the Week

💜🤗Entrepreneur Stories For Your Soul

Alabama MBDA and Walker’s Legacy foster growth for Black and Brown entrepreneurs across the state. The Birmingham agency is operated by Walker’s Legacy, which has a mission by 2025 to equip 10,000 businesses led by women of color.

👥👥Community News

Edtech Entrepreneurs Must Find New Ways to Build Community. Online communities and niche forums, where entrepreneurs can connect with like-minded individuals and share ideas, advice, and support, are popular. These communities—often in the form of accelerators or incubators—have become invaluable resources for young or savvy entrepreneurs.

▪️ Meta remains the only place small businesses can develop Albany to Honolulu, an online community.

▪️ How to build and maintain a successful online community that enhances customer experiences.

Media should prioritize accessibility and community building; panelists told an audience at the Consumer Electronics Show 2023.

🧵🪡🛠️ Handmade's Tales

🔹Etsy reveals its first-ever colour of the year and  trend predictions for 2023 

🔹Why Many eBay and Etsy Sellers Will Still Receive 1099-K Forms in January 

 🔹My Community Made is a new company trying to compete with Etsy in attracting artists and crafters to join its startup online marketplace.

 🔹Why Many eBay and Etsy Sellers Will Still Receive 1099-K Forms in January

🔹Marketplaces are taking over eCommerce. Here's what retailers can gain by joining the movement now. 

📖Founders Choice—Top 7 Best Books for Entrepreneurs

Last year this time, I shared a list of the top 50 best business books. I was able to get through about half the list. There were some great books on the list; check out the full list. This year founders shared the books they recommend to all aspiring or early entrepreneurs to read in the new year. Let me know if you read one and if it was helpful to you in your business. See the full book list.  

⏳Until Next Time

That’s it for this Tuesday’s edition. Thank you for reading.🙂

If you enjoyed this Issue #27, I'd love for you to mention it on your socials, don't forget to tag me.❤️

Goodbye Biz Starters!