Ask questions. Get answers.

You need to be aware of your obligations under Australian Consumer Law relating to consumer guarantees. I suggest you visit the ACCC website about consumer guarantees and when extended guarantees are illegal. Under Australian Consumer Law there is already inbuilt consumer guarantees that relate to the product and repair guarantees without the need to purchase extended warranties. Choice has also undertaken some work in this area.

I've recently hired a PR firm for my start-up business.  I think the better question to ask is - what kind of return can I expect for my PR - no mater what the cost.  By asking this question you will then be able to acertain if PR is a good investment for you.  (heads up - it is!)
Sure, it was a BIG stretch to pay someone to do PR for us but the payoff, three months down the track has been enormous and we would not hestiate to do it again. 

I will share a few of the ways I use to drive traffic for free.

• Social media - I use relevant networks to post interesting, relate-able content. I try to post regularly (which I'm getting better at). I would say not to focus on "selling". Only share links to your own website / shop / blog when it makes sense based on the content shared.
• Blog - you should have a blog (as long as you will post to it with some frequency). Each time you write an article share it. Share it on social media. Share it through an e-newsletter. Again, share it where relevant with your customers. Also, again don't always be pushing directly to your content. Don't be scared to share other things on the blog (news, events, interesting culture stuff). You don't want every article to read like a sales pitch.
• Guest Blog - try to make some relevant industry connections. Ask them if they have guest bloggers post. If they do, express interest. However, if you haven't been writing on your own blog (or don't have other writing samples to share) you may get turned away. So be prepared. Also try to get an understanding for the format of their blog articles and topics to start working on potential article ideas for them.
• Word of mouth - this could be from you or another customer sharing your business with someone else. Again, if you are bringing it up, make sure they have expressed interest before you overload them with details. If another customer is sharing it with a friend or colleague it is a powerful marketing device because that person is seen as a trusted source.

If you have additional questions, let me know.

How much do small businesses usually spend on Facebook ad campaigns?

According to Search It Local, the average small business typically spends $500 to $1500 a month on Facebook ads. 

However, depending on the size of your business, and familiarity with Facebook ads, I would recommend starting at the minimum budget of a dollar a day for 30 days.

Doing that allows you to dip your toe in the water. It'll give you a better understanding of using Facebook's platform and managing ads without extensive risk.

After 30 days, if you're happy with the results you've seen and feel comfortable doing so, increase your spending to maybe $5 or $10 a day. If you don't feel comfortable, continue honing your skills with a smaller budget. This process can be used over and over again when determining your advertising budget.

Hi Michelle,

Digital Pacific are very good and affordable. Their support and customer service is excellent and they are Australian owned and based.

https://www.digitalpacific.com.au/

Regards Che

Content marketing works hand in hand with traditional marketing medias and equally needs a well planned strategy. 

Having quality and relevant content will increase conversion rates and ultimately create trust between the business and customer.  

Producing content that answers questions and helps the reader not only fulfils the task of keeping an audience engaged, generates inquiries and sales but also boosts your online visibility on search engines.

When planning a content marketing strategy that drives inquiries it is worth considering the following things:

• Calendar events that you can sync content to.
• Themes that customers can relate to. 
• Seek out problems that your customers need solving.
• Develop a list of your ‘golden’ keywords to be the building blocks of all articles.
• Distribution - planning where the content will be delivered to reach your desired target audience. 
• Observe your competition - notice keywords and media mix.
• Create the whole story - don’t just front load the customers journey - keep the quality thread throughout their whole experience. 

Once you have created content make sure you repurpose it - different sources of traffic may want to consume the information in different ways depending on how much time they have got or what device they are using - for example someone with lots of time may want to scroll through a detailed article but another person researching on their phone during their break may prefer an infographic that gives them summaries of the content. Not forgetting those commuters that like to digest podcasts or watch video’s. 

It goes without saying that to build a business you have to continuously evolve and try new things, as well as testing variations. Growth hacking is a term that covers the business desire for fast growth on small budgets. 

The main goal will be to build a large customer base that you can then focus on retaining. By combining strategy, testing and analytics a growth hacker is able to make quick decisions to move forward in the direction that is most successful. 

It all depends on how much you need out of a website and how skills your designer is. Heck, even location can make a difference in how much you need to pay. On average, a website designer will cost $75 per hour to hire. 

However, that's the average. The vast majority of web designers will charge between $27 to $100 per hour. On the lower end of the spectrum are designers who often hail from developing countries or who are just starting out. On the higher end of the spectrum are people who have made a name for themselves in web design and also act as developers.