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It’s fall, and you know what that means! It’s back to school time! Society has pulled itself away from the rest and relaxation of summer and gotten back to business. Seemingly every television channel is rolling nonstop Old Navy commercials pushing affordable apparel to make your kid look shiny and new for their first day, and business owners are fully geared up to get back into the swing of things. (No choreographed dance routines required.)

This month, Bethesda digital marketing agency and Chamber member Spring Insight is taking YOU back to school, too. They released a series of articles planned around the educational foundation of the 3 R’s:

• Reading
• Writing
• (A)Rithmetic

 
And just for fun, they threw in a fourth installment, gRades. Because we all remember the most popular 7th-grade question ever, “will this be on the test?” 
Reading: Great Reads That Will Inspire Your Business and Life
Spring Insight founder and president Erika Dickstein isn’t really into business books, but she finds business inspiration in her reading in unexpected places. Here is a short list of books that she read and the inspiration she found from them.
📕Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller
This book highlights the importance of tenacity and grit and returning to things, even when they seem overwhelming or hopeless. Businesses can prevail in a world ruled by chaos and uncertainty if their leaders are willing to absorb new information and see things through a different lens.
📕Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts
History has accounted in great detail the stories of the founding fathers of the United States, but the story of the women who helped shape a nation remains largely untold. This book enlightens readers with stories of courage, perseverance, and contributions that were critical to the effort of establishing a democracy. Even if you're not in charge, you CAN impact outcomes and make a difference. 
 
For two more book recommendations and details about each book, see the full article here. 
Writing: Content Vs. Copy - Which Does Your Business Need?
The word “content” gets tossed around quite a bit in the world of digital marketing. Although content can refer to various types of media, including blogs, videos, guides, podcasts, and social media posts (among other things), for the purposes of this little lesson, we are going to focus on the content of the written kind.
 
Now that we got that out of the way - Is there a difference between content and copy? So glad you asked. Both are important aspects of a digital marketing strategy, but they have different purposes. 

• Content is written to engage.
• Copy is written to persuade.

 
Your business website needs both content and copy to thrive. Your potential and existing customers want to consume things that add value. 
 
Your business, on the other hand, needs revenue. Without persuasive copy that clearly directs a potential customer in the direction you’d like them to go, they will simply go away. And you can kiss that potential revenue goodbye, too. 
 
But here’s the kicker. If all you do is push services and products with a relentless stream of marketing copy without the other engaging stuff, guess what? You’re going to turn that potential customer away from your business, too. 
 
💻You have to engage and persuade. You have to write content and copy.
 
Want to learn five simple tips for writing effective copy and content? Click here to read the entire article from Spring Insight.
(A)Rithmetic: Should You List Pricing on Your Service-Based Business Website? 
As a digital marketing agency, one of Spring Insight’s services is website development. The question, “What does it cost to build a website?” is one we hear…like a lot. Another question we get a great deal is whether or not our clients should show pricing for their services on their business website. 
 
💲In either case, the answer (naturally) is, “it depends.” 
 
There are a wide variety of opinions on the subject and quite a few variables to consider. In this installment of our Back to School series, we are going to do better than “it depends,” narrowing our numeric focus on the question of pricing. We will cover:

• Considerations to make when choosing to show pricing (or not)
• When and how publicly-listed pricing can be used to help both the business owner and the potential customer
• How to provide clearer estimates for attribute-based pricing with custom calculators

 
Read the full article to get answers to the question: Should You List Pricing on Your Service-Based Business Website?
Time for the Test: Does Your Business Website Make the Grade?
Listen, we get giddy thinking about and designing gorgeous websites that look sharp, professional, and totally on point. But your business website has a serious job to do that goes way beyond how it appears on the outside. It’s got to have the full package. Would your website get an A+ in SEO, or would it be a big fat failing grade in that regard? If you don’t know, here’s your chance to learn something new about your website. 
 
One of the things we do at Spring Insight is help our potential clients “grade” their business website based on a number of metrics. We do this through website audits, and they are completely free. We explain what goes into these website report cards in the full article here, but if you want to skip the line and get right to it, we totally get it. Some of us are natural overachievers. Snag a spot on our schedule for an audit today. 
 
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Spring Insight is a digital marketing agency right here in Bethesda and a proud member of your local Chamber chapter. Got questions about how we can use strategic digital marketing to help your business grow? We are a chatty bunch. Schedule a call with us today.