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Tag: Boosting Revenues

  • What Smart Marketers Are Doing Now to Maximize Q4 Revenue — And How You Can Too | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    It’s August. Your inbox is full of OOO replies, Slack pings have slowed to a whisper and if you’re lucky, you’re halfway through a bottle of overpriced rosé on someone’s porch.

    But if you’re just now starting to think about your Q4 strategy? You’re not behind — you’re already in trouble.

    Q4 isn’t just another quarter. It’s the Super Bowl of marketing. And while most teams are sleepwalking through summer, this is your chance to take the lead. The ones who win Q4 are laying down the groundwork now. The ones who don’t? They’re scrambling come October, wondering why their revenue flatlined.

    Here’s how to avoid becoming a cautionary tale.

    Planning ahead isn’t a luxury — it’s survival

    When I started The Go! Agency, I thought being 30 days ahead meant I was being proactive. I had calendars, content and what I thought was control.

    In reality, I was just managing chaos with a pretty spreadsheet.

    Now? We’re finalizing Q4 deliverables in August and testing campaigns by early September. That way, when the holiday madness hits, we’re not creating — we’re executing.

    And this isn’t just an enterprise strategy. Whether you’re a DTC startup, a B2B SaaS company or a one-person marketing team, planning early gives you the one thing your competitors won’t have: momentum.

    Related: 3 Marketing Trends You Need to Capitalize on Now Before Your Competition Beats You to It

    What smart Q4 prep looks like in August

    If you’re in marketing, here’s what you should be doing right now:

    • Reviewing Q1–Q3 performance to cut what’s not working and double down on what is
    • Updating last year’s holiday campaigns while there’s still time to test new angles
    • Writing your email flows and SMS sequences so they’re ready by October
    • Locking in vendors, platforms and partnerships before placements fill up
    • Coordinating team bandwidth to avoid last-minute scrambles

    This isn’t overkill. This is what the winners do.

    Don’t just “check the budget” — work it like a lever

    Most teams treat budgets like static numbers. You get a number then go spend it. Smarter teams ask: Where did we get the best return last year and how quickly can we shift budget if something pops off?

    One of our clients, a global beverage brand, set a modest ROAS target for Meta campaigns last fall. When performance started to surge, we were able to reallocate budget mid-month. Result? A 135% ROAS over-delivery and more than $30,000 in incremental revenue — in November alone.

    If you don’t know where your flex is, you can’t take advantage of the spikes.

    Audit your channels before you sink more money into them

    Now’s the time to pressure-test what’s really working. Start with the basics:

    • Where’s your traffic coming from — and more importantly, where’s it converting?
    • Are your email flows actually performing or are they just coasting?
    • Are you reusing the same holiday sequences from 2022?

    Last year, we helped a premium pet brand revamp their email strategy in August. By the end of Q4, they had generated $47K in placed orders from email alone. And their best-performing email? It went out in February — and brought in another $7K.

    The lesson: strategy beats panic every time.

    You can’t launch big if half your team is out

    Your Q4 calendar is only as strong as your team’s availability.

    Every year, brands plan big November launches — only to realize their lead designer is in Italy until the 12th and the social media manager is at a conference. That’s how good ideas turn into half-baked campaigns.

    Plan around real availability. Who’s in-office when? Who can step in if needed? Have you onboarded freelance or contract support in case things scale?

    You don’t need a massive team. You need a present, prepared one.

    Learn from last year — then upgrade it

    If you haven’t analyzed last year’s Q4 data, you’re flying blind.

    What channels converted best? Which campaigns flopped? Which subject lines actually got opened?

    Find the patterns. Then improve them.

    Maybe your BFCM sale crushed it but your remarketing ads underperformed. This year, rebuild your mid-funnel strategy and refine segmentation before crunch time.

    Q4 is not the time for trial and error. That’s what August and September are for.

    Don’t coast into January — accelerate into it

    Here’s what no one talks about: January is a goldmine.

    If your business touches wellness, finance, productivity or anything “new year, new me” adjacent, start building those campaigns now.

    Your competition will be crawling out of the holiday fog. You’ll already be converting.

    Related: Why Your Old Marketing Tactics Are Killing Your Growth in 2025

    Marketing isn’t optional — it’s the main engine

    Too many teams treat marketing like a side hustle — something to turn on when sales slow or revenue dips.

    But marketing isn’t an accessory. It’s the engine. It’s what gets you seen, heard, clicked and remembered.

    So while everyone else is “planning to plan,” do the smart thing.

    Plan now. Lock it in. Execute early. Optimize often. Win more.

    Because by the time your competitors realize Q4 has started, you’ll already be two laps ahead.

    It’s August. Your inbox is full of OOO replies, Slack pings have slowed to a whisper and if you’re lucky, you’re halfway through a bottle of overpriced rosé on someone’s porch.

    But if you’re just now starting to think about your Q4 strategy? You’re not behind — you’re already in trouble.

    Q4 isn’t just another quarter. It’s the Super Bowl of marketing. And while most teams are sleepwalking through summer, this is your chance to take the lead. The ones who win Q4 are laying down the groundwork now. The ones who don’t? They’re scrambling come October, wondering why their revenue flatlined.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    Christopher Tompkins

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  • We Built a 7-Figure Business Without a Single Investor — Here’s Why Saying No to VC Was Our Smartest Move | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    You’ve heard this story before: a couple of college kids launch a startup from their dorm room. Surrounded by engineers, finance majors and future founders, venture capital wasn’t just common — it was expected. So when my co-founder and I launched Prepory, our college admissions coaching company, we assumed we’d need funding to be taken seriously.

    We entered a pitch competition and came in second. No check. We reached out to investors. No bites. We had a choice: give up or keep building.

    We kept building.

    What started as a one-person operation helping students in our local community has grown into a seven-figure, global company with nearly 100 team members. We’ve supported over 14,000 students, partnered with school districts and institutions in multiple countries and built one of the most trusted brands in college admissions — all without a single outside investor.

    Here’s why we said no to VC, and why bootstrapping was the smartest decision we never planned to make.

    The pressure to raise

    In elite academic circles, starting a business often goes hand in hand with chasing venture capital. I pictured the high-stakes pitch rooms, the dramatic investor meetings — scenes straight out of The Social Network. But after our early efforts fell flat, we stopped trying to win someone else’s approval and turned our focus inward.

    We obsessed over our product, our client experience and our outcomes — not “scale.”

    One month before our one-year mark, we hit $100,000 in revenue. It wasn’t a headline-grabbing number by Silicon Valley standards, but it proved something more important: we didn’t need permission to grow. We just needed to execute.

    Related: Most Startups Ignore This One Asset That Makes or Breaks Their Success

    What bootstrapping taught us

    In hindsight, bootstrapping didn’t just work — it shaped the business in ways VC money never could.

    Every dollar mattered, which meant we tested fast and paid close attention to what customers wanted. Client feedback shaped everything. We pivoted early on from a B2C model to B2B — realizing that one school contract could bring the same revenue as ten individual clients. That insight wasn’t born from a boardroom; it was born from necessity.

    Bootstrapping also made me a better leader. I didn’t start by managing dozens of people. I started with one, then five, then ten. That kind of slow, intentional growth gave me room to develop as a leader — learning how to listen, communicate clearly and lead with clarity and care. There was no pressure to scale overnight, so we could prioritize culture, values and quality.

    The hidden cost of raising too soon

    VC can be a powerful accelerator — but if you raise too early, it can also be a trap.

    Many founders take funding before they’ve found product-market fit. They shift their focus from solving customer problems to pleasing investors. Instead of building a strong foundation, they’re stuck managing burn rates and expectations. Teams get stretched. Quality suffers.

    We built slowly. That meant we stayed close to our mission and recruited talent who were energized by the opportunity to build something meaningful. Today, we outperform companies twice our size because we’ve built a team that shows up with purpose — and we’ve stayed aligned with what matters most: helping students reach their full potential.

    Related: How to Scale a Business Without Wasting Millions (Or Collapsing Under Your Own Growth)

    Should you bootstrap?

    Ask yourself this: What do you actually need the money for?

    If you’re building a product that truly requires upfront investment — hardware, tech or time-sensitive development — funding may make sense. But if you’re starting a service-based business, you might not need capital to get traction.

    Bootstrapping requires resilience, patience and a tolerance for delayed gratification. But it gives you full ownership of your company, your vision and your decisions. Today, we have the freedom to invest in growth on our own terms.

    People still ask if we’d raise money now. My answer? Not unless we have a strategic reason to. Not because I’m anti-VC, but because we no longer need it.

    Bootstrapping gave us something far more valuable than capital: it taught us how to build a resilient, values-driven, adaptable business. And if we ever decide to raise, we’ll do it from a position of strength — not survival.

    You’ve heard this story before: a couple of college kids launch a startup from their dorm room. Surrounded by engineers, finance majors and future founders, venture capital wasn’t just common — it was expected. So when my co-founder and I launched Prepory, our college admissions coaching company, we assumed we’d need funding to be taken seriously.

    We entered a pitch competition and came in second. No check. We reached out to investors. No bites. We had a choice: give up or keep building.

    We kept building.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    Daniel Santos

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  • I Scaled My Company From $10 Million to Over $200 Million in 4 Years. Here Are 3 Things He Did to Lead The Company Through Market Disruptions. | Entrepreneur

    I Scaled My Company From $10 Million to Over $200 Million in 4 Years. Here Are 3 Things He Did to Lead The Company Through Market Disruptions. | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    When I started Appfire in 2005, hardware was king and companies like Dell, IBM and HP were the leaders and innovators of all things tech. Businesses relied heavily on hardware to fuel their IT infrastructure, and the idea of the cloud seemed like a utopian dream. My partner and I built our business to support traditional hardware-centric models, and it was a system that served as well in those early years.

    By 2010, I found myself at a crossroads as the rise of cloud computing was slowly shifting focus toward virtualized environments and we were deep in development to deploy new collaboration software on a hardware-based platform. VMware burst onto the scene, making virtualized software all the rage. Hardware evaporated almost overnight.

    As a business leader, I had to make a difficult decision: should I steer my team and company in a direction that would essentially abandon all the work we’d put towards our hardware-based product to jump on the virtualization trend with the rest of the market and our competitors? Or should we stay the course, pressing on with our product that was built on a hardware platform? After careful deliberation, we decided against investing in virtualization right away as the timing wasn’t right for us.

    I’m reminded of this anecdote as the AI boom continues its momentum, with no signs of slowing down. Just take a look at Nvidia’s recent earnings or Atlassian’s introduction of Rovo, an AI assistant. Someday, when we look back at the history books, this period will be marked by the incredible rush and shift we’ve seen from companies of all sizes to integrate AI into their offerings. This extends beyond merely providing AI-powered solutions. Companies are rebranding, restructuring and reinventing themselves as AI-centric to attract investment, talent, and market share.

    As business leaders, we’re constantly faced with the challenge of whether we, too, should jump on the latest trend. Do we follow the pack and shift our entire strategy and product roadmap, or remain on our current path?

    Related: 10 Growth Strategies Every Business Owner Should Know

    Through my own journey of growing and scaling a leading software company from $10 million to over $200 million ARR in four years, I’ve identified three tips that can help leaders determine whether to embrace a trend or stay the course.

    1. Ensure the shift aligns with what customers want

    Don’t lose sight of customer wants and needs during times of change. Getting it right for your customers is more important than being right. Research has found that more than 90% of people believe companies should listen to customers to drive innovation. Even if as a business leader you vastly desire to incorporate AI into your end model, if it’s not important to your customers you will fail and you won’t make a profit.

    There are several ways you can get this feedback from your customer base. Deploying customer surveys, implementing a customer advisory board and meeting with customers in person are great ways to understand if what you are building makes sense for your customers. If your company has a strong channel program, talk to your partners regularly about what they are hearing from customers

    2. Determine if you have the right resources

    It can be tempting to jump on a trend, particularly when the market demands it and competitors are already on board. In 2010, one of the main reasons we decided not to quickly shift from our hardware platform strategy to virtualization was that we didn’t have people in place with the right skill set. Because of that, we knew we couldn’t succeed in virtualization in a way that would have an immediate impact on our customers.

    When a drastic market shift happens, instead of jumping on the bandwagon, put those efforts and resources into training your staff. Many are willing and looking to expand their skill set – in fact, one study shows nearly 75% of employees are willing to learn new skills. Then once you have the right people with the right skills who can help you make an impact, you can turn your focus to innovation. When employees get the right training to gain the skills they need, the business itself will see the benefits.

    Related: Your Company Won’t Grow Until You Follow These 4 Keys to Success

    3. Stay true to your core values

    Remember the core values you established when you launched your company and use them as guiding principles as you make decisions. Nearly all employees agree that a workplace culture grounded in core values plays a critical role in long-term success.

    If the latest trend aligns with your mission, vision and purpose, it could be a valuable addition to your strategy. However, if it doesn’t, pursuing it may not help your company long term. Staying true to your foundational principles ensures that your business remains focused, authentic, and purpose-driven amidst evolving market dynamics.

    When a new trend disrupts the market, navigating a path forward can be challenging. Consider the approach Atlassian took with Rovo. While others rushed to get an AI assistant to market last year, Atlassian was intentional and strategic. It mattered more to them to release a tool that aligned with their mission of making teams more effective than being the “first.”

    Remember that getting it right for the customer matters more than conforming. Oftentimes blindly following the crowd without critical thinking can lead to conformity and a loss of innovative thinking. Don’t lose sight of your mission, vision, and purpose. These values are likely what attracted employees and customers to your organization in the first place, and what will keep them long after a trend has faded out.

    Randall Ward

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  • This Google Update Could Be Tanking Your Traffic. Follow These Steps to Boost Your Page Views and Revenue Now. | Entrepreneur

    This Google Update Could Be Tanking Your Traffic. Follow These Steps to Boost Your Page Views and Revenue Now. | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Google’s March 2024 Core Update was a seismic event for blogs and website owners relying on organic search traffic. This significant algorithm change targeted low-quality content and AI-generated spam, leading to the deindexing of hundreds of websites in its early stages. The consequences were that severely affected sites lost valuable organic traffic and advertising revenue overnight.

    The update aligned with findings from an Originality AI study, which revealed a high prevalence of AI-generated content among the deindexed websites. 50% of impacted sites had 90-100% of their posts generated by AI.

    This crackdown demonstrates Google’s commitment to enhancing search result quality and combating manipulative tactics like AI content spam. But it also raises an important question: How can website owners increase organic traffic significantly in this new reality?

    Related: The Rules of SEO Are Changing — Here Are 5 Powerful Strategies to Help You Rank in 2024

    Strategies for increasing organic traffic in 2024

    In the wake of the March 2024 Core Update, website owners must adapt their strategies to regain lost ground and significantly increase organic traffic. Here are some key focus areas:

    1. Perform a comprehensive content audit

    The first step is thoroughly analyzing your content. Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to identify:

    • Articles performing well but not ranking in the top search results (prioritize these)
    • Content that has stopped performing after the update
    • Underperforming content that has never ranked well

    You can strategically allocate your optimization efforts by understanding which content assets are working and which need improvement.

    2. Focus on your best-performing content that hasn’t yet ranked #1 in searches

    Double down on your strengths to increase organic traffic rapidly. Find high-volume, low-competition keywords with a difficulty score of less than 10 that rank between 2 and 8. These are more likely to get that coveted highlight in the rich snippet position.

    Related: The Rules of SEO Are Changing — Here Are 5 Powerful Strategies to Help You Rank in 2024

    3. Optimize for featured snippets

    The highlighted results at “position zero” above the primary organic listings are known as featured snippets. There are four primary categories of them:

    • Paragraph snippets
    • List snippets
    • Table snippets
    • Video snippets

    4. To improve the ranking of your website and attract more highlighted snippets, it is essential to adhere to current SEO best practices:

    • Understanding the query’s intent and matching the snippet format.
    • Defining your topic succinctly in two to three sentences for paragraph snippets.
    • Using objective, fact-based language and avoiding personal pronouns.
    • Structuring content logically with proper heading tags.
    • Writing simply and using language your audience understands.

    Above all, prioritize providing a superior user experience over basic keyword optimization.

    Google’s stance on AI-generated content

    While Google has not explicitly banned AI-generated content, the message is clear: quality, originality and user value are paramount. AI should be leveraged as a supportive tool, not replacing human expertise and creativity.

    Matt G. Southern of Search Engine Journal aptly says, “Google is not waging a war against AI; the battle is against mediocrity.” The responsible use of AI as a content creation aid is acceptable. Still, it must be coupled with human insight, editing and a commitment to providing genuinely valuable information to users. AI should be leveraged as a supportive tool, not replacing human expertise and creativity.

    Related:

    The intelligent use of AI

    While the update penalized sites for over-relying on AI content, Google’s emphasis has always been on originality, depth and reader value. The ethical use of AI as a research aid and writing co-pilot is acceptable as long as human editing ensures unique, high-quality content.

    The future is E-E-A-T moving forward — Google’s prioritization of Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) will be essential. Establish your topical authority by:

    • Citing reputable sources.
    • Showcasing author expertise prominently.
    • Providing accurate, trustworthy information.
    • Ensuring an optimal user experience through intelligent design.

    Websites solely focused on keyword optimization rather than holistic quality signals will increasingly be left behind.

    The March 2024 Core Update ushered in a new era of search where quality, originality, and authority reign supreme. You can significantly increase organic traffic in this new landscape by auditing your content, capitalizing on your strengths, and adhering to E-E-A-T principles. The path ahead requires a steadfast commitment to creating an exceptional user experience through genuinely valuable content.

    Ekaterina Ovodova

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  • 6 Unique Strategies to Generate Immediate Ecommerce Revenue | Entrepreneur

    6 Unique Strategies to Generate Immediate Ecommerce Revenue | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    In this article, we will discuss six tactics that can help put immediate cash in your pocket. These aren’t long-term strategies for scaling your business, but rather quick tactics to employ for immediate revenue. You need to be strategic with the traffic sources you allow as part of your marketing mix. Although, nobody is going to blame a scrappy entrepreneur for doing whatever it takes to keep revenues humming.

    Especially with investor expectations and persistent interest rate hikes, having an understanding of tactics that provide immediate revenue and cash flow can help you overcome the ongoing “tough times” in the world of ecommerce.

    Here are six unconventional growth tactics for immediate ecommerce revenues:

    Related: 3 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Tailor Their Ecommerce Strategy for Maximum Growth

    1. Brand partnerships

    Your brand has certain assets of value — including your email subscribers, social media followers, customer lists, etc. A very cost-effective strategy is to partner with like-minded entrepreneurs that sell complimentary products to yours. For instance, you can send an email to a portion of your customers sharing information with an exclusive offer from the partner brand, and they will do the same with your brand and their audience. The goal here is for both parties to get a nice revenue bump, and if both parties are happy with the performance, this can also be repeated on a monthly or quarterly basis.

    2. Call your customers

    Your most loyal customers may appreciate a friendly check-in from the founder of their favorite brand. This gives you an opportunity to share a glimpse of any upcoming product launches, ask for general feedback, share information on upcoming special events, etc. You can also use this time to offer the customer an exclusive offer. This can include free gifts, product samples, free gift cards, etc., as part of a larger bundle. This will give you a revenue boost and can improve repeat customers’ relationships with your brand.

    3. Virtual events

    Hosting virtual events — like webinars, social media live streams or virtual fashion shows and product showcases — can be an invaluable opportunity to help prospective customers alleviate any objections they have to purchasing your product. Use the opportunity to showcase your products, engage with your audience and provide exclusive offers to your attendees. Virtual events can create a sense of community, generate buzz and lead to immediate sales.

    4. Retail takeovers

    You may get into a little bit of trouble with this one. Pretty much, stand outside a big box store that caters to a similar audience to yours. Every customer who comes out gets a flier, a coupon and a sales pitch. If you do a proper job educating these prospective customers on your product or service and have a strong audience fit with the retail stores of focus, your conversion rate can be much higher on this channel. Having more than one person scattered across multiple stores can help. However, this would be a more desperate “mayday” tactic to employ in a “need to make payroll” type of situation.

    Related: How FOMO Tactics Can Increase Ecommerce Revenue

    5. Email networks

    Leveraging your owned email lists to drive revenue is one tactic — leveraging the emails of others can prove to be another cost-effective way to generate revenue quickly. Some people and organizations have access to up to millions of emails — for instance, email newsletters, content publications, brand owners, etc. There are also multiple networks that allow email list owners to monetize while allowing brands to promote their products. You can work with dozens of these mailers, either directly or through networks. Each of these relationships would operate on a performance-based model, meaning, you only pay a fixed pre-determined fee for every sale generated.

    6. Pre-orders

    Money up-front without having to ship inventory until later is a pretty damn good deal. You’re getting an interest-free loan from your customers here. Spin up a landing page for the new product. Make sure to include ample product education and a pre-order offer. The customer is paying the price of having to wait longer to receive their product when they could potentially purchase an alternative elsewhere — giving them a discount, free gift or collectible, for example, can help incentivize customers. Ideally, you have a large enough audience of loyal customers that you can focus on for these offers, as your conversion rate may be much lower if served to a cold audience unfamiliar with your brand.

    Having an understanding of the tactics available to you can be invaluable. However, there’s also value in having a level of preparedness — planning ahead, building relationships with vendors and preliminarily testing these channels for their efficacy for your unique brand. When a problem arises, you may not have weeks, but rather days to find a solution. Smaller issues that can come up leading to delays could be detrimental in these situations. You need to ensure that when the time inevitably comes, you’re nimble enough to quickly capitalize on these opportunities.

    Related: 6 Ways to Quickly Improve Your Conversion Rate and Make More Money From Ecommerce

    Mustafa Saeed

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