Well the first quarter of 2015 is over. Tax liabilities are rolling in and Q1 reports are being analyzed. Are you on track to meet your 2015 goals? Revenue and profit aren't the only factors to consider here. So are leads and conversion rates.

Look at Conversion Rates

The average Hubspot conversion rate from visit to lead is 5% and from lead to customer is 2%. So if your goal is to get one customer per month, your website would typically need 1,000 visits in order to reach that goal.

Other numbers to consider are average revenue per client, in relation to your company's revenue goals. If one of your goals is to get $500,000 more in revenue this year and your average monthly revenue per customer is $10,000, then you would need about five to ten new clients, assuming they don't all sign up January 1.

How many leads would it take to get there? About 500 with a conversion rate for lead to customer of 2%. Obviously referrals have a higher close rate, which is why they're so sought-after, but if you're just counting on referrals alone are you really going to grow as fast as you'd like? 

When I originally planned this post, I had more of a marketing angle in mind. We usually blog about content marketing and are always trying to provide useful and relevant information to business owners. Keeping this in mind, I also know that it’s crucial to write about not only what you're knowledgeable about, but also what you're interested in. While I'm definitely a marketer first and foremost, I'm also a business owner. That’s why I decided to focus this post on my business goals for 2015 as a co-founder of DMD.

Even if you don’t own a business these should still be highly relevant to someone in the workforce, and—while I may not be an official expert—I’ve learned a lot since starting DMD. Above all else, I have learned that no one has all the answers in running a business because industries and best practices are forever changing.

It’s already 2015! The past year was a whirlwind; packed-full of incredible happenings, fresh ideas, and a digital transformation of algorithms across the board.

Users are getting smarter and companies are too. We’ve learned what we want to see, what we don’t, and how annoying it is to receive unsolicited ads again and again. 2015 will empower consumers to be even more selective about which ads come into view. This freedom to choose is great on a personal level, but demands marketers to develop (even more) thoughtful digital strategies. Here are some tips to make sure you're reaching the people who want to hear from your brand by optimizing your email, social media and website. 

Do you ever feel like you and your graphic designer are from two different planets?

You need each other to thrive, but sometimes there’s a break in communication, causing yet another inefficiency in the already complex world of content — a string of emails so full of attachments, revisions and terms so confusing, you’ll never swim your way to the top.

Here at DMD, we’ve experienced both sides of the time warp. We are happy to announce that there are some easy ways to reduce the confusion and shorten those email chains from the start. 

Blogging appears to be a permanent resident in the house of great marketing, but writing something helpful for your readers can be much more difficult than you’d think. Your audience is probably drowning in irrelevant search engine results, social media posts and spam already, making it exceedingly difficult to stand out amongst the clutter.

Fortunately, there are ways to check your writing to ensure it will not only be visible, but easily understood and actionable. 

By Jackie Clews and Lacey Williams | DMD

We are thrilled to announce the latest addition to our boutique agency. Read the short Q&A below with our new digital marketing manager, Lacey Williams, to learn more about her and the multifacted skills she brings to our growing team.

1. Where are you from?

Longview, Texas. It’s a relatively small town close to Tyler.

2. What drew you to Dallas (besides our great shopping, food, entertainment...)?
 
Dallas has been my home away from home since I was a toddler. My favorite aunt and uncle live here, so I grew up staying at their house and doing my annual school shopping at Northpark Center. It has a great atmosphere that’s uniquely ‘Dallas.’ Austin and Houston just can’t compare!

By Micah Iriye | Webity

In our last blog, we took you through 9 essential rules to help you create emails that keep their good looks across mobile devices — the very devices that are used today by 4 out of 5 customers for shopping, and which Americans switch back and forth between on any given day.

But once your email campaign is ready to go, what's next?

In our previous blog, we talked about the importance of having a mobile presence for your company's online marketing efforts today. Among the facts we pointed out: mobile now accounts for 25% of all Web usage, and 4 out of 5 consumers use a smartphone for shopping. 

Many people using their phones on the go are using them to check email. So how can you make sure your company's email design looks the best on every device? Check out some of our tips, below.

As a small business owner, you know the importance of the Internet to your company — in attracting customers, advertising your services or merchandise, and competing more effectively with the big guys.

And you likely know, or have noticed, that people access the Internet in various ways, from desktops and laptops to, increasingly, smartphones and tablets. We're focusing on mobile here, because your business likely already has a website — but if that website isn't responsive, you're losing out on a growing segment of your ideal and actual clientele.

In the first two posts in this three-part series about inbound marketing, we explained how buyer personas and campaigns work. Once you've conquered those methodologies and practices, it's time to take your inbound marketing to the next level with automated workflows.