How to Submit A Press Release In Three Simple Steps

Just like every US resident (with very few exceptions) must have a Social Security number to be identified and have their job and income tracked by the Government, a business must (usually) have an EIN. That’s the beginning of the answer to the question: “What is an EIN number?” In a nutshell, an EIN is like the SSN counterpart for your enterprise. It stands for Employer Identification Number, and it’s issued by the Internal Revenue Service to separate businesses from one another. It is also referenced as a FEIN, meaning Federal Employer Identification Number, or your business’ tax ID number. Whatever you call it, an EIN is a unique nine-digit number that serves to identify your business for tax purposes. Most business owners have one, as it’s required to open a business bank account, file business tax returns, and apply for licenses. Knowing the purpose of the EIN number is just the first step, too. Give our guide a read to learn more about the types of businesses that need it, ways of applying and obtaining one, and all the benefits you’ll enjoy once you get it. Who Needs an EIN? Depending on your business type, and the IRS’ criteria, you’ll be able to determine whether you need an EIN: The first thing to determine is whether your business has employees. If it does, you’ll most definitely need to apply for a business EIN number. Having a partnership or multi-member LLCs means that the LLC must file a partnership return together with K-1s to all the members, so an EIN is a must. If your business is a C corporation, it’s regarded as a separate entity, and you’ll have to apply for an EIN to report taxes. The same goes for an S corporation - you’ll need your employer identification number to operate legally. If your business files excise taxes or withholds them for nonwage income paid to a non-resident alien, you’ll also be required to get an EIN. For non-profit business structures, an EIN is also required for tax reporting purposes. You only need an EIN number for businesses structured as single-member LLCs if you have employees or excise tax liability. The same goes for sole proprietorships - if they don’t have employees nor file excise or pension-plan tax returns, they’re not required to apply for an employer identification number. How to Apply for an EIN Number Now that you’ve figured out whether your business entity needs an EIN, let’s walk you through the process of obtaining one. Applying for an employer ID number is straightforward, but if you’re not well-versed in admin, your registered agent can deal with the EIN application instead. As soon as your business is officially formed - i.e., you got your formation date and legal business name approved by your state - you can start the EIN application process. Don’t forget to check if you have a valid Taxpayer Identification Number (SSN, ITIN, another EIN) before starting. The easiest way to apply is through the IRS EIN Assistant page. Just follow the listed steps by adding the required information to your IRS EIN form; just make sure to do it in one sitting, as the session will expire after 15 minutes of inactivity. You can also file your application by fax or mail.  If your business isn’t incorporated in the United States, you can’t apply for an EIN. On the other hand, if it is, but you’re the one who doesn’t have a legal residence in the US, you can apply for a free EIN via telephone, fax, or mail. Who Doesn’t Need a Federal Identification Number? The technical requirements for having a FEIN might not include you: You might be an independent contractor, freelancer, or sole operator. However, while it is correct that you don’t need to have one, you might want to get it anyway. It would be unwise to dismiss the benefits you would be getting with getting an EIN out of hand. Why Should I Get an EIN Number? Now that you know the long and short answer to the “What is an EIN number?” question, we can explain why having one brings many benefits even if you don’t need it. First of all, most banks require an EIN to open a business banking account for you. Having one will make the whole process of tracking and managing your business expenses much more accessible. Not to mention that you’ll be able to build your credit and therefore become eligible for more loans. Secondly, if you’re planning on hiring part- or full-time employees, you’ll have to apply for a tax identification number. What is an EIN number’s benefit in this case, then? First of all, you’ll need an EIN to set up a payroll, so the IRS can track your taxes for it. Secondly, your employees will need to file their taxes separately under the LLC’s 1040 form, and they’ll need your EIN for that too. Those with an LLC should outsource its formation to an LLC service, and it will apply for an EIN in your stead. This helps you maintain your “corporate veil,” i.e., protect yourself from personal accountability for possible business debts. Since it’s essential to do this right, hiring an online legal service to cover that would be a great move. Even as a solo entrepreneur, you will need to provide clients with either a Social Security number or FEIN to pay an invoice or for contract purposes. Having a FEIN adds to the credibility of your business, and shows that you are not doing your work as a gig; instead, you would be perceived as a dedicated professional. Furthermore, an employer FEIN denotes you as an independent contractor, rather than an employee and reduces the legal responsibilities of the company that hires you, which, in turn, might make it more likely to do so. New entrepreneurs quickly realize that it’s challenging to handle all aspects of the business by themselves. They must rely on suppliers, vendors, and general cooperation from other companies. While nothing will ever guarantee good relationships, having a business with a FEIN makes it more likely for third parties to work with you. Some of them will check your business credit before agreeing to a contract with you; a FEIN shows them you are a reliable entity. Non-US citizens without a Social Security Number will find it easier to establish a business in the United States with an EIN. This opens up the possibility of getting a business credit card or bank account for their business before getting a Social Security number as a citizen.  Finally, when you get an EIN for tax reporting purposes, your privacy will be protected, too. An EIN boosts the confidentiality of your Social Security number (SSN), as you can now offer that instead of your personal ID number as a form of identification. Keeping your business and private finances separate will add an extra shield against malicious perpetrators. We hope all these good points help you decide to get an EIN as soon as possible - provided you have a company, of course.

If you’re thinking about launching a new marketing campaign, the first thing you need to do is check whether it’ll benefit your company or not. To measure how much revenue a certain campaign will generate, marketers check its ROI. ROI is an acronym for return on investment. It’s a common concept in the business world. To give a straightforward answer to the question from the title of this article - “What is ROI in marketing?” - we can say it’s a strategy that helps determine how much money you spend on a marketing project vs. the amount of revenue you gain from it. As this is one of the vital calculations in marketing, we’ll focus on its purpose and explain how you can analyze the marketing ROI for your company. The Importance of ROI in Marketing Marketing professionals and business owners, in general, rely on data-driven evaluations to help them decide how to assign their marketing budgets. And that is where ROI steps in, as it allows marketers to develop a more successful strategy by using their resources more effectively. Now let’s see what the key functions and the true purpose of ROI in marketing are. Prioritizing Projects By calculating the ROI of multiple marketing campaigns, you’ll be able to see which one of them brings you the most value, and that can help you correctly prioritize campaigns to boost your company’s revenue growth. ROI will also shed light on which projects aren’t bringing enough revenue and possibly hurt your business. Once you measure the ROI of each campaign, you’ll be able to decide whether to reevaluate your marketing strategy or end some of those projects.  Selecting Future Projects Once you learn how to prioritize your current projects, it’ll be easier to find a pattern to successfully target your audience in the future. Measuring ROI in marketing will help you learn from experience and develop new strategies when choosing your future projects. Understanding Your Audience One of the greatest advantages of knowing your ROI in marketing is that it allows you to better understand your audience and its behavior. It doesn’t just give you an insight into the numbers coming from various projects; it also shows which strategies have the best impact on your audience. Once you know that, it gets much easier to decide which type of advertising to go with to draw in new clients.  To fully answer the question “Why is marketing ROI important?” we shouldn’t overlook client satisfaction. If you work in a marketing agency and your clients are other businesses, one of the most important things to keep in mind when creating a new marketing strategy is how you’ll present it to your existing and potential clients. Apart from reliable CRM, which has already become a common practice among real estate companies, brokerages, and many other businesses, incorporating the predicted ROI of your campaign into the presentation is also something that can boost your clients’ trust. Understanding Competition Knowing how to define your ROI in marketing and measure it correctly can take you a long way. However, many experienced marketers go one step further and compare their marketing ROI with that of their competitors. This helps them determine how their marketing campaigns relate to others in the industry in terms of efficiency. Studying the business strategies of your competitors who have a higher ROI percentage can give you an idea how to improve your own business. Better Budget Allocation The ultimate goal of understanding ROI in marketing is better budget allocation. Marketing budgets are always lower than you’d like them to be, so learning how to use the funds you do have at your disposal wisely is essential. To achieve better results, you need to know which projects require less investment but bring more revenue. How To Calculate ROI in Marketing The easiest way to determine your marketing ROI is to compare your revenue to your marketing expenses.  One of the simplest equations for calculating ROI is: (Revenue − Investment) / Investment If, for example, you invest $10,000 in a particular project, and generate $20,000 from it, your ROI formula will look like this:  ($20,000 − $10,000) / $10,000 ＝ 1 To calculate your marketing ROI percentage, you should multiply this final number by 100. In this case, your marketing ROI would be 100%.  There are a few things to keep in mind when calculating your marketing ROI. Here, we’ll go over each in more detail. Set a Time Frame One of the crucial things when determining your marketing ROI is to set an appropriate time frame for data gathering. If you wish to see if your latest marketing campaign was a success, you need to allow enough time for it to reach your clients before looking for a return on your investments. Also, be consistent and use data from the same business cycle. Measure the Marketing Cost and Sales Growth Now that you know the meaning of ROI in marketing and its importance, your next step should be to collect all the relevant financial data about your marketing project. If you need to calculate an ROI and have a large amount of data to process, seek help from the bookkeepers and accountants. Consider keeping a marketing record where you could enter all your ROI calculations to gain insight into which factors influence your marketing ROI the most. What Is a Good Marketing ROI?  Marketing ROIs are usually expressed in ratios. What is a good ROI ratio in marketing? You should aim for a 5:1 ratio at least. Anything below a 2:1 ratio is considered unprofitable; anything below 1:1 is negative ROI, while an ROI ratio above 5:1 is deemed to be strong for most businesses.  When calculating your ROI, you should factor in all the marketing costs your campaign will incur, including: Pay-per-click spend Media spend Content production costs Outside marketing and advertising agency fees Make sure you don’t overlook anything because understating your costs will result in an incorrectly calculated and unrealistic ROI.  Marketing ROI Examples and Strategies Now that you’re familiar with some basic reference values, let’s go through a couple of practical examples.  Pay-per-Click Campaigns PPC is an advertising model in which you pay a certain provider to promote your ad based on the number of user clicks on your ad, whether or not it leads to a sale. The ROI formula can help you track your ad performance and manage your PPC campaigns. For example, according to some PPC stats, Google search ads have an average ROI of 200% - for each dollar invested, marketers gain $2. Video Marketing For what else is ROI in marketing used for? For assessing the profitability of video marketing campaigns. Although video marketing can be pretty expensive and time-consuming, video marketing statistics indicate that 88% of marketers are satisfied with their social media video marketing ROI. Email Marketing Even though many think sending emails is outdated, it’s still one of the key marketing tools. Recent statistics show that email marketing is the most effective way to promote your business. This type of marketing brings $40 back for every $1 spent, so it comes as no surprise that many marketers see it as their number-one tool for revenue generation. Paid Social Media Promotions  We already know the importance and numerous benefits of ROI in marketing. Now let’s see what it can tell you about the effectiveness of your social media promotions. Suppose your company targets an audience that regularly uses social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. In that case, you might think about boosting your posts to get promoted on the newsfeeds of your targeted audience. Tracking the ROI of your campaign can help you see if this strategy works for you and determine the types of posts that lead to the revenue increase. If you look at social media marketing stats, you’ll notice that 94% of marketers use Facebook in their marketing campaigns. This isn’t surprising as Facebook is the biggest social media platform, with about 2.89 billion monthly active users. The Bottom Line Understanding ROI in marketing is a vital part of any marketing campaign. And even though calculating it might get complicated, it comes with great benefits. It enables you to gain a better insight into your marketing strategies, how they need to be tweaked, and determine your future marketing goals. Your marketing decisions and marketing budget should be based on fresh, verified, and detailed data - only then will you be able to calculate your ROI properly, adjust your business strategy, and ultimately, improve revenue growth.

If you’re into sales or run a small-business company, you already know how difficult it might be to keep track of everything. Most small-business companies are using some form of CRM to help them keep on top of things and increase sales, but there are also some tactics that you can start implementing on your own. Cross-selling and upselling are the key strategies that can help grow your revenue by boosting the average order value. We will start this article by explaining what each of these terms actually means before discussing how cross-selling vs. upselling works.  Cross-selling definition and purpose Cross-selling is the strategy of offering customers additional items related to their initial purchase. By implementing this strategy, companies encourage customers to spend more money by purchasing additional items that complement their original purchase. In most cases, cross-selling includes products that users would buy anyway. As people sometimes tend to forget those items, it is beneficial for both sides to point them in the right direction. They will get all they need, and you will get your sales boosted. What is upselling? Upselling encourages customers to spend more money by purchasing a more expensive or upgraded version of their initial purchase. To apply the upsell, a salesperson needs to suggest an upgrade or persuade a customer to purchase add-ons. Upselling increases the average order value and helps customers get even more satisfied with their purchase.  The difference between cross-selling and upselling Now that we know what both of these terms stand for let's summarize their differences. Here is one of the upselling vs. cross-selling examples we have all experienced. When you’re at your local fast food buying a cheeseburger, the salesperson will always offer to add some fries with that. That is a clear example of a cross-sell, and it’s a win-win situation cause who would say no to fries? If they offer to supersize your meal instead, and you agree, you have just become a “victim” of an upsell.  How to successfully cross-sell and upsell There are a few things you should know if you wish to master the art of cross-selling and upselling. Learn all about your product. The most important thing to do before you start implementing cross-selling and upselling strategies is to get familiar with the product you’re offering. Make sure to look into all of your products and all of their features well to know how those products fit together. By combining two wrong products, you can turn the customer off instead of convincing them to purchase more.  Get to know your audience. Try to collect as much information about your customers as you can. Real estate companies use CRM to easily keep track of amenities a property might have to ensure they’re presenting the customer with the best option possible. Collecting demographic and psychographic information about your customers and paying close attention to their feedback will make place for the new cross-selling and upselling opportunities. In the long run, these tactics can help you enhance customer satisfaction, which is crucial for running any successful business. Keep things simple. Offering too many products might be overwhelming for the customers, and it can create unnecessary confusion. You should always strive to build a long-term relationship with the customers and target a few items that would provide a clear benefit for them. Offer loyalty perks. Based on your business model, you should try to establish a loyalty scheme for regular customers. Customers who buy more should enjoy some loyalty offerings and get rewarded for their commitment to your store. Do follow-ups. Although there is a clear distinction between upselling vs. cross-selling, you can find the opportunity to implement both of these selling techniques after the customer has already made their purchase. You can achieve this by doing a follow-up after each successful sale to ensure they are happy with the purchase, and if they are, you can easily suggest appropriate upsell or cross-sell products. Cross-selling and upselling in eCommerce eCommerce is probably the best environment for cross-selling and upselling. According to eCommerce stats, online retail shops generated 14.34 billion visits in March 2020. These numbers show how the shopping trends have changed over the years. Learning how to make the best out of the new trends is vital, as there are multiple benefits of cross-selling and upselling to consider. eCommerce gives you a great opportunity for cross-selling and upselling because you have access to customer data and their shopping history, which can help you come up with the targeted offers. It’s also great as you can insert different cross-sell and upsell products throughout the shopping process or in the post-purchase confirmation email.