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Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for your website if you want your online business to flourish in today’s competitive market. This is why Wix not only provides users with the robust tools necessary to create a website , but also the features, infrastructure and information built on a foundation of SEO best practices to improve their ranking on Google’s pages and allow for customization. Over the years we have continued to improve our SEO offering, yet, some users still ask, “ What is SEO exactly?” and, “Is Wix SEO friendly?” In this article, we’re going to address some of the most burning questions around the topic of Wix SEO and share some helpful SEO capabilities for your website. Are Wix websites good for SEO? When it comes to your website’s SEO, search engines like Google don’t differentiate between website builders or any content management systems (CMS). Good SEO consists of a combination of factors, including infrastructure that allows for easy crawling and indexing, strategic content, plus optimization on and off the page (i.e., backlinks) If you're wondering, "Is Wix good for SEO?" just know that 82% of users saw improvements in their Google rankings after using Wix SEO tools. "Wix is fine for SEO. A few years back it was pretty bad in terms of SEO, but they’ve made fantastic progress, and are now a fine platform for businesses. The reputation from back then lingers on, but don’t be swayed by it. What they’ve done in recent years is really good stuff, including making it trivial to have a really fast site (as you see in the Lighthouse scores — admittedly, speed is only a tiny part of SEO). If Wix works for them, and they don’t need more, there’s no reason to switch."- John Mueller, search advocate How are Wix websites good for SEO? Wix websites are built on not only a performance-first foundation, but also SEO best practices from dynamic rendering to automatic caching. 01. Server-side rendering Wix websites are built on server-side rendering , a solution both Google and Bing advocate for. While complex, it basically boils down to a process that delivers server-side website content to search engines, avoiding the additional data fetching and templating on the client. Your website users get the dynamic content they can act upon, and search engines get the fully rendered content on your page to index and rank it. This is important for sites of all sizes. Anything that makes it easier for search engines to crawl your website pages is an SEO win, and Wix websites do that from the minute they go live. 02. Crawlability and indexing The first step to getting your website found on Google is allowing search engines to crawl and index it. Wix websites can do this easily with a direct connection to Google Search Console and instant homepage indexing. Your Wix site automatically builds optimized sitemaps as you set it up, and then submits them to Google Search Console for indexing. Why is this important? A sitemap is what it sounds like; it's a map of your site’s pages. It first feeds Google which of your site’s pages you want it to see and index, and it also tells the search engine how to navigate its way through your site. A large part of SEO is making Google's life easier, especially when it comes to the basics. Wix sites can do that with our built-in Wix SEO tools. 03. Performance-first mindset It wouldn’t be an article about SEO and performance if we didn’t mention Core Web Vitals (CWV)—Google’s golden standard for site speed. Since their introduction and evolution into a ranking factor (what elements of a site Google considers before ranking it in its search results), we’ve worked hard to make major improvements to how sites built on Wix score on CWV. As of writing, over 60% of Wix mobile sites built or based in the U.S. pass CWV testing. We know that website performance (how fast your pages load and other metrics) is an important part of creating a user-friendly site. That’s why all Wix websites are built on a foundation of performance best practices. Images used on a Wix website are converted to WebP when the browser supports it. This Google-developed image format compresses images since smaller images load faster and improve website performance. Wix also auto-compresses images, so they’re the right size for your website speed optimization . Wix sites also use “ lazy loading ” to optimize performance, so browsers delay loading content or media outside of a user’s initial view. 04. CDN and caching A CDN or content-delivery network delivers website content to users faster. Wix automatically selects the optimal CDN, generally based on a user's location—the closer the CDN to the user, the faster the content is delivered. This is another win for your site’s performance and SEO. Wix websites also use automatic caching, or when versions of a page are saved and then shown to users when they return to a website. This means that websites can avoid lengthy server-side requests for repeat users—all of which means a faster site. Our sites are also smart enough to know when a site contains custom code (i.e., Velo) that conflicts with auto-caching. 05. Customization SEO should not be approached with a one-size-fits-all mindset—and we know that. That’s why at the heart of every Wix site’s SEO setup, we make sure you can customize your site in line with best practices and your specific strategy. How do we do that? Customized structured data (You can add a how-to schema, add a FAQ schema, whatever you need) Editable robots.txt file (you can control what gets crawled on your site and what doesn’t) Custom meta tags (you can write your own tags based on your targeted search terms) Bulk 301 redirects (we also catch errors and loops for you) Bulk SEO customization at the folder level using the Wix SEO Settings tool (a game changer for large sites that want to save time creating standardized metadata) Will my Wix website be found on Google? Google can find your Wix homepage. Here’s why: Once you connect to Google Search Console through the SEO setup checklist , Wix websites directly integrate with Google, both in terms of their sitemap creation and its submission to the search engine. This, combined with strong server-side rendering, makes it easier for Google to crawl a Wix site. Make Google happy and you’re on the road to a potentially successful SEO strategy. You can also track how often Google crawls your site, including specific pages, with Wix bot log data . Does good SEO cost a lot of money? It doesn’t have to. Wix sets up every site with an array of free built-in SEO tools. We also make education an important part of helping our users with our SEO Learning Hub . It’s filled with podcasts, webinars, videos and articles to get you started with your SEO or help you scale it. If you do find that your site has specific needs, you also have the option to take your strategy further by hiring a Wix SEO professional . Full disclosure: You do need a premium Wix account for direct homepage indexing via Google Search Console. Read also: ASO vs. SEO Are Wix’s URLs properly optimized? You can edit the slug of any URL on your site—meaning you get to optimize it for the page. You can also edit the folder name for both blog and product pages. To make managing your pages easier and more technically correct, Wix implements an auto-redirect when you change URLs on the main editor, booking, events and product pages. One less SEO task to think about. Are products on my Wix online store SEO-optimized? Definitely. All Wix product pages have product schema and image markup added automatically—schema helps Google better understand your page’s content and structure. If you need to, this schema can also be customized to better your website’s goals. As a Wix user, you’ll also have full control over your product titles, descriptions and product page meta tags. Will the Javascript that my site is built on hurt my SEO? Javascript is here to say, and Google recognizes that: “The web has moved from plain HTML - as an SEO you can embrace that. Learn from JS devs & share SEO knowledge with them. JS's not going away.”— John Muller Google can index Javascript, but it requires two-step rendering which creates more work. And that’s why Wix uses server-side rendering to handle Javascript. This means Google doesn’t have to complete a two-step rendering process—they just get the fully rendered version. Are Wix websites mobile-friendly? They are designed to be. The main Wix Editor is adaptive and uses an algorithm to update the content on your site’s desktop version and reformat it properly for mobile. The same goes for strips within the main Editor. If you need a fully responsive site-building solution, EditorX might be the best option. Will the images on my Wix website be found on image search? From a technical standpoint, there’s no reason why not. Just make sure to add alt text to your images. This, as well as adding captions to your images, alongside great, explanatory content surrounding an image, will enable Google to understand it and potentially rank it in image search. Pro tips to improve the SEO of your site First of all, Google has no preferred CMS, nor is there any truth to the claim that it ranks sites built with one CMS over another. Will a Wix website rank? This ultimately depends on you. Ranking does depend on your site being built with best practices guiding it (all possible with a Wix site). Google can crawl and index a Wix site and its content. Everything that makes it possible and easier for Google to crawl and index a site exists with a Wix website—server-side rendering, customizable meta tags and auto-generated sitemaps that are sent to Google when you connect your site to Google Search Console via the SEO setup checklist. We also want to add first-class reliability to the mix. With servers with a 99.9% uptime, Wix sites are up and running whenever Google comes to crawl a page. But ranking also depends on creating good, optimized content. Your site must also be structured and pages organized in line with best SEO practices. What we can say is that Wix allows for the customization of all of these best practices, allowing you to better navigate and implement your SEO strategy. There are things you can do, beyond the in-built SEO features of your CMS, in order to help your site rank better. Some of these best practices include: Research your keywords and understand intent: If you want your website and its pages to show up in search engine results pages, you’re going to need to make sure you’re targeting the right keywords. If it’s a product page you want to rank, make sure all ranking results for that keyword are product-related—otherwise you might need to choose another keyword or create a different kind of page to match the intent of the results. Create a blog: "A great way to rank for more keywords and pages is to create a blog," says Rebecca Tomasis, SEO expert at Wix. "This allows you to target informational intent keywords, and allows you to build lots of pages to rank and generate organic traffic from search, specifically information intent and queries." Yael Iba Tepeleni, international SEO strategist at Wix, adds, "Clustering is an effective way to take your blog content and structure to the next level, especially in terms of building an SEO strategy for your site through content. Clustering is considered one of the best ways to show search engines authority in a given topic. It helps search engines understand better the hierarchy of website content which can be connected and relevant to your core product pages. Make sure you have very strong pillar pages at the head of each of your content clusters, and revamp them whenever you see their visibility going down in search results." Don't neglect backlinks: The first priority is to make sure your site’s navigation is well structured via the internal linking between your site’s pages and content. At the same time creating high-quality content that will gain organic traffic through valuable backlinks can also help your site’s positioning and ranking on the SERP (search engine results page). Backlinks are seen as votes of equity transferred between websites that assist search engines in assessing the authority and relevancy of a domain. Map out your website pages: Do this either before you create your site, or as part of a website audit once it’s published. You should know which keyword each page on your website should rank. If you look at a page and can’t identify what you want people to type in to find it, then you should reevaluate if the page is necessary. If you have two pages attempting to show up for the same target keyword, you should consider combining the pages, so that you aren’t competing with yourself to show up in search results. Often when mapping out your site pages you realize there is a major product or service you offer that does not have its own page and which should be created. Check out more SEO tips from Wix's experts .

In an era of polished social media feeds, a peculiar trend has emerged challenging everything we know to be "normal" and socially appropriate: cringe marketing. This counterintuitive approach to brand promotion is gaining speed, leaving many scratching their heads and others covering their eyes in secondhand embarrassment. But what exactly is “cringe,” and how has it become a powerful tool for marketers? “Cringe” might mean different things to different people, but according to my favorite crowd-source dictionary, Urban Dictionary , cringe is “when someone acts or is so embarrassing or awkward, it makes you feel extremely ashamed and/or embarrassed.” This phenomenon didn't come out of thin air. We can trace its roots back to the groundbreaking comedies of The Office  and Da Ali G Show , which pioneered the art of discomfort-as-entertainment. These shows paved the way for Tim Robinson and Nathan Fielder, who refined this cringe-inducing craft, elevating awkwardness to an art form. As society's appetite for cringe content has grown, savvy brands have noticed. They've recognized an opportunity to cut through the noise of traditional advertising and connect with audiences in a raw, authentic—and yes—sometimes painfully awkward way. Let's explore the psychology behind cringe, its effectiveness as a marketing strategy  and the potential perks and pitfalls of embracing the awkward. Looking to cut through the noise with an eye-catching business website ? Create a website with Wix. What is cringe marketing? Cringe marketing is a deliberate advertising strategy that uses discomfort to make products or services more memorable and relatable. Marketers use awkward, embarrassing scenarios that tap into common social anxieties to engage audiences in a unique way. This approach humanizes the brand and creates empathy with consumers. It's a way of saying, "We understand you," which can foster stronger emotional connections.  Using cringe-worthy content seeks to get strong responses from viewers, banking on the idea that any reaction is better than none; people are, in theory, more likely to remember experiences that evoke strong feelings, even negative ones. This can increase brand visibility, especially on social media where unhinged content spreads quickly (and yes, Nutter Butter , we’re looking at you). The difference between good and bad cringe While cringe marketing can be effective in creating buzz and memorability, it also carries risks. If not executed well, it can potentially damage your brand's reputation or alienate audiences. Let’s dive into when cringe might be welcomed versus unwanted. The good type of cringe  When done correctly, cringe marketing can be a powerful tool, especially when you consider the bombardment of content these days. There’s just too much of everything, and the way to stand out in today’s Attention Economy is to break through the noise.  One theory that can explain the popularity of cringe marketing is the “ Benign Violation Theory ” developed by Peter McGraw and Caleb Warren. Their research suggests that humor arises when something is simultaneously perceived as a violation (something wrong or inappropriate) but is also benign (not threatening). Cringe comedy often flirts with this boundary, as it places characters in situations that are socially "wrong," yet remain harmless to them or the audience. There’s not a ton of other research on cringe marketing, but since cringe comedy has been around for a while, we can lean on that.  Soren Krach, a psychiatry professor at the University of Lübeck in Germany co-authored a  paper about cringe comedy . In an  article in The Ringer  he writes, “You’re really suffering with the other person. You’re empathically sharing this awkward state, and it’s not really pleasant.” Meaning, we connect to the awkward situation of the characters in such a strong way that we feel the embarrassment along with them and participate in their discomfort. Melissa Dahl, author of Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness,  is quoted in the same article:  “It functions almost like a horror movie. You get to indulge in this fear, but then it’s OK. You aren’t actually experiencing it, but you have this simulation.” As strange as it sounds, the growing appeal of cringe comedies has to do with their unique ability to make us confront our shared human frailty and laugh at it in the process. Cringe comedy has also been seen as a reflection of a generational shift in humor, particularly appealing to millennials and Gen Z. The humor reflects an awareness of social expectations, an awkwardness in human interaction and sometimes an underlying critique of societal norms. Most of us spend a majority of our waking hours in front of a screen and have a pretty balanced and uninteresting life. This is probably the main reason why cringe works so well. We all just want to feel something; it doesn't matter if it’s joy, horror or complete discomfort. Other times, we may see a little piece of ourselves in—or at least feel the most empathy for—the awkward or socially inept anti-heroes we see on our screens.  Jason Levin, author of Memes Make Millions , says it nicely: “Is making money cringe? I don't think so. And on the internet, humor gets attention—and attention makes money. Wanna know what's cringe? Thinking of a funny, crazy idea that might help your brand go viral, but you're too scared of doing it because some anonymous troll on the internet might attack you and call you ‘cringe.’ Now that's cringe.” The bad type of cringe While cringe marketing can be an effective tool, it’s important to remember that there are situations where it's just simply not appropriate. One such scenario is when dealing with serious or sensitive topics.  For instance, using cringe tactics to market products related to health issues, social causes or financial services can backfire spectacularly. The discomfort created in these situations might overshadow the message, or worse, trivialize important matters.  Another situation where cringe marketing should be avoided is when your brand identity is built on professionalism, luxury or expertise. If you're a high-end fashion brand or a respected law firm, embracing awkwardness and discomfort in your marketing could seriously undermine your credibility. Your audience expects a certain level of sophistication and polish from your brand, and taking a turn into cringe territory might ruin your reputation.  At the end of the day, It's all about knowing your audience and staying true to your brand's essence. See examples of successful brand marketing in action. Four truths about cringe marketing As I’ve been mulling over the art of cringe marketing, I’ve come up with a few suggestions I’d like to share:  If you go cringe, you need to go all the way.   There's no point in trying cringe marketing without fully committing.  That way, even if your campaign tanks, you'll have earned your place in the Cringe Hall of Fame. Sometimes cringe happens by mistake.  Sometimes companies inadvertently create campaigns that come across as cringey. In these cases, it's often not worth dwelling on it too much. Everyone makes mistakes and it's often more embarrassing for the person who didn't mean to do it than for anyone else.   Cringe is not for every brand . Cringe marketing can be a risky strategy, and it's not the right type of marketing  for every brand. If a company is trying to appeal to a more sophisticated audience, then it's probably not the best idea to go for the cringey approach. Cringe is not for every channel . Just as cringe marketing is not for every brand, it's also not for every channel. Some channels are more serious in nature and don't lend themselves well to this type of content. Before deciding to produce cringey content, make sure it's appropriate for the channel you're planning to use. TikTok will be better than Instagram for example.   Related reading: Food marketing Jewelry marketing Gaming marketing 7 memorable examples of cringe marketing  After reading so many words about cringe marketing, you’re probably eager to experience it for yourself (or maybe you actually don’t). In any case, I curated a bunch of examples of campaigns from recent years. Although there’s a lot to say about them, we’ll skip that for today so you can just sit back, relax and cringe on. 01. Bodyform: “Never Just a Period” 02. Setapp: “Snake” 03. Snickers: “Unfiltered” 04. Reese’s Pieces: “Love Child” 05. Liquid Death: “Body By Bert” 06. Liquid Death: “Better than Back Sweat” Another Liquid Death example because the company has managed to take cringe to another level. 07. currys And here's one for the TikTok people out there.

Terrific news to all website owners – Wix is proud to introduce our brand new solution for Mobile! Starting today, a mobile version of your website will be automatically created, but the showstopper is our new Mobile customization features. From a smart new Mobile Editor, you will be able to change design, hide content, scale and move website features (including website under construction templates )– while leaving the full-size desktop version of your website unchanged. This is especially great when you consider how long it takes to build a website . What this means is that you can now have more creative freedom over your mobile design and give your users an enhanced mobile experience. So if you're looking to learn how to make a website or already have one that needs to go mobile, this is for you. Why You Should Optimize your Mobile Presence (and How to Do it) With nearly two-thirds of American cell phone owners browsing from smart devices, creating an optimized mobile presence is not a nice extra but an absolute necessity. The numbers don’t lie: mobile browsing has doubled itself since 2009, and the numbers just keep going up. Optimizing your HTML5 website to mobile devices guarantees that you will reach a much wider audience and provide prospects with easy access to your website, anytime, anywhere. Wix’ new mobile editor lets you adjust your site to mobile viewing with just a few clicks. Just follow these few simple steps when making your site : Go to your Wix account and open your website in the editor. On the top left corner, click on the mobile icon to go to the mobile editor. Customize and edit your site to optimize it for mobile formats. The changes you make will not affect your regular website! Go to the Mobile Settings tab and enable Optimized Mobile View. Click Preview to see how your site will look on a mobile device. Click Publish – and that’s it! You are mobile. Check out this nice video overview of the new mobile editor: For Those Who Already Have a Mobile Wix Site If you already had the opportunity to create a website with Wix that’s mobile, optimizing it is the best course of action for you to take. Why? Because when optimizing your old mobile website, both your mobile site and your desktop site come under a single URL , which means volumes in terms of SEO. Your website traffic will no longer be split between two sources but funneled into a strong, unified domain. This will help Google index and rank your site and will make sharing and linking to your content a lot easier. Having a single URL also takes a load off your shoulders – it turns maintenance of your mobile and desktop sites into a single easy task. When updating your Wix desktop website, your mobile site will be automatically updated. One less thing to worry about. In order to optimize your mobile website, log in to the Wix editor and click the mobile editor tab. There’s no need for you to recreate the site – the new mobile website is automatically created and is a reflection of your desktop site . All is left for you to do is to customize it according to your needs and hit Publish. Your mobile traffic will now be directed to this URL. This process is the same with a normal or vanity URL . For more info on the new Wix for Mobile, check out these FAQ’s . You can also turn your website into an app for even greater functionality.

Oh, the internet. A place you can kill time by watching an endless number of funny cat videos all day, buy virtually anything you want with just a click, or even learn how to create a website for free to call your own. It’s completely transformed our lives and has allowed us to create new, digital ones. When it comes to getting information and answers to questions, though it can be a bit of a gray area. What do you do? Simply ask Google and hope there’s a direct answer? Sift through search results? Scour similar questions on social networks to find an answer? And when you find one, how do you know it’s the correct one? If you find yourself in this predicament, which is a fairly common one, you should consider looking into a massive resource that can often-times get overlooked: Quora . Quora is an interesting site that feels part search engine and part social network, but its purpose is to both give you answers and allow you to answer questions for others in subjects you’re knowledgeable about. There’s quite a bit more to it than that, which is why we’re going to show you what exactly Quora is and how to use it right. What is Quora? In a few words, Quora is a questions and answers website. It was founded in 2009 by two ex-Facebook employees, and was actually almost called Quiver instead. Nonetheless, this Q&A website has seen tremendous growth since its inception, where it’s been quite aptly described as , "a more organized Yahoo Answers, a classier Reddit, [and] an opinionated Wikipedia” according to Vox’s Recode journalist, Theodore Schleier. In 2018, it was announced that Quora had achieved over 300 million active monthly users, showing that the site indeed has legs to run on. Is Quora a reliable source? The primary function of Quora works quite simply: You can search questions to get answers or provide answers to questions on the site. That said, the biggest concern about this type of crowd-sourced information is whether the information given is actually factual, or at least, completely correct. Luckily, many of these woes are eased due to the fact that industry experts often use Quora to provide answers. We’ll dive into that a bit further down. How to get started with Quora Now we’re going to show you the steps to setting yourself up for success with Quora: Sign up Fill out your profile Get to know your Quora feed Learn your question and answer post options Have fun with Quora Spaces Explore AI chatbot Poe Ask questions, post answers and thank Quora contributors 01. Sign up The first part is the easiest part: Signing up. How you decide to do that is up to you, but you’re given the choice of signing up with your Google account, your Facebook account, or foregoing them both in favor of a simple email sign up. Once you sign up, you’ll be presented with a screen that asks you to choose 10 topics that you’re interested in. The topics you choose will be used to generate your feed, which we’ll touch on below. The next step will ask you if you’d like to join Spaces groups, which again, we’ll cover later on. After that, you’ll be presented with your feed, which is where the real fun of Quora begins. But first, you have a little digital housekeeping to do. 02. Fill out your profile As with anything even moderately social on the internet, filling out your profile is a must. For Quora, since being a credible source for answers is very important, filling out your profile to the best of your ability is more crucial than compared to some other social networks online. The profile section of Quora provides you with an assortment of different sections to fill out. It starts with your profile photo and profile credential, the latter of which can be viewed as your primary industry or sector you have an expertise in or your job title. This will be shown prominently when anyone views your profile. Below this is a section you can add a brief description about yourself, as you’d expect in any profile. Furthermore, you can add links to your website and other social media channels in your bio section. Pro tip: You can use a link in bio tool such as Hopp by Wix to direct users towards specific online assets and simplify content sharing on your profile. On the right-hand side of the profile page, you’ll find two additional sections: one for adding information your employment, school, and location credentials, and another for adding topics that you know about. The latter section will allow you to search topics and it will display all of the topics with the keyword you searched to add to your profile. 03. Get to know your Quora feed Even if you end up spending a majority of your time elsewhere on Quora, the feed is one of the best places to find questions about topics you care about. In the beginning, your feed will only consist of topics that you previously selected when you first signed up, but you can, of course, add more. You can simply search for a topic in the search box at the top of Quora at any time, select it to open its page and click “follow.” It’s that simple. From then on, new and relevant questions from that topic will be added to your feed. The same goes for unfollowing a topic: just go to the page of the topic you’re following and click on the blue marked “follow” button. It will then turn white to indicate that it’s a page you’re not following anymore. It’s more than just your followed topics Your feed has a lot more to offer than just the topics you follow. It’s also a great place to discover other people on Quora, as well as Spaces to follow. In addition to these, you’ll also see suggested questions for you to answer, in which you can easily answer, pass, or follow each of them. You’ll be presented with questions that have already been answered, and you can then up vote, share, and comment on them. Furthermore, you can see a list of the topics you’ve followed on the left for quick access. Last but not least, at the very top of your feed you’ll find a super quick way to ask a question or share a link with others. Set Up Your Account If you’re brand new to Quora, the feed will also have an additional section on the right. It’s simply a list of tips to help you get the hang of using Quora. This section is called “Set Up Your Account” and has a small list of items that will be crossed out once achieved. The list entails the following: Visit your feed Follow 5 more spaces Follow 6 more topics Upvote 5 more good answers Ask your first question Add 3 credentials Answer a question If available, each “achievement” on the list will be linked so that you can begin to take action right then and there. 04. Learn your question and answer post options Getting answers to questions is basically the whole point of Quora, so it’s smart to get to know all of your options for the questions posed. First and foremost (and most obvious), you can answer a question. But, there’s a whole lot more you can do as well. In addition to answering the question, you can follow the individual question, despite what topic it resides in. You can also click the “request” option, which will allow you to search for someone with knowledge on the topic and request the selected person to answer the question. While the above options are the most prominent ways to interact with a question, you’re not limited to them. Here are some more options: Leave a comment Share on social networks or copy the link Answer later Follow the question privately Get notified about edits to the question Edit the question and source Edit topics Merge questions View stats and log them Report As you can see, there’s a lot you can do with questions. Of course, you likely won’t be using the bulleted options above for every question you come across unless you’re a Quora super user, but it’s good to know that there’s certainly more to do here than simply answering a question. Answers Unsurprisingly, answers are displayed directly below questions on Quora. Just like questions, answers have their own set of options, though a bit more on the simple side. Your job as a user is to find the most appropriate answer for a given question (if it’s not coming from you, that is) and upvoting it. Enough upvotes will change the placement of the answer, and the one with the most upvotes will be placed directly below the question and considered the best answer. For answers, the primary functions are to upvote, share (on Quora), comment, downvote, and share on social networks. Additional options are: Bookmark Promote Suggest edits Thank Log Report 05. Have fun with Quora Spaces On November 7th, 2018, Quora announced a new feature for the platform called Spaces. Quora referred to Spaces as, “collections and communities created around shared interests and tastes.” The introduction of the feature brings more of a community and social media vibe to the platform which makes it an excellent addition to your social media marketing efforts. Spaces are a bit like Reddit’s subreddit feature in that they offer a dedicated community space for a particular subject. Quora users can follow specific spaces to discover new questions and answers pertaining to the topic. Spaces can be particularly satisfying, as you’re a part of a community that’s also interested in the same topic and may ask questions you never thought about. Users that are following a Space can post relevant links to share with other followers, so it can be a source of news on the topic as well. The Spaces announcement post shared that spaces can be used in a variety of different ways, such as: A group of people can work together to curate the most interesting answers and links about a particular area of interest, such as Farm-to-Plate or SaaS Daily. An individual can use spaces to organize their own writing into different sections, as Robert Frost is doing with his collection of his Space Exploration answers, Mac Tan with his posts on the US Midterm Election, and Salon with their Culture and Politics articles. A community of people can create a space to have shared conversations with each other, like Science Lounge or Defense Quorum. 06. Explore AI chatbot Poe In February 2023, Quora opened up public access to AI chatbot Poe , which is built on top of several generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude. To use it, you open the app and select a bot to chat with. When you ask it questions, it generates responses based on its knowledge and understanding of the world. With around a million monthly active users on mobile apps , people use it to brainstorm ideas, get help with research or just to have a conversation. Poe introduced a number of new features in July 2023, including a larger context window for better responses, support for URL retrieval/document upload and the ability to continue other users' public conversations. 07. Ask questions, post answers and thank Quora contributors Much like a Reese’s , there’s no wrong way to use Quora, but there are ways to underutilize it. If you simply use it to search for the answers to questions people have already asked, it’s hard to see the harm in that. Still, asking questions is what makes Quora what it is, so do yourself and others a favorite and get to asking those hard-hitting questions. Quora also didn’t become what it is today by being a platform full of unanswered questions. Finding answers to questions is likely how many people unaware of what Quora even was found it. If you’re looking to take advantage of the site’s capabilities, you’re going to need to give back a little and answer questions. Plus, sharing your expertise on a subject you're knowledgeable and passionate about should boost your mood. Not to mention, the more questions you answer, the more you can build a reputation for being the expert that you are. A parting tip for using Quora is the be thankful to the users that provide informative, well-written answers. If you see an answer that’s factual and offers an insight that the current top answer lacks, be sure to upvote it and thank the user. What is Quora FAQ What is Quora mainly used for? Quora is mainly used as a question-and-answer website. Users can ask questions on a wide range of topics, and other users can answer them. The answers are then voted on by the community, with the most helpful and informative answers rising to the top. Quora is also used as a platform for sharing knowledge and learning. Users can find answers to their questions, learn about new topics and connect with experts in their field. Is Quora a trusted site? Quora is generally considered to be a trusted site. The content is generated by the community, so there is a lot of diversity and variety. However, it's important to be aware that not all of the information on Quora is accurate. It's always a good idea to verify information before using it. What's the difference between Quora vs. Reddit? Quora and Reddit are both question-and-answer websites, but they have some key differences. Quora is more focused on providing high-quality, informative answers, while Reddit is more focused on discussion and debate. Quora also has a more professional tone, while Reddit is more casual.

Bring your inspiration to life with a Wix website →   The rumors are true! We recently launched  Wix Artificial Design Intelligence , a revolutionary new website builder experience that pairs the magic of AI  with the beautiful design capabilities that Wix has become synonymous with, to create the perfect website for your business. Just by answering a few short questions, the Wix AI website generator supplies you with a ready-made website complete with unique text, stunning images and robust online elements that are tailor-made for your business’s needs. Launched in 2016, Wix ADI has already been put to the test again and again, building beautiful and unique websites from scratch for our users in less time than it takes to finish a cup of coffee. With no other web platform matching this technology feat, it’s no wonder that so many people are excited to try Wix ADI as they plan how to make a website .  Below are 5 examples of websites that were made with the magic of Wix Artifical Design Intelligence and its web development prowess. Need inspiration for your website? With Wix, building a standout site is easier than ever. Choose from hundreds of customizable templates and use Wix’s easy drag-and-drop website builder  tools to make your vision come to life. Turn your ideas into reality and see just how simple it is to create a unique, professional website. 5 best websites build with AI The Scratching Post Hotel Adam's Construction Group Chingon Sunglasses store The HK Trading Group Prep n’ Ship UK – Shipping Services 01. The Scratching Post Hotel The Scratching Post Hotel was built with a playful long scroll and captures our hearts with the most adorable kittens. Not only is it easy to navigate, the addition of the  Wix Bookings app makes it incredibly simple for clients to make reservations directly on this website. 02. Adam’s Construction Group Much like building a house, Wix ADI curates content to create unique designs from the ground up. This construction site features awesome full-width strips  and a service gallery that are perfectly aggregated to fit the nature of their business. As always, you can change anything to your own custom specification. Whether it’s images, patterns, colors, fonts, buttons or adding your own video, you can do it all with ease and get a seriously stunning result. 03. Chingon Sunglasses Store We know you have amazing products to sell, that’s why we designed Wix ADI to build a beautiful online store to fit your killer style. This sunglasses business uses a fresh design that combines high-resolution images with a simple yet sleek layout with smooth effects. Their stunning mobile eCommerce website  reaches a whole audience of shoppers on-the-go. 04. The HK Trading Group HK Trading group showcases their work with  impressive full-width parallax scrolling  and bold slides that are ready to be customized with a large roster of striking elements. For a company bolstering professionalism, you deserve a website to match. 05. Prep n’ Ship UK – Shipping Services As a shipping company, maintaining thorough communication with customers is paramount for this business. Wix ADI understands your business’s needs and tailors a website specifically for you with simple contact forms so visitors can reach you directly. With Wix email marketing tool  you can also send and share beautiful emails, newsletters, and updates directly from your Wix account.

Conversion-rate-optimization (CRO) literature is full of outdated practices and myths. To help clients focus on customer growth, they need updated information on what CRO can accomplish. Here are four effective CRO techniques that you can execute to maximize the potential of your website's conversions as part of your wider marketing strategies . Tip: How to create a landing page that converts How to win at conversion rate optimization Adopt multiple testing methods to gain more insights Maintain your best performing pages Test beyond the standard two-week cycle Test your CRO and be open to experimentation 01. Adopt multiple testing methods to gain more insights A/B testing provides immediate comparison and results, which is useful for specific verticals like email and social media. But for your website, there are additional methods for gaining insight into customers’ behaviors throughout the customer journey. When you dive deeper into your Google Analytics or create a heat map for a landing page, you gain a better understanding of what draws them to the website or what catches their attention. Here are a few methods to enhance your A/B testing: Multivariate testing: Unlike A/B testing, multivariate testing takes many theories your clients have and tests all of them at once. Think about changing a CTA button’s color, placement, and message: Have two color variations, two placements, and three phrases, and you end up with 12 versions to test. This type of testing offers even quicker results on how each combination performs and impacts conversions. Usability testing: When you set up a new funnel or task, conduct user tests to see how they navigate the website to get to your calls to action. Have first-time visitors gauge what the user experience is like since seasoned customers know how to work through the website to get to their goal. Make sure that you record each test, and note any challenges or roadblocks they encounter. Surveys: Research allows you to craft user personas for your clients, which are particularly helpful if they haven’t updated theirs in a few years or have lost sight of opportunities to capture another part of the market. Get direct feedback from their customers by creating a pop-up or email survey to gather information (bonus if there is an incentive to convince users to provide their feedback). A/B testing is great for observable differences, but it requires additional research that will allow you to have more options to work with for future testing. 02. Maintain your best performing pages Everyone hesitates to touch a page that performs. But that’s no reason to leave pages as they are. Showing how you continuously improve CRO with updates is crucial to growing any business. Google updates their core algorithm at least every year, if not several times in a year. Leading from this example, we should be informing clients to update top-performing pages at least once a year to keep customer conversion high on those pages. These updates shouldn’t focus just on SEO optimization, but should consider how the page leads both potential and new customers through your client’s funnel. Here are a couple of ways you can optimize CRO on top performing pages: Design, design, design Aside from copy changes, consider a design refresh that allows you to change elements of your CTAs. Marketing SaaS company DashThis was successful at getting people to sign up for a free trial of the company’s software but noticed that many users abandoned the trial. Users complained that they were not able to quickly connect their marketing data. Using Hotjar, DashThis’s UX team modified the location and sizes of the buttons and added a search bar to help users quickly figure out a solution. These CRO changes resulted in increasing DashThis’s onboarding process by 50% . Dangling the carrot You can also implement CRO efforts that provide incentives as an extra push to convert, for example, integrating a pop-up for first-time visitors to receive a discount in exchange for their email address. Another CRO push: testing the placement of any special offers alongside CTAs, such as listing details about the special offer next to the “Buy” button. Multimedia content creation company Avid did when they A/B tested details about their bonus offer via a banner versus bullet points on their Media Composer software product page. They realized t he banner outperformed the bullet points by 34% , which led them to test another promotional sticky banner on their homepage, blog, and shopping site that saw a 15% conversion rate on the site. 03. Test beyond the standard two-week cycle Digital experimentation expert Chad Sanderson notes that large companies like Google and Facebook set the standard CRO test time of two weeks based on customer behavior . Instead, you need to test for a full customer cycle to get the most information from your strategy and to achieve any kind of statistical significance. According to Sanderson, large companies with a daily base of millions of users can work within a two-week test window because customers’ website and search habits are consistent week to week. This cyclical behavior is a big indicator for clients to understand their full customer cycle. Customer cycles vary per industry, so whether it’s less than two weeks or more than two months, knowing the customer cycle allows you to conduct experiments based on data versus what bigger companies are capable of doing with more daily traffic. Remember to note any testing that may occur during the holidays or annual sales, because that impacts the typical customer cycle: customers convert quickly to take advantage of special offers — but they may not return until the next incentive. 04. Test your CRO and be open to experimentation When you limit your views on what CRO looks like and how to conduct it, your clients miss opportunities to gather information that will make their businesses grow. The trick? Test your CRO methods and be open to experiment to get the most from your website, and win more business in the long run. Tip: Improve your website's conversion rate

As the owner of a fitness business, it might just be the best time to step up your game for the New Year. You have all the power to create a fitness website and push your fitness business forward by motivating your loyal members and inspiring new clients. To get started, use this business and marketing checklist below to ride the momentum of 2020 fitness goals. Follow the tips here or download the PDF version to print and check off. December 2-8: Shape up Your Fitness Site & App Update Your Class Schedule: Add new classes and descriptions. Refresh your schedule for the year ahead. Accept Payments: Choose a payment provider for online and offline payments. Manage all transactions from your Wix dashboard. Set up Paid Plans: Let clients purchase a class package or membership with Paid Plans. Turn on Waitlists: Offer waitlists to fill every class. Clients will get notified right when a spot opens up. Add Workshops: Empower clients to strengthen their workouts. Run workshops that focus on specific skills or meditation. Sell Your Workout Videos: Upload instructional videos to your site. Stream, rent or offer video subscriptions to clients. Sell Your Own Gear: Add an online store with fitness products. To promote your business, create and sell branded apparel. Invite Clients to Your Custom Mobile App: Let clients book and pay for classes, chat with community members, and get updates with Spaces by Wix. All you need to do is send them an invite to download the app and become members of your unique mobile space. December 9-16: Manage Your Workflow Add Your Hours: Choose default work hours or list separate hours for each staff member. Sync Your Calendars: Connect your schedule with your staff’s Google calendars and keep everyone updated. Set Roles and Permissions: Give your staff roles on your site so they can help manage your business. Manage Your Business on Mobile: Use the Wix Mobile App to track session attendance, chat with clients and review member profiles. Add a Call Button: Make it simple for clients to call you from your site. Display clickable text, like your business phone number or “Call Now.” Create Automated Emails: Check in with new clients and members you haven’t seen in a while. Remind members before their plans expire. Forward Facebook Messages: Interact with your clients in one central place by connecting your Wix Inbox to your Facebook page. Get Insights about Your Visitors: Add marketing tools, like Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel, to learn more about your site visitors. Track Your Success: Keep an eye on analytics for your site traffic, client attendance and finances. December 17-24: Prep Your Marketing Plan Get Found on Google: Use a step-by-step SEO plan to drive traffic to your fitness site. Create Promo Videos: Showcase your business with instant promo videos. Share them on your site and social channels. Grow Your Mailing List: To collect email addresses from your site visitors, add a subscription form. Follow up with offers and promos. Add Wix Chat: Use live chat to help clients choose the right class. Send them direct links to the classes you recommend. Get in the Holiday Spirit: Design your site for the holidays and feature holiday workout playlists. January 1-10: Connect with Your Clients Offer a Coupon: Create a deal to bring in first-time clients and reward loyal members. Send Marketing Emails: Promote your fitness sessions and give expert health tips for the new year. Post on Social: Schedule posts linking to your fitness site. Include motivational quotes, videos and testimonials. Motivate Your Members: Check in with clients through chat or email. Help them stick to their fitness goals in January and beyond. Create a Community: Encourage members to connect with each other using the Wix Mobile App with forum, chat and more. Looking to grow your nutrition practice online? Check out how to create a nutritionist website for a complete guide to building the perfect site.

Start generating business ideas with the Wix Business Launcher →  Freelance writing has emerged as a significant force in the gig economy, offering flexibility, independence and a way to make money online and offline. With businesses and individuals constantly seeking quality content, the demand for skilled writers is on the rise. For many, the allure of freelance writing lies in the freedom to choose projects that align with your personal interests and the ability to work from anywhere in the world. Whether you're looking to supplement your income, start a business or pursue a full-time career, understanding how to make money as a freelance writer is the first step towards turning your passion for words into profit. How to make money as a freelancer writer: tips to succeed To promote your business effectively, having a freelance website is a necessity. Showcasing your work on a dedicated platform or via an online portfolio is crucial for attracting potential clients. Specializing in a writing niche can be a game-changer, allowing you to focus on a specific expertise area while making money as a freelancer. This specialization establishes authority, increasing chances of finding targeted jobs and commanding higher rates. Identifying a niche, aligned with market demand and personal passions, is key for success in the freelance writing landscape. 12 ways to make money as a freelance writer Blogging Copywriting Ghostwriting Technical writing SEO writing Social media content creation Grant writing Writing for online courses and webinars Content marketing writing Newsletter content creation Online publication journalism Production description writing 01. Blogging Writing for blogs, usually for businesses and corporate clients, is a great way to make money as a freelance writer. Blogs are a popular tool for many brands and companies and they often rely on freelance writers for their content. If you build a solid relationship with a client, you can make a steady income from regular blog writing. If you’re serious about making money as a writer through blogging, you should consider learning how to create a blog to practice your writing skills and showcase your work. Get started with a blog maker and create your own writer's blog . Learn more: Blogging vs freelance writing 02. Copywriting Copywriting is a popular way for many freelance writers to make money. This involves writing persuasive and effective marketing copy for websites, marketing campaigns including ads and landing pages and sales materials. Good copywriting is a very specific skill and if you nail it, you can make considerable amounts of money. If you’re serious about making money as a freelance writer through copywriting it’s important to create a portfolio in order to collect and showcase examples of your copy. You can easily one with a website builder , such as Wix. Learn more: Blogging vs copywriting 03. Ghostwriting If you’re looking for a potentially lucrative way to make money as a freelance writer, ghostwriting is something to consider. Ghostwriting involves writing articles, books or even speeches for clients who will publish the work under their own name but you’ll write or help write it. It’s a very popular service for celebrities or famous people and their autobiographies. This freelance business idea will involve giving up complete creative control and credit for the work but it’s a good way to make money consistently. And unlike writing for yourself and then having to work hard to sell it, with ghostwriting your income is confirmed by contract at the start of the project. You just need to make sure you deliver the expected work to a set deadline. 04. Technical writing If you have expertise in a technical field, perhaps programming web development or machine learning, you can make money writing user manuals, product descriptions and branded how-to guides for tech companies. Technical writing is considered a highly specialized field and generally enables writers to make significant amounts of money. 05. SEO writing Make money as a freelance writer by producing SEO content for websites and blogs. Generally, this means planning, writing and optimizing content to rank in the top results of search engines. To make money as this type of writer you’ll need to be a great writer and have a decent amount of SEO knowledge, meaning understanding what it takes for content to rank high for different keywords. You’ll also need to understand how to optimize content for search engines, including things like writing alt text, meta descriptions and FAQ sections. In some instances, you may also be expected to research keywords and prepare SEO writer briefs, or these may be provided by the client. 06. Social media content creation As brands and companies rely more heavily on social media marketing, there’s plenty of demand for writers who can create social media content. This can be a creative way to make money as an influencer and writer and it might involve working with various types of content - from static posts and copy to engaging headlines or shoutouts to video scripts and subtitles. If you’re looking to make money as a writer of social media content, it’s worth making sure your own social media accounts are active and packed with great social content. That way you can show future clients what you’re capable of and why they should trust you with their content creation. 07. Grant writing Some freelance writers specialize in grant writing as a means of income. Grant writing involves preparing and submitting proposals to funding organizations, such as government agencies, foundations, or corporations, to secure financial support for specific projects or initiatives. The process begins with thorough research to identify suitable funding opportunities aligned with project goals. This includes reviewing guidelines, eligibility criteria and deadlines. Writers then collaborate with project stakeholders to develop a clear and compelling project plan, outlining goals, activities, budgets and expected outcomes. The grant proposal is a crucial component, making a persuasive case for why the funding organization should invest in the project. It typically includes sections like an executive summary, project description, goals, methodology, budget, timeline and evaluation plan. While grant writing is an intensive process requiring specialist knowledge, many writers appreciate its breadth, involving not just writing skills but also project management, research and collaboration with key stakeholders. 08. Writing for online courses and webinars Another way to make money as a freelance writer is to create educational content for online platforms or brands that offer courses on various subjects. This can include scripting video content or creating copy to accompany courses and webinars. This type of writing will involve working very closely with the course and webinar creators and generally may not be the most creative form of writing. However, it offers a guaranteed income and may lead to repeat work from the same company. 09. Content marketing writing Making money with freelance content writing can encompass a wide range of types of writing for a large number of purposes. It can also include blog and SEO writing and copywriting. Content marketing writing usually involves working on creating content to clear marketing briefs, that align with the goals of a specific marketing campaign (perhaps lead gen or brand awareness). The writing usually involves following a very clear brand style guide and brand writing guidelines. Content marketing writing always has a clear purpose and as a freelance writer, you’ll be expected to convey this in an effective way that works for your client. This makes making money with content marketing writing more than just, well writing and you’ll generally need a good understanding of how marketing strategies and marketing campaigns work, as well as of the brand and product or service it promotes. 10. Newsletter content creation You can make money as a freelance writer by developing newsletters for businesses to communicate with their customers or potential customers. This could include writing headlines, marketing copy for emails and content to be distributed via newsletters. Newsletters are usually sent out on a regular schedule, which makes this a consistent and reliable way to make money as a writer. It’s also a great way to build your resume and skills as a marketing writer, allowing you to later branch into other fields of it - such as copywriting, or SEO writing. 11. Online publication journalism Online publications and journalism are still alive and well, even if print media has taken a beating in recent years. Pitch story ideas to print and digital magazines to make money as a freelance writer. This can be a great way to get your name out there as a writer and allows you to write about topics you’re passionate about. It can be a competitive way to make money as a writer and you may have to get through rounds of rejections first. 12. Product description writing If you’re looking for a way to make money as a freelance writer that can be done remotely, so product description writing might be a good fit. This can involve writing product descriptions for eCommerce sites or writing website product pages for businesses of all types - from clothing businesses to jewelry businesses to tech companies. Generally, this can also be a very specialized writing niche and it helps if you have some knowledge or understanding of the products you’re writing about, especially when it comes to software and tech products. How to get started with making money as a freelance writer Starting a freelance writing business involves several key steps. First, assess your writing skills and identify your niche. Next, create a portfolio to showcase your work, which can include samples or links to published pieces. Then, set up a professional profile on freelance writing platforms and social media to start connecting with potential clients. It’s also critical to understand the basics of running a business, such as setting your rates, invoicing and managing taxes. Learn how to make a website . Why? A website acts as a central hub for your freelance writing business. It's a platform where you can introduce yourself, highlight your services, display your portfolio and share testimonials from clients. A well-designed website can help you build credibility and attract clients by showcasing your expertise and professionalism. Additionally, optimizing your website for search engines with relevant keywords can increase your visibility and lead to more freelance writing job opportunities. → Get started with a Wix website . You can also check out this curated selection of the best website builders for writers , or these freelance website examples. How much money can you make freelance writing? The allure of freelance writing lies in its flexibility and potential for a rewarding income. But how does this translate to dollars and cents? Several factors influence your earning potential, like: Experience and expertise: Seasoned writers with specialized knowledge command higher rates than newcomers. Niche: Certain niches, like tech writing or medical writing, are known for premium pay. Client type: Rates differ depending on whether you write for individuals, businesses or publications. Location: Geography can play a role, with some regions offering higher average rates. Writing speed and efficiency: The faster and more efficiently you work, the more projects you can tackle, boosting your income. While precise figures are tricky, here's a general earnings chart   to paint a picture: Beginner: $10-$25 per hour Intermediate: $25-$50 per hour Experienced: $50-$100 per hour Top earners: $100+ per hour Now, let's delve deeper into specific niches and their earning potential: Ghostwriters: Ghostwriters can earn anywhere from $0.10 to $2 per word, depending on the project's complexity, length and the client's budget. Established ghostwriters with stellar reputations can command even higher fees. Copywriters: Copywriters crafting marketing materials like website copy or ad campaigns can earn $50-$150 per hour or even project-based fees, depending on the scope and target audience. Finance writers: Demystifying complex financial concepts for laypeople comes at a premium. Finance writers typically charge $0.20-$0.50 per word or project-based fees ranging from $500-$5,000+, depending on the project's length and complexity. How to make money as a writer FAQ How do I find freelance writing jobs? Start by creating profiles on popular freelance writing platforms such as Upwork, Freelancer and ProBlogger Job Board. Networking on social media, particularly LinkedIn, can also uncover opportunities. Additionally, pitching directly to businesses, blogs and digital publications can be effective. What should I charge for my freelance writing services? Freelance writing rates vary widely based on experience, niche and project complexity. Research industry standards and consider your level of expertise and the time required to complete the task when setting your rates. Some writers charge by the word, others by the hour or project. How do I identify profitable freelance writing niches? Look for industries that are growing and have a high demand for content, such as technology, finance and healthcare. Consider your own interests and expertise when choosing a niche, as this will reflect on the quality of your writing. Can I make a full-time income from freelance writing? Yes, many freelance writers earn a full-time income. However, it requires dedication to building a client base, consistently delivering quality work and effectively managing your business. How do I ensure I get paid for my work? Use contracts for every project, specifying payment terms and deadlines. Invoice promptly and consider using payment platforms that offer some level of protection or escrow services. Building a good relationship with clients can also lead to more reliable payments. Other ways to make money you might want to consider How to make money as a student How to make money as a chef How to make money as a real estate agent How to make money as a personal trainer How to make money as a therapist How to make money as a singer How to make money as a contractor How to make money as a handyman How to make money as a notary public How to make money as an entrepreneur How to make money as a farmer How to make money as a crafter How to make money as a teenager How to make money as a virtual assistant

If you're passionate about offering your skills and services independently, starting a freelance business could be an exciting venture for you. This guide will walk you through the steps of initiating and operating a successful freelance business, including the advantages and challenges involved in starting a business , how to go about creating a business website  and how to generate revenue in the freelance industry. What is a freelance business? A freelance business is a service-oriented business  that provides various skills and services to clients. Freelancers typically offer services such as: Specialized skills and expertise in a particular field Project-based work and deliverables Flexibility in working arrangements, often on a contractual or temporary basis Why start a freelance business? The freelance industry is witnessing substantial growth with a projected compound annual growth rate of 15.3% through 2027 . This presents a lucrative opportunity for starting a freelance business, as demand rises for specialized skills across various industries and businesses seek out freelance professionals for specific projects. How to start a freelance business in 6 steps Create a business plan Select a business structure Obtain business financing or capital Set up accounting and bookkeeping services Source specific freelance equipment Register your freelance business 01. Create a business plan Develop a comprehensive business plan  that covers important aspects of your business planning such as your target market, executive summary, marketing strategy  and financial projections. This plan acts as a guide for your business and effectively communicates your vision to potential investors during funding efforts. It should also include other important details such as the  type of business  you plan to start and your choice of a business name .  Here’s a freelance business plan template to get you started: Freelance business plan template Executive Summary Business Name:  [Your Freelance Business Name] Business Structure:  [Sole Proprietorship/Partnership/LLC/Corporation] Location:  [City, State] Founding Date:  [Month, Year] Founders/Owners:  [Names] Mission Statement:  [Concise statement of the business’s purpose] Business Description Overview:  Briefly describe your freelance business and key services. Unique Selling Proposition (USP):  Clearly define what sets your freelancing services apart. Target Market:  Identify your primary clients and market segment. Services and Offerings List and describe the services you offer, emphasizing your skills and expertise. Market Analysis Industry Overview:  Provide an overview of the freelance industry. Competitor Analysis:  Identify key competitors and analyze their strengths and weaknesses. Target Audience:  Define your target client profile and their preferences. Marketing and Sales Strategy Marketing Plan:  Outline your strategies for promoting your freelance services. Pricing Strategy:  Detail your pricing structure and any promotional pricing. Sales Tactics:  Describe how you will attract clients and secure projects. Operational Plan Work Setup:  Describe your workspace and necessary equipment. Tools and Software:  List essential tools and software for your freelance work. Workflow:  Outline your work processes and project management approach. Financial Plan Income Projections:  Provide realistic income projections for the first 3-5 years. Operating Costs:  Outline ongoing expenses, including software subscriptions, marketing and taxes. Funding Proposal Funding Purpose:  Clearly state how any funds will be utilized (if seeking external funding). Risk Analysis Identify potential risks and challenges and develop strategies to mitigate them. Conclusion Summarize key points and highlight the potential success of your freelance business. Note: This template serves as a general guide. Adjust and expand sections based on your specific business model and goals. 02. Select a business structure When setting up your freelance business, it's important to choose an appropriate business entity  or structure. Options include  sole proprietorship , partnership , limited liability company (LLC ) or corporation . Each structure comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages, so select the one that aligns with your business goals. Learn more: How to start an LLC 03. Obtain business financing or capital Freelancing generally has lower startup costs compared to other businesses. However, consider your initial expenses, such as setting up a home office, purchasing equipment and marketing your services. Explore options like personal savings, small business loans, or grants to cover these costs. 04. Set up accounting and bookkeeping systems Establish robust accounting and bookkeeping systems to track income, expenses and taxes. Use accounting software to streamline financial management. 05. Source specific freelance equipment Acquire the necessary equipment for your freelance business, ranging from computer and relevant software to communication tools, based on the services you plan to offer. Some more specific examples of this include: Computer and relevant software/tools for your specific skill set Project management tools Communication tools (email, video conferencing) Marketing materials (portfolio, business cards, website) 06. Register your freelance business Register your freelance business in compliance with local regulations, determine if you need any licenses or permits to operate in your area and consider obtaining professionally liability insurance coverage. Learn more: How to register a business , How to get a business license Tips for managing your freelance business for profitability Once you’ve got your freelance business off the ground, you’ll need to understand how to properly run and manage it so it’s profitable. Here are some general tips on how to achieve that.  Research your industry and gain a deep understanding of the freelance industry, including market competition, target demographics and financial requirements. Consider gaining experience by working with established freelancers or agencies. Develop a robust marketing strategy from the beginning to proactively promote your freelance business. Create a professional website to showcase your portfolio and attract clients —be inspired by these freelance website examples. Offer outstanding customer service from project initiation to completion. Positive client experiences can lead to repeat business and referrals. Freelance businesses to inspire (all built on Wix) Stacks Creative A family owned creative company that specializes in video production. ZHOOSH Creative services agency for small businesses looking to enhance their brand and online presence. KIDMOGRAPH An art director, motion designer and illustrator specializing in music videos, live visuals and commissioned art pieces. Learn more: Best freelance website builders Benefits of starting a freelance business Operating a freelance business allows you to be your own boss, set your own hours and make independent decisions. At the same time the demand for freelance services is consistently high, particularly in areas where businesses seek specialized skills.  Challenges of running a freelance business Freelancing requires diverse skills in areas such as design, project management and client communication. Coordinating projects, managing client expectations and ensuring timely delivery can be challenging. Workload and income can vary, requiring effective budgeting and financial management. The freelance industry is competitive, requiring a unique value proposition and effective marketing to stand out. How profitable is a freelance business? The profitability of a freelance business depends on factors such as skill expertise, market demand, pricing strategies and efficiency. Streamlining processes and delivering high-quality services can contribute to higher profitability. How to build a freelance portfolio for your business A freelance portfolio is essential for any freelancer and if you're starting a business it's something to prioritize. Your portfolio should feature your strongest projects that showcase your skills, experience and problem-solving abilities. Include the needs of each client, the approach you took, any challenges face and how they were overcome. It's important to include testimonials from satisfied clients, to add social proof and strengthen the overall impact of your portfolio. To build your online portfolio you'll need to decide to use a stand-alone portfolio website or integrate your portfolio into your existing website. Choose a website builder that is easy to use and comes with robust infrastructure, such as security and performance. Regularly add your latest work to maintain a dynamic portfolio and showcase your continued development. How to start a freelance business FAQ How do I find my first clients when I have no portfolio yet? This is an initial hurdle many freelancers face when trying to build their credibility and start a business. There are many ways to build up a portfolio of work without paying clients — by offering pro-bono work, creating sample projects and using platforms such as Upwork or Fiverr to gain early experience. Once you have some work to show, it's important to create a portfolio or website to organize it and showcase it. An online portfolio of your work is easily shareable too. How do I set my freelance rates effectively without underselling myself or scaring away potential clients? For all freelancers this is a crucial topic around pricing and your value proposition. You'll need to do a lot of research — what do other comparable freelancers in your industry offer, what are the going rates for the type of work you do, is there any way you can market your skills at a premium. Many freelancers find that adjusting their rates is an ongoing process, sensitive to market and client changes. It's common for many freelancers to set their rates too low in the beginning, as a way to attract clients — but most soon find the right equilibrium between rates that attract clients and guarantee a profit. What essential tools do I need to start freelancing? Reliable computer and internet connection Professional email address Project management software (like Trello or Monday) Time tracking tool (like Toggl or Harvest) Invoicing software Cloud storage (like Google Drive or Dropbox) Communication tools (like Zoom or Slack) Portfolio website or professional social media profiles How do I handle taxes as a freelancer? Set aside 25-30% of income for taxes Make quarterly estimated tax payments Track all business expenses and receipts Consider consulting a tax professional Keep business and personal finances separate Save receipts for home office and equipment Understand self-employment tax obligations How do I create a contract for freelance work? Start by defining what each of your contracts should include: Clear scope of work and deliverables Payment terms and schedule Project timeline and milestones Revision policy Cancellation/termination terms Ownership/copyright information Late payment penalties Consider using contract templates or get a legal review (recommended) Other business ideas you might be interested in How to start an eCommerce business How to start an art business How to start a restaurant business How to start a box truck business How to start a construction business How to start a car detailing business How to start a DJ business How to start a dog walking business How to start a catering business How to start a real estate business How to start a lawn care business How to start a food truck business How to start a landscaping business How to start a pressure washing business How to start a cleaning business How to start a tutoring business How to start a coaching business How to start a pool cleaning business How to start a food business How to start a painting business How to start a medical supply business How to start a gaming business How to start a sports card business How to start a frozen food business How to start a vending machine business How to start a courier business   How to start a laundromat business How to start a psychic website

If you’re wondering how AI is transforming business, the answer is not as straightforward as you might think. While you’ve probably heard of “generative AI,” thanks to the recent explosion of AI tools like ChatGPT, AI has been shaping the way we do business for years. (In fact, Wix has been experimenting with artificial design intelligence since as early as 2016.) The truth is, AI can do so much more than make up stories or create goofy images. It can help you market your business—heck, it could even run parts of your business for you. AI is quite simply, changing the way humans get things done. Looking to work smarter? Create your business website with Wix today. 6 ways AI is transforming business It's not just generative AI that's moving the needle. AI is being used to automate production in manufacturing, deliver personalized experiences in retail and create more sustainable solutions in agriculture (as examples). Here’s how: Small businesses can now compete with the big dogs Productivity roadblocks are a thing of the past The future of business communication is now Product development is simpler than ever A job market revolution is on our doorstep Marketing and sales are getting a facelift 01. Small businesses can now compete with the big dogs In the not-too-distant past, it was nearly impossible for small businesses to compete against mega-corporations in most capacities. Search engine optimization (SEO), branding, marketing and product production were a numbers game; the more resources you had, the more successful you’d be. AI has given small businesses a unique opportunity to close that gap, compensating for lack of experience, manpower or budget. You can work at scale and get consistent, dependable results no matter how small of an operation you’re running. And, contrary to some of the popular AI myths you may have heard, AI is not exclusive to companies with big budgets. Some “jobs” you can designate to AI include: Website designer: Need help with how to create a website ? Good news: we’ve moved from a do-it-yourself era to a “touchless” design era. For businesses in need of a website pronto, Wix’s AI website builder can create a unique website for your business in minutes. As Wix CEO and co-founder Avishai Abrahami notes, most of us “don’t want to spend hours writing text, designing elements or paying for a professional photographer.” adWhen it comes to adding the final touches to your site, features like Wix’s AI writing tools and AI image creator can act as your assistant designers and content creators. Accountant: Starting a business is inherently financial in nature. Not only does keeping accurate records ensure tax compliance and financial accountability, but it also provides a clear snapshot that guides strategic planning in assessing the overall health of your business. AI-powered bookkeeping systems can analyze your finances in an instant, making suggestions and keeping you on track. SEO specialist: SEO plays a vital role in getting your content seen in search results, attracting organic visitors to your site and boosting your online presence. If you’re not an SEO whiz, that’s okay; AI tools like SurferSEO, Wix SEO Assistant , Clearscope and Frase can analyze your content to suggest improvements, provide keyword suggestions and even help optimize on-page elements like headings and meta tags. Data analyst: Let AI be the one to analyze website data and provide insights on visitor behavior and website trends. You can use this information to understand your audience better, then create individualized, more informed strategies for your business. Personal business consultant: If you need some guidance in squaring away the basics, AI can even help here. Try Wix’s suite of business personalization tools, like the free Business Name Generator , Logo Maker and AI title Generator , to help you perfect your branding, marketing and content strategy. “AI is a natural extension of what we do,” Abrahami notes, “and the better AI algorithms get, the better Wix will become.” 02. Productivity roadblocks are a thing of the past Forbes found that 64% of businesses expect AI to boost their productivity, and it’s no surprise why. AI offers a myriad of opportunities to streamline operations, reduce costs and enhance overall efficiency. It’s a necessity for any small business owner who needs to get more done with less. There are many ways to tackle various small business challenges , but you can leave it to AI to handle the following: Automation: AI churns through repetitive tasks like a champ. Data entry, invoicing and customer support can be managed with AI-powered tools like chatbots, virtual assistants and data management platforms. In fact, Forbes found that customer service and virtual assistance are some of the top ways businesses are currently using AI. Data analysis: Using artificial intelligence to analyze data is just good business. Predictive analytics, a subset of AI, analyzes patterns and trends, guiding you on important decisions like resource allocation and inventory management. It’s almost, but not quite, a way to peer into the future. Predictive analytics can also forecast demand and supply, aiding in inventory management and pricing strategies. Quality control: AI helps improve quality control in ways that we couldn’t have dreamed of just a decade ago. Companies are using AI-powered tools to automate testing, detect fraud and even predict when equipment and machines are likely to fail (e.g., “predictive maintenance”). Seeing into the future is shaping up to be one of the best ways that AI can help business owners be more productive. Productivity looks different for every business and market sector. Only you know how to run a business in ways that specifically speak to your bottom line. For you, that might look like implementing a chatbot versus hiring another customer service rep. For another business owner, it could mean using tools like ChatGPT or DALL-E to generate marketing copy and images. The point being, there are hundreds of AI tools for business to help you streamline your specific processes and become more efficient and effective. Read also: Where are we in the AI revolution? 03. The future of business communication is now Clear, organized communication is essential to keep a business running like a well-oiled machine. Despite this, it’s an area where many business owners struggle. In a recent workplace survey , Forbes found that ineffective communication had a profound negative impact on morale and efficiency; 49% of respondents said their productivity was affected, nearly 50% reported decreased job satisfaction and 42% said it affected their stress levels. Even if you’re operating as a team of one, poor communication with customers, contractors and vendors can negatively impact your business and cause you undue stress. Enter AI. AI not only enhances your current business communication processes, but can take them to the next level. Capabilities like real-time language translation, intelligent chat, instant transcription and automated email replies make a world of difference. They both lighten your load and give you the opportunity to implement new strategies and reach wider audiences. Here are just a few ways that AI and machine learning (ML) can transform the way companies communicate: Instantly generate professional content: Tools like Jasper, HyperWrite and Talkwalker can establish your brand voice or adapt it to suit different audiences. You can create content for a number of communication channels—like a blog, newsletter, social media post or ad—in seconds, and in a variety of languages and cultural sensitivities. These tools can adapt to human language, behavior and sentiment, which will help take your existing communication workflows to the next level. Offer round-the-clock customer service: Intelligent chatbots use natural language processing (NLP) to respond to consumers in real time. They can support your customer service team, guide customers using conversational language and provide intuitive instructions. Best of all, they’re available 24/7. Streamline employee communication: Remember, half of employees report that poor communication diminishes their job satisfaction. Let technology assist with tools like AI-powered transcription, which can instantly generate a full written log of important meetings with impressive accuracy. Tools like Otter.ai, Rev Max and Trint can help you organize key meeting notes, pull important quotes and even translate text into dozens of different languages. 04. Product development is simpler than ever Product development can be a nerve-wracking process for business owners due to an ever-present level of uncertainty. According to Clayton Christensen , professor at Harvard Business School, “Nearly 30,000 new products are introduced each year, and 95% of them fail.” That’s a daunting statistic no matter how you look at it. But AI has been a game changer for manufacturers, revolutionizing the landscape of product development in ways that only science fiction writers could’ve imagined 50 years ago. The most effective ways in which AI is reshaping product development include: Demand forecasting: Predicting product demand once relied on intuition coupled with limited data. It wasn’t all guesswork, but it wasn’t exactly reliable. AI improves demand forecasting with tools that analyze various causal factors like market trends and consumer behavior. This gives you a more accurate forecast of product demand, which means you can optimize your production and distribution strategies, plus minimize costly mistakes. Launch acceleration: It takes, on average, about six months to a year to launch a new product. At least, that’s the case for startups. The good news is that AI is drastically reducing this timeline. Generative AI tools help you automate and enhance the design and prototyping phases for new products. This allows you to bring new products to market faster. AI tools also enable you to create multiple iterations of a product quickly, leading to a more refined final product. Product usability: Successful products are extremely functional while being easy to use. Think about the products you love—your iPhone, KitchenAid mixer and 2023 Hyundai Kona with its easy-to-connect BlueLink App. The point is, a product's success isn't just about its functionality but also its user-friendliness. AI tools help you make products more functional by analyzing usage data and user feedback. They then provide actionable insights and recommendations so that you can make continuous refinements. 05. A job market revolution is on our doorstep There’s no question that artificial intelligence is a disruptive technology. It has shaken up the way businesses and consumers operate down to the minute level, completely eradicating some manual tasks while redefining others. With that comes the debate about how AI will impact the job market. Most certainly, AI will reduce job opportunities in some capacities, but the good news is that it will also fuel jobs in others. In the second quarter of 2023, freelance work marketplace Upwork found that posts for AI jobs increased by over 1,000% , demonstrating the pressing need for continued human involvement. After all, AI is not a “set it and forget it” job; it still requires a skilled captain at the helm. Digging deeper, here are some ways that AI is reshaping the job market into the 21st century: AI prompt engineering: AI models don’t run themselves. They require precise language prompts for optimal results. This means there’s a growing demand for experts in actual AI prompt engineering. Fact-checking: The digital age has not simply amplified the spread of misinformation; this same bad information is feeding AI models. Thus, human verification remains crucial to ensure the content generated by AI tools is unbiased and accurate. Recruiting and hiring: AI streamlines the hiring process by analyzing resumes and predicting role fits. It can help reduce bias and identify issues, but human judgment remains essential for assessing new candidates and addressing complex personnel issues. Document creation: HR and legal teams are traditionally very document-heavy. AI-powered tools can help experts in these departments quickly draft documents like non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and employee agreements that can be easily replicated and distributed. 06. Marketing and sales are getting a facelift Marketing is like a compass that guides businesses through the vast landscape of consumer preferences and competition. It’s one of the most critical drivers of business growth and a necessity for companies of all sizes, from solo entrepreneurs to mega-corporations. Businesses around the world are already using AI to completely transform the way they handle sales. According to Influencer Marketing Hub , 54.5% of marketers believe that AI is likely to greatly enhance their marketing efforts, and 61.4% currently use AI in their marketing activities. So, how can you embrace AI in marketing? There are tools to create assets like ads and ad copy, tools for managing customers and tools to align all of your various touchpoints in the customer journey. Below is a taste of how AI is transforming marketing and sales processes: Improved customer experiences: AI makes it possible for marketers to create automated and customized interactions across all digital channels. These tools connect the various touchpoints consumers use so that the experience they get is consistent and personalized. Sales assistance: Companies like Microsoft and Salesforce are building generative AI tools right into their platforms to assist with a host of sales-oriented AI features . AI-powered sales systems use generative models to automatically document conversations, write emails and proposals, organize information and make recommendations based on large volumes of sales data. Efficiency boosting: One of the most significant benefits of AI for sales and marketing is the increase in efficiency. Take Wix's in-house AI tools for example. From your website dashboard, you can use generative AI to create and publish captions for social posts (complete with emojis and relevant hashtags) as well as titles and descriptions for Google Ads. You can also use AI to create the content and layout for email newsletters. Having these tasks streamlined and limited to one convenient "hub" saves valuable time in your marketing efforts. Automation: About a fifth of sales team functions can be automated . The biggest area to automate is data analysis, since both sales and marketing produce enormous quantities of data. The data is being used in foundation-model training for generative AI tools, and predictive insights are being used to help with real-time negotiation (in sales) and planning (in marketing). Use cases for small business automation are practically endless and impact the entire sales and marketing cycle, from lead identification to dynamic customer journey mapping to success analytics (e.g., "customer churn modeling").

If you're a social media influencer, blogger or content creator, your link in bio might be more valuable than you think. It’s often underappreciated, but it can actually help you earn through affiliate marketing, sponsored content, product sales and more. In this article, we’ll explore how you can increase your income using the tools on Hopp by Wix . We’ll share some tips for improving your discoverability and making the most of your social media presence. Make sure you're set up for success with a strong business website . Try Wix's website builder . How to make money with Hopp Monetize your Link in Bio page with Actions Link to an Instant Page from your Instagram Story or Highlight Add Pre-rolls to your link in bio Promote your monetization efforts 01. Monetize your Link in Bio page with Actions Actions are the key elements of your Link in Bio page. They appear as buttons or widgets on your page and can be used to engage with your audience and encourage them to take specific steps. For example, actions can be used to link to products you're promoting, videos, a contact form, an event you want people to sign up for and more. Add as many or as few Actions as needed, focusing on those that best support your business goals. Tip jar The tip jar is a feature you can use to collect donations from your audience. You can either set a specific tip amount or let your fans choose how much they want to give. Paid request A paid request enables your audience to prepay for services, such as a personal consultation, early access to content like ebooks or any other offer you'd like to provide for a fee. Paid DM As a busy content creator, your time is valuable. Offering a Paid DM helps you prioritize serious inquiries and ensures you're compensated for your time, while giving your fans exclusive access to your personal insights. Coupon Code List Include a special list of coupon codes that highlight your brand collaborations. Followers can find all the codes they're looking for in one place and easily purchase the items you promote on your page. These codes can also help you track the success of your partnership with a brand. Product, service or event promotions Create a dedicated Action to promote any product, service or event—or to list a series of them. Include detailed information, marketing visuals and call-to-action (CTA) buttons. Link list Compile a list of your affiliate links for recommended products in one, easy-to-find Action module. Pricing plans If you’re promoting a service or paid consultation, you can add a module that displays your pricing plans and includes a direct link to your bookings page for easy conversions. Index Links Hopp features a built-in search engine that allows you to index all of your links, so your followers can easily find your products, coupons, services and any other link you add to it. Any new link you add to your page via Actions is automatically indexed so that fans can search and discover all items on your page, even if they miss one while scrolling. Discover the best link in bio tools . 02. Link to an Instant Page from your Instagram Story or Highlight Elevate your Instagram marketing with Hopp Instant Pages—which are quick and customizable landing pages you can set up in just a few minutes. Whether you're showcasing a new product or promoting an event, these pages let you add multiple actions to keep your audience engaged. Instant Pages can be used for: Promoting a discount code:  Visitors can copy the code directly from your Instant Page and be redirected to the destination page, where they can redeem their coupon. Advertising an upcoming event:  Design a stunning, branded Instant Page to facilitate bookings or RSVPs. Invite visitors to your promotional events and increase attendance with a professional and engaging presentation. Create a beautifully branded Instant page to offer booking services or event RSVPs, inviting visitors to your promotional events and increasing attendance. Filling seats for a workshop:  Create a dedicated Instant Page to advertise an invitation form/RSVP for any upcoming workshops that you’re hosting. Promoting your own merch/products:  Showcase your merchandise or products with a shoppable Instant Page, and include copy-able coupon codes for added value. Collecting donations/fundraising:  Supporting a cause? Create an Instant Page to tell the story behind your cause and add a ‘Tip Jar’ Action to simplify fundraising and encourage contributions. Note: Instant pages are available with a Hopp Pro plan, but you can try one out for free. 03. Add Pre-rolls to your link in bio Your link in bio is a hub for traffic from your social media profile. Get even more out of it by turning your bio link into a Hopp Short Link and adding a Pre-roll to it. Pre-rolls allow you to place branded content, like a YouTube pre-video ad, onto any link you share with followers, doubling the value of shared links. Set up a Pre-roll for your link in bio by following these steps: Create a new Pre-roll: Design a Pre-roll that highlights the most important content, event or product you’re promoting right now. For example, it could be a short video about a special live session that you’d like to invite followers to, complete with an RSVP form. Shorten your link in bio URL : In order to “attach” a Pre-roll to your link-in-bio URL, you must convert it into a Hopp Short Link. Use Hopp Short Links to create a compressed version of your link-in-bio URL. Connect the Pre-roll: Link the Pre-roll to the shortened link-in-bio URL. Update your social media accounts: Add the shortened link to the bio area of your social media profiles. This ensures that anyone who clicks it will first see your Pre-roll promotion before being redirected to your main Link in Bio page. 04. Promote your monetization efforts Get more people engaging with your Link in Bio and Instant Page (available with a Hopp Pro account) using Hopp’s advanced Action editor tools. Make specific buttons or instructions pop with these enhancements.  For example: Use the 'Link Preview' Action  to entice visitors more immediately. Instead of sending users directly to the destination site, first show visuals and details about the page to pique their interest.  Display the Action as a Card or a banner to make it more eye-catching and draw attention to your most important links . Add a Ribbon to create a sense of urgency with messaging like “Sale,” “Deal ends at midnight,” “One spot left!” or “50% off.” Add coupons to the products you promote, so visitors can copy the code to their clipboard before reaching the product page. This makes it simple for them to apply the coupon code at checkout. Add emojis to the title of any Action to infuse personality into the page and create a stronger connection with your audience. Add a thumbnail image to the Action button to capture more attention with a visual cue. Add a meaningful description  to the Action to highlight its key points. Your description will appear in smaller, regular text below your button. Choose a Premium List Layout to display links with gallery-style navigation (available with a Hopp Pro account). Read more about social media marketing  or different types of marketing  and marketing strategies  worth exploring.

Imagine a world where the sales process is not just streamlined but enriched with precision, efficiency and a level of personalization that was previously unimaginable. That's not dreaming; that’s the real promise of using AI for sales. Using AI doesn’t mean removing the human element from your sales efforts. In fact, putting AI tools in the hands of your sales team (or yourself, if you’re a solopreneur) makes those human efforts all the more impactful. With AI handling time consuming or menial tasks, you can devote more resources to the real purpose of sales—actually selling. As we navigate the evolving landscape of modern business, one thing is abundantly clear: those who embrace change are the ones shaping the future of sales. It's a brave new world out there, and AI stands at the forefront. Let's explore it together. Harness the power of AI to help build your business website with Wix. How is AI being used for sales? AI is being used to transform content creation, lead generation and data analysis in the sales space—and that’s only the beginning. Managing sales means wearing many hats, and those many hats can take up a lot of resources. According to Salesforce, sales reps spend roughly a third of their time actively selling, with the rest spent on administrative and other non-sales-related tasks. Meanwhile, HubSpot's 2023 Smarter Selling with AI survey reported that 80% of sales pros say AI and automation help them do their jobs by allowing them to spend less time on tasks like data entry and meeting scheduling. Using AI for sales allows you to concentrate on high-return activities like engaging with prospects, attending sales meetings or refining your products or services to better resonate with your target audience. In particular, there are seven main ways AI can replace or streamline some of your day-to-day tasks. See more : How to create a website with Wix. 7 ways you can use AI for sales We love diving into the weeds and keeping a pulse on where we are in the AI revolution , which is why we've compiled a list of seven ways a small business owner can immediately use AI for sales. Analyze sales data in a snap Create sales content with a single click Become a lead-scoring superstar Predict the future Supercharge your sales strategy Build the ideal audience personas “Eavesdrop” on consumer sentiment 01. Analyze sales data in a snap We live in a data-rich world and that can be overwhelming, particularly if you’re about to start a business , launch a marketing campaign or plan effective ways to sell to your target audience. Luckily AI is extremely good—and efficient—at analytics. AI slices through layers of data like a sharp knife through a multi-layered cake. It frees you from pulling data, combining it into a messy spreadsheet and trying to make sense of it. This means you can spend more time being human—and selling—to other humans. Some of the data you’re likely dealing with includes: Prospect information in customer relationship management systems (CRMs), sales platforms, spreadsheets and email Recorded calls and meetings Customer sales information Marketing campaign results Industry sales trends Social media interactions Customer behavior data Customer service interactions Seventy-three percent of respondents in HubSpot’s Smarter Selling with AI survey said that AI helped them get meaning from all this data by surfacing insights they wouldn’t otherwise have discovered on their own. Predictive AI can help sales professionals and business owners more accurately predict future sales by analyzing historical buying behavior (that’s its own use case which we’ll get to in a minute). AI can also help you create more informed sales and marketing strategies which is an excellent and informed approach to fueling business growth . 02. Create sales content with a single click According to recent Salesforce data, 61% of sales pros surveyed feel that GenAI will help them sell more efficiently and provide better service. AI tools for business include generative AI applications like ChatGPT, which uses large language models (LLM) to generate text, or DALL-E, which generates images from text-based prompts. If you’re an overworked and pressed-for-time small business owner, you can and should use artificial intelligence to complement human creativity by generating ideas and streamlining mundane content creation tasks. For example, Wix’s AI product description generator allows users to auto-generate content for product descriptions, such as in an online store . You can also generate email newsletter copy via the AI text generator with a few simple clicks. Generative AI helps small businesses do more with less, but we’re still in the early stages of adoption. In a FreshBooks survey of 1,000 U.S. small businesses, only 25% of respondents said they use or test various generative AI tools. Read also: 7 AI myths that may be holding your business back 03. Become a lead-scoring superstar According to McKinsey, a fifth of sales functions can be automated and that’s likely a conservative estimate. Tracking leads, managing prospects and organizing all of that information are necessary—but time consuming—sales tasks. AI tools excel at helping small business owners manage the sales process by automating mundane, repetitive and error-prone manual tasks. Here are some specific examples of how AI helps manage prospects: Data collection : Manual data entry is one of the necessary evils of sales management and this is truly a place where AI can help. Use AI to auto-populate CRM systems with lead information from various sources like web forms, email and live chat messages. Lead scoring : AI-powered tools can rank the most promising leads from high to low based on criteria you establish or that the system assigns. Then, you can focus on the prospects most likely to convert. Lead segmentation : Many AI-powered CRM and sales tools have an audience segmentation AI feature that automatically buckets leads into different segments based on pre-established parameters like demographics, behavior and purchase history. Lead nurturing : AI can follow up with a prospect after they’ve reached out, for example, by sending personalized, automated emails with additional information that keeps them interested. You can also use AI to set reminders to follow up with prospects and create content customized for various personas or business sectors. Split testing : AI makes it easy to test different sales messages, campaigns and creative assets for different audiences. This helps you hone your sales approach and can provide extremely important data about what resonates (or not) with your customers. 04. Predict the future Well, sort of. Besides automating tasks, AI provides accurate sales forecasting by analyzing historical customer data, market conditions and external information such as small business trends and rapid shifts in customer demand. It digs deep into customer behavior, predicting future interactions by analyzing past engagements. AI can also help you identify potential issues that lead to customer churn, which means you can be proactive about retooling your sales approach. In eCommerce, AI-powered product recommendations level up the shopping experience by suggesting items based on user history—basically, AI knows what a shopper wants before the shopper knows. Predictive AI helps small businesses compete with much larger companies since it helps them anticipate market trends and remain agile even when resources are scarce and budgets tight. Tip : Through Wix Analytics , you have access to the AI-powered Benchmarks report from your site dashboard. This report compares your website's performance against other similar-sized sites in your industry. It breaks the data down into easy-to-read charts and graphs so you can pinpoint exactly where your site needs improvement. 05. Supercharge your sales strategy One of the biggest small business challenges faced by both startups and existing businesses is creating a sales strategy that’s up-to-date and truly resonates with customers. Let’s face it, revisiting your sales approach year after year is time consuming. AI can be a game-changer here by helping you: Understand customer preferences : We’ve already waxed poetic about AI’s ability to analyze data, but it bears repeating. AI helps you understand your customers by analyzing the piles of data that can become overwhelming to overworked small business owners—things like customer feedback, product reviews and social media interactions. AI helps you grasp what messages resonate with people, allowing you to create products, design elements and craft messaging that aligns with customer demand. Become more competitive : AI-driven insights highlight market gaps and opportunities, allowing you to stay one step ahead of that competitor burger place or soap vendor up the street. If your competitor gains traction from incorporating snail slime— a hot skincare trend —into their face cream, AI can alert you about the increase in demand so you can create your own snail slime face cream and capitalize on the trend. Optimize pricing : Fine-tune your pricing strategies with AI’s help by analyzing market fluctuations and customer purchase patterns. This not only helps you remain competitive, but it’s a bit of intel that can help you create your sales strategy since it impacts how you position your product or service with prospects, leads and potential customers. 06. Build the ideal audience personas Selling effectively requires you to have a deep understanding of who you’re selling to, which is why creating buyer personas is so important. AI can help you create informed data-driven audience personas by sifting through vast amounts of data from different sources like social media interactions, purchase histories and website visits. It can then identify patterns and behaviors and assign them to different customer segments (e.g., high-value shoppers, tire kickers, sports fans, etc.) AI also makes it easy to keep your audience personas current by continuously updating your intel to reflect evolving market conditions, real-time customer behaviors and emerging or declining trends. Predictive AI can provide insight about future behaviors and preferences that impact your audience personas—foresight that allows you to keep your sales approach relevant to your audience. When audience segmentation is paired with marketing campaigns, businesses can craft messages that deeply resonate with each persona. 07. “Eavesdrop” on consumer sentiment AI is great at “eavesdropping” on consumers by scanning and interpreting customer feedback, reviews and social media comments. It gauges the emotional tone of words and phrases (e.g., great product, runs small, really upset, etc.) and provides reports and insights about how your products, brand or business is perceived. This isn't just about positive or negative feedback—it’s about understanding nuances, from excitement and satisfaction to frustration and disappointment. Beyond sentiment analysis, AI-powered consumer listening tools continuously monitor online conversations, not just around a brand, but also around industry trends, competitors and more. They capture the pulse of the market, in real time, and are another powerful tool for tracking emerging trends, identifying potential pain points and surfacing new opportunities. If there's a growing chatter about a particular feature that consumers want (snail slime, anyone?) you can quickly adapt to incorporate it into your product offerings. Benefits of AI for sales Artificial intelligence has undeniably changed the selling landscape in ways that only Star Trek fans and guys like AI-pioneer Ray Kurzweil could’ve envisioned a decade ago. AI gives small business owners many advantages that make it possible to compete in highly competitive markets and with much bigger companies. The tangible benefits of AI for sales include: Wrangling data By sifting through the vast reservoirs of sales data, from prospect information in CRM systems to industry sales trends, AI prepares you to act quickly. So, instead of being a data wrangler, you can be a sales superstar. Doing more with less Automation is the busy business owner’s secret weapon. As McKinsey pointed out, a large chunk of sales functions like lead scoring, audience segmentation and appointment scheduling can be automated, leaving you with more time to do the fun stuff—selling. Automation allows you to prioritize building relationships with prospects, refine your sales pitches and ultimately drive more sales with your brilliant conversational skills. Creating something from nothing Generative AI, with its ability to manifest sales scripts, playbooks and just about any type of copy, is a boon for small businesses. Instead of spending hours crafting the perfect pitch, you can use generative tools to create compelling content, campaigns, insights and even entire websites quickly, then use all the extra time you have to take forest baths and make your competitors jealous. Dropping less balls Managing prospects, a crucial yet time-consuming aspect of sales, is much more manageable with AI. From automating data collection to segmenting leads based on specific parameters, AI is the ultimate cure for distraction. It multitasks so you don’t have to, enabling you to get back to people quickly and manage leads more effectively. Peering into the future The predictive capabilities of AI are an incredibly powerful sales tool. AI uses historical data to forecast future sales patterns. This foresight allows you to be as proactive as your mother always wanted you to be by addressing potential challenges, optimizing your sales strategy and antagonizing your competitors with your ability to predict what customers want before they do. Reading people’s minds Understanding consumer sentiment is kind of like a sales superpower. AI listening tools and sentiment analysis gauge the emotional undertones of customer feedback to provide a clear picture of consumer brand perception. People are fickle. By continuously monitoring online conversations, AI also helps you discover emerging trends and adapt your sales approach. Get started with creating a website with AI with Wix today.