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Are you starting to panic because you don't have a strong strategic plan in place for 2017? Don't worry--you're not alone! 

We've been leading inbound marketing projects and campaigns for our clients for more than four years, and we've found that most inbound marketers don't have a formal strategy or plan in place...and those that do aren't really sure if they're headed down the right path. Also, we've noticed that most inbound marketers tend to make the same mistakes, regardless of role, industry or level of experience with inbound marketing.

Our team of content strategists and inbound marketers has identified a list of the top five mistakes that we've seen inbound marketers make over and over and over again, and we're sharing it with you so you can save yourself a lot of time, money and headaches. Trust us when we say that taking shortcuts now will cost you more later.

So without further ado, here's our list of the five mistakes that you shoud avoid when creating your 2017 inbound marketing strategic plan:

Still not getting the results you need from inbound marketing? Check out our latest infographic, which contains practical steps for things you can do NOW to see a better ROI!

It's that time of year again! The end of the year is quickly approaching, and you need to start thinking about your 2017 marketing strategy (yikes!).

If this is the first time you're creating a marketing strategy, you might not be sure where to start.

We've put together a list of ten questions that every marketer or business owner should ask themselves in order to create an effective strategy. Be sure to print this list out or bookmark this page so you can refer back to it as you define your strategy. 

Here are the ten questions you need to ask and answer before you can say that your strategy is complete:

1. What are my primary marketing goals? BE SPECIFIC. It's not enough to say "Get more traffic." You need to clarify how much traffic and by when. Quantify your goals and make sure you only pick 2-3 primary goals at the most. Remember you can always add additional goals later—after you achieve your primary goals.
   
   No matter what you do, don't use general or broad goals, such as "I want to increase traffic." It's much better to say "I want to grow my traffic to 10,000 pageviews per month by May 15, 2017" or "I want to increase my marketing-qualified leads to 300 per month by the end of February 2017." Specificity counts and will give you something to shoot for. Aim for realistic yet challenging goals that will push you and your team to excel. If your goals are too easy, you're just wasting energy, time and money.
   
   

Are you struggling to keep up with your web site project and keep it on track? 

Our new Web Site Project Template Pack can help. This bundle includes five of our most popular templates that we use every day when managing our clients' projects—and now you can use them too!

This template pack includes all of the following:

• Login Information Spreadsheet (XLS) - Keep track of all of your hosting, cpanel, FTP, CMS and database logins in one place.
• Web Site Redesign Progress Spreadsheet (XLS) - Need to keep your redesign or web site refresh project on schedule and make sure you don't miss any critical tasks? This spreadsheet will allow you to track all of the things that need to be done, including who's doing them, when they're due and the status of each task.
• Buyer Persona Template (PPT) - Buyer personas can make or break the success of a web site redesign, but they don't have to be complicated. Use this template and you can clearly define your site's audience in no time!

Julie Elliott shares information about healthy recipes, eco-friendly living, essential oils and more with her readers in her engaging healthy lifestyle blog,Treehuggerlife.net. She asked Lisa Kirschner to provide an evaluation of her blog to help her identify areas in need of improvement as she begins to think about a web site redesign. 

Check out the video below for helpful tips about how simple changes can really go a long way toward increasing usability and user engagement.

I'm often amazed at how few marketers utilize Google Analytics. I frequently hear people say that it seems a little too overwhelming or even a little bit scary.

If you feel that way, you're not alone! The good news is that it actually is very easy to set up a few simple reports that will give you TONS of useful information about your web site and your online marketing efforts.

Below, I'm sharing a few of my favorite must-have reports that EVERY marketer should have. Keep in mind that you can configure these reports once and get weekly (or daily!) PDFs emailed to you, so 15-20 minutes of your time can offer a huge ROI and can really transform your marketing efforts. Here are some of my favorite GA reports:

Are you trying to plan, manage and implement a web site redesign on your own? It might seem like there are a million things to do and they all need to be done at once.

Do you need to define a solid inbound marketing strategy or three-month tactical plan, but you don't have a lot of time or money?

I'm thrilled to announce that we are now offering private VIP Days as part of our new T.L.C. Marketing Transformation coaching and training program.

In less than six hours, you can get a solid inbound marketing strategy and a three-month tactical plan while also getting one-on-one feedback from me in a virtual or live session.

Our new VIP Days include the following:

I hear it all the time...

"I don't have time to create a blog for my business."

"It will be too hard/time-consuming/boring to come up with new blog ideas."

or, the most popular excuse of all,

"I don't have anything important to say."

You know what? I beg to disagree. Everyone has knowledge and insight that they can share with their audience, whether they sell products, services, memberships or something else. You too can be an effective business blogger, and it doesn't have to be time-consuming or difficult. 

There are a lot of inbound marketing tools on the market today, so it's sometimes difficult to know which ones are good and which ones aren't worth the time or money needed.

Luckily, the Flair Interactive team has done the hard work for you and we've identified four must-have inbound marketing tools that will make your job easier—and will provide a high return on investment if they're implemented the right way.

Check out our free listicle to learn about the latest and greatest inbound marketing tools!