Marketing and advertising has never been easier for small businesses in Chicago, or in other parts of the world for that matter.
When the economy is tough, you can lean on your marketing agency to help your small business, or you can try to make some marketing decisions on your own and become your own marketing […]

You have to buy this book!!!!!
Big Black Pencil is a small business marketing agency in Chicago. We learn many of our marketing strategies from the very best . Today I learned something about Steve Krug, author of Don’t Make Me Think. I recently visited his web site and thought I had uncovered a […]

Social networking isn’t just for the big guys anymore. WOM advertising happens a lot faster when you promote your self and ask others to help. If you are the best bakery in Chicago or Oak Park, ask your internet savvy friends to write about, or your blog or theirs. If they have a business, return […]

Talk to your marketing agency about how you can make your Chicago business website become more visible. There are two ways that you can improve your website visibility.
1. Have your marketing agency create a blog (web log) for your company to let people know about your products or services. Once your blog is online, you […]

Ask your marketing agency these 5 questions before you give them your small business marketing business.

If we come on board, where do we fit in your client roster in order of billing?
How do you measure your clients success?
Do you have integrated marketing experience? for whom? and what were the results?
Can I speak get a referral […]

Chicago is a competitive market for small and medium size businesses. Selecting the right sized marketing agency that understands your business can give you an advantage over your competitors. Here are 10 marketing tips guaranteed to make this year’s marketing plan a success.

Create a marketing budget that you can afford. If you’re only allowing a […]

 
You have 30 seconds to grab your customer’s attention online. Your website need to get down to business.
Successful small and medium sized businesses in Chicago know that an outdated website can be worse than no website at all.
Big Black Pencil Marketing can review your website and help you find your unique attribute and help you […]

Make 2008 a better year for your Chicago business. Get a FREE website review from a small business marketing agency in Chicago. USA Today says, Nearly $670 in online sales were recorded on December 12th, 2007. Follow these 10 resolutions and your business will be on the way to more website traffic and […]

Google search engine positioning can be difficult to figure out. Anybody who  tries to improve Google page ranking will tell you it is a grey area. One thing is for sure, if you provide valid content in your your website and blogs, people who are interested in your products or services have a better chance of […]

Some small businesses have a slow period during the holidays and I don’t understand why.
Spending online from November 1 through December 12, 2006 reached $17.56 billion, up from $14.13 billion 2005.
That means that online traffic is high and customers are in a buying position. It’s a perfect time to invest in an online strategic marketing […]