Audrey Rawnie Rico

Earned media is any free publicity your business gets from outside sources, not from your own advertising efforts. It’s media that you organically “earn,” hence its name. Examples of earned media are mentions of your brand on social media, positive reviews of your business on your Google Business or Etsy profile, or positive coverage of…

Television advertising costs can range anywhere from $5 CPM for a local TV ad to up to $45 CPM for a broadcast TV ad. Television ad prices are measured in CPM (cost per mille), aka the cost per thousand impressions of your ad. The more people your ad will likely reach, the higher your CPM,…

Social media marketing can sometimes feel like talking to a brick wall when you’re a small business competing with more established brands. But it doesn’t have to be. The good news about learning how to increase social media engagement is that social media platforms are already designed to help you do just that. It’s all…

If I had a dollar for each time someone said social media marketing was simple, I’d have enough to open a bank account. Sure, anybody with a smartphone can post on Facebook or make a TikTok, but social media marketing goes beyond that. I know that because I’ve handled social media accounts for everything from…

In the six years since I started doing social media & marketing for startups, it’s safe to say plenty has changed. New players have entered the field (hello, Bluesky and Threads), while old players have undergone pretty major changes (Twitter becoming X, TikTok’s near-death and resurrection). How do you navigate all these changes as a…

To learn how to add a signature in Outlook, first check if you have Outlook’s new or classic version because the process differs slightly for each. The new Outlook was just released in 2024 and runs on Windows 11. Meanwhile, any version before that is Outlook classic. Adding a signature in Outlook’s new version involves…

How much does a billboard cost in the US? In 2025, the national average is $3,953.16 for a four-week campaign. However, it depends on where your billboard will be placed and the type of billboard you use (physical or digital). Plan to spend between $1,000 and $5,000 a month in small to mid-size cities and…

Social media: We all know it, have it, and use it to market our businesses in some way, and with good reason — it can be one of the most powerful tools to grow your online presence. But social media in 2025 can also be tricky to navigate, being one of the most unpredictable marketing…

I like to think of SEO audits as a “health checkup” for your website. They’re not necessarily fun, but they’re essential to keeping your website in tip-top shape and knowing how to get it ranking higher on Google. And the only way to audit is through SEO audit tools that give you stats on your…

To create an Outlook business email, you’ll need a custom email domain, aka what comes after the “@” symbol in your email (like “@fitsmallbusiness.com” instead of “@outlook.com”). You can get that by upgrading to a Microsoft 365 Business plan, which also comes with Microsoft’s productivity tools, including Microsoft Word and Excel and its cohorts. After…

When comparing Wix vs GoDaddy, it ultimately comes down to your biggest priorities. If you prefer more control over your website design, Wix is better suited because of its drag-and-drop website editor. It’s also the better option for blogging and content marketing because of its SEO tools. Meanwhile, for booking appointments or email and social…

Creating a Google Business profile or page is one of the most underrated marketing strategies I always recommend to small business owners—especially if you’re just building your online presence. A Google Business page helps people in the local community discover your business online. More than that, it gives you a way to collect reviews and…