📣 A Quick Note for Our Readers We’re bringing all of our small business newsletters together! Going forward, Small Business Insider will be your main source for small business news, advice, tools, and resources from Fit Small Business. If you currently subscribe to one of our other topical newsletters, there’s nothing you need to do. Just keep an eye on your inbox. We’ll bring the best of it right here. |
🍁 Grab a maple caramel latte. Let’s talk about what happens when the rules change. |
If you checked your Facebook or Instagram business page recently, you may have found a little love note waiting for you. Except this one came with a price tag.💲 Meta is expanding a test that limits some Facebook Pages and professional accounts to two organic posts with external links per month unless they subscribe to a plan called Meta One.
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Meta's core apps are still free, but its new Meta One business subscriptions add paid features. The Essential business plan starts at $14.99 a month, while Advanced starts at $49.99 a month and includes features such as links in organic posts and Reels, Story scheduling, exportable analytics, deeper audience insights, and team access without sharing a password. Meta notes that plans, pricing, benefits, and availability can vary by app, account, and region.
Understandably, some business owners are less than thrilled. But beneath the frustration is a good reminder: Social media can be an important part of your marketing strategy. We may build the audience, but we don't make the rules.
When we build entirely on someone else's platform, we're building on rented land. Creating more direct ways to stay connected with customers, such as an email marketing list, gives your business another way to keep those relationships going. This week, let's talk about building something we actually own. |
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🌟Small Business Spotlight |
Imagine running a social media business and waking up one morning to discover you've been locked out of your accounts.
That's what happened to Tonya D. Wertman, owner of Take Flight Social Media Consulting, earlier this year. Without warning, she lost access to her Instagram and Facebook accounts, including the business account she'd spent 10 years building.
For nearly three weeks, she couldn't access years of content and connections. Even more concerning, some of those relationships existed only on those platforms. If she couldn't get back in, she had no other way to reach them. Tonya eventually got her accounts back, but she walked away with a different perspective on social media: Use it to grow your business, but don't let it be the only place your business lives.
She now emphasizes building an email list, maintaining a website you control, and diversifying how you connect with customers. Because rented land is great, right up until someone changes the locks🔐 |
Photo of Tonya D. Wertman by: WASIO faces |
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The deal won't wait. Neither should your financing. Kiavi is an AI-powered lender for fix-and-flip, rental, and new construction real estate investors. We pair data-backed insights with clear terms and a process built for speed, so you spend less time chasing capital and more time closing deals. |
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What I’m Reading This Week: 📰 In the News |
📧 Email Marketing for Small Businesses: A Beginner’s Guide
If this week's newsletter has you thinking, “OK, maybe I should finally build that email list,” start here. This June guide walks through the basics of building a list and using email to create a more direct relationship with people who have already asked to hear from your business.
📧 Which Email Marketing Platform Is Right for You?
Mailchimp may be the name you know, but it’s far from your only option. This Fit Small Business guide compares nine email marketing platforms, looking at everything from price and ease of use to automation and reporting. If email is going to become a bigger part of your marketing strategy, it’s a useful place to compare your options before adding another subscription to the budget.
🔗 Stop Building Your Business on Rented Land
What would happen if the platform where you built your audience changed the rules tomorrow? This July article explores why relying too heavily on social media puts your customer relationships in someone else’s hands and why moving followers toward channels you control can make your business more resilient. |
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Could I Still Reach My Customers If…? Copy and paste this prompt into your favorite AI tool: |
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Help me figure out how dependent my business is on outside platforms to reach my customers. Interview me one question at a time about how customers currently find me, how I communicate with them, and where I keep their contact information. Ask about my website, email list, customer database, social media, Google Business Profile, online marketplaces, e-commerce platforms, and any other channels I use. Once you understand my business, tell me: |
- Which platforms I depend on most to reach customers
- What would happen if I suddenly lost access to one of them
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Which ways of reaching customers I have the most control over
- Where I have gaps or vulnerabilities
- Three realistic ways I can strengthen my direct connection with customers
- One simple thing I can do this week to get started
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Keep your recommendations practical for a small business with limited time and budget. I don’t want to stop using platforms that are working for me. I want to make sure my business isn’t overly dependent on any one of them. |
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Start managing your business finances for $0/month with QuickBooks Free. Built for solo and new business owners, QuickBooks Free gives you a simple way to organize your finances without a monthly subscription or credit card required. Connect a bank account, track income and expenses, send up to two invoices per month, and run core reports like profit and loss. And when your business is ready for more, you can seamlessly upgrade to a paid QuickBooks plan while keeping everything you’ve already built.
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How to Start AI Dropshipping in 2026 Cut hours of dropshipping busywork with AI—research, source, list, and monitor orders faster. Learn a tested AI-assisted workflow, including Doba, the tools and costs, and exactly what to automate versus keep human so you scale smarter without losing control. |
7 Best Employee Time Tracking Apps for 2026 Stop wasting payroll dollars—discover the 7 best employee time‑tracking apps that make mobile clocking accurate and compliant. From Jibble’s free GPS + facial verification to Homebase, Buddy Punch and more—find the right fit for your team's schedule, location, and budget. |
5 Best Construction Time Clock & Time Tracking Apps for 2026 Stop losing hours and profit to messy timecards. This guide reviews five top construction time-tracking apps that tie hours to jobs, GPS, cost codes, crew clocks, and equipment tracking to cut payroll cleanup. Which app offers unlimited free users? |
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Don’t stop at the follow! Getting someone to follow your business is great, but don’t let the relationship end there. Give your followers a reason to stay connected somewhere else, whether it’s an email newsletter, loyalty program, special offer, or early access to new products.
Your challenge: Pick one thing you can offer followers that makes sharing their email address worthwhile. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to give them a reason to take that next step. |
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| ⚡ One Quick Win: Save Your Customer List |
When was the last time you downloaded a copy of your customer or subscriber list? If your contacts live inside an email platform, CRM, ecommerce system, or another service, take five minutes today to export a current copy and store it somewhere secure. Your quick win: Back up your contact list today. You’ve worked hard to build those relationships. Make sure you have a record of them. |
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🎥 Behind the Scenes - What Nobody Tells You!
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Having 10,000 followers doesn’t mean you can reach 10,000 people.
You can spend years building a following, but every time you post, something still stands between you and those people: an algorithm. That’s the part follower counts don’t show. A large audience can look like a business asset, but if you have no other way to contact those people, your connection to them can change overnight.
Followers matter. Just make sure they aren’t the only way your customers know how to find you. |
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If one marketing channel disappeared tomorrow, which one would have you saying, “Well, this is a problem”? |
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I’d love to hear from you Did something resonate with you, or is there a topic you'd like me to cover in a future issue? Feel free to reach out to me anytime at rayanne.harmon@technologyadvice.com |
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Senior Small Business Writer and Entrepreneur |
Rayanne Harmon is an entrepreneur and finance professional with decades of experience building businesses while working in banking, accounting, and business finance. Inspired by a family of entrepreneurs, she successfully owned and operated a photography studio for 20 years before launching a social media marketing agency dedicated to helping small businesses grow. Through Small Business Insider, Rayanne shares practical advice, real-world insights, and actionable strategies to help entrepreneurs navigate the challenges of starting, managing, and growing a successful business.
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