[Bonus at end of post - 9 FREE easy-to-use tools to create your own Lead Magnets.]

Just imagine getting up on a Monday morning after enjoying a relaxing weekend and finding several great qualified leads in your inbox to start the week off with.

What a difference that would make in the levels of success and frustration you experience!

If you're like most people, though, you either:

1. have no leads in your inbox (this is most common), or
2. leads that haven't begun to be qualified and you have to spend a lot of time on, most of it wasted because they weren't a good fit to begin with.

This article was originally written for LinkedIn Pulse.

[Bonus at end of post - download this list in a PDF.]

Most people think that automated marketing just means email marketing, but nothing could be further from the truth. To illustrate the difference, here are a few ways you could be using automated marketing right now.

It's critical that you understand this: by transforming your website from the equivalent of an online brochure to a strategic part of your business, you can not only increase revenues and/or decrease costs, but also make your business more valuable and desirable to a potential buyer.

Your website could literally be the tiebreaker in selling your business and setting you up for the future.

Questions to ask yourself:

Welcome to The Ave!

Vineland Downtown Improvement District in the city of Vineland, New Jersey, held their brand launch party on October 20 with over 300 excited people attending. In my 20 years of being in this business, Vineland is one of the most involved, positive communities we've ever worked with.

The number of volunteers involved is inspiring and they range in age from youth to retirees. They understand that the city is theirs, and they're not just waiting for change to happen. They're making things happen!

With the holidays coming up it's more important than any other time of the year for shoppers to understand why it's important that they shop local.

It's not just so businesses can make money. It's also good for the shopper! Here's 10 reasons why, plus an infographic you can share.