\n\n","recentPosts":[{"id":9642957,"title":"⚓️ What your business can do during troubling times","slug":"troubling-times","status":"published","readingTime":4,"campaignCompletedAt":"2025-07-09T15:02:58.000Z","publishedAt":"2025-07-09T15:02:58.000Z","orderByDate":"2025-07-09T15:02:58.000Z","timeAgo":"14 days","thumbnailUrl":"https://embed.filekitcdn.com/e/u5RSgcpTWmajXaC98QRsyq/xAp2HdozTE3MfuJEhPxYah/email","thumbnailAlt":"a seal boops my kayak, why not","path":"posts/troubling-times","url":"https://email.aeolidia.com/posts/troubling-times","isPaid":null,"introContent":"Please get in touch by August to prepare your shop for Black Friday! Hi Reader, I hope your summer is going well! My husband, Nigel, and I are getting better at sea kayaking, and we've had some wonderful times in our beautiful backyard (the Puget Sound and San Juan islands). A harbor seal came over and booped my kayak with her nose last time! Anyway, you've probably noticed that it is challenging to balance relaxation and joy with running a business, parenting or caring for aging parents (if...","campaignId":20130277,"publicationId":16701686,"metaDescription":"What are your businesses' responsibilities and opportunities when current events are overwhelming?"},{"id":9560017,"title":"⚓️ 6 ways to protect your business from competitors","slug":"protect-your-business-from-competitors","status":"published","readingTime":3,"campaignCompletedAt":"2025-07-02T15:06:05.000Z","publishedAt":"2025-07-02T15:06:05.000Z","orderByDate":"2025-07-02T15:06:05.000Z","timeAgo":"21 days","thumbnailUrl":"https://embed.filekitcdn.com/e/u5RSgcpTWmajXaC98QRsyq/gGh2H9widkR3sxUNAprvJQ/email","thumbnailAlt":"Website for I Heart Guts","path":"posts/protect-your-business-from-competitors","url":"https://email.aeolidia.com/posts/protect-your-business-from-competitors","isPaid":null,"introContent":"⭐️ Get our pricing to improve your online presence ⭐️ Hi Reader, Today we’re talking about how to protect your business from competitors and copycats. We receive web design inquiries from over 50 businesses every month, most of them trying to figure out how to make their business work and sell more products. Sometimes, I look at what they’re selling and how they’re presenting it and have an, “oh, this is going to be SO hard” sympathy cringe. Other times, I get a thrill of excitement about a...","campaignId":20048318,"publicationId":16619570,"metaDescription":"Some big picture advice on how to protect your retail or ecommerce business from competitors and copycats."},{"id":9496843,"title":"⚓️ Another chance to find out what to do about your website this year!","slug":"traffic-or-tactics-live","status":"published","readingTime":4,"campaignCompletedAt":"2025-06-25T15:02:06.000Z","publishedAt":"2025-06-25T15:02:06.000Z","orderByDate":"2025-06-25T15:02:06.000Z","timeAgo":"28 days","thumbnailUrl":"https://embed.filekitcdn.com/e/u5RSgcpTWmajXaC98QRsyq/kWefCpnMd2qwzUVej7SUKW/email","thumbnailAlt":"When to focus on traffic or tactics for your shop","path":"posts/traffic-or-tactics-live","url":"https://email.aeolidia.com/posts/traffic-or-tactics-live","isPaid":null,"introContent":"For real: it's time to prep your shop for Black Friday! Get our rate sheet. Hi Reader, If you've been wondering, \"What should I do next for my online shop?\"—I've got you, in this insightful and practical talk. If you missed me speaking about this in February, please join me online with CreativeMornings on July 1st to decide what to do next for your website. Tue, Jul 1, 2025 • 10:00 AM Pacific • 1:00 PM Eastern You want your online shop's growth to be profitable and sustainable. You need more...","campaignId":19887945,"publicationId":16457308,"metaDescription":"If you've been wondering, \"What should I do next for my online shop?\"—I've got you, in this insightful and practical talk. "}],"newsletter":{"formId":5220821,"productId":null,"productUrl":null,"featuredPostId":null,"subscribersOnly":false},"isPaidSubscriber":false,"isSubscriber":false,"originUrl":"https://email.aeolidia.com/posts/hiring-employees-or-outsourcing","creatorProfileName":"Aeolidia: Shopify Experts","creatorProfileId":1210264}⚓️ Thoughts on hiring marketing employees or outsourcing
⚓️ Thoughts on hiring marketing employees or outsourcing
Published 5 months ago • 2 min read
Now booking: April! Contact me if we can help with your site.
Hi Reader,
Are you trying to decide if you want to hire a website or marketing agency, or in-house employees to take care of everything? If you’re wearing too many hats, read on. I met up with April May of Smudge Ink at the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Summit and had a fascinating talk with her about how she shifted her thinking when it comes to employees.
April used to run her marketing in-house but switched to hiring agencies, which has been a game-changer for Smudge Ink. April told me that it’s been really helpful not to have a giant list of things she’s responsible for scraping together a team to accomplish. She’s seen first-hand that hiring people skilled at the work means better results. The work also takes less time because the two agencies she brought on are staffed with experts who focus on their areas of expertise.
I used to go up to employees, asking, “You seem like you could help me write a newsletter. How about you do that? Can you take a photo for social media? Can you help me with this caption? We haven’t had a post in a week.”
- April May
As a business owner with staff on salary, it can be tempting to ask yourself, “Why should I spend outside money? I’ve got all these people here that I’m already paying; I should get them to help me with all this!” Unfortunately, then you’re pulling them away from the work they actually need to be doing and that they’re good at – what you hired them for.
Christine on our team shared this interesting post by The Locavore in NYC about how her brick & mortar store can’t survive without an online presence. Pair that with Katherine Raz's fantastic Storefront Revolt newsletter. I'd love to hear more from you about how things are going if you have a local storefront.
Latest Aeolidia Launch
A Shopify website for m.a.b.e.l.
m.a.b.e.l creates new garments and accessories from vintage quilts in celebration of past and present makers. Owner Paige saw sales growing and brought us in to bring a fresh perspective and build an approachable, on-brand site that is a resource for inspirational (but attainable) products.