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We’ve blogged about it before, but it’s always good to return to the subject of cybersecurity. The reality is, every business is going to suffer a cyber attack. Each day your business goes without protection is one day closer to that happening. Check out the below to ensure your assets are covered.

Things to consider

Facebook was down for a total of six hours on Monday, October 4. If it can happen to them, it can happen to you too.

Something else to consider is your cloud. Currently, less than one-third of businesses monitor abnormal behavior across their cloud environment. More important than the cloud however, is your email. Currently, 94% of breaches enter through the email.

When looking to protect your digital assets, think of your enterprise wide system, and what you need to do to cover your bases. Check out some below tips for small business from the FCC.

FCC Cybersecurity Tips

Train your employees. Make sure your employees know to use strong passwords, and the information below.
Keep clean machines. Make sure you’re operating on the most updated software.
Get a firewall. Also ensure employees that work remote have a firewall installed on their system.
Backup important information. By this point, this is a given. But it’s always good to have a reminder.
Create accounts for employees. This prevents use of business computers by unauthorized individuals (in other words, your children).
Secure your Wi-Fi.
Use best practices when it comes to online banking. Ensure your bank is using the most recent anti-fraud software available.
Limit employee access. No employee should have access to all data. If you can, also limit what software they can download.
Passwords/authentication. Currently, two-factor authentication is the safest way when it comes to securing your passwords.

If you’re looking for more information to guide you in owning a retail business, subscribe to American Quilt Retailer today. Already a subscriber? No worries—join our Facebook group for insights and dialogue from industry specialists like you. And don’t forget, you can always purchase single issues if you prefer that instead.

Email blasts are one of the most insightful forms of digital marketing. The statistics that free sites, like MailChimp and Constant Contact, provide open up a world of ideas for how to get your ideas out there fast.

Check out these tips to learn how you can grow your email list with quality customers.

Leave a sign-up sheet. You’d be surprised how many people will leave their information when you talk about everything your email blasts have to offer. Also print off your social media timeline so clients can get a sneak peak of your awesome feed and gain more followers that way too.
Always carry your business card. Yup, this old trick really does work. Business cards provide a tangible way to recall discussions and act as a constant reminder of your business when left on a table or desk.
Organize a giveaway. The giveaway can double as a sign up drive to reach goals you’ve set for yourself on how many more people you want to add. Keep track of the data during and after the giveaway to make sure the recruits you got are still engaging with your content.
Connect through social media. Encourage people to sign up for your newsletter in the bio of your Instagram and Pinterest. Sprinkle a couple posts in your feed every now and then reminding people to sign up. And don’t forget to reverse the process; always include your social media handles in your email blasts.
Don’t give up on bounce backs. That’s right, it’s okay to be pesky. Sometimes reaching out can help troubleshoot, or provide more insight on what your customers want to see. The more you tailor your content to what your customers want, the more excited they will be when they see your notification come through.

Have other tips for what’s worked for you? We’d love to hear them! Comment or start a discussion in our Facebook page about how you’ve grown your online following.