When the world wide web became popular in the early 90s, we all knew that our lives were going to be very different. The internet has actually been around since the 60s, but didn’t enjoy widespread popularity until an engineer named Tim Berners-Lee developed the world’s first web browser for his personal use in 1989. The rest, as they say, is history.

Whether you’re a small business owner who’s opening your doors for the first time, or looking to breathe some new life into your business, it can often be difficult to figure out how to start. There are many full-service business consulting firms that are willing to perform market research and make specific recommendations about the best ways to perform targeted advertising. Most are completely legitimate, and their services are a good investment. Unfortunately, they’re also a lot more expensive than most small business owners can afford.

When email first became popular in the 90s, it revolutionized the way that we communicate. Traditional postal service earned the satirical nickname “snail mail,” and we officially entered the information age. These days, most business communication takes place through email. In fact, between their jobs and their personal lives, many people have multiple email accounts. Fast forward to the present day. Email is still alive and well, and in widespread use on a daily basis. Current estimates report that almost 300 billion emails are sent each day, and that number is expected to go up to 350 billion over the next few years. This doesn’t include private messaging on social media, tweets, or Facebook posts.