In honour of Small Business Saturday this weekend, we've pulled out some of our most helpful blog posts for companies and freelancers. Covering everything from email marketing tips to the best books to read, there's something for everyone regardless of business size, budget or industry.

Great examples of content marketing

“…the quality of content being made available for free gets better and better every year, raising the bar for what is expected. Being heard above this endless noise is a huge challenge for businesses and website owners.”

How to write a white paper that will help you sell

“A good white paper can convince a customer that you are aware of the problems they face, have an ideal business or consumer solution, show you are a thought leader and help to sell more products and services.”

Creating better product identity with new colours and icons

“…we wanted to give our products more identity and make it easier to distinguish between them and where they fit in our range, as well as making the entire site easier to digest. In a nutshell, we gave all of our products their own colour and unique icon.”

22 books every web professional should read

“Whether you’re a small business owner, web designer, or just interested in how other companies operate, take a look at our list of top picks. And if you don’t want to stray too far from a screen, most of these titles are available as ebooks as well.”

10 fantastic print ads for design inspiration

“One of the best parts of print advertising is thinking of new concepts and ideas. The fun part of a print ad is that you get a lot more space to play with compared to an online advert, and a little more room to be creative.”

How to create great ideas

“When people think of creating great ideas they often imagine sudden flashes of inspiration which come to people by sheer good fortune in classic ‘Eureka!’ moments. The reality is that anyone can generate amazing ideas through methodical processes and, in this post, we’ll outline some effective methods of doing this so you won’t have to wait to form your next idea.”

Our top tips on using Pinterest for small businesses

“Getting involved with the community on Pinterest is great for your business. It has the obvious benefits of driving more traffic to your site and increasing your chances of receiving positive word of mouth and new customers. Beyond this, it will keep you informed of developments in your industry and give you content that can spark new ideas.”

14 must-read articles for increasing your website’s conversion rate

“No matter how big or small your website, if you sell a product, offer downloads or want people to contact you (i.e. there is a specific goal you want the user to complete), Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) should be a priority.”

5 ways to deal with a high checkout abandonment rate

“The global average checkout abandonment rate is anywhere between 45% and 95% depending on who you believe. Regardless of what the number actually is, it’s clear to see e-commerce sites could be making much higher conversions than they currently are.

Let’s have a look at why there’s a high checkout abandonment rate and what online retailers can do to reverse the trend.”

A beginner's guide to selling yourself as a freelance web designer

“Learning to sell yourself effectively as a freelance web designer is hugely important, but without a clear plan of action it can be difficult to get the results you want. This skill is essential to succeeding at any stage of your career/business and, even if you’ve got a large amount of experience, it’s always useful to update yourself and find opportunities to optimise your work life.”

(Part 2 and Part 3 are also available).

Using gamification to sell web hosting and domain names

“Gamification is the principle of taking mechanisms found in games and then applying them to situations which are not usually considered “game-like”. Examples include a sign-up process, account management, using a product, interacting with your brand or lifestyle choices (e.g. fitness). This is most often done through rewards, recognition, discovery and feedback.”

Freelance Web Designers: 5 ways to go the extra mile for your customers

“With this level of competition, it’s really important for freelance web designers to find ways to differentiate themselves from others. A great way to achieve this is to provide customer service that consistently exceeds expectations.”

Handy tips for streamlining your customer support

“Customer support is one of the biggest challenges of any business. Get it right and you’re instantly ahead of the competition. Get it wrong and it’ll keep coming back to haunt you.”

How to work effectively from home

“Starting your own business or going freelance means you are likely to start working from home. As great as this may sound, there are some common traps that you can fall into which will dramatically affect your productivity and personality.”

14 articles to improve your email marketing

“A lot of website owners cite their mailing list as being the most valuable – and profitable – tool for their online business. Whether you run niche sites, a web hosting company, a blog, or any other type of business, getting your visitors to subscribe has endless benefits. With that in mind, we’ve sourced (and written!) a collection of articles to help you write, design and promote your emails.”

4 things you should do before an important business meeting

“More and more business is being done remotely these days, with email a particularly convenient tool for swapping information and ideas. The number one thing to remember in any meeting (including interviews) is to be yourself, but there are a few other things you can do to make a meeting run smoothly.”

19 must-read articles for dealing with difficult clients

“Whatever kind of web professional you are, one of the most challenging and frustrating aspects of your work can be dealing with difficult clients. Even with endless amounts of patience and a willingness to readily compromise, clients who don’t understand, don’t pay, or have unreasonable requests and expectations can really grind you down.”

What's your top small business tip? Let us know in the comments!