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If you are a small business, chances are you are limited in time, finances, resources, some technical know-how, or a combination of these.
You probably won’t have a large company budget if you’re just starting out, either. The good news is that you don’t need as much as you think to get your business noticed, find the right customers, and start earning cash.
You may not always be able to afford every shiny new object you want, but if you want to survive well beyond the six-month life span of many small businesses, then you have to market yourself.
In fact, you can’t No to market yourself, especially online.
The “build it and they will come” methodology is ancient history in the world of small business marketing. Now is the time to think “wake up and I’ll go to them”. More established businesses, as you know, have the advantage of a bigger budget, but with these small business marketing ideas you will have a strategic advantage. Not to mention it’s all basically free!
1. Get a Website, Would You?
If you haven’t already, get your business online (GIBO). Seriously, that’s exactly what Google said, having partnered with Intuit and Homestead to produce it GYBO initiative. For up to a year, you can create a simple website, get your own domain name, and customize it however you want—all for free!
Of course, there will be a fee after your year-long trial period ends, but it will be worth it and you will have more than six months to grow your business and customer base.
People will look for you online no matter what you do. You’ll need more than a Facebook page or space on Yelp to give potential customers a way to contact you. Websites are the number one way to house your brand.
2. Love Your Email List
What do you do once your website is ready? Do you A) Sit and wait? B) Obsessed with design or tech issues you’re having? Or do you C) set up the bare basics including social media icons and email newsletter opt-ins?
If you answered B…well, it happened. (We feel for you.)
Having an e-mail newsletter may not work for some business models, but it is undeniably the holy grail of internet marketing.
Here’s why:
You may not be able to physically reach and interact with each of your customers or prospects, but you want to be as close as possible. Email lets you do this in the most direct way possible.
Think about it: people can visit your website, they can follow you on social media, they can share your content until they turn blue, and they can easily forget about you and never come back.
You’re not a business owner to let that happen, are you? Do you really leave your bankroll open like that?
No, that’s not you at all. You’re reading this and it means you know the importance of staying on top of an effective marketing strategy.
Mailchimp, aWeber, and Constant Contact are all email marketing software programs you can use to make your life easier; and Mailchimp is $FREE.99
3. Blogs, Blogs, Blogs, and Other Blogs
Blogging isn’t just for tech-savvy grandmother fans and crafty housewives anymore. Blogging is the next best tool that will allow you to get in front of your ideal audience—and hopefully potential customers—and this is because it updates your website with regular content that people are looking for.
Notes: This gives your website bonus points in search engines.
Of course, it will take a bit of search engine optimization know-how to get your blog posts to rank well on Google. If you can understand and embrace the whole concept of having a blog from the start, then you’ve done about 85% of the work.
Creating a blog for your business and website is not an overnight task. It’s definitely not something you can twiddle your thumbs on or cross your fingers over. You have to be careful about planning content for it.
The rule of good practice is to schedule time to write your blog. If you don’t have time for that, it’s always there content management service You can find out. For a fee, writers can do the work for you while giving you more time to focus on your business.
The most important thing, in the end, is that you make blogging a priority.
4. Be Social
Social media is a delicious sock filler from the internet marketing gods.
But that’s not the end of the world. As with blogging and maintaining an email newsletter, it will require an investment of time and energy to keep up with social media.
One of the biggest struggles many small business owners have with social media is not managing it, but managing the overload that comes with it.
The more you follow other people, the more you have to follow. The more people that follow you, the more pressure on you to stay with them too. You are in traffic coming towards you from both directions.
(Okay, so don’t see it as oncoming traffic because that sounds scary.)
If you can learn how to make social media work for you, then you will have a very helpful ally on your side.
What other internet marketing techniques have boosted your business? Is there anything you are currently struggling with? Share your comments below, and if this article was helpful, share it with your friends!
