by Mike Schwenk, Associate Marketing Manager.Posted on April 24th, 2013
If you've ever looked around an wondered how other people manage to successfully promote their business or opportunity—always having leads and a consistent stream of income……here are 12 tips that will help you promote your own business online, and get closer to reaching your financial goals.
Tip #1 – Know Who You're Talking To
1. Go to Google and find the top 5 sites related to the opportunity you're promoting.
2. Head over to Alexa and/or QuantCast and check each of those sites, one at a time.
3. Some sites won't display any data, but for those that do…look at the average age, gender, income, education, and other demographics to see who your target audience consists of.
4. Write down this info or save it in a text document.
5. To be really thorough, also write down the biggest problems, interests, desires, objections, and goals you market has…that relate to what you're promoting.
Tip #2 – Build Your Personal Brand
1. Get a domain name (I recommend NameCheap)
2. Get a hosting account (I recommend HostGator)
3. Install WordPress or find someone at sites like FreeLancer.com to do it for you.
5. Find a theme you like. You can find plenty of free ones by searching, or look at sites like WooThemes to find premium themes.
6. Install Google Analytics or other tracking software to know where your traffic is coming from, how long they are staying, etc.
7. Find an autoresponder platform like Aweber, MailChimp, or GetResponse and add an opt-in form to your site, in order to start building your list.
8. Consistently follow up with your list.
9. Blog consistently to deliver valuable content and attract more traffic.
Tip #3 – Get Social
1. Create a profile on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
2. Use a real name and not a product name, so you're a bit more credible.
3. Make sure to include links to the site you should now have.
4. On Facebook, look for groups related to your market's interests and start interacting.
5. Consider building your OWN Facebook group. You can create an on-going community, or create a group specifically for an upcoming launch of a new opportunity.
6. If you have photos, picture quotes, inspirational images, infographics, product shots, or any other visuals to share…trying adding Pinterest to your marketing mix.
Tip #4 – Attend Events
1. Think of keywords related to your niche, and do a Google search for that keywords with words like "event", "networking", "trade show", "seminar", "convention", etc. For example: online marketing seminars 2013 will give you many different resources to check out and find upcoming events.
2. Get business cards created at sites like ClubFlyers.com
3. Come up with a plan. Write down the top 3-5 things you want to get out of going to the event.
4. Work on describing what you do/offer and try to wrap it into a 30-60 second "elevator speech".
5. Network with as many people possible at the event. If you are at a seminar and the presentations will be recorded, consider spending your time networking and going through the content later.
Tip #5 – Advertising
1. Set aside a budget for advertising your business.
2. With the demographic info you should have by now, check out sites like Rent-A-List.com and AdlickMedia.com for different services you can use to promote your offers.
3. If you're just getting started, you can also use free classifieds and other free resources like 1StopClassifieds.com and BusinessWorldList.com
4. Remember to track your advertising to discover which ads are working the best.
5. Test different approaches to see if you can improve your conversions.
6. Remember that advertising (like many other things) requires CONSISTENCY.
Tip #6 – Webinars/Interviews
1. For interviews, ask the product creator to do a short interview.
2. Use that content as a way to rank for the product name.
3. If you have a list and can get the product creator to agree, offer to connect them with your audience in exchange for a commission on whatever is sold at the end of the webinar.
Tip #7 – Ask For Product Samples To Hand Out
1. Pretty straightforward: depending on the product, see if you can get any samples or trials you can give out.
Tip #8 – Look For Partnerships
1. Find list owners with a similar audience but different products, and ask for (or buy) a solo mailing to their subscribers. You can also use e-mail PPC to reach targeted subscribers.
2. If you also have a list, offer to do a solo mailing in exchange for the same to their list.
Tip #9 – Offer Consulting
For those who purchase a product or service through you, offer to help them get started.
Tip #10 – Offer Bonuses
Create a bonus that compliments what you're promoting and offer it for free when others buy through you.
Tip #11 – Create Review Videos
1. Purchase Camtasia (Mac/PC), Screenflow (Mac), or download a tool like Jing for free.
2. Do a walkthrough of the site, review the member's area (if allowed), demonstrate the product, or simply get in front of the camera and do a review about what you're promoting.
3. Upload to YouTube and/or other video sharing sites.
4. Make sure to include keywords (like the product name) in the title, description, and even the file name of the video you're uploading.
Tip #12 – Write Reviews Or Articles On Topics Related To What You Want To Promote
1. Write the content.
2. Be sure to include keywords in the Title, first sentence, at least two other times in the content, and in the last sentence (if you can manage all of this while keeping the article interesting)
3. Submit the content to sites like HubPages and eZineArticles
