How do you tell people you’re an expert if you’ve just started your business? This is all about creating an instant readership and fanbase. Getting known quickly is much easier if you’re online than if you’re offline. In other words online marketing for small business if done correctly can be highly powerful and highly profitable. Years ago when you were just starting your business you would have to do a lot of hard yards to get known. And this would mean that your small business may start build its reputation after a lengthy period of time. Now I’m going to run through 3 steps of off site online marketing that will significantly boost your online presence and credibility.
Guest posting can be highly effective for regularly posts a small business but you must aim in the right blogs. For instance lets say you’re a financial planner. Now there might be a heap of financial planning blogs out there which keep professionals up to date with the latest news and information in the industry. But there’s no point regularly posting in a financial planning blog if you want to generate leads. Instead, why not look for retiree blogs or small business blogs. Reason is that you will have a captive audience who are interested in financial planning.
Make sure your guest posts are written with the objective of solving a problem. Effective online marketing involves identifying a problem that others are experiencing and telling these people that you have a solution to this problem. Believe me, this will make you an instant expert and someone people will turn to for advice. Lets go back to our financial planning example. It may be the case that retirees are experiencing financial problems through a drop in the share market. Perhaps you have the knowledge and skills to show them investment alternatives. Why not submit a guest blog post on that topic? Always look to solve peoples problems.
This is where you tell the reader to do something ie a call to action. So your guest post has given them a summary of a solution they are looking for and you’ve shown your expertise in the area. Now you want to turn this engaged reader into a satisfied customer. You do this in your signature block. Now don’t just say ‘click here for more information’. Make your call to action appealing and worded in a way that feels like the reader must click your link. For instance you could say something like ‘Want the inside information on profitable alternative investments? ‘. The last 2 words are your hyperlink words. Or you could say “Go to my website for a free half hour discussion on your financial situation. ” You could also offer a free report. This is a great way to showcase your expertise.
A blog is essential to maximizing your online presence, but if you don’t take the time to keep your blog updated and exciting, you aren’t living up to your full potential. Taking the time to come up with blog topics and get them posted can be tough. Especially when you’re busy with everything else required running your successful company. With some quick tricks and tips you can keep your blog active and draw more readers in.
Your blog should not be an ongoing sales letter. You should be offering informative articles about your products, services, industry and the benefits involved. You should offer new information with each post and keep your information current to what’s going on in your industry. Blog readers want to know what’s going on NOW and how that affects them and ties your business in.
Regular posting can be difficult, but most blog sites offer scheduled blogs. This gives you the ability to write a batch of blogs all at once and schedule them to be released. The rule of thumb is one blog per day. No more than once a day as this can be overwhelming and come off as spam. If you post only a couple times a week or less, your readers may forget to come back.
Most blogs offer widgets and RSS so you can promote your blog on social networking sites, your website and through affiliates. You can also give readers the option to have your blog update on their iGoogle and other home pages. When they sign on each day, your newest post will be front and center. You know having a blog is important to the success of your business, but for your blog to be successful you need to keep it updated and full of up-to-date information.
Niki is the founder/CEO of Writers 4 You Consulting, a firm specializing in meeting the needs of clients in all industries by providing top quality writing and Internet marketing services through the use of a highly skilled writing staff and her. She is currently developing a product line of ebooks and online webinars to help writers and Internet marketers learn how to take their business and status to the next level.