I want to start today, by telling you a simple, basic truth about marketing…
People can’t work with you if they don’t know about you.
This is the first and most important principle in the expression, “people buy from people they know, like and trust.”
When it’s spelled out this way, it all sounds pretty obvious, right?
Yet, there are so many entrepreneurs who don’t have enough clients, simply because they are unwilling or even afraid to share their message and to take action on their marketing.
I’ve literally had women say things to me such as, “I don’t like to go around telling people what I do. I rather prefer to wait until I know if that person is a good fit for my business and then I let them know that I’m a coach / consultant / trainer / therapist / virtual assistant etc.”
My response is sometimes: “So how’s that working for you?” 🙂
The thing is, whether you have a professional services business, sell physical products or sell information products or some combination of those, one of the critical ingredients to growing and sustaining your business is to get your business / services / products in front of as many eyeballs as possible.
That means getting in front of many more people than just the few hundred or even a few thousand people who subscribe to your e-zine list, your Facebook fan page, follow your tweets or happen to stumble across your website.
Thus, to truly be successful and grow your small business, your marketing must include tactics and strategies that put your business and your expertise squarely in front of your ideal clients.
Every day.
It is extremely important to actively extend your reach to more and more people within your target market on a continual basis.
So, how do you know which marketing and client attraction tactics are best for your business?
Well, it is those marketing tactics that:
- Effectively reach your target audience where they typically hang out.
- Easily reach a large number of your target audience with little time and energy from your side.
- You enjoy most and thus are most likely to stick with.
- Fit your time frame and budget.
A big part of this is also simple trial and error. So, don’t give up on a tactic after just one attempt. There’s always a learning curve involved, and marketing requires repetition, consistency and continuous improvement.
So, to get those creative juices flowing, below is a list of more than 30 ways to market and get your business in front of more eyeballs.
- Know who you want to work with
- Have a magnetic marketing message and 30s self-intro that engages people
- Know how many clients you need, to reach your income goals per month
- Have an effective marketing plan
- Go to networking events
- Hold a grand opening/re-opening of your business
- Host your own live events and workshops
- Invite target clients to a wine tasting
- Join the board or organizing committee of 1 or more associations
- Speak to groups at least once per week
- Have a client attractive website
- Place your URL in all your social media profiles
- Write a free e-book, special report or e-course to give away
- Use keywords to improve your website ranking
- Submit your website to online directories
- Blog regularly
- Contribute guest articles to blogs
- Hold tele-classes, webinars
- Invest in pay-per-click advertising on sites like Facebook , Google, Yahoo! and Bing
- Submit articles regularly to article sites
- Post videos on YouTube showcasing your expertise
- Join forums where your target market spends time
- Send out a regular newsletter / e-zine
- Create a direct mail campaign – newsletter, postcards, etc.
- Call a client / new prospect each day
- Contact a local magazine to do an article on you
- Invest in “yard” signs
- Pass out flyers
- Have a custom iPhone App developed
- Identify the 20 percent who can get you the 80 percent
- Show up at places that scare you
- Continuously improve your marketing skills
- Have a coach / mentor
There’s truly no limit to the creative ways you can get your business in front of more people and attract more clients. The above list is by no means complete, but it will get you started for now…..and remember, effective marketing and getting more clients ask that you only take one small step every day to expand your reach.
So, start small, take consistent action and expand from there.
I also want you to understand that when you offer a service or product that can improve someone’s life (which most of us do), then you’re doing a disservice to the world by not letting more people know about it.
So, go out there, do your marketing with confidence and create some awesome client chemistry this week!
To Your Success!!
Image source: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
