Step by Step Guide to Market Your Online Business
Most people choose to start an online business because they want to set their own hours and be their own boss.
With the advancement of technology, it has become even easier to start an online business because of the low startup costs and overheads.
According to research, almost 90% of online startups fail within the first 120 days. This is due to the fact that many business owners don’t understand how to market and promote their business online.
Traditional methods of advertising such as newspaper ads and Yellow page listings are expensive and only reach a small audience.
With an online business, you can target your specific customers directly and analyze the results effectively.
In this article, I will provide you with a guide that can help market your online business. You can focus your time and resources to start driving sales and revenues as soon as possible.
Create a Blog with Quality Information
Blogging is important for all types of businesses but it is particularly important for an online business.
Writing blog posts regularly about relevant information will help to establish trust and authority with your audience and can drive traffic to your site as well.
According to Hubspot, companies that blog 15 times each month receives 5 times more traffic than companies that don’t blog. This traffic can increase brand visibility and lead to new customers.
The main challenges I hear from business owners when I consult with them is that they do not know what to write about. Most of them assume they need to write and focus only on their products or services they offer. Every time I hear this I tell them that is the wrong strategy.
The strategy to adopt is to provide solutions to your customer problems. What are the main challenges and issues they face? How do they need help? How will you be able to solve these problems?
Once you start providing them with valuable information they will begin to trust you and eventually become a loyal customer.
Optimize Your Website for SEO
You don’t have to be an SEO expert to optimize your website. All you need to know is how to get your site ranked on search engines by utilizing keywords that your target market will be looking for.
Once you figure out the keywords you need to make sure you use them throughout the website and your URLs, Title Tags, Heading Tags (H1, H2, H3), Alt image tags and content.
Another aspect that is important for SEO is you constantly add new blog posts and focus on long and detailed articles. Getting inbound links is also a great way to drive traffic back to your site and for SEO.
Social Media Platforms
You need to make sure that you have a website presence on all the major social media platforms. This is one of the most important ways to reach and connect with your target market and drive traffic to your blog.
When you share your content on twitter and facebook you immediately increase brand recognition and authority. Interacting on social media humanizes your brand and can increase the chances of increasing sales of your products or services.
Without social media, you are limiting your audience to only a few people who are aware of your business. E
very new social media platform you join will increase the chances of getting more traffic. The more valuable content you share, the more inbound traffic you will receive and this can lead to more leads and more conversions.
Build an Email List
I keep telling business owners to focus on an email list. SEO and social media are good to generate traffic but if Google or FB changes their algorithms then this could have a negative impact on your viewership.
Building an email list can be a huge asset as no one can limit your access to your subscribers.
It is always good to convince people visiting your website to opt-in to your email list by providing them with valuable content, free advice, ebook or a webinar. Make sure whatever you provide to your customer it holds real value.
Guest Post on Popular Websites
Guest posting is a great way to generate traffic back to your website and also to build your credibility in your niche. It will allow you to reach a new audience who may never have found out about you.
The advantages of guest posting are:
- Drives traffic to your site
- You get to align your brand with industry leaders
- build a personal brand
- establish yourself as a leader in your niche
- Generate new leads
Before guest posting, you should publish 10 amazing pieces of content on your own site. This way publishers can read your content and get a feel of your work before they acknowledge you.
If you understand and implement these 5 strategies right away you will have an upper edge amongst other business owners.
Recognizing that providing your customers with true value via blog posts, email, and social media will help you reach your target and connect with your prospects to generate new leads.