With the New Year comes the perfect time to start fresh and renew your commitment to effectively marketing your business. Here are a few ideas from Naz Creative on marketing your business in 2010.
1. Blog It
How many times have we all said, “You know, I think I’ll start a blog,” and then not follow through with the idea? Blogs have become a powerful and important internet marketing tool. What was once considered to be a fun little hobby is now serious business. Blogs can increase your search engine visibility, give you expert level credibility and they can give your customers a place to communicate with you. To get the most benefit from your blogging, flag categories and make them search engine friendly with tags. In addition, remember to create back links from relevant words in your blog posts to your website.
2. Let Your Customers Sell Your Product
Customer testimonials are one of the most powerful forms of advertising there is. This year, ask several of your best customers to jot down a few positive notes about their experiences with you. Testimonials are great material for just about any piece of correspondence including emails, newsletters and websites. Testimonials are absolutely essential to any powerful marketing plan, especially web marketing.
3. Advertise More
Find out where your competitors are advertising and give it a try, or try a brand new option. The key to finding good places to advertise is not to panic and bail out early! Many times business owners give up on advertising before it has a chance to work, so be tough and give it a few tries before throwing in the towel.
4. Generate Some Buzz - Press Releases
Give people a reason to talk about you. Some great ways to get people to notice your business are by offering free food or drinks, hosting a contest, or participating in a charity project. Don’t forget to distribute a press release to generate even more buzz!
5. Roll Out the Welcome Mat
Promote your business in 2010 by hosting an event. Ideas for becoming a charming host include hosting an award presentation, celebrating your favorite customers with a reception or even a simple open house. Remember that hosted events are most successful when they are adequately advertised.
6. Share Your Plans with Others
Use a calendar like the one offered by iGoogle. By adding your events to the calendar and allowing others to see it, they’ll be more aware and more likely to take an interest in what you are doing.
7. Get Out of Your Rut
Pick something about your business and change it. Get a new logo, print new business cards, or even re-vamp your entire website! Adding a colorful splash of variety to “business as usual” is an excellent, time-tested method of perking up sales.
8. Ask Your Customers What They Think
Get ideas and learn how to improve your services by sending out a customer survey. Your customers’ ideas and answers to your questions may surprise you! Customer surveys are the best way to find out what your customers really think about what you are offering.
9. Go Contact Crazy - E-mail Marketing Campaigns
Collect email addresses by adding an opt-in form to your website and your blog. Communicate regularly with your email list by sending web-exclusive offers to your customers. As email has rapidly become the communication method of choice for many, email marketing is a cost-effective and successful method of promoting your business.
10. Get the Facts - Analytics are the way
Track visits to your website and learn where your visits are coming from. Is your traffic targeted, “good” traffic? Google Analytics is an excellent tool for educating yourself on the facts of your website
No comments:
Post a Comment