3 Simple Strategies to Marketing Your Business
Working for yourself and juggling family life at the same time can be pretty tricky, wouldn’t you agree?
If you’ve got kids, you’ve got extra mouths to feed. Lying in bed all day and keeping your fingers crossed that money is going to start falling out of the sky like some divine miracle is NOT a reliable business strategy. If you want to make money and you want to build a profitable business that can support you and your family, you NEED to put the work in.
That means you’ve got to market your business and just when you think you’ve done enough marketing, you’ve got to market some more. The truth is that finding your niche and discovering what it is that you want to sell is just half of the battle. Now that you’ve found something that you’re truly passionate about, you have to get out and tell people about it.
So, how are you going to spread the word of your business to as many people as possible?
Don’t worry, I’m going to help you market your business using 3 simple strategies that won’t cost you a penny (and no, that’s not a joke!)
1. Be SEEN
If you’re in charge of your income, you need to be seen. People need to know that your business exists and if you’re too busy living the ‘hermit life’ and hiding away from the world, nobody is going to see you or your business.
You have to try different things to be seen such as public speaking, social media and even something as simple as sending out more emails. It doesn’t necessarily have to be business-related either. You just need to get your face out there, let people know you exist and BE SEEN.
The hard truth is that it is not anyone else’s job to remember that you’re in business. Sure, you might have sent out emails and given people your business card, but that’s not enough. It’s up to you to let people know about your business. If you don’t, your business isn’t going to grow or be profitable because you’re not being seen.
Leverage your social media to share as much as possible about your business. Tweet about it, blog about it, do whatever you can to build your visibility and be seen by as many people as possible. Work on building your email list and don’t be shy about using it!
Your business won’t scale miraculously overnight. Yes, you’ve probably heard stories of that happening to people, but you can’t build a business on exceptions. You have to build your business on rules.
Making money matters. So, if you want your business to make money, you’ve got to be SEEN.
2. Be HEARD
As someone who spent a fair amount of time in the trenches of high school, not everyone learns the same way. Some learn by seeing, and others learn by hearing. So, you’ve got to find ways to cater to different types of learners.
It’s not enough just to be seen. You also need to be heard.
You have to get talking and start spreading the word about your business to anyone who will listen. People need to know the person behind the business. It’s much harder to disconnect with a relationship than it is with a business.
So, you need to allow your existing customers and potential customers to get to know you. To do this, you need to personalize yourself. You need a VOICE.
Hosting a live video on social media is a great way to engage with your audience and it gives them a chance to get to know the face and the person behind the business. Another way to be heard is to start a weekly podcast where you share helpful tips and information with your listeners. You could even leave some voicemails for people, which takes your email game to a whole new level.
Think about how you can get your voice out there and I don’t mean just literally. You need your own voice, a voice that makes you stand out from everyone else in your industry. Work on your personal brand and don’t compare yourself to your competitors. Be yourself and let your audience get to know the real YOU.
3. Be HELPFUL
When you’re truly helping others, you’re already ahead. Being helpful doesn’t always mean that you’re helping someone using your product or services. You can be helpful to others by providing genuine advice without asking for anything in return.
If you’re constantly trying to sell your products and services without really helping anyone to solve their problem, you’re going to have a hard time scaling your business.
A great way to be helpful is by posting resource links on social media. It doesn’t have to be something belonging to you, but it does have to be genuinely helpful to others. By doing this, your audience will see that you’re not all about filling your pockets with their hard-earned cash. You’re someone that actually wants to help them and that will go a long way towards gaining the trust of your future customers.
Let’s take Oprah as an example. She’s an expert at sharing resources. Oprah built her entire empire by being helpful and it didn’t matter whether she was an expert on something or not because she was still helping people.
Think about how you can be more helpful. It can be as simple as training people how to use your product or service. It could be offering helpful training, tips, and tools that are related to your field of expertise.
Something that a lot of people don’t even think about is their offer. Saying you’re in business without letting people know where and how to get your offer is a huge mistake. Offers are an extension of your help. It’s the most helpful thing you can do in business.
After all, whether you sell products or services, your offering needs to solve a problem for your audience. So, make sure that you’re letting people know that your offering exists and how they can do business with you.
Watch the video related to this podcast and blog post below: