Here are the last five suggestions for using internet marketing to promote your business on a budget. (You can read the first five here.)
6. Write an email newsletter
What’s it good for? Getting more leads and customer transactions
Top tips
- Don’t duplicate effort: what you write in your blog can also go in your newsletter
- Use one to conduct a survey and find out what you need to know straight from the horse’s mouth
- Introduce new services without the expense of a traditional direct mail campaign
7. Use Google Adwords
What’s it good for? Getting more leads
Top tips
- Choosing the right keywords is essential: you need a good balance of popular (i.e. people are searching on it) but precisely defined (i.e. only your potential customers are searching on it). (See my Choosing keywords for SEO blog post.)
- Keep an eye on expense: the costs can rack up without any conversion if you’re not careful
8. Write a guest blog post (like this one)
What’s it good for? Expanding reach and raising awareness
Top tips
- Find industry blogs that interest you and your customers: that’s where you´re potential customers will be too
- Offer to write a free guest blog post and you’ll make a friend for life: most people struggle for ideas and time to keep their blog up-to-date
- Promote your expertise, not your company: no one likes reading adverts
9. Offer free information on your website
What’s it good for? Getting more leads and improving conversion rates
Top tips
- Make sure you’re giving useful information: you’re doing this to improve your credibility
- Have a PDF download on your website: but make sure you they need to submit their email address before they’re sent it so you can contact them again
- Run an email campaign of a sequence of tips: you’ll capture readers’ attention over a longer period
10. Make podcasts
What’s it good for? Getting more leads and improving conversion rates
Top tips
- Make sure you’re giving useful information: you’re doing this to improve your credibility
- Make it interesting and relevant: people will be more likely to keep watching and forward it on to friends and colleagues
- Don’t make it too ‘heavy’ or ‘dry’: bear in mind that people might be listening to it away from their PC on their MP3 player or in the car
Catherine Every at EveryWord
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