Posted on December 13, 2011
Online advertising is a great way to get your business out there and you have access to a worldwide market, which is A LOT of people!
Consider setting up a website and/or consider launching an ad campaign with Google AdWords, Microsoft, or Yahoo.
With the online ad campaign, you set a daily budget and Google, Microsoft, or Yahoo (choose one or all three) will showcase your ad every time someone searches for something related to your niche. For example, let's say you have a tax planning service. For a fraction of the cost, you can set up an online ad for your tax planning company easier than you could put an ad in the newspaper.
Every time someone does a search for something related to tax planning (or whatever keywords you choose), your ad has a chance of showing up. If someone clicks on your ad then you will be charged a small advertising fee of around $2. If no one clicks on your ad, you don't get charged. Consider newspapers that charge you whether someone reads your ad or not, see the benefit here?
This is a great way to reach a large audience on a limited budget. And just think, your audience is ANYONE with a connection to the internet. This means cell phones, laptops, desktops, Tablets, you name it! As long as someone has a connection to the internet...they could be a potential customer. Read more...
Posted on November 16, 2011
One of the things that you need to accomplish when running any type of business is outplaying your competitors. The reason for this is pretty obvious; you want to stand out from the crowd so more people will prefer doing business with you. Here's how you can make it happen:
Start by getting an amazing website that has all it takes to be the talk of the town. Most people launch their business online by building their own website. Well, don't just build any site but build something that is phenomenal. It's always smart to start a business with a bang, you know? Hire a team of experts to give you the kind of website that you're looking for. It must look professional, interactive, and extremely interesting. Most importantly, it must be different from your competitors' websites.
Run exciting promotions. Strike while the iron is hot. Right after launching your phenomenal website, create some serious noise online by running promotions or by resorting to any type of effective marketing gimmicks. For example, you can send eBooks to your first 100 visitors or run a contest to promote awareness fast. Yes, you will need to give something out but you can be assured that this will help in attracting more attention in the online arena.
Establish your expertise. This is something that you can't just remove from the equation. You see, buyers online do their homework before they make a purchase. They ensure that the seller that they would want to do business with is really an authority in his chosen niche. If you can't prove that, you can't really expect decent sales. How to convince people that you're an expert? Well, you can start by launching an aggressive content marketing campaign. Write articles, create a blog, and make newsletters to share at least a slice of your expertise. Talk about recent issues related to your niche, discuss and solve your prospects problems, and provide these people with the best answers to their questions. Read more...
Posted on October 26, 2011
When preparing to launch a new business there are many elements that need to be taken into consideration. Will it be run from home or from a storefront? How many employees will there be? Is the business plan complete; is the business plan for a bank or investor? What is the budget going to be? The list goes on and on. One element that is often overlooked is the company website.
If done correctly, small business web design can provide immediate credibility to a new company. How in the world can a website give a new business credibility? Glad you asked. Before someone goes out to buy anything, eat somewhere or hire a company to perform a task... they turn to the internet.
Today the internet is used from more than watching movies and playing games. Today the internet is used to research just about anything and everyone. When deciding whether or not to go to a new restaurant most people hop on the net and read the reviews about the place, check out the menu, see where they are located and hours of operation. No one wants to drive across town to eat dinner and find the place is closed or that they serve crappy food.
The internet has made for educated consumers. If a company isn't on the net and people can't find out anything about them, they are less likely to become a client/customer of that business. With that being said it is important to point out that regardless of whether your new company is brick and mortar based or web based, your website is going to provide the first impression to your potential client/customer. Read more...