Electronic Marketing is More Than Your Website

Okay, so you've spent months tweaking your website and now that the honeymoon is over you are wondering how to really drive the traffic. Or maybe you have had one for years and now you are wondering how to launch into the deep water of online marketing. Good news, there are endless ways to do it. Because this blog is devoted to small businesses and individuals I'm going to assume that we're working with a very limited budget and we want to focus our time and energy on things that pack a big punch (meaningful communication to a specific audience, not mass branding). Here are some outlets to consider:

1. Build an email list – Ask your clients if they would like to receive periodic emails regarding tips or special offers. This is an easy way to keep your base consumer “in-the-know” while not spending a lot of time and money at the post office. You can do this yourself or subscribe to a service such as Constant Contact to help. These services are very affordable and offer you many tools that provide feedback so you can hone your email marketing skills. Be polite and informative. No one wants to give their information to a questionable source so be sure your clients know you will not abuse the privilege of their participation.
2. Start a blog – Short for Web-Log, this is a great way to establish credibility. Less intrusive than an email list, consumers can visit on their own time to read and review your thoughts and project status. Good postings over time will help build trust and confidence. There are many free or low cost services such as Google Blogger (used here) that will help you stay organized and even host reader comments.
3. Facebook & Twitter – I mention these by name because they are the two big players in social networking and can be used several ways. First, you can build communities around these networks and send information out to them (much like your blog and email). Second, you can provide a way to let your clients do this for you such as the “Share it” links I provide for you just to the right of this post. Facebook also allows you to take out a paid advertisement that targets your audience. This leads me to my last point…
4. Google, Yahoo, and more – Sometimes you just need to put your money where your mouth is. It is very easy to establish accounts with your chosen search engines for paid placement. Most will let you set a monthly budget that starts at $1.00 a day and go as high as you like. These can be tweaked over time and there are no contracts so you can pause your accounts anytime. Although, like stocks, a long term plan is best. Set it, learn from it, and stay the course.

Remember that getting people to visit your website or business is not really the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to develop an ongoing relationship with your clients and continue to be their first choice for the services you offer.