| |
|
|
7 Effective Strategies to Get More Clients Online |
|
|
|
|
Marketing Articles -
Marketing: Strategy Articles
|
|
Written by Donna Gunter
|
 I've been in business now for 7 years as the owner of a
virtual company. That means that roughly 97% of my clients have
come to me with no face-to-face contact. I prefer to conduct most
of my marketing from the comfort of my own home, rather than getting
dressed, driving to a networking event, struggling to find a parking
space, forking over $30 or so for the event, and proceed to be
uncomfortable because I really don't want to be there.
Several years ago I thought moving that moving to the big city and
networking with the "big girls" was exactly what I wanted to do and
would be the bonanza I had been seeking to grow my business.
Hindsight is always 20/20, and as I reflect on that experience, I
realize that I just don't network in person effectively -- not because
I don't know how, but because I just don't care to do so.
Face-to-face networking is hard work for me, as it requires me to put
on my "extrovert" face and go out and "meet and greet" the crowd.
I've been told that I do this well, but I find the experience to be
tiring and draining because it's not something that I do naturally, nor
does it tap into my gifts and talents.
Fighting my "inner introvert" has always been a struggle for me, as I
tend to end up in careers and situations requiring much face-to-face
contact. If you read many business books, most have the same
message: the way to get clients is to build relationships with
them. This usually means attendance at networking events or
professional association meetings, visiting with clients at their
offices, volunteering on boards of charitable organizations, etc. Those
strategies are quite effective, but what strategies would someone use
to build relationships virtually with people?
Here are 7 strategies I've used over the last 7 years to help me build virtual relationships and get more clients online:
1. A relationship-building website. Creating a website that
is content rich for your target audience is key. When a visitor
arrives at your site, she wants to know that you feel her pain,
understand her problem, and have a ready solution to help her.
Having page after page of information about how wonderful you does
little to reassure her that you are the solution to her problem.
Some ways that your website can convey that you can solve the problems
of your visitors are by providing testimonials from clients, case
studies, free articles, free reports, online assessments, online
surveys, and links to other online resources that might help.
2. Email newsletter. Creating and publishing an email
newsletter on a regular basis is one of the best marketing moves I've
made to date in my business. The format has changed from year to year,
but here's what I find that works: put "you" into your
newsletter. If you plan to publish your newsletter every Thursday
morning, for example, then create a schedule for yourself so that you
can do so. Shorter newsletters that can be read (or skimmed)
quickly are the best. Make sure that your newsletter's subject
line is compelling (and use personalization if your email broadcast
system has that feature) to ensure that a greater number readers choose
to open and read your current issue.
My newsletter consists of a personal reflection from me (what's
happening in my life either personally or professionally), a feature
article to help my readers and demonstrate my expertise, and then 2
resources that my readers will find useful. A great newsletter
doesn't have to be long and complex, but should give you readers a
strong sense of "you". ConstantContact.com and EzineDirector.com
are two reputable services you can use to broadcast your email
newsletter.
3. Blog. I was slow to embrace the blogging craze, and
still don't use it as much as I should. I tend to use my blog to
post info that I've learned from my day-to-day experiences, or to
update readers on some type of business experiment that I'm
trying. Occasionally, I'll just post something I've found that's
funny or really useful to my readers that I won't put in my newsletter,
for one reason or another. Since the term blog is derived from "web
log" or diary, use your blog as another way to reach out and touch your
target market with some defining moments in your life and
business. Blogger.com, WordPress.com, and Typepad.com all offer
blogging software to get you started.
4. Article submission. Using a service to submit articles
to various websites has done more for establishing my credibility and
expertise than any other marketing technique I've used to date.
Nothing is cooler than having a friend or colleague send you an email
telling you that he just read your article in someone else's
newsletter. If you're going to use this technique, you need to provide
your readers with good, solid information and expertise to help them
solve a problem.
Ideally, your articles should be between 700-800 words. I've found "how
to" articles, or ones that break topics down into tips, in the way I'm
writing this article, to be most useful for online readers.
Remember that online readers are looking at light, rather than print,
so the eye's ability to read long passages of unbroken text is
compromised when reading something off a computer screen. Make
your points short and sweet, and bullet or number them to enhance the
article's "scanability".
5. Online forums/discussion lists. Discovering where your target
market hangs out online and reading and responding to posts made to
their forums or discussion lists will put you in front of hundreds,
perhaps thousands, at very little cost. Before posting to any
online lists, go back and read what the group has been discussing
previously, and lurk (hang out without posting) for a week or so to get
a feel for how things are done on the list. If the list owner has
guidelines, be sure and read and abide by those. Owners of lists
that have large numbers of members and great discussions are vigilant
about adhering to their guidelines and don't hesitate to boot violators
immediately.
Two great sources of online groups are Yahoo Groups,
http://groups.yahoo.com , Google Groups,
http://groups.google.com/. Scott Stratten also maintains a great
list of good business-oriented discussion forums at
http://www.un-marketing.com/index.php?p=u. Before you post to a
group, make sure you have a great email signature line that contains a
compelling offer. You'd be amazed at how many times I visit
websites because of what I read in an email signature.
6. Teleconferences and webinars. One of the least expensive
ways to offer interaction with your target market is to offer a
teleclass or a webinar. Teleclasses (teleconferences) are pretty
easy to design. If you plan for an hour-long teleclass, spend
about 40 minutes providing content and allow 20 minutes for
introductions, questions, and a very short promotional pitch, if you
have one.
Colleague Jean Hanson offers a comparison of teleconference bridge lines here:
http://www.virtualizeyourbiz.com/free.html. I like the service at
FreeAudioConferencing.com. Here's a list of 20 questions you can
use to help you design your teleclass, as provided in the newsletter,
Today's Coach: http://www.todayscoach.com/2003/021003.html. And,
to help you promote your teleclasses and teleconferences, visit
SeminarAnnouncer.com.
7. Press Releases. Submitting an optimized press release
(optimized with key words for your target market) is the newest trend
in helping you get clients online. If you've never created a press
release, here's a wonderful online tutorial on how to write an
effective release, including an online Press Release Builder,
http://www.canadaone.com/promote/newsrelease1.html And, there's
an email newsletter devoted exclusively to the topic at:
http://www.press-release-writing.com/. A listing of some of the online
services I regularly use can be found at
http://www.onlinebizcoachingcompany.com/resources.htm.
You don't have to employ numerous strategies to successfully get
clients online. Just pick a few that appeal to you and apply them
consistently. Some experts will tell you never to give away your
information or expertise ("why buy the cow if the milk is free"
theory). I advocate that you should demonstrate what you know, as that
is key in helping you build online relationships. and those who are
really ready to implement your strategies will seek you out, as most
won't or can't do it on their own.
Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and
Business Coach Donna Gunter helps self-employed service professionals
learn how to get more clients online at http://www.OnlineBizCoachingCompany.com
. To sign up for more FREE tips like these and claim your FREE gift,
TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.GetMoreClientsOnline.com . Read about running an online biz at our blog, http://onlinebizcoachingcompany.typepad.com/online_business_coaching_/ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
THIS WEEK'S THEME IS... |
... Affiliate Marketing strategy
Fellow e-Marketing experts and web publishers, enjoy a string of articles with insights into the newest e-Marketing best practices.
Next: e-Marketing strategy.
Stay tuned!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
