Almost every small business owner has a website or at least knows that they need a website. When it comes to running their business they may have excellent skills and be the best at what they do, but often they have no idea how to market their business.
As a result, they just do what everyone else does. Take out an ad in the yellow pages, get some business cards, get a website and hope for the best. This is known as hope marketing, and it's what most business owners do. If this sounds like you, do not worry, it's not your fault. You're a professional at what you do, not at marketing your business.
Any business that does not have a marketing strategy in place, will only succeed by chance or having good connections. So to assist you in turning your website into a major profit center and marketing weapon that runs on auto-pilot bringing you fresh new leads and clients 24/7, while cutting your advertising budget i have a few tips for you. Lets use some small business website marketing strategies, instead of hope marketing.
Get the name an email address of almost every one that visits your website.
How?
By using the power of FREE! When you give someone something for free, it activates a very powerful universal law called "The power of reciprocity". When people get something for free, they feel obliged to "repay the favor".
You'll offer them something for free that they find extremely valuable. For example if you're a painter, you could offer them a short, free "Professional Painting Tips For Home Renovations" eBook or video. They enter their name and email and get the ebook, even if they're not going to do business with you. What happens now is magic. They get sent the eBook and a series of emails, over a few weeks or months pre loaded into something called an auto-responder. These emails will demonstrate your expertise, educate them on your services and extremely – BUILD A RELATIONSHIP with your prospect.
Now when they first came to your website they might have been shopping shopping or not ready to buy at that time, but they grabed your free gift. When they are ready to paint their house, they will come to you because they feel like they know you. I always go to the people i know to do business before a stranger. And you've done this without lifting a finger.
It can be expensive to market to new customers, but you can market to people on your list for free. This is just one of many ways you can turn your website into a profit center for your business.
