Category: SELF EMPLOYED

How To Get More Clients

Regardless of what industry you are in, you always want more business. However, for startups, it is even more daunting when your phone does not ring or you have tonnes of emails with people selling you things but you have no inquiries.

So you have got a business plan and you think you have it all worked out but you still have no customers so what do you do?

In this article, I will list some ideas that you may not have thought about.

But first, we have to establish the difference between a small business and a large powerhouse. With a corporation or business that has been established for many years their brand name is well known and people will always choose a well-known brand over a lesser-known one.

If you are just starting out or are struggling to get business through the door, you may have to adopt different strategies to get you noticed. If this is the case you need your business to be in the news you need to be consistent and not hide behind your brand but instead be out there flying your flag high.

A more established company will have more money to spend on advertising and on staff and employee incentives. These companies use marketing agencies to help them get more exposure and will encourage their staff to publicize their company, products, and services

If you are a small business for example of 1-10 employees and your advertising budget may be on a shoestring, you have to invent ways to advertise your brand on next to nothing.

So here is a list of things to do to increase business.

(Some are free and some are pay per click or editorial or offline advertising suggestions)

1. Start a podcast, talk about your company, conduct interviews with people that are making the news in the same industry as you.
2. Start a Vlog and set up your own YouTube Channel.
3. Consider Video Marketing, design your own videos or hire an agency.
4. Start a Blog and write regular content. Do make sure the domain name has the exact match searchable keywords and phrases.
5. Perform a SEO audit report and see how you can optimise your website/blog to perform better.
6. Get backlinks.
7. Get Like for Likes on social media groups and pages.
8. Guest blog for free on other peoples blogs or comment on their articles. Some companies even pay you if they find your articles useful.
9. Network with other businesses, LinkedIn is a good place to start and if you have networking events in your area consider going to one or two and start making acquaintances.
10. Make use of all your social media platforms. Create business pages and join groups and like, comment and share your blog posts and interact with other business owners, don’t forget to use hashtags and if permitted backlinks to your page or site.
11. Set up a business forum in your niche through WordPress, they have plugins that are already designed for you.
12. Join Business Forums and interact.
13. Set up a (chat) on your website and blogs so that you can interact with your visitors (www.talk.to is free). Remember to have the chat bot on during office hours.
14. Share Banner Ads on Social Media, Platforms, Pages and Groups.
15. Advertise in Business Directories (most are free).
16. Advertise on Classified Ads (Some are free, like Gumtree, Craiglist and FreeAds).
17. Interact with local communities, some have websites (Quora, Reddit) aswell as Facebook groups.
18. Set up a local workshop.
19. Do Public Speaking.
20. Offer free business consultation if you are in the industry of helping business grow.
21. Offer to advertise other peoples businesses, products and service on your site free of charge for a limited time.
22. Sell your advertising space to business owners.
23. They say the money is in the list, set up a newsletter and send out information to your contacts. Offer incentives to get people to sign up to your newsletters.
24. Consider Affiliate Marketing where you get paid if someone clicks an ad you are displaying on your site or through an email list or newsletter.
25. Pay people to advertise your business through companies such as ‘Clickbank’ ‘Rakuten Linkshare’, ‘Shareasale’.
26. Write an ebook that you can offer your customers in exchange for their email.
27. Set up an event such as a conference, auction, or networing seminar.
28. Sponsor an event, this could mean you may have to either pay/domate or offer your services for free. This will give exposure to your company and your brand.
29. Organise an open house and offer wine tasting or set up a stall and sell your products and services. The series on Netflix “Selling Sunset” hosted parties and a wedding in a few of their luxury properties they were selling to VIP guests, multi-million dollar real estate.
30. Set up an auction or fashion show and get other businesses to donate something and charge an entry fee for the evening of the event with your brand name in the limelight.
31. Partner with a small business, offer your products and services at a discounted price and ask them to do the same in exchange. They may be a Web Designer but may not offer marketing, whilst you as a marketing agency could offer your service in exchange for leads and visa versa.
32. Public Relations – make an announcement on PR Agency websites where journalist can write about you.
33. Create a Google Business Page and update regularly just like you would a blog.
34. Set up a contest/competition.
35. Offer Discounts and Incentives to all you current and prospective clients.
36. Upsell to your existing clients.
37. Offer Free Trials and Demos.
38. Wear your insignia and get your employees to wear branded apparel.
39. Send out compimetary useful merchandise with your company logo, website and telephone number.
40. Ask for referrals, offer you clients incentives that if they refer you, you will give them something in return, it could be a product, service or discount.
41. Get your family and friends to spread the word.
42. Consider leaflet drops to businesses or homes depending on the industry you are in.
43. Sell a course online to educate people in your industry.
44. Sell merchandise with your company name.
45. Set up a Wikipedia page.
46. Set up a Crunchbase profile.
47. Pitch your business to angel investors, private equity firms to raise funding and spread awareness. Angel investors may put you in touch with some of their contacts if they think your business is viable, in exchange for a commission on every introduction.
48. Set up a squeeze page using click funnels to your offer.
49. Consider advertising your busness on other sites (rate card advertising prices will apply).
50. Google Ads not only help with ranking they will get you on the first page of Google instantaneously providing you meet the bidding price of your daily budget.
51. Facebook Ads, can fine tune the audience you wish to target.
52. Instagram Ads – Instagram has over 500 million users per month.
53. Start following people and businesses in your niche on Instagram and interact with their posts.
54. Newspaper Ads.
55. Editorial Publication Ad Campaign.
56. Guerilla Marketing, do something outlandish but first get permission from the local council and the police. If you are a web designer set up a office type table and chair in a busy high street and when people ask what you are doing you can hand out your business cards. Baroness Michelle Mone did a stunt promoting her ‘Ultimo Bra’ brand back in the day when she was starting out by having actors dressed up as plastic surgeons protesting that ‘Ultimo’ was putting them out of business. The day of the event all her bra’s got sold out. Hire a plane or drone with the flogo and have your advert flown sky high.
57. Promotional giveaways, you can do this digitally or can set up a physical stall, you can giveaway products and services but do get permission first if you plan to do it in a public place.
58. Make the most of trade shows by either networking or setting up a stand an expo.
59. Create your own App.
60. Billboard advertising is another way to attract business, such as bus stops and on sides of buildings.
61. Advertise on Publish Transport on the side of buses and taxis.
62. Send your products and services to influencers and celebrities and ask them to endorse your brand.
63. Advertise your business on Black Cabs if you are in the UK and Yellow Cabs in the States.
64. TV & Radio Advertising.
65. Help non profit organisations by donating or marketing, either way the charities will advertise you.
66. Go physically into businesses that are in the same niche as yours and if you are a pet sitting/dog walker business go to your local vets and ask them to display your posters or brochures. If you are selling cruises get your local high street travel agents to display your information.
67. Offer your services for free for the first month or so, get people to sign contracts as they could take you up on the offer and then walk away once it is ended. Or if you are selling a product why not “try before you buy” type of offer.
68. Ask businesses if they would like free exposure to their products and services and display, their merchandise in your establishment, moreover they may also do the same for you.
69. Go to cafes and grocery stores where they have message boards and display your information, or if you are more high end, visit hospitality venues and advertise your products and services there. Give them incentives to market your business such as an exclusive discount and mention their name in the print.
70. Start a directory of businesses in your niche and offer both free and paid listings. When constructing the directory contact each business owner and tell them they have a free listing. This will give you the opportunity to explain who you are and offer them more exposure with more prominent paid advertising. Instead of waiting for the mountain to come to Mohammed, get Mohammed to go to the mountain.

Note From The Editor.

When promoting your business try to expand your products and services, it is good to have your fingers in many pies.

As well as the above-mentioned hints and tips, re-train your mindset and stay focused and positive. Be assertive with yourself and do not allow any negativity to get in your way. Just before you go to sleep visualize your ultimate goals and desires and imagine yourself already have acquired your wealth, do this every night for 30 days and see changes manifesting. Research neuroscience and the power of thought.

Do some research into neuroplasticity and a book that is highly recommended read is Napoleon Hill “Think and Grow Rich”

Further Reading:

https://blog.wishpond.com/post/59612395517/52-tips-how-to-market-on-instagram

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