There is the old adage, "it's who you know." There is merit in that
analogy. Business opportunities can unfold with the right connections.
Any number of entrepreneurs can attest to the power of social networking
and "rubbing elbows" with influential and well connected contacts.
However, in this globally interfaced information age, you need to get
the maximum amount of eyes looking at your web-page or blog. It is
vitally essential that the global audience can find you.
If your
business depends largely upon the internet, here is an axiom which may
surprise you, "customer acquisition, not sales, is the key." If you have
an integrated social media, blog, web-site and article marketing
campaign, a single sale of your product is not enough! It is harder to
find the new customer than to retain a repeat client.
To make a lot of money, find a way to reach a lot of people!
First
and foremost, test ways to generate traffic, your product is not as
important! As an aspiring entrepreneur or established business person,
you need the eyes of the world (or a large segment of the world) on you.
Statistics reveal that a really good conversion rate, the amount of
visitors who actually buy your goods and services, is about 2-3%.
Therefore, it follows sound reasoning that you will have greater success
if ten-thousand people view your site as opposed to one-thousand.
There
are numerous tried and true methods to announce yourself and draw an
online audience including, but limited to: Google AdWords, blogging,
article marketing, email lists, video, newsletters, free reports,
eBooks, and even good old fashioned newspaper advertising. A major part
of the battle is attracting the visitors. However, you now need to gain a
following, a pool or repeat clients who know and like what you
represent.
Secondly, how are you going to deliver your sales
message? It is relatively simple to divert traffic to a blog or website
but how do you convert? One answer is video. Our society is increasingly
establishing the audio/visual mode as the primary vehicle to disperse
information. As you probably know, YouTube has become the number one
search engine. Let your sales letter be a video. By the potential
customer actually seeing and hearing you, an aura of trust and authority
has been quickly and silently established. People tend to believe what
they see.
Audio podcasts are another popular avenue for spreading
information. The advantage with this medium is convenience. Podcasts are
relatively easy to load onto an inexpensive mp3 player or burn to an
old-fashioned CD. The potential purchaser can listen to your broadcast
while jogging or doing housework.
Hosting an eye-catching, but not
overwhelming, interactive website is also proven to increase your sales
conversion. People love a community, even one that is relatively
anonymous. Include a forum, an interactive poll, video, and plenty of
pictures of yourself and your products or services.
People do not
like dealing with the unknown. Once you begin to capture that world-wide
audience, you must gain notoriety! You must be seen as the authority in
your field. Sure, you need to be yourself - you will not appeal to all
who come visit your site. Do not wear yourself out to be all things to
all people. However, demonstrating competence and clearly expressing
your expertise will go far in the perception of your mastery.
When
you are able to capture search traffic and convert these people into a
loyal following of clients, word will spread about your service. Never
underestimate the power of a recommendation, even if it is on someone's
blog site or newsletter. If you can, join a webinar as a guest expert,
this too can spread your name and message to new audiences.
Once
you have achieved a measure of notoriety, your methods of attracting new
visitors will be increased ten-fold. Success leaves traces and your
entrepreneurship will blossom into so much more than a product or
service. Your business will become a label!