You can have the most amazing product known to man, but if no one knows about it… you won’t make a dime. Creating a solid marketing strategy is more vital than many business owners realize because it is more than getting your product in front of someone one time. Marketing is about creating a long-term loyal audience who will continuously purchase products/services and share their love of them with their friends. Over the next month, you will learn to:
-plan and execute your own marketing plan
-utilize online marketing platforms/resources
-make vital business connections
1. Week One: Planning Ahead
Planning ahead is perhaps the most important part of marketing and is often overlooked. You’ll need to plan out a strategy for your business as a whole as well as mini one for each product or service that you offer. Remember, it’s not a “one and done” deal. It takes a few weeks to get the message out and sometimes even longer to get people to answer your calls to action. They’ll need to see your message in multiple ways, across multiple channels.
2. Week Two: Email Marketing
Arguably the most effective way to earn money, practically on demand, is to build a healthy email list full of hungry prospects. Make it your goal to fill your list so that you can market your products and services repeatedly to your audience in a more direct way. Create ongoing campaigns for your auto-responder and segment them based on where, when and how a prospect signs up for your list.
3. Week Three: Social Media Tactics
Now that you have your email marketing underway, it’s time to take a look at your social media presence. When it comes to promoting your brand online, you should never feel guilty about making money from your products and services when they are of high quality. You can market your products with integrity and pride because all the products are exactly what you claim that they are. No marketing “puffery” required. Promoting your products on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and even TikTok are great ways to show them off and build your loyal audience. Try to post everyday and engage with your audience by replying to comments and asking open-ended questions. Loyal followers like to pay it forward with likes, comments and shares!
4. Week Four: Getting Outside Exposure
Even if your business is 100% online, getting exposure may require you to step outside of your comfort zone and start using other mediums such as online radio interviews, guest blogging, authorship, speaking engagements and more. Marketing means not only pushing yourself to engage with people online, but being able to talk about your product to anyone who is willing to listen. So, print out some business cards and start chatting with people. You’d be surprised how far you can go with just a few posts on an online networking group, attending a local small business mixer or even passing out samples at a business expo. Marketing can be a bit scary for new business owners, but it really is the key to success (no matter what you’re selling).
By planning out what you will do each week, and repeating it every time you have a new product or service, your business can become more successful than you ever thought possible.
If you found this helpful, you’ll also love my post on boosting your online visibility. If you or someone you know is looking for more tips, tricks and resources for your business, be sure to check out The Posh Academy on Youtube for new content every Tuesday and Thursday.