New Jersey Entrepreneur

Protect Your Cashflow: 12 Effective & Inexpensive Internet Marketing Strategies for Startups

Written by: Mark J Beck, Vice President, The Boulevard Group, Inc.   1. Search Engine Optimization The king of all traffic strategies, ranking well in the search engines.  This strategy is long term in nature, but when done effectively can send lots of traffic to your website.  Tips: Proper keyword research (https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal) Unique content that your audience is searching for Properly optimized website 2. Link Building The goal here is to have links to your website where your target audience is already visiting.  Do a search for your particular product or service and contact websites that would agreeable to having you place a link to your website.  Tips: Google Local and Yahoo Local Trade association websites Chamber of commerce website   3. Blogging This has now become a mainstream strategy for driving targeted traffic to websites.  Blogs can position you as an expert in the field as well as facilitating conversations with your audience. Tips: Investigate current blogs in your space Set up a free blog at Wordpress.com or blogger,com Must be vigilant and post to your blog on a consistent basis   4. Social Networking Sites Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube are now major players in the business networking world.  The good news is that many of your competitors may not be taking advantage of what these sites have to offer.  Tips: See if your competitors are already participating Set up free accounts and your business profile Be sure to link to and from these sites with your business website      5. Participate in Niche Forums and Blogs Make a list of all the major players for your particular industry and monitor what is being written and talked about.  If a forum or blog does not exist, then be a leader and create the first one.  Tips: Be an active participant Create a signature box with a link to your website Don't overtly sell yourself, be a resource first   6. Article Marketing Show off your knowledge by writing short articles and submitting them to article directory sites.  Websites and e-zines are always looking for free quality content.  After about a year of submitting articles, you now have the base for writing a book to promote yourself. Tips: Always include a link back to your website Write original content in your articles Don't be afraid to give too much information away   7. Joint Ventures Partner and promote yourself with other businesses that are complimentary to yours.  Piggyback on the credibility of other businesses and gain exposure to their audience. Tips: Must set this up as a win-win for both parties Create a custom web pages promoting the other business Don't forget about off-line promotions   8. Press Releases and Relations Releasing a new product or service? Giving a presentation at an industry event? Reached a major milestone in your community?  The press release will help get the word out to reports interested in your story. Tips: Your story must be news worthy Must be formatted properly (http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/Instant-Press-Release.htm) Help a Reporter service (http://helpareporter.com/)   9. E-mail Newsletters Reuse all of your article and blog content in an e-mail newsletter.  Then send these out to your customers and prospects.  Encourage then to pass them along to their friends and family. Tips: Use a professional looking template Use a reputable third party e-mail service Respect all unsubscribe and CAN-SPAM act rules       10. Directory Submissions A little on-line searching will probably reveal numerous directory sites that will list your business.  Many will be free and some will charge you, so choose wisely. Tips: The directory should have a good number of entries for each category Contact listed businesses to see if the fee is worthwhile Review your web stats to see if the directory is sending you any traffic       11. Business Stationary and Voice Mail It still amazes me how often I see a business card without a web or e-mail address included.  Make it as easy as possible for customers and especially prospects to find your website. Tips: Include your web address on all business stationary: cards, letterhead and invoices Also include all of your on-line and off-line advertising Don't forget about your voice mail system       12. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) This strategy is one of the fastest methods of driving targeted traffic to your website.  It is also the most expensive of all strategies listed here.  Special care should be taken when using PPC to drive traffic to your website. Tips: Learn the basics from a respected advisor Set up dollar limits so that you don't go broke Monitor your best and worst converting keywords and adjust accordingly