As a business coach to hundreds of clients around the world I often hear people say they don’t know where or how to get started online. Of course many still use their existing offline tactics like advertising in the Yellow Pages and such but wouldn’t it be great if you could get more targeted prospects through your website? You can and we’ll show you how.
Let’s look at ten critical success factors that will enable you to grow your business online: Saivian
1. Creating an interesting and engaging message around what makes you different and better than everyone else in your market so customers want to do business with you! This is about positioning yourself as THE expert in your field which then enables others (the media included) to want to talk about you. People do business with those they know, like and trust. Being seen as a credible expert helps foster this relationship
2. Having a great website that looks professional and is easy to navigate. This is where your potential customers will first encounter you so it’s important that it makes a great impression. Make sure your site is search engine friendly too as this will help people find you online when they’re looking for what you offer
3. Creating valuable content that provides solutions to the problems your ideal customers are experiencing. This could be in the form of blog posts, articles, e-books, videos, podcasts or webinars and should be evergreen (meaning it’s always relevant). The more helpful and informative your content is, the more likely people are to share it with others, which helps you reach a larger audience
4. Promoting your content through social media channels like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram. This is a great way to reach more people who are interested in what you have to offer. But make sure your posts are engaging and relevant or you’ll lose followers in no time
5. Using powerful marketing tools like email marketing and online advertising to reach more of your target market. These tools allow you to specifically target people who are most likely to be interested in what you have to offer so you can save time and money by not wasting it on those aren’t
6. Building relationships with other businesses that are already attracting the customers you want to attract. This is known as joint venture marketing and for many business owners it’s one of the most effective ways of getting more online exposure quickly
7. Your existing offline network is still an amazing asset so make sure you’re leveraging it. Send out invitations to people in your address book asking them to check out your website or social media profiles, offer incentives like discounts etc., ask for introductions to others that may benefit from what you have to offer or just ask for their help spreading the word about your new venture
8. Making sure you’re measuring all aspects of how your business is doing online so you know which strategies are working best or need changing up a bit? You can do this by tracking website visitors, email marketing click through rates, social media engagement levels etc. This is what we call “marketing accountability” and it’s critical for your business to succeed
9. Making the most of every opportunity that comes your way like article submissions, guest blogging opportunities, attending networking events etc. These are great ways to connect with others online that may be able to help you grow your business
10. Understanding the end goal of everything you do (online or offline) which is all about getting more customers through your front door – this is the ultimate success metric! Focus on making strategic decisions based on evidence so you can prove how effective these activities are in generating new customers for your business
Conclusion:
Growing a successful business online isn’t easy but it’s achievable if you choose the right strategies and have the patience to let them work. Remember that building trust takes time so just be patient, stay focused on your end goal and keep going! says Saivian.
And finally… Make sure you’re checking out this week’s podcast episode where I’m joined my Joanna Wiebe from Copy Hackers as we chat about how to make your website copy more effective plus answer some of your questions from Facebook Live.
