9 Simple Things Pros Use to Promote Online Business

If you think putting up a website would make customers come to you in a snap, you have got to think again! Getting your business noticed by billions of people whose attention span ranges from 0 to 10 seconds at a time is a pretty tough feat.

If you are looking into traditional marketing strategies like print ads, billboards, radio or television, either you’re seriously overreaching financially or you’re dreaming. Unless of course you’re backed by your multi-millionaire husband or wife, those are simply not feasible. Want to know what works in today’s cutthroat economy? Here are 9 marketing strategies that’s sure to lift your business off the ground:

1. Network, network, network! Facebook, LinkedIn and other networking sites are not just for sharing what food you ate or who broke up with whom. It’s about engaging with people of the same caliber as you. But of course you should not stop there. It would also be advisable if you go to community fairs, chamber of commerce events and other social gathering where you could meet and greet other people to spread the word about your business.
2. Give freebies. You might think that this is counterproductive because you are actually looking to generate income and not spend your hard-earned dollar from your one customer just so you could give it away to someone who you’re not even sure would do business with you. No, freebies aren’t just about the tangible things that people get. It may be free advice, free tips, and your thoughts on topics that are important to your prospective clients. You can even give a free class or presentation.
3. Set up a free listing for your business in local search engine directories.
4. Become actively involved in business communities on and off line.
5. Send out press releases to audiences who are most likely to do business with you.
6. Publicize your publicity. If your online business gets published on any other source, ask permission from the publisher whether you could reprint the article.
7. Ask for leads from nonprofit organizations.
8. Learn to ask for referrals
9. Run a contest

There are many ways to advertise a business without using traditional methods which are although tried and tested, just wouldn’t cut it for a start-up business who’s looking to get ahead by being a bit frugal. The trick on any marketing strategy is to do it constantly without let-up. It may take some time before you actually see the results but then, it would be well worth the wait.