Marketing is a key aspect to promoting your business. But how do your potential customers find you on the internet? If you are just starting to transfer your business online, you may need a little help. If you make it easy for customers to find you, then you have more chances to promote your business to them which may eventually lead to sales. A big point here is this: if your ideal client can’t find you on the web, you don’t exist. Read the rest of this entry

Your marketing plan should be a road map for you to follow daily. Within this plan or map, list what you hope to accomplish. Take out 4 sheets of paper. On the first sheet, list what your goals would be for today. On the second sheet, list your goals for the week. On the third sheet, list your goals for the month. On the fourth sheet, list your goals for the year. This step may seem elementary, but it works. Read the rest of this entry

Content on your blog is essential. Whether you are a small business just starting out or an established brick and mortar business that has been around for many years, your content is your marketing. You market yourself. You market your business. Your blog and website are the tools you use to reach your market. You need to stand out from among the 900,000 other blogs post today. Your content is what will make you unique. It is also what will make sales for your business. Read the rest of this entry

As the new year approaches, many people make new year’s resolutions. As a small business owner, you need to plan for 2010. What are your goals for this upcoming year? Take out a piece of paper and write them down or use a word processing program. Start with your general goals like improving sales or growing to X amount of sales. Then write how you can improve those numbers. Do you need to post more to your blog or website? Do you need to write more articles? Do you need to advertise more? Read the rest of this entry

Google is an online search tool that can be used to build your business. Have your started a Google alert? They are easy to set up. You should have one for your business and your name. Then take it a step further and set up an alert for your keywords. This will tell you how many people on the internet are thinking like you do and if they are typing in the same keywords that you think they are typing in. If you set one up and do not receive any notifications, then your keywords are not as popular as you think. You may need to rethink those keywords. Read the rest of this entry

An elevator speech is marketing. It is marketing yourself and your business. An elevator speech is how you would describe your business in as short amount of time as possible or the amount of time it takes to ride an elevator to another floor. You would be explaining exactly what you do and how it will benefit another person. Have you tried saying one? We all know what our business is but some people have trouble explaining it and describing it to another person. Right now, where you are, tell me in under one minute what is your business and how it can help me. Were you able to do it? Read the rest of this entry

Small business marketing plan is a step all small businesses need to take. As we approach the end of one year and head into a new year, now is the time to evaluate your marketing plan. What were your goals that you set to implement on January 1, 2009 for this year? Have you achieved those goals? Can they still be achieved before the year’s end? Read the rest of this entry

What do people type in when they want to find you or your services? Where do potential customers go to look for you and your services online? One of the most popular sites to research information is Google. You can search by name, by business, or by keywords. If you are known by your name only and not by your business name, your customers will type in your name in a Google search to find your site. Name recognition is key to getting known on the internet. Read the rest of this entry

Marketing is one of the steps you need to take to transfer your business online. Once your blog or website is set up, the next step to increase traffic to those sites is to market yourself and your business. But how do you market? Read the rest of this entry

When transferring your business online, the best way for potential customers to get to know you is through communication. When you communicate through your business blog, you are spreading the word, so to speak, about your business. You can tell potential customers about your products or services. You can promote your business and yourself. Once a customer gets to know, like, and trust you, the chances increase that they will make a purchase from you. Getting known and liked through a blog or website can be achieved through communication.

And not just through any communication. According to Patsi Krakoff on her Writing On The Web blog, it is the quality of that communication. Anyone can blog. But are you explaining your products. Are you talking about problems that you solved for other customers? Blogging will lead to greater visibility within your niche market and industry.

A business blog or website is the best way to get found online. The younger generation that grew up with Pac-Man and Mario Kart is doing research online. If they need your services and products, they are more likely to search online rather than pick up the yellow pages. The yellow pages may simply list your name and phone number. But online with a blog or website, you can list a lot more than just your location.

Customers are looking for endless information concerning your business including the specifics about your services, products, and anything else you feel they may need to know. The content of your blog can make or break sales. You are marketing through your blog or website. Spend time there promoting your business. What are you listing on your site?