Congrats on taking the first steps to getting your business and it’s promotion on the right track. Now what? This is a question that we get asked a lot on Motherswhowork.co.uk, and the answer remains the same…no customers and no traffic equal no sales and no business!
But many mumpreneurs expect to start seeing money as soon as they launch their new website – just because it’s online…but it takes a little while before you can start to see that kind of traffic, so you have to start generating it in other ways:
1. The power of search engine advertising
Advertising in Google, Bing and Yahoo search engines are a surefire way to bring paying customers to your website…the only downside is that you have to pay for the traffic, but if you’re smart with your keyword bidding, you’ll always make a healthy profit.
We give away a £50 voucher when you join the Mothers Who Work Club to get you started with Google Adwords, and you can sign up at http://Adwords.google.co.uk.
We have a range of tutorials to help you maximise Google Adwords and make advertising pay for itself.
2. Use the online versions of traditional advertising
Remember back in the day when your first stop for anything would be The Yellow Pages? Well many of your customers will be using the online version of it, too (Yell.com) – and you can list your business on it for free – just go to: http://marketing.yell.com/products/yell-free-listing/.
Be sure to do the same on Thomson Local (http://www.thomsonlocal.com/free-listing.aspx) and BT Business (http://www.thephonebook.bt.com/publisha.content/en/overview/contact/listform.publisha) online, too.
3. Google Places
Google Places (http://www.google.com/placesforbusiness) is a must for local businesses. For free, you get to tell Google a lot more about your business, add your website link, contact details and even your opening hours.
Unlike the other options listed above, the registration process takes a lot longer because you have to wait a few days for a postcard to be sent to your business address to verify who you are. But this is definitely worth the wait, especially if your business is locally based, as when someone searches for your expertise in your area (e.g. Beauty therapist in Kent), you’ll be high up on the search results page, if not first place.
4. Social media goes a long way
It goes without saying that the closer you can get to your customers the better. And if they aren’t looking for your services right away, social media makes it even easier for them to spread the word about your business to friends, relatives and colleagues who are. So, make sure you get a Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/motherswhowork) fan page set up, and a Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/motherswhowork) profile. LinkedIn is also great for making business contacts, so don’t forget to put your details up there, too.
The newest social network kid on the block is Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/motherswhowork) – this is a great platform for all the creatives out there as it gives you a chance to show off your creations in pictures and videos in a way that the other social media platforms don’t.
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