If you’re just getting started with marketing your business online, I believe that the most effective strategy is a combination of blogging, email, and article marketing. In a nutshell:
- Blogging will get your content published quickly so that it is immediately available to people (prospective clients) who are online and searching for information about your areas of expertise and the topics you care about.
- Weekly (at best) or monthly (at least) emails to your contact list will help you follow up with people who have visited your site and are already interested in you.
- Article marketing will draw more traffic to your website and/or blog, where people can join your mailing list, learn more about you and continue to stay in touch.
Here is how to put it all together:
1. Get a Typepad account – I have a Pro account for $14.95 per month, but you can choose the one that best suits your needs. Consider whether you’ll want to use your own domain name (you’ll need at least the Plus account, $8.95) or customize the design (you’ll need at least the Pro account).
2. Get an AWeber account (starts at $19 per month) and set up the blog broadcast feature to send out new posts from your blog as soon as you publish them.
3. Create an editorial schedule of one topic per month. Piggyback onto the holiday times that people are sure to be discussing or looking for help with. You can also be strategic here and plot out possible chapters for a book.
4. Set up four separate idea catchers (e.g., draft posts in your blogging program, or four pages in a notebook) to collect your thoughts about these four types of blog posts:
- A full-length article exploring the whats and whys of the topic (e.g., what is the problem/solution/strategy/issue, what is the impact, why is it important)
- A tips list exploring the hows of the topic (e.g., how to apply the solution, how to practice the new strategy, how to explore the problem further with coaching questions)
- A list of related resources (online and offline)
- Case studies, stories or examples from your own life
5. Every week, flesh out one of those blog posts and publish it on your blog. As soon as you do, AWeber will send them out by email to your mailing list.
6. At the end of the month, compile content from some or all of the blog posts into an article and submit it to EzineArticles, searched by 1,000s of visitors every month, including newsletter publishers, consumers and the media – at the end of each article will be your bio and a link back to your website or blog.
Using this combination of strategy, planning and automation, you’ll be on your way to generating an information empire in no time!
Of course, if any of this is going to result in new clients and customers for you, your website had better be working! Stay tuned for an announcement about a free class that Linda Claire Puig are offering called, “Help! My website’s not working!” In the meantime, check out my website manifesto.