We all know that marketing is crucial to get your work at home business the attention it needs and deserves to thrive. But how do you make your home or freelance business stand out from the crowd? These unique, and in most cases free, ways to market your business can help you to point the spotlight exactly where you want it; on your business!
Uwe Weinkaugf
Supporting a charity or local event
A great to raise awareness about your company is to sponsor a local community event or non-profit organisation that aligns with your brand values and target market. There are various ways to get that exposure such as having your logo or brand will be mentioned in online or print marketing campaigns, or on social media.
Customer referral programs
Offering your existing customers an incentive for referring new business via word-of-mouth is a great way to get new business. It can be a free product or service, gift card or discount of some sort.
Tyler Riddell
Content is still one of the most important and quickest ways to market your organization. Creating a blog that you keep up with regularly is crucial, Then branching to find other opportunities to post on other sites that allow your company to back-link can bring an increase in traffic and sales.
Lisa Banks
1. Tap into school networks – If you work from home you’re probably the parent who is most involved with your child’s school. Often schools have a newsletter or directory, which can include any family-owned businesses. See if you have an option to get your services listed on those properties.
2. Property or Homeowners Associations – Some HOAs have a directory of businesses owned by community residents. Why not add your services? You’ll get exposure among others nearby, and if you gain a link to your website it can help with SEO.
3. Attend, speak at or start a Meetup – I’ve found a couple local Meetups in my niche that have gained me exposure among a local audience. Plus it provides a way to get outside your home, which is critical for WAH professionals!
Harris Brown
HFB Advertising
@hfbadvertising
1. Be a guest blogger. Find blogs in your niche and offer to write for them. Remember to add a link back to your company website to get the link this will help you rank higher in the search engines.
2. Use mobile advertising. Have a sticker on your car and advertise your business to the masses for a low cost. Add a discount code so you know where they found your advertising.
3. Create a press kit. Put together some information about yourself and your business to send out to journalists. Have a press section on your website so the media can find you.
Mazdak Mohammadi
blueberrycloud
@_blueberrycloud
1: Allocate 30 minutes a week to befriending potential customers on social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram). Try to collect as many friendships as possible. Be open, transparent and honest about your intentions. Let the person know that you’re running a business and trying to build more relationships with cool people. Remind them that you’re not in the business of spamming their feeds, you’re a real person with ambition that wants to be connected with as many people as possible so that if the time comes for someone to need your service that they can be available to help. Keep track of your mutual followers and create reminders for yourself to get in touch – at least once a month. Try to meet these people every so often to further build trust, to put a face to your name AND to get out of the home for crying out loud!
2: Join associations related to your trade (eg, Chamber of Commerce) and other associations that offer access to an online directory. Contact the members of the association via email and let them know that you noticed their work and that it stood out to you. Be genuine here, don’t say anything you don’t mean. Set up lunches in your neighbourhood.
3: Pick up the phone and call your existing customers! Check in on them, ask them how they are doing and whether your solution or product is still working for them. Remind them that you’re still very much in business and looking to grow with their help.
Note from Leslie
One of the biggest challenges to marketing for the one-person business is that it involves so many moving parts. Along with providing your product your service, you also have to be the marketing director, PR person, customer support rep, and more. How do you juggle it all without sacrificing either quality of your business or getting forgotten in the marketplace. Here are my tips:
- First, make sure you know who your best market is and where they hang out. You’ll save a lot of time and money by concentrating your efforts to talk directly to the people who are most likely to buy from you.
- Look at marketing in three steps: 1) Attract, 2) Prove, 3) Connect. In the attract, you’re getting your name out in the world in the paces your best buyer hangs out. This can be done through article writing or guest blogging, participating in groups, speaking, anything that that’s you and your business in front of others in a way that makes them take interest. During this step, offering something of value for free is a great way to move them toward the second phase. In the prove step, you’re showing these people you’ve got what they want. Most people don’t buy on the first visit, so you need to prove to them you can help. You’re building trust and rapport. You can do this through an email list, social media, and anything that allows you to “mingle” with your market. Finally in the connect phase, they trust you and are willing buy. And if you made them happy, they’ll help you attract others by sharing you on social media or giving you a testimonial.
- Have a plan and work the plan regularly. Marketing isn’t something that gives you immediate results. You to build it up and then maintain your momentum. You do this through regular marketing tasks.
Now, for creative ideas. Creativity can come in all forms and it doesn’t necessarily mean something unique or unusual. For example, I have a friend that writes a craft mystery series. The obvious place to market her book is to people at bookstores or mystery reader festivals. But she’s also promoted her book at craft stores. Same activity (live event) but with a slight twist.
Going back to number one, make a list of all the problems your potential client/customer has and how you solve it. Then make a list of all the places your client/customer hangs out to get that problem solved. Then think about all the ways you can get your business in front of them. Remember that traditional advertising (ads) may not be the best option because many people are blind to ads. Instead you might run a contest, be a guest on a podcast, do your own video cast, sponsor and event, and more. The key is to start with your best prospect and how they look for the information you provide. Then design your marketing plan around that.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Work-at-home experts @lisabanks45 @hfbadvertising @_blueberrycloud share their tips and ideas on creative ways to get your #workathome or #freelance business noticed. #marketingtips” quote=”Work-at-home experts @lisabanks45 @hfbadvertising @_blueberrycloud share their tips and ideas on creative ways to get your #workathome or #freelance business noticed. #marketingtips”]
