4 Marketing Tips for a Small Online Business
It’s much easier to start a business now than it was ever before. Thanks to technology that is constantly evolving and the power of the internet, almost anyone can start a business from their own home.
However, if you are thinking about starting your own small online business, you can be sure you aren’t the first person to have this idea. It can be really difficult to break into the business world, especially for small businesses. But if you know which marketing strategies to apply, your small business will find success.
Use Your Domain Name to the Fullest
One of the first things you need to do when creating a website for your online business is to register a domain name. A lot of people don’t think that the domain name they choose is important, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Your domain name, better known as a URL, can greatly influence your website visitors’ first impressions. Marketing is all about presenting your company in the best possible light, and with a good and memorable domain name, you will come across as a professional and trustworthy company.
Your domain name can also help increase brand recognition significantly. If you choose a brandable name that represents your company, it will stand out among the crowd of endless generic names.
Some of the characteristics of catchy and brandable domain names include:
- Unique and memorable. If you want to distinguish yourself from the competition, you need a unique name that nobody else has. Don’t be afraid of thinking up your own words as a lot of world-famous branded domain names were made-up words at first.
- Short. The ideal domain name length is between 6 and 14 characters, while the most common length is 12 characters.
- Easy to read and pronounce. If people can’t read or pronounce your domain name, they will quickly forget about it. Additionally, it is more common to mistype domain names that are hard to read and complicated.
- Available. Unfortunately, a lot of good domain names are already registered. That is why it’s important to check if the name you have chosen is available. If you end up registering a name that is already taken, you might even have legal troubles.
Implement Email Marketing
One of the best ways to reach out to leads and existing customers is through email marketing. According to statistics, 59% of marketers cite email as their number one source of ROI. And if you follow email design trends, this tactic can greatly increase your sales.
Even small businesses can see great success from their email marketing campaigns. But before you can send out emails, you need to build an email list by luring people in with special offers and benefits. After you have your prospects on the list, you need to segment it and then you can begin to send emails.
The point of email marketing is to turn leads into loyal customers, and the only way to do that is through well-written emails that can grab anyone’s attention.
Here is how you can achieve that:
- Write enticing subject lines. Badly-written subject lines usually result in unopened emails. If you want your emails to be noticed, make sure your subject lines are attention-drawing and have a natural tone to them.
- Personalize your emails. Personalization is the key to a successful email marketing campaign. Address your recipients by their full name and include the sender’s name as well. It would also be useful to collect as much information about your subscribers via surveys, as that type of information is vital for personalization.
- Always be direct. Don’t bore people with long and dragged out emails. Get to the point with as few words as possible and be direct with your message.
- Use tools. If you want to speed up and simplify the process, use tools such as a Gmail automation tool to give your email marketing campaign a push in the right direction.
Promote on Social Media
According to social media statistics, 3.2 billion people worldwide use social media, which equates to approximately 42% of the Earth’s population. Additionally, 71% of customers who have had a positive experience with a business or brand on social media are willing to recommend that business or brand to a friend or family member.
There are various different types of social media advertising. It’s safe to say that it is very beneficial to your business to have accounts on various social media platforms. Find out which platforms your target audience uses and focus on those platforms the most.
Here is how you can promote your company on social media and gain a lot of followers:
- Post regularly. It’s important to post an update on your page every time something important and related to your business happens. Over time, you will fill your page with quality content that helps people decide whether or not they want to follow your page.
- Know when to post. While it is important to post regularly, it’s just as important to know when you should post. For instance, if you’re using Instagram to promote your business, you should know the best time to post on Instagram. Otherwise, you will just end up posting updates almost nobody will see.
- Don’t promote yourself too often. Your followers don’t want to see only promotions and advertisements. People will get bored if you post promotional material every day, and that’s why you should also include content they will enjoy such as blog posts, contests, and giveaways.
- Reply to all comments. Social media is a great way for your customers to give feedback and post reviews, which you should encourage. And any time a customer has a question, complaint or an issue, address it as soon as possible.
Start a Blog
Never underestimate the power of content marketing. Well-written content can help you grow your business, and the best way to provide your audiences with content is through a blog. A blog gives you an ideal opportunity to generate more traffic to your website and it has a lot of benefits.
With blogs, you can create engaging content that encourages action if it’s interesting enough. While written content is the most popular form of blog posts, you can also use videos, pictures, and infographics to create diversity.
There are many reasons why you should start a blog. Some of them include:
- Keeping your customers updated. You can blog about any new announcements your company has and always keep audiences informed. This includes official launches, new products, upcoming sales, and anything else people might find interesting.
- Educating your audience. When you provide good content on your blog, potential customers will be able to learn more about your business and products. Explain to people what you offer, give tutorials if necessary, and show reviews from satisfied customers.
- Establishing trust. When potential customers see a blog with well-written content, they see the business as trustworthy. This also helps build your company’s credibility.
- Driving traffic to your website. Content marketing is a great way to drive people to your website and help you gain new customers. All you need to do is apply
SEO methods to get a high-ranking position on Google.
Final Thoughts
It might be intimidating to start a small online business, but it can be a really profitable endeavor in the end. All you need to do is know which marketing strategies to apply and how to use the internet to your advantage.
It will take some time and patience until you get your business off the ground. But when you finally succeed, you will see that all of your hard work and marketing efforts were worth the trouble.
small business team -DepositPhotos
