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Small Business Internet Marketing Promotion

Internet Marketing for Small Business - The Basics
If you aren't already familiar with internet marketing for small business, it is important to know just the influence it can have for your business in generating a larger consumer base. The processes involved in web marketing are a bit different than that of traditional marketing, but offer a much stronger approach. The actual impact web marketing campaign can have for a small business is well above that of traditional marketing, allowing small businesses to target the most consumers with ease and great management of the venture. Marketing through the internet provides a highly effective management of the marketing attempts and provides several tools and resources that are also quite effective in marketing any small business to great heights.

Internet Marketing for Small Business - Creating an Optimized Site
The first step to any internet promotion venture is to ensure that there is an optimized site. Search engine optimization (SEO) is becoming a large figure in marketing today, and involves several processes that must be performed appropriately.

Keyword research and development Keyword placement through text, tags, and descriptions Back linking and link exchange Registration with search engines

From the very moment you choose a site, SEO should be on your mind. Internet marketing for small business is a powerful venture but even the start must be appropriate. Small Business Internet Marketing Promotion

Internet Marketing for Small Business - Targeting the Audience through the Search Engines
As you begin your internet marketing venture, you will realize that you are considering your audience in every step of the way. You choose keywords that are likely to be searched by your target consumers, and you are exchanging links with other sites that your target consumers are using. The thing is, internet marketing for small business has another target in mind: search engines. The most popular search engines include:

Google
Yahoo
Bing
MSN

SEO should play a key part in your internet marketing for small business efforts. You are targeting these search engines as well, seeking to be indexed as much as possible, receiving the highest search engine ranking possible. Why? Mainly because your target consumers get online and choose one of these search engines to search for what they need. They type a few words in the search bar and there is a search engine results page that shows up and you want to be at the top, because 9 times out of 10, your target consumers are choosing between the first 10 sites as the business for their needs. Small Business Internet Marketing Promotion

Getting the Word Out with Power and Persuasion

A well defined business advertising strategy is the key to home business success. All home businesses need to communicate their advertising message either to generate new business opportunities or to reinforce their message to their customers. As a home business entrepreneur, you can advertise your home business either online or offline or use a combination strategy. All three pathways are known to be very effective.

For your home business, the avenues of business advertising may be either online or offline.

Offline advertising includes:

Print media such as newspapers, magazines and brochures

Electronic media such as radio, television and cable advertising

Online media includes:

Internet-based advertising such as Pay Per Click, banner advertising, Pay Per Impression, e-mail marketing and a host of other virtual advertising avenues

Using a Combination Strategy to Advertise your Home Business

By using a combination strategy to showcase your home-based company, you could get a big bang for the buck. So evaluate various options.

You will most probably be creating the advertisement yourself so follow a few simple rules. Write using "you" and in active voice, keeping sentences short.  Bear in mind the context of the reader. A classified advertisement would have to be short and to the point compared to something you are sending out by e-mail or posting on a mailing list, Internet forum  or discussion group. Try and include a referral if you have the space. Just send out one message in the advertisement.

Look at some of the options you have.

Your very own Website

Many individuals go on to the Internet to research products and services even while buying from a brick and mortar shop. Maintaining your own website would be a good option but if you are unable to so at least advertise on sites.  Make sure that you are on to free listings, many municipalities and business associations offer this service. So conduct research. Sell your product on eBay. That is one of the best ways to advertise your product.

Business Advertising through e-mail

There is an increasing level of hostility to spam. So be very careful of this media. It can be used to communicate with people who have shown interest in your product or service and also with existing customers. E-mail doesn’t cost anything to send. However, send it only to your confirmed subscribers such as those who have signed up for your online newsletter on your website. If your company does not have a newsletter, please explore that possibility at the earliest.

Traditional Business Advertising through Community and Neighborhood Newspapers

Newspaper advertising is short lived. Advertisements in magazines have a slightly longer life. Again, look for special supplements that are published periodically. Also, look at newsletters published by community NGOs. For certain categories of products and services, newspaper classified columns work out very well and strangely enough better than large advertisements in the same paper.

Consider cable television  and radio if you can afford it. these have a very loyal audience and accurate local reach all at a low cost.

Direct mail continues to be popular amongst some sellers. However, though it is costly but it may be very effective to relate to existing customers. Also, you can send promos. These offers are often not used but are kept by individuals to give away to others.

Using Business Cards for Business Advertising

Your business card should not just contain the usual company name and various addresses. It is your corporate signature. It should contain several additional  details such as:

The products you sell or the service you provide

The names of  the various brands you carry

A catchy slogan that your prospective customers can remember

Use a double leaf business card and spread your business message. This is one of the most under used tools of business advertising.

Forums on the Internet

don’t think just in terms of forums which are related to your business. A charitable cause in which you could participate may yield contacts which later translate into business. You could keep a stall for hand tools in a school fair well knowing that none will sell but gives exposure to your home business.

Yellow Pages Advertising

Don’t forget the yellow pages. Sometimes a small descriptor of a business is free. So it is not necessary to stick in a large advertisement. Many buyers will call up twenty sellers before deciding, not just the one with a large advertisement. Don’t forget to include multiple classifications of your product or service, as that will increase your presence.

Sending a promotional offer is one of the best forms of advertisement. It can be sent to existing customers or potential ones.

Here are some words that you need to be very careful about using. They often go down badly with readers of advertisements:

Guarantee: If you include a warranty, provide brief details. Don’t say ‘we guarantee the product’.

Free:  When you use the word free, everyone looks for a catch.

Opportunity: Remember, a buyer wants a hair dryer to work well, she is not looking for a ‘wonderful opportunity’ to buy one.

Remember your advertising messages need to be roughly the same year after year. For that you need to understand your business in relation to your clients. Having understood the business, you will have to choose the media. And most importantly, you have to find ways of testing which form of advertisement is working well. Good luck with your business advertising mission!

All who start an online home business will be very eager to know at the outset how long it takes to create a home business income, but it is rather like asking the question `how long is a piece of string`? It is impossible to answer. The many factors involved in determining when an online home business will create a home business income depend on you, the online home business owner, hence the reason it is impossible to answer such a question.

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Image taken on 2009-08-06 07:39:21 by Mickael Casol.