The other day I got a call from a regular reader, Kathryn, who wanted to know how to successfully promote her business online. She is part of a direct sales company and really believes in the products she has at her disposal. The problem is she has so many products to promote it is easy to get overwhelmed and lose focus. The other problem is getting traffic to her site.
For the first problem I suggested she focus on a few products in a particular niche. I gave her the example of targeting the travel niche because she mentioned part of the inventory at her disposal is luggage and other travel items. Since people love to travel and it will always be a part of life, this is pretty much a guaranteed niche. But as guaranteed as it may be, getting these travelers to come to her website is a different matter.
To attract travelers I suggested she write how-to articles and travel product reviews. She could submit her articles to one of many article directories and as guest posts on travel blogs.
Commenting on travel blogs is also a good way to get exposure. It’s all about providing great content and comments.
Another idea is to find discussion forums and social networking groups where her target market hangs out. She’d have to join and begin answering questions and asking questions. Most forums allow a signature file to be attached to comments, so she could include a link to her website.
The idea is to become the person they want to do business with. Her presence on these forums and networks helps this process.
Another way to attract travelers is to offer a free report along the lines of “10 Best Places to Travel for Cheap in the High Season”. She could capture the names and email addresses of the people who want the free report. These names are gold in the Internet marketing world because they represent warm leads.
Each week or each month she could send the people on her list notices of new products, discounts and clearance items, and travel trends and regulations. This will drive them to her website and result in sales.
Part of doing business online is having the right tools to engage with current and potential customers. Setting up an email list account is vital to communicating with people. I suggest MailChimp for beginners because the basic account is free.
At this writing they are now offering 2,000 subscribers and 12K emails a month for free. That’s a pretty good deal and the interface is very user friendly.
If you want a more sophisticated email list system check out Aweber. It was made for internet marketing professionals but beginners can work with it too. It may be a bit of a learning curve but after you get the hang of it you are well on your way to developing great relationships with your subscribers.
Other tools you could use include Facebook Fan Pages, Twitter, and YouTube to stay engaged. For the direct sales reader, setting up accounts on these three social media tools is vital. She can highlight the products in her inventory on a regular basis.
Creating an information product like a report or tips sheet is a way to attract targeted potential customers. To create a produce she can research trends, find reports from the government, or interview a travel agent on a hot topic.
The options are limitless for producing a free report or tip sheet. It just requires a little creative thinking and writing or recording the information. If it is a challenge to write hiring a writing is the next best option.
For someone like Kathyrn, who wants to drive traffic and sales on her website, she has to narrow her focus and go where her target market is. She has to attract them with a free offer and put them on her mailing list. Then she has to begin engaging them with valuable information and offers.
She has to rinse and repeat the methods that work. With this activity she will drive traffic and sales which will lead to having a successful online business.
Do you have a question about how to make extra money? Need help coming up with ideas for a business? Can’t seem to decide which business model or side hustle is right for you? Send me your questions and I will answer them here. I love to help anyone I can.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
