Many small businesses often complain of lack of funds (or insufficient funds) as what is holding them back from taking their marketing to the next level. Nothing could be farther from the truth. What is actually holding these folks back is lack of knowledge-NOT lack of funds.
The truth is that the internet has made building a brand and promoting a business something within the reach of everyone. You just have to know what to do and get down to work. I can’t do the work involved for you, but I can give you tips that will help you build your brand and get consistent traffic without spending much.
Here are some proven methods:
1. Guest Blogging
Authority can be transferred. If you are seen often in the company of the authority in your niche, some of their authority is passed on to you. So how do you do that? Look for some of the most influential blogs in your niche and offer to do guest posts for them (This assumes that you really know your stuff or are willing to hire a very good writer who knows his/her stuff).
But beyond your immediate niche, there are also related niches that you can ask for opportunities to do guest posts. Believe it or NOT, high traffic blog owners have one constant need: Great content. Provide them with it and they’ll let you share their audience. Do this long enough and you’ll be seen as an authority. Do it with enough blogs and you might even become the authority in your niche.
2. Press Releases
A good press release can get to Google’s front page within 24 hours. Depending on the search volume, this could give you loads of traffic. And because people are seeing mentions about you all over the web, they’ll begin to associate you with that niche. Why are “TV experts” often regarded as authorities in their specific areas? We have been conditioned to associate visibility with authority.
So get those press releases out. You can do them for free or you can spend less than $50 to have them distributed all over the web (and on print too if some journalists see your release as news worthy).
3. Article Marketing
Some people might be intimidated by the mere thought of trying to contact blog owners for the opportunity to do a guest post. While there is NO need for such fears, you can opt for a simpler brand building technique. Write top quality articles and have them published on the top article directories. All you have to do is sign up, write and submit.
While this technique is NOT as powerful as it used to be, say, five years back, you can still build a solid brand on its strength alone. That is, if you stick to it for a reasonable length of time.
4. Content Syndication
The internet is the information highway. Therefore, content will always be king. Repurpose your article or other forms of content and have them syndicated far and wide. Turn your articles into videos, PDFs, podcasts, slides and share them on sites that accept those formats. Then take advantage of promotional tools and give these instances of your work a push.
Do this repeatedly enough and you will have your sign posts everywhere on the internet. Good a thing, you don’t have to take a second mortgage to get this done.
