Hiring a Freelancer
Anyone who has lurked on the Flying Solo forums, realises the amazing breadth and depth of talent hidden in back bedrooms around Australia. For others hard at work in traditional servicing businesses, they are weighing the odds between having the perceived safety of using an agency or company that employs staff and talks the language of the corporates... or realising that their marketing/IT needs can be filled best by 2-3 trustworthy freelancers.
One advantage is that small businesses on a budget can order up a small project of low-cost, like Adwords management, that their staff might flounder with, to gain better results. Similarly, if the freelancer knows about SEO they can educate the business owner of the benefits and work it into a web makeover or content writing job... without expecting them to pay $2,000 upfront for SEO without knowing the return. Conservative business managers tend to believe it only when they see the numbers and the results. Inch by inch, it’s a cinch!
Which Types of Marketing are Effective for Small/Micro Business?
In a 2008 Micro Business survey by Flying Solo, 44% of participants said the biggest challenge they faced was finding enough clients/customers. Wouldn’t it be good if that was made a little easier and less expensive? Business people need marketing that gets results, and that is what I have been studying for years.
While 85% of respondents found clients through word-of-mouth, 31.9% found customers through their website, 32.8% through other business partnerships, and 27.4% through social networking and forums. Cold calling ranked way down at 15%… eye-opening figures for sure. Perhaps we should not be afraid to try new marketing mediums, especially low cost ones.
Many advertising salespeople out there are getting desperate… because things are changing. Businesses of all sizes are taking some budget away from traditional print, radio, and TV, and focussing more online, with the aim of creating ‘touch-points’ with customers. This means the organisation is visible and even interacts with the customer where they are having fun, sharing and communicating – like in a virtual community or social network.
Most of us know how important it is to make our websites search engine optimised. Amazingly, only 18% of the 1411 participants had their website SEO working satisfactorily, with a large proportion having done no SEO at all. Search Engine Optimisation is one of those things that can be done with zero budget if you have the right knowledge, and I explain how in my new guide. It is befuddling to me that something that can attract customers naturally is not even being done by the majority.
How hard is it to be exceptional on the internet in 2009? It’s not hard, if you have a roadmap.
In the
Small Business/Entrepreneur’s Guide to Digital Marketing on a Shoestring, you will be given the knowledge to market and test it all yourself, or get the help should you need it, all online.
Benefits of Ezines (Newsletters by Email)
- They have a problem or need, and the product meets their needs
- They have trust in you, your brand or offering
- The timing is right – they want it now
Your clients receiving this regular reminder of your services will also bring in more sales - and more profits, since you didn’t have to pay again to acquire them.
Your regular ezine creates a long-term communication channel between your business and the prospect/client. As long as they have given their permission to be emailed (opted in or past client), and you provide an unsubscribe link at the foot of the email, this mailing is not considered “spam”.
Then, when the time is right for them, the person or brand who comes to mind will be the one that provided the best information and fulfillment of that particular need.
Marketing your ezine is a low-cost way to grow your business. To your subscribers, your business is only a click or a call away, and curiosity may soon overwhelm them to contact you.
Ezines are an interactive process. You can easily conduct surveys and also test which articles are more popular. A survey allows you to collect some demographics for more targeted marketing, and you could provide a small prize or discount offer in return.
Ezines can easily drive traffic to your website, and links can zero into what you want to show them. These clicks can be tracked.
Instead of gambling a lot of marketing dollars on advertising a new product, you can market test an ad for a new widget or new idea for service in your regular ezine, and check response rates. Email is free, whereas mailouts and print advertising are most definitely not.
Once established, you can if you wish include third-party advertisements in your ezine, and advertisers will pay you for this.
But How Do I Create an Ezine?
To create a successful ezine, it must be unique, targeted, relevant and concise. To grow your reputation, it must also be well written. Since ezines are now freely available for people to pick and choose, yours must convey original content.
You are probably way too busy doing what you do best to compile a well-researched newsletter every month. That’s where using a professional writer comes in. It is my job to make the ezine sound like it has come straight from you (the publisher) as an expert in your field. Other industry experts can also be called on to lend credibility. So write a brief and get a few quotes from copywriters, such as Power of Words. We offer affordable copywriting from a home office.
Then you just need to choose your automated email provider, which I can recommend, try the free monthly trial, and then you are on your way. After the first month it costs from around $31 per month depending on subscriber numbers.
Once the setup has been completed, by using outsourcers, managing an ezine can totally be taken out of your hands, leaving you more time to talk to your customers, friends, or dog.