top 12 places to market your business for free
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Do you want more traffic and sales? Then market your business on 12 of the most visited sites on the internet today.TRANSCRIPT
12 Top Sites to Market Your Business for Free
Jinger Jarrett
Copyright
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study,
or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in
writing of the author. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside those
terms should be sent to the author.
The use of registered names, trademarks etc. in this publication does not
imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant laws and regulations and therefore free for
general use.
The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard
to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot
accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that
may be made.
Table of Contents
Preface............................................................................................iii
About this book...........................................................................................iii
Google...............................................................................................1
Facebook...........................................................................................3
YouTube............................................................................................5
Yahoo................................................................................................7
Amazon...........................................................................................11
Ebay................................................................................................13
Windows Live/Bing.........................................................................15
Craigslist........................................................................................19
Twitter............................................................................................21
Blogspot..........................................................................................23
Linkedin..........................................................................................25
Pinterest.........................................................................................27
Resources.......................................................................................31
i
Preface
About this book
There are many places on the internet to market your business for free.
If you want to get the most traffic though, then you'll want to use these
12 sites to market. They are some of the most visited sites in the world,
and by using them, you will easily determine which free internet
marketing techniques are the most effective.
iii
If you own a business, then marketing on Google is a must. Google is one
of the most business friendly sites on the internet. Because it is also the
number site as rated by Alexa, it is crucial to your marketing plan.
Although there are many ways to market on this site, I want to share six
different ways you can really give your business a boost.
Google+ - This is their latest attempt at a social networking site.
Although Orkut is still around, Google has somewhat abandoned that site
to be more competitive. Plus allows you to create pages for your
business, as well as posting to your news feed. You may create groups of
different audiences, allowing you to have private posts and chats with
your teams, customers, or anyone else you want.
Google Places - This is a directory of businesses. You may add your
business for free. You will need to confirm your submission either by
mail or phone. Include as much information about your business as
possible including a link to your website. This directory is quickly
replacing the Yellow Pages as the place people go to find businesses. It
also includes reviews from other sites, so you will find ratings and
reviews on many of the businesses listed there.
Google Search Engines - Probably the first place most will go to
market their businesses is here, this is probably the simplest and fastest
marketing technique you will find to do on this site. To get started, sign
up for an account. Once you have an account, submit your sitemap and
then verify it so that the spiders can start to spider your site. If you don't
have a sitemap, there are plenty of free tools available to help you make
one.
Google Books - If you've written a book, then you'll want to submit your
information here and get it indexed into the Google catalog. This will
1
allow you to sell your books on their site, as well as selling in the Play
store.
Google Business Site Builder - Don't have a website for your business
and want to build one? Then buy a domain, point it to this site and then
build your web presence here. It's a simple way to build a content rich
website or squeeze page for your business. You may also consider
building a page here to point to your website, which is link building gold.
Google Mobile - With five times as many cell phone users as computer
users, you can't afford to not have a mobile website. Why pay for one
when you can create one for free? This site makes it easy. Just create
your code for the page and copy and paste it into the template. Simple.
To get the most from this site, you will want to visit Webmaster Central,
as well as Google for Business. You'll also find plenty of tools and
applications to help you run your business, so make sure you take a look
at everything in your account. This will give you a powerful solution for
your business, and most of it is free.
2
If you use social marketing to market your business, then you know
about Facebook. It is the number one social site on the internet and is
only second to Google in the amount of traffic it gets (according to
Alexa).
One of the things I like most about this site is that there are so many
ways to market here. Except for the ads section, all of these techniques
are free.
Fan Pages - A fan page is where you create a page for your site. You
post status updates to this page, as well as information about your
business. Once you build your page, make sure you share it everywhere
you can. Your page should be complete, keyword rich, and point back to
your business website. You may build as many pages as you like, so if
you're a book author, build a page for each of your books.
Groups - Groups allow you to connect with others and discuss topics you
care about. Facebook offers groups on just about every topic imaginable,
so you'll find plenty available regardless of what topic you are interested
in. There is a limit at this time on the number of groups you may join:
300. Periodically get rid of groups that don't serve you, and if you're
being added to groups you're not interested in, delete those too.
Friends - You are limited to only 5000 friends here, so make all your
connections count. Read the profiles of those who want to connect with
you. Search for those you want to connect with and send friends
requests. These requests are limited to 20 a day, so be careful when
you're sending out these requests. Facebook may lock you out for awhile
if they think you are engaging in spam.
3
Events - You may post your events, or you can attend the events of
others. If you do decide to create an event, make sure you promote it as
much as possible so that you get the attendees you want. Invite your
friends but show respect. Don't bombard them with events. Send out a
press release and a mailing to your list to let them know. You also want
to consider other ways to promote like article writing, as well as
promoting on your blog.
Applications and Games - Not only can you create applications to
promote your business, you can create applications and games to make
money. Some of these games have become so popular that they have
made millions of dollars. This will work better if you are in the gaming
industry, but if you can find a way to relate a game to your business,
then you should consider it. Use applications to help you automate blog
posting to your pages. There are also plenty of applications that can be
used to post your status from other sites like Pinterest, Twitter, and
others so that friends may see your activity on other sites.
Ads - Ads on Facebook are much less expensive than ads you buy on
Google Adwords. There are different ways you can choose ads, including
simply promoting a status, or you may buy impressions. Whatever you
choose, make sure you make an offer that drives traffic to your website.
What this means is that you don't want to try and sell anything in your
ad. Try to build a list so you can recycle your traffic and get the most out
of it. You may also consider sending them to your content on Facebook
to build fans.
Facebook is a great way to promote your business. However, it can be
very addictive, so make sure you have a plan before you start marketing
there. This includes having a list of tasks you complete each day, and you
want to make sure that you answer your friend requests, messages, and
any other requests you may have.
4
YouTube
If you use video to market your business, nothing gets more traffic than
YouTube. YouTube receives about 65 percent of all the video traffic
worldwide, so if you use video to market your business, you cannot
ignore this site and get enough traffic to your business. YouTube is the
ultimate search engine, and so you can find video on just about any topic
you are looking for. Besides, people love watching video, so why not
entertain your visitors and teach them something too?
If you want to get the more from your marketing efforts on this site, then
try these tips:
1. Submit your videos regularly.
It doesn't do much for your business to submit only one or two videos.
The more videos you submit the better. Just make sure they are high
quality. Do product tours of your products, as well as reviews of affiliate
products that complement your offerings. Consider it a video press
release. Give a few good tips about your product and show potential
customers how it will help them solve their problems.
2. Recycle your content.
Do you write articles, free ebooks, or other content? Then turn it into a
video. You can convert your content to a presentation. Then record the
presentation while you explain the various bullet points. It's a simple way
to create your video. You'll also find plenty of software programs
available on the internet you can use to convert your content to video.
This will save you a lot of time and help you get your content distributed
more quickly.
3. Create the appropriate tags, descriptions and titles.
5
YouTube
YouTube is a huge search engine with its own keyword tool. If you want
to get the most from your videos, writing a keyword description, title and
tags will help drive more traffic to your videos. It's simple search engine
optimization, and it's an easy way to get more traffic out of your videos.
Use the YouTube keyword research tool to help you get ideas for videos
as well what keywords you should be using.
4. Comment on videos.
When you watch other videos, make sure you leave a comment. Start a
discussion. If you do that, it will get others looking at your videos. Notice
I said start a discussion. You don't want to start an argument because it
could damage your business reputation. Make your comments
information and if you have a video that's related, make sure you
mention it. YouTube allows 500 characters per comment so pack as
much information into your comment as possible.
5. Use your videos as replies to other high ranking videos.
If you find a video that is related to your video, and the other video is
getting a lot of traffic, then consider using doing a reply. This will
increase your traffic because others will want to know what you have to
say about the original video. It's also good internal linking for YouTube,
so this will help your video rank better.
YouTube is one of the best places to market your business because you
can illustrate what you are saying. Google loves YouTube and will rank
your videos well in its search engine. It's also a way for you to talk to
your customers and introduce them to your product offerings. You can
build credibility with your visitors and customers, giving you a chance to
increase your sales, and what could be better than that?
6
Yahoo
Although Yahoo has many paid programs you can use to promote your
business and increase your traffic, its real value lies in its free
promotional opportunities. As the fourth most visited site according to
Alexa, Yahoo has become the Content Network of the internet. To help
you get the most from Yahoo and promote your business as much as
possible for free, here are my best tips:
1. Write and submit articles to the Yahoo Contributor Network.
Although the top article directory on the internet (that is a true article
directory) is Ezine Articles, Yahoo Contributor Network really is the top
place to promote your articles, product reviews, and other written
content. Yahoo bought out Associated Content, and not only can you
syndicate your content throughout the network, but you can also get
paid for your writing because Yahoo pays for page views. This is a nice
way to set up a passive residual income. You won't get rich doing it, but
it is a nice little paycheck.
You can write content on just about any topic you can imagine. Although
it takes a few days for your articles to get accepted, it's worth it because
it allows you to display your work before a wide audience, and your
traffic will be targeted because those who read your content are
interested in what you are writing about.
2. Post your ads, articles, and other discussions to groups.
Yahoo Groups is one of the most popular destinations on the internet for
connecting in groups. This site has groups for just about every topic you
can imagine, and there are groups for different types of content you can
post to.
7
Yahoo
Do a search within the directory to find the types of groups you are
looking for. Make sure you read the rules of the group before joining,
and also make sure that you find groups that are active. You don't want
to waste your time posting your content to groups where it won't be
read. These groups are similar to forums, so the same rules of marketing
tend to apply.
3. Post your photos on Flickr.
The way to get the most from this site is to create mini tutorials for your
business. Design a flow chart or something like that and show someone
how to do something. For example, if you teach people how to start a
business, then create a flow chart with the steps to starting that
business.
4. Bookmark your sites on Delicious.
Yahoo also acquired Delicious, and this site is one of the top
bookmarking sites on the internet. You can bookmark all your websites
and other content and get a highly ranked backlink to your website.
5. Answer questions on Yahoo Answers.
People ask questions on this site on just about any topic you can
imagine. If you want to get the most from it, look for questions on your
topic of expertise. Answer those questions and then include links back to
your site. You don't want to go crazy and make sure your site is relevant
to the answer you gave.
8
Yahoo
Yahoo provides multiple content promotion opportunities for you. This
can help you build a solid marketing plan for your business, so make
sure you add Yahoo to your marketing arsenal.
9
Amazon
If you sell or write books, then you will want to sell on Amazon. Amazon
is the largest bookstore in the world and the top bookstore online. This
site is structured to sell your products. Selling on Amazon is a mutually
beneficial relationship. When you sell, it makes money for Amazon too.
All of these selling tools are incorporated into its website, so it makes
selling your products much easier.
If you want to get the most from Amazon, there are a few things you can
do to really get the word out about your books and Kindles and connect
with your readers:
1. Build your author profile
Author Central offers a wealth of information on creating a profile. This
is your opportunity for you to tell your readers all about yourself, your
writing, and your books. Be sure and add all your books to your profile.
Add you Twitter account, as well as your blog. This information will
update automatically, and it will help you build your audience. As with
all profiles, make sure you include a photo of yourself. This allows you to
make your profile more personal.
2. Build your customer profile
Authors aren't just authors on Amazon. They are customers too. This
means you also have a profile as a reader. This allows you to build a
profile to give even more information about yourself. Your guides,
reviews, and wishlists will appear on this page, so make sure you add
content regularly. Write as many reviews as possible. According to Brent
Sampson, owner of Outskirts Press, your reviews will help you most
when you have written at least 100. Then your reviews will begin to
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Amazon
show up at the top of the list for the reviews of a particular title. This
gives you authority.
3. Write lists and reviews
Lists and reviews will help you get noticed. The more reviews you have,
the more likely you are to get noticed by your readers. Since your
reviews, lists, and guides add to your profile, this allows your readers to
get to know you. It also provides valuable content for your books, so
make sure you write as many as possible. Take your time to write good
content that is helpful to your readers.
4. Write guides
Guides are a type of how to content. This is your opportunity to tell your
readers about your topic and demonstrate your expertise. "Show what
you know." This is especially important if you write non fiction. If you
own more than one website, write a guide related to the topic of each
website. This will mean a blog post on each topic you write about.
5. Connect on the forums
This is your opportunity to connect with your readers and customers.
This is why your customer profile is so important. You want to make it as
complete as possible because this is where others will look to find out
more about you. Write good forum posts and demonstrate your
expertise. This is crucial to getting others to read your reviews and
guides and take a look at your books.
Amazon offers many promotional opportunities, and you can connect
with your readers and customers. Make sure you create a presence here,
even if you don't write books, and then share your expertise with others.
12
Ebay
There are many places on the internet to market your business, but if
you are marketing on the top sites, then it's a good idea to consider
Ebay. Ebay and Amazon are the top marketplaces in the world, and Ebay
is the top auction site in the world. When searchers visit this site, they
are looking for bargains. You can provide these bargains.
First though, you need certain knowledge so that you don't waste money
on listings. Ebay will give you 50 listings for free, but if you make sales,
you'll end up paying a small charge for selling. So, make sure you do it
right so you don't waste your money. These tips will get you started:
1. Make sure you follow the rules.
When it comes to selling, this site is one of the strictest sites on the
internet. If you want to get traffic and sales, you have to follow the rules.
Otherwise you will get banned. Ebay can make you or break you, and
they want you to succeed because they make money when you make
money. In fact, like Amazon, Ebay will help you make more money if you
use their tips and strategies, so make sure you know what they are first.
2. Look at other auctions for ideas.
Search engine optimization will definitely help you with your listings
because Ebay listings do rank well in the search engines, especially
Google. Incorporate search engine optimization into your listing, but you
also want to make sure you read other listings. Which ones make you
want to buy? Which ones look good? There is plenty of free software to
help you write your listings so make sure you take advantage of the
resources available to you to create your listings.
3. When your offer sells, repost as soon as possible.
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Ebay
You are only allowed to list a product one time with the free listings.
Even if you make multiple listings, only one listing will show up. Making
multiple listings is then a waste of your time. List multiple products
instead and then repost as quickly as possible when they sell. If they
don't sell, check your listing and try testing different elements to see
what will improve your chances of selling.
4. Share your listing.
Social sites, videos, and other content can help you sell more, as well as
promote your store. Even though this site is one of the top sites on the
internet, relying on it to do all your promotion is a mistake. Instead, do
your own promotion. Drive your own traffic and then you have more
control over how many visitors you get.
5. Provide good customer service to increase your credibility.
When you get an order, ship it as soon as possible. Answer any questions
you may receive, and leave positive feedback for your customers. When
you do this, it increases the chance of you getting good feedback and
improving your reputation. It is well worth the effort because potential
customers do pay attention to this information. No matter what you do,
you will always have someone who isn't satisfied. Do your best to provide
good customer service and don't be bitter about it. It will keep your
reputation intact. A good reputation is crucial here so don't neglect it.
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Windows Live/Bing
Although Google is the number one search engine and dominates the
search engine market, there is another search engine I suggest you use
if you want to get the most from your search engine marketing efforts.
That search engine is Bing.
Bing not only drives the results for its own search engine, it provides the
results for Yahoo now. Google, Yahoo, and Bing are the most used search
engines in the world, so it's important that you target all three.
To get you started with Bing, I've outlined five tools you can use to get
the most of your marketing efforts from there. This will help you get the
most from this site while spending very little money.
1. Sitemaps
A sitemap is a file that contains a list of all the links in your website. To
get your website indexed by Bing, you will need to submit a sitemap.
There are plenty of programs on the internet you may use to create a
sitemap and many of them are free. If you use a script like Wordpress to
run your website, you may use a plugin to automatically generate a
sitemap for you. Then all you have to do is get the link to the sitemap
and submit it. Check your stats often to see how your site is performing
and make sure your links are getting indexed. If they are not, then you
may submit them manually. Bing allows you to submit up to 50 links a
day.
2. Local
Local is a directory of local businesses. Even if you run your business
from home, it's still a good idea to create a listing here so that your
visitors may find you. These types of sites are used more often than the
15
Windows Live/Bing
Yellow Pages these days. Consider that Yahoo and Google also offer
these types of directories, and you may submit to them for free. You can
quickly boost the amount of traffic your business is getting by using
these sites.
3. Shopping
If you offer products, especially physical products, then you definitely
want to take a look at the shopping section of this site. You may submit a
listing of all your products and have them indexed into the catalog. This
allows those using the Bing catalog to search for products throughout
the web. Use this to help you sell your products.
4. Ads
Google offers the largest ads network on the internet. Their ads are also
more expensive. If you are looking for a way to advertise, test your ads,
and then see what is most responsive, try the MSN Ad Center. You may
find that these ads are actually more responsive than other ad sites. It
may also be less expensive for you than using other ad sites too. Make
sure you test all the elements in your ads so that you know what is
working and what isn't. Only test one element at a time. So, write
several headlines, test them and see which one works best. Then test
your other elements so you get the most effective ads.
5. Organic Keyword Research Tool
Bing also has its own keyword tool, so when you are targeting this
search engine, don't use the Google Keyword Tool or other keyword
tools. Use this keyword tool to help you find out what others are
searching for in this search engine. This way you will target the right
keywords for this search engine.
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Windows Live/Bing
Although, in my opinion, Bing doesn't offer the robust tools for business
that Google does, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't use this site. This is
one more place to market your business that will give you targeted
traffic.
17
Craigslist
Craigslist is the most popular free classified ads site on the internet. It's
also one of the top 50 most visited sites in the world, and so it should be
a part of your marketing plan. However, if you want to get the most from
Craigslist, then you will want to do things a certain way. These tips will
show you how to get the most from your ads and avoid many of the
problems most have when posting here.
1. Don't make your ads too commercial.
When you post text ads to Craigslist, you really want to watch the
wording. Some words will set off red flags for this site and prevent your
ad from getting accepted. Get straight to the point. Include a benefit in
your ad for your readers. Include a link to your site, or you may use the
email function, which might be more effective. Test these to see which
works best for you. You may also use HTML ads, but again, avoid using
any type of hype in your ad or words that may get it flagged.
2. Place your ad in the right category.
Some of the categories on Craigslist are paid and others are free. One of
the biggest mistakes I see made on this site is people posting business
opportunities in the jobs category. Not only are you alienating your
potential customers, but you are lying to them. A business opportunity is
not a job. It's a business opportunity. Put it in the small business ads
category for better results. Same thing goes with everything else: if you
are giving away something for free, then make sure it really is free.
3. Try using image ads.
Maybe you can't avoid using certain words in your ads in order to
communicate your message. That's when you should use an image ad.
19
Craigslist
This is an ad with all your text on an image. You may easily make these
using a simple graphics program. Make sure you include a call to action
so that readers know to click on the ad. Use simple HTML code, and if
you reuse the image, use different names for it and write different
headlines to make the ad different.
4. Submit consistently.
Craigslist has very specific rules about how often you may post. The
truth is, you may post every day, but only post one or two ads. Each ad
should be unique. Again, post everything in the appropriate category and
watch the wording of your ads. Don't forget to include a way for your
readers to connect with you.
5. Try marketing on the forums.
The forums are another place where you may market. Just make sure
that you post relevant content in the appropriate category. Write short
min articles and then link to your site. You want to make sure you don't
overwrite on the character count because the rest of your ad won't show
up. You must also sign up for an account, and your account must be
confirmed and open for seven days before your links will be clickable.
Follow the rules on Craigslist, and you can drive a lot of traffic to your
site. Get your IP banned, and you won't ever be able to post ads. Use this
site the right way to get the most traffic.
20
Twitter is one of the most visited websites in the world. It's also one of
the most misunderstood because it's different from many of the websites
available where you can market. If you understand how to market on
Twitter though, you can drive a ton of traffic to your website, build your
brand, and make more money. Below are five tips that will help you get
more from Twitter:
1. Create a username that brands your business.
In my case, I use my name. It's because I'm an author, and I want others
to identify my name with my work. You may want to use the name of
your business. Whatever you use, make sure you use something that
relates to your business and will help others remember who you are.
2. Build an effective profile.
There are several things you may do to make your profile more effective.
First, you may consider adding a custom background. This allows you to
add more information about your business. The profile functions on
Twitter are quite limited because you only have about 160 characters
available for your description and a link to your website. With a custom
background, you can add information about your social profiles, as well
as anything else you want. Write a description that includes your
keyword as well as including a link to your site.
3. Follow those in your industry.
If you want to connect with the top people in your industry, then follow
them. If you start following them, they may just follow you. Follow as
many people in your industry as you can. This will allow you to connect
with people in your industry and build your following. Building a
21
following is hard work, so get out there and do it. Use your other social
sites to help you find those to connect to.
4. Engage your audience.
You don't want to constantly write about your business. That's boring.
Get personal and invite your followers into your life too. You don't want
to be too personal, but try and write about different things. Get your
audience to pay attention to what you are saying. If others are following
you, you can share their posts, as well as comment. Really connect with
your readers.
5. Avoid automation.
Although you may want to automate your blog posts, which is fine, you
don't want to automate all of your posts. Make it a point to post content
yourself at regular intervals. Read what others are writing and see what
tweets others are engaging on. This will help you figure out what type of
content to post, again, so you can engage your readers.
Twitter can be an effective way to market your business if you use it
correctly. Take the time to learn how to use it, and you can build a
tremendous amount of traffic and sales to your business.
22
Blogspot
The most popular blogging platform in the world is Wordpress.
Wordpress offers both a hosted as well as a self hosted version. The
problem with Wordpress is that if you choose the hosted version, you
can't promote any commercial activity. This basically renders this site
useless in terms of marketing your business, but there is a solution:
Blogspot.
Blogspot is a property that's owned by Google. You can use your Google
account to sign into this site and create unlimited blogs. This site is
much more business friendly than Wordpress, and so you may use this
site to create a blog for your business or use it as an additional place to
post your content. What's important is that you don't use this as a place
to spam. Otherwise you will cause Google to delete your blog.
To help you get started, follow these tips:
1. Complete your profile.
This should be your starting point for setting up your account on
Blogspot. Make it personal. Add all the relevant information about
yourself, as well as include a picture of yourself. This makes your profile
much more comfortable.
2. Include a subscription box.
Google also owns a site called Feedburner. At Feedburner you can
create a subscription box for your blog as well as optimize the RSS feed.
This site will also allow to track the number of subscribers to your blog.
It's another one of those Google tools you can use that's free, so make
sure you take advantage of it.
23
Blogspot
3. Include subscribe and share buttons.
There are several sites that offer these types of buttons, so I won't
suggest one particular service. These scripts are free to use, and they
will allow you to place a small piece of code on your website so that
visitors can share you content and subscribe to your feed. It's an easy
way to promote your content, and if you write good content, your content
could easily go viral.
4. Add links from your other websites.
Here is another opportunity for you to promote your other websites. This
includes your main websites, as well as your social sites. In fact, link to
whatever products, sites, and services you may be offering.
5. Use Google Adsense and other ads to make money.
One of the most important aspects of having a blog is to monetize it. This
will allow you to make money passively, so it's well worth your effort to
look into programs that will allow you to add these ads to your site. You
have a wide variety of ad solutions available including Ebay, Clickbank,
and others. The way you choose to monetize your site is totally up to you.
Just make sure you have multiple streams of income that will make you
money.
24
Although Facebook is the largest social network on the internet, the
largest business network is Linkedin. Regardless of what type of
business you own, you want to build a presence for your business here.
You never know who may be looking for a specific type of business like a
chiropractor, or some other type of business, and it allows you to
connect with others in your industry.
Linkedin also allows you to find employees, connect with other business
owners, and read industry news. Make it your first source for
information on business, and you will save a lot of time. Before you start
using this site though, here's what you need to do:
1. Build a complete profile.
The more information you include on your profile, the easier it will be to
connect with those you want to connect with. Linkedin allows you to list
what you are looking for. Whether it's networking, a job, new employees,
or some other need your business may have, you can list it on your
profile. Linkedin profiles are public too, so it allows you to optimize for
the search engines and be found more easily.
2. Build a business page for your company.
Linkedin added a feature where you may create a page for your
company. This allows you to put the focus on your company and help
others understand how you can help solve their problems. It also creates
further visibility for your company, so make sure you create one. Show
other business owners what you do and how you can help them.
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3. Connect with others in your industry.
Linkedin has over 100 million members. You'll find people from just
about any industry you could possibly want to connect with. Search this
site and find those in your industry and connect with them. This may
lead to new business for you, or least allow you to leverage your business
interests by connecting with new joint venture partners. Search by
industry or keyword and then connect.
4. Participate in groups.
There are groups available on just about every aspect of business. Join
groups where you can share your expertise as well as connect with
others. If you are self employed like I am, and you usually work alone,
this will allow you to get out of your comfort zone and connect with like
minded individuals to grow your business. It will also help you stay on
track with your business especially if you find a group for mastermind.
5. Advertise your business.
Linkedin offers paid advertising on its website now allowing you to
market to your target market. Before using this feature though, because
it is paid, make sure you understand how it works. More importantly, be
careful in targeting those you wish to reach. Otherwise, you could end
up spending a lot of money needlessly and not reach your target market.
Because this is a business site it works very differently than traditional
social sites.
Linkedin is your best choice when you market business to business. It's
also a great way to find new employees and begin to build your presence
on the internet. Make sure you take advantage of it. It will increase your
bottom line when used the right way.
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Pinterest is the fastest growing image site on the internet. It is far more
than just an image site though. It's a way for your to communicate your
business in a visual way. This will allow you to present your information
about your business in a new and fresh way that potential customers can
relate to. Before you get started though, use these tips to save you time
and create a presence that will help you get the results you want:
1. Create a complete profile.
Before you sign up for Pinterest, make sure you put careful thought into
how you want to list yourself. I used my name because I'm a writer. I
want everyone to identify my work with my name. This makes it easier
for them to do. However, you may want to brand your company name so
choose a username and title your profile accordingly.
Use a punchy slogan and make sure you include the appropriate
hashtags in your description so that others can find you. (A hashtag is
this symbol: #.) Regardless of the keywords you choose, they will always
be one word. For example, if you use internet marketing, it will look like
this: #internetmarketing.
Include a photo of either yourself or your company logo. Make it look
professional, and don't forget to add a link to your website.
2. Pin images that are interesting.
To get started, you will want to create pin boards. Pin boards allow you
to organize your content. Complete the titles, descriptions, and keywords
for these and then start making you pins. Create long graphics as these
display better and make them interesting. Browse the site to get ideas
and see what other business owners are doing. Then create your own.
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There are many great free graphics programs that are simple to use, and
you may use these to help you.
3. Follow others.
If you want to connect, start following others. This will give you a chance
to connect, and many will follow you back. Look for those in your
industry and make sure you follow them. Pinterest makes it simple to do
this. There is, however, a search function to help you find those you may
not be connected with on Facebook or Twitter.
4. Comment, share, and like other photos.
Getting involved puts you out there in front of everyone else. Post
comments and share others' pins on your pin boards. Like photos. It will
make it a lot easier for you to get your content to go viral. Pinterest is an
excellent way to try to take your business viral, so test out various
elements. Viral marketing is difficult to achieve, but it can be done.
5. Get ideas for things to sell.
Pinterest offers several areas of its site that allow you to get ideas for
what's popular. There is also a section where you can post your products
and include the prices. Use these areas to help you find out what's
popular and then choose products to share that you can make money
from even if they aren't in your industry. You will do better to create
pages for these products and include the affiliate link on the page.
Pinterest does strip Amazon affiliate IDs, and they may not want to take
your affiliate links, so it's best to submit pages and videos instead.
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Pinterest can get you a lot of traffic, but it's important that you
understand the site first. Build a presence here and then promote your
business. It can mean a lot of traffic.
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Resources
Below are my best resources for helping you make money online and
market your business for free. They free too.
Internet Marketing Membership – I'll teach you how to make money
online and market your business for free.
Internet Marketing Webinar – Watch my free webinar and discover 10
different ways to market your business for free. You'll also discover 12 of
the best top sites to market your business for free.
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