Tag: internet marketing

Categories
Internet Marketing

The 6 Online Marketing Strategies Every Entrepreneur Needs

how to market products online

The internet has radically transformed how we build and promote businesses: We have access to far more resources and far more potential than ever before. So, why do so many entrepreneurs end up neglecting these fruitful opportunities by forgoing marketing, or delaying it as an unnecessary expenditure?

See also: How to start a business online

The way I see it, there are a handful of online marketing strategies you need — as in, your startup won’t be able to thrive without them.

Criteria for “need”

What do I mean, you “need” these strategies? After all, isn’t marketing optional? Isn’t it possible to build a business even without an online presence? Technically, yes, but you’ll be missing out on enormous potential by doing so.

All the strategies I qualify as “necessary” exhibit the following traits:

  • Expected. People expect you to have these things in place, and if you don’t have them, they may think less of your company.
  • Accessible. None of these strategies is particularly hard or complicated; there may be a bit of a learning curve, but on some level, these are accessible strategies.
  • Affordable. You won’t have to spend much money on any of these strategies, making them easy to pick up even for tight-budget startups.
  • Valuable. These strategies all offer high potential returns, meaning that the cost for you, if you neglect them, will be significant potential.
  • Time-sensitive. The more time you invest in these strategies, the more powerful they become. The sooner you get involved, the bigger the payoff you can potentially get.

It’s the combination of these factors that makes your work in these areas necessary. These are the strategies I deem “necessary”:

1. Personal branding.

Successful businesses can generate a ton of momentum from successful entrepreneurs who lead them. Branding yourself, before your company, gives you the opportunity to leverage a more trustworthy, personal image to promote your brand.

It also gives you more power to meet and network with others, form more partnerships and lend a face to your otherwise faceless organization. And it’s free to do, from a monetary perspective, though you will need to invest a significant amount of time.

2. Content marketing.

Content marketing takes a variety of forms, and depending on how you form your strategy, could accomplish a number of different goals. For example, you could use white papers, ebooks and other long-form content to attract downloads, signups and conversions, or you could use an on-site blog to attract more inbound traffic to your site.

You could even use content as a form of help and troubleshooting, or some combination of these applications. Content marketing is incredibly versatile and useful, and, if it’s valuable, your customers will expect you to have at least some of it in place for them.

Related: 10 Easy ways students can make money fast

3. Search engine optimization (SEO).

SEO is the process of making your site more visible in search engines, so you get more traffic from people searching for the products or services you offer. Much of your organic search position ranking comes from the technical structure of your site and your ongoing content development strategy.

So, SEO is not much more of an investment if you’re already creating new content regularly — and it’s well worth that extra investment if for no other reason than to make sure your site is properly indexed.

4. Conversion optimization.

Most of these strategies aim to get more people on your site, but what do those people do once they’re there? Conversion optimization helps you ensure you get more value out of each and every visitor by maximizing your rate of conversion.

Sometimes, this means including more conversion opportunities, and other times, improving the ones you already have.

5. Social media marketing.

Social media marketing isn’t the get-rich-quick scheme you may have been promised, but there is significant potential in building and nurturing a social media audience. Again, content will come into play heavily here, as it will likely be the factor that attracts your audience to begin with. Here, you stand to gain greater brand visibility, a greater reputation and far more inbound traffic with your syndicated links.

6. Email marketing.

Email marketing has astounding potential for ROI because it costs almost nothing to execute. Start collecting subscribers from your existing customer base, your social media followers and other new opportunities; from there, even a simple content newsletter can help you encourage repeat traffic to your site, facilitate more engagement with your brand and keep your brand top-of-mind with your audience.

As you may have noticed from these descriptions, there’s one other key advantage these strategies offer: They all work together. While they can be pursued individually, each connects with and feeds into the others in some way. If you pursue them all, complementing your efforts across these multiple areas, you’ll see an even higher potential return.

Source: Entrepreneur

Categories
Marketing

How Small Businesses Are Cracking the Online Marketing Code

small business online marketing guide
Image credit: shutterstock

A strong SEO foundation will almost always lead to good results in the end

When it comes to online marketing, the purpose and objectives are generally the same as traditional strategies in terms of increasing brand awareness and finding new customers.

There are a number of ingredients that go into a successful digital promotion all the way from planning to sales. Perhaps the biggest benefit online marketing has for small businesses is that it enables them to spend each dollar more efficiently to yield a higher ROI.

Related: How to start a business online

 Here are some ways in which small businesses are making the most out of their online marketing efforts.

Producing strong content

Content marketing is the cornerstone of every online marketing strategy. Producing stellar brand material is a surefire way to create loyal visitors and encourage sharing.

At the end of the day, the most important goal of content creation is to turn visitors into customers. This can start with small objectives like earning a follow on social media, signing up for a newsletter or taking a survey or poll.

Regardless of what type of content you are producing, such as a video, image, blog or social media post, you need to have a clear vision of how your content is going to add value to the life of the reader. Successful small businesses don’t just produce content for the sake of keeping a schedule. Typically, they know exactly what the concerns of their target audience are and they gear their content to address them in a profound, meaningful way.

Take Magnolia for example. This father and son electronic store took into account that a good deal of their customer base is not well-versed in the world of electronics. With this insight, they released a mini magazine called Buyer’s Guide Place. This magazine was similar to a blog in that it educated their audience on subjects like little things to looks for when buying electronics. It worked to highlight the expertise of their team and what they stand for. After years of successfully connecting with customers, what started off as a small electronics store ended up being bought out by Best Buy for $87 million.

They are still producing top-notch, educational content in the form of online expert guides.

Everyone benefits from quality content. Consumers get gratifying material and businesses earn better rankings on the SERPS. Small business can take advantage of their tight-knit followers and cater to their precise interests.

Localized SEO strategy

A good SEO strategy is the key to getting noticed in on the SERPS. Local SEO is extremely important for small businesses, especially ones with a physical address.

Related: Top 20 young internet entrepreneurs who are making it big online

The end goal of local SEO is to gain high rankings for searches around your geographic location. When users search keywords or phrases in the area, you want your website to be at the top of the list.

Localized SEO is great (but very competitive) for smaller companies such as dental offices or law firms. For example, Abrahamson and Uiterwyk, a Florida injury law practice, has used local SEO to dramatically boost their rankings to increase business. With consistent efforts, they’ve ended up ruling Google’s Map packs and local results for keywords like “injury lawyer Tampa FL.”

“When someone is in need of legal counsel, they are checking the yellow pages less and less. They turn more to Google. With the help of some great local SEO efforts, we’ve managed to be one of the first few names that pop up in the search. This has helped us represent over 15,000 injury victims.” — Erik Abrahamson, Senior Partner at Abrahamson and Uiterwyk in Tampa, Fla.

Currently, only 17 percent of small business are investing in SEO. Now is a great time to jump onboard and find the best ways you can leverage the SERPS to increase your online exposure.

Website marketing

To compete in the rapidly evolving digital landscape, having a strong website is a must for businesses of all sizes. Keep in mind, 51 percent of website traffic comes from organic search. Your positioning depends on the reputation of your website.

Perhaps one of the most important factors that go into a website’s reputation (that influences Google Rankings) is speed. Loading time has a huge impact on how users interact with your platform. Page abandonment drastically increases after each second.

A great way to optimize website speed is to select a good host for your web server. A lot small businesses miss the mark in this area because they’ve put together a site using a basic CMS like WordPress, but don’t have a good technical team to support them. Here’s a good hosting comparison for WordPress sites.

For a small business evaluating a website platform, the free trials are typically pointless. Building and marketing a good website takes a lot of work and resources. Committing to this task is one of the best investments of time and money you can make for your business.

Related: 10 Easy ways to get jobs online and make money from home

One of the greatest things about online marketing is that it gives small businesses a chance to compete a relatively level playing field as the bigger enterprises. Success is based on smarter, more efficient strategies rather than total money spent. Having a solid content creation plan and SEO approach is crucial in getting your website in front of the eyes of your target audience. No need to rush it, a strong foundation will almost always lead to good results in the end.

Source: Entrepreneur

Categories
Business

10 Easy Ways Students Can Make Money Fast

how students can make money fast

Students everywhere are preparing to face the real world of work. But before then, most of them look for opportunities to make quick money to add to their wallets. The avenues abound to make money quickly, albeit legally. Here a 10 reliable ways to make money, offline and online.

  1. Make Money Completing Online Surveys

This is a cool way to spend an hour of your day. Participation in some surveys can actually be very refreshing. Online surveys would not make you rich (not a fast lane to become a millionaire), but they are a sure way to make decent money while in school. Few minutes of filling an online form could earn you $5. Probably not much, but you’re not restricted to one poll site nor one survey. The more you partake, the more money you make.

You may consider these survey sites : Swagbucks, Toluna, Vivatic, OnePoll, MySurvey, SurveyBods, Valued Opinions, The Opinion Panel, YouGov, PopulusLive, Global Test Market, Pinecone, IPSOS, Hiving, PanelBase, MintVine, Opinion Outpost, Mingle, Harris Poll, Mind Mover, New Vista, iPoll.

  1. Make Money as Brand Ambassador /Campus Influencer

Another easy way to make money is to put in some effort to look for businesses which have products that students would be interested in, especially students on your campus. For example, a trendy fashion brand (or shop) that focuses on selling clothes for the young and young-at-heart, would gracefully accept to have you as their product ambassador if you meet a certain criteria. They’ll likely clothe you throughout the period of the contract whilst they expect you to rake in sales for the clothes. Influencers can be likened to celebrities who endorse a brand to increase its sales.

Beyond the physical, you could also use your social media account (if you have thousands of followers) to promote the brand for cash.

  1. Make Money Starring in Ads, Movies, and Other Videos

You can register with an advertising agency and offer to star in an ad. Once they have a concept that would require someone like you, they’ll call you. This is an easy way to make money. You can also be used as part of the extras in a movie and still make good money depending on your depth of participation. For people looking forward to careers in the fine art industry, this would be a good transition. To make more money, register with many agencies unless there’s an explicit restriction of such in your country.

  1. Make Money Selling Stories, Photos and Videos

As a student, you’ll have stories that may interest blogs and newspapers. This is a sure way to make money quickly. You can even break campus news to news agencies who would be ready to pay for it if it’s worth it. In addition, you can always pull your phone and take videos (stories with videos fetch more) and pictures to back the story or news you are selling. This could fetch you about $500 monthly if you take it seriously enough.

  1. Make Money Selling Fast Moving Products

Simply buying and selling products that students need would make you money more than you can dream of.  But of course, you first have to find out if this informal commercial activity is permitted on your campus. Market your business through word-of-mouth, messaging apps like whatsapp, paper posts, and social networking platforms. No much skill required here, but you have to be careful not to sell to your friends on credit (some are not able to recover it).

  1. Make Money as Digital Media Assistants

Digital media management is one of many new jobs that do not require you to be physically present at a specific location to be able to work. You can work from anywhere! Look for clients (small businesses and individuals), and offer to help manage their social media accounts by posting, responding to comments, replying messages and managing the client’s online reputation, as well as selling where necessary. For a weekly or monthly fee, you would make good money, and quickly.

  1. Make Money from Your Education

You can teach students of lower-level education. For example, MBA students can teach undergraduates for a fee. This could be official or through your own arrangements. I recommend the official means where you apply to become a teaching assistant in the University. But of course, you can always look beyond your campus to other campuses or lower-levels like GSCE. Those living in the UK can advertise on SchoolsTrader or sign up with UK Tutors. You can expect to earn around £10 an hour. However, make sure you don’t have to do too much tutoring around your exams!

  1. Make Money from Youtube Videos

A fast-growing online money making opportunity is youtube videos. Don’t just watch them; you can also make them. Youtube advertising is increasing as more and more people are drawn to videos than texts. Everyday, millions spend hours on youtube for varying reasons. Make a short video with a purpose (to teach, create humour, an exclusive filming, etc) and post on youtube. Allow ads on your video and push it to go viral. Once you hit a decent number of views, be sure to see the money coming in quickly.

  1. Make Money with a Part-time Job

Students often look for part-time jobs to support themselves financially. Part-time jobs are a way to support yourself but you need to get a light job….jobs that are not physically demanding as this could have toll on your academic work –the primary purpose of being in school in the first place. Some part-time jobs pay up to $10/hour. Look for light jobs that are not far from your location. Clerical jobs are often suitable and they pay well too.

  1. Make Money as a ‘Clickworker’

In his post, Owen Burek stated that one of the quickest way to make money is to work as a clickworker. He wrote ” The Clickworker.com concept is based on ‘internet crowd-sourcing’ where businesses advertise specific, scalable tasks they need completing quickly. And for us, it’s an easy way to make fast cash from our couch.

There are a variety of tasks, but most commonly they involve mindless data entry, web research or form filling. You are rewarded and paid in cash (via Paypal) for the work you do, and you can choose for what and when you work. Give it a go. [If you’re US based, also try Amazon’s ‘Mechanical Turk‘].

 

Students across the world would most likely find at least one of these money making tips in their countries. America, the UK, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, India, Australia are among the many countries where you can make good money even as a student.

Categories
Online

Here’s How to Make Money with Freelance Jobs Online

Freelance Jobs online

Three decades gone and you are yet to make a dollar from the internet. It’s never too late to make money from the internet. Actually, the avenues are many but in this article, I’ll show you how and where to get freelance jobs online make money online.

There are a growing number of online job portals focusing on freelance, project and contract work. Some cover a wide range of industries; others are industry-specific. In addition to searching their jobs, you can create a profile and define the freelance services you can offer. That way, interested employers can contact you.

Whether you’re a programmer, designer, expert, college student, marketer or something in between, there’s a freelance platform for you. Here are 12 sites to go to:

  1. Toptal

Toptal is an exclusive network of the top freelance software developers and designers in the world.
Top companies rely on Toptal freelancers for their most important projects. Toptal is for seasoned, talented freelancers in the tech-field (programmers, UI and UX designers, etc). Passing Toptal’s screening process gives you unparalleled access to meaningful projects with great clients (Emirates, Hewlett Packard, Pfizer, JPMorgan, Zendesk, Airbnb, etc.) and fair compensation (no low-bid contests). You’ll also be able to join the Toptal community for frequent meetups and tech events. Opportunities on Toptal are largely tech-based.

2.     Upwork

Upwork is one of the most trusted online brands to find or become freelance. With over 1.5 million clients, Upwork offers something for every type of freelancer. It accommodates both short- and long-term projects, hourly or per-project work and expert-level and entry-level engagements. It cuts across diverse professions, thereby making the best platform I know in the freelance field. Regardless of where you are in your career, Upwork is likely to have something for you.

Top Businesses like Dropbox, Airbnb, Juniper Networks, Zendesk are among the many brands hiring on Upwork.

Sign up and join the millions making money online through freelance jobs.

  1. Guru

The site has 1.5million members worldwide and has reportedly paid $200 million to gurus, and completed 1million posted jobs. Guru is another big player in the freelance space. Guru lists opportunities in over numerous professional categories including Web, Software & IT; Design, Art & Multimedia, Writing and Translation, Admin Support, Management & Finance, Sales & Marketing, Engineering & Architecture, Legal. Like Elance, Guru.com handles payments for you and provides a suite of tools that make the administrative side of freelancing easier to manage. Click here to join now.

4.     99designs

With over 300,000 happy customers, 99designs is one of the powerful names out there for designers who want to make a living in the world of art and marketing. As platform for freelance designers, 99designs lets you compete in design contests and get feedback as clients choose the best ones. It’s a great way for talented designers to prove their talents, while making money. If you are interested then click here to become a designer on 99designs.

  1. Elance

Thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of works are listed here including graphic design, programming, web development, , marketing, writing, administrative jobs and research.

Elance.com handles the payments for your projects. Elance is an Upwork Company. Sign up to join the Elance community.

6.     Freelancer

A platform used by millions of small business to turn their ideas into reality. This is where you come in to offer your skills and services –for a fee. Unlike most other platforms, in addition to offering millions of projects, Freelancer allows you to compete with other freelancers in contests to prove your skills. If you’re competitive and confident in your expertise, it’s a great way to showcase your abilities and attract more clients. Sign up here and begin to make money online through freelance jobs.

7.     Peopleperhour

A good platform, focusing on freelancing for web projects. For design, development, content and promotion of websites, Peopleperhour promises to bring the two sides of the market together at one place. If you’re a designer, web developer, SEO specialist, digital media experts, etc., peopleperhour is definitely worth checking out. Do what you love doing and see how you make money. Sign up here.

  1. GetACoder

GetACoder is also for freelance writers, web designers and programmers — exactly what small businesses need to get a website idea off the ground. GetACoder offers millions of smaller-scale projects to choose from. Here is where you want to start from if you are a coder. GetACoder is therefore a good avenue for freelance jobs computer programming and related jobs.

  1. Behance

Behance is an online marketplace where artists and creative minds (photographers, graphic designers, illustrators, etc.) can showcase their work and search for part-time jobs and freelance opportunities. It is a simple way to make money online as a creative artist.

10.  iFreelance

iFreelance is the middleman who takes away the middleman.  This may perhaps be what you’re looking for: iFreelance lets you keep 100 percent of your earnings, unlike other sites that hold a percentage of the amount paid by the hiring company. This platform accommodates most of the usual suspects of the freelancing world (writers, consultants, designers, editors, coders, etc.) but also features freelance marketers as well. Sign up here to begin finding work.

11.  SimplyHired

SimplyHired has a wider range than most other freelance platforms offer, SimplyHired is suitable for everyone; from salespeople to construction workers. It’s an online platform that allows you to get jobs both online and offline by giving you access to a big portfolio of posted jobs. It has a blog with hiring tips, a company directory and location-based search.

12.  Project4hire

Project4hire is a Freelance Marketplace that connects hiring clients with freelance programmers, web designers, graphic artists, IT specialists, translators, writers, virtual assistants, HR consultants, bookkeepers, paralegals, and other contractors.

The website makes it easy to identify jobs that suit your skills without scanning through large volumes of posts. Project4hire has jobs in the categories of Accounting & Finance, Business, HR & Legal, Data Entry & Admin, Design & Multimedia, Engineering & Science, IT, Software & Programming, Languages & Translation, Mobile & Tablet Apps, Sales & Marketing, Web Design & Development, Writing & Content among others. It’s great for tech guys, consultants, designers and more. And remember, you get paid doing these freelance jobs.

Come January  i will be starting my membership club where i go deep into other methods of generating income from the internet and making use of digital marketing. Registered members will have first information into such jobs and how to go about it.

Kindly leave your comment below or contact me