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Hello Reader,
👉 If you're reading this before 11am Pacific, there's still a chance to join the live workshop I've teaching today, all about website migrations and SEO. Learn more here!
In light of all the chatting I've had in my inbox lately, and as a follow-up from last week's newsletter, I thought I'd do a brain dump on my last point about trying new things to get the word out and raise awareness of your business. Remember, that's the "Discover" segment of our marketing ecosystem. (Some people would call this "top of funnel" but I don't love the way this feels limiting.)
In no order of priority, here are some ideas—don't do them all, okay? Pace yourself! See what works, what doesn't and act on that data.
- Make sure you have a website that tells your story—even a three page site is something. (Need help with this? I have an amazing list of recommendations.)
- Set up a Google Business Profile if you're in a fixed location. This is getting harder for fully online businesses, so be warned if that's you. It's a great way for people near you to find you! Remember, proximity is an important factor to discovery, like it or not.
- Join your local business group, like a chamber of commerce or a neighborhood business association. Get to know people and introduce them to your business and learn about theirs.
- Join an interest group. I'm thinking of joining the Luxemboug-American Chamber of Commerce or BelWest, both business groups for Luxembourgers in the USA (that's me, weird, I know). There are loads of these kinds of groups out there.
- If you provide services for a specific industry, say attorneys or alternative healthcare professionals or accountants, there are membership opportunities to many groups and organizations for associated professionals like operations experts or marketing wizards. There's even one for people who work with the helicopter industry!
- Start your own local affinity or interest group. Tools like EventBrite or MeetUp are great for bringing people together.
- Pitch yourself to podcasts or YouTube shows as an expert—be sure to listen to the shows you're interested in first and make a tailored pitch to increase your chances of being invited. (Notice I didn't say start a podcast—I love podcasts but that's not my favorite for increasing discovery.)
- Speaking of YouTube, this is a great discovery tool. If you're more comfortable speaking than writing, think about dusting off that channel and sharing your knowledge! My friend Jamar runs a great program for this (this is an affiliate link, but I recommend it regardless) that I joyfully pay for.
- Jamar's methods for YouTube are very similar to what I teach in Summer of SEO, in my SEO courses, and in my 1:1 consulting programs. Blogs are very powerful tools that bring in new leads for years—if you leverage them the right way.
- Beef up your referral program. This means directly asking for referrals and potentially providing incentives for referrals. Be careful with this, as there are strict legal guidelines regarding referrals, but when done well it can be powerful.
- Sponsor an event to get yourself in front of new audiences. This could be local or in an industry. These can be a very high return on investment. Bonus if it's for a nonprofit or charity you love—what a win-win!
- Consider placing display ads on blogs or websites. I did this a few years back when we still ran the design agency and were doing a lot of author websites—we placed a few display ads on a book blog and got loads of leads. The ROI was astronomical!
- Advertising on public radio stations is shockingly affordable for the reach they have. In my community, in addition to the main public radio station, we have a couple of smaller stations and folks who advertise (they're usually called "sponsors") generally see great visibility.
- Table at an event. This can be cheap or even free depending on the event. I had a client in the financial services world who had great results doing this in their neighborhood. Talking to people is powerful!
- Ever wondered about outdoor advertising like billboards and other signage? Yep, it still works. And in some markets it's pretty affordable.
I could go on and on. The point here is not to do any of these specific things, but that there are always more ideas and creative marketing activities to try. You've never "tried everything," I promise. If you have a service people need to hear about, look for the opportunities that your competitors aren't considering. (It's also kind of fun.)
Talk soon,
Sarah
P.S. Ready to work together in 2025? You can get on my calendar to discuss the best path forward at this link.
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