In a survey last month, over 1000 small business owners where asked what they would focus their marketing efforts on this year – and over 50% said their website would be the main marketing channel for 2016. It seems like we’ve been talking about this for a while, so let’s make it happen this year!
We meet new people on social media – and then we’ve got to create a stronger connection (dare I say relationship?) with them, by getting them to our website and on our email list. This begins to separate the world into “people we randomly know on Facebook” into “people who are interested in what we do and want to learn more”. It’s the difference between “likes” and “prospects”.
Here are 4 things you can do to make your website a more effective marketing channel by combining it with the power of email marketing.
- Have an obvious link to your website on your social media pages so people can simply click to find more and explore.
- Offer a compelling reason to join your email list (we all get enough email already – why is yours valuable?) this is often called an ‘ethical bribe’ not a term I love, but you are giving incentive to join with proof it’s worth it. This could be a free download, a pdf of information, a video to watch or a webinar to learn from.
- Make it easy to opt-in to your list (or community of prospects if that feel better to you) by having a sign-up box on every page and a specific landing page that you can direct people to – from your social media platforms. Keep the “join” process simple – you only need their email address and (possibly) first name. Don’t ask for info than you need, every form fill box required decreases signups exponentially.
- Give people a reason to join – access to that great thing you created, pdf, video, whatever – and then make their decision a good one by providing consistent, good content that are about them more than you.
OK – 4 quick ideas – go have some fun and start implementing them! Now let’s go meet some prospects – tell some marketing stories – and grow our customer lists!
SMB Marketing Tips
