Online marketing can be frustrating and costly without any success. How do you find a low-risk, or better yet free, strategy? Here’s a few depending on your budget and experience level. If you are new to internet marketing, it is best to focus on one method at a time before trying another.
Free Marketing
Social Media
One of the best strategies that gives you a lot of exposure. It doesn’t require a website, and it’s 100% free. Among many social networking sites these days, the major players are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Create a profile on one or more of these sites, and complete your bio to look professional. Make sure to post a good photo of yourself. Start connecting with people and building relationship. Keep in mind this is a social media, so don’t blatantly pitch yourself. Another good social site designed specifically for marketers is Directmatches. You can market your products and services on this site, and get commission by referring people to it.
Content Marketing
Share your content with social media and bookmarking sites, and submit it to article directories and blogs. If you write good, relevant content and market it consistently, it can be one of the most powerful ways to establish yourself as an expert and a leader.
Blog
If you are to present yourself as a professional, your own website or blog is a must. Although you can market your articles without having a website, content and blog marketing should be tied into one. When you market your content, you are marketing your blog at the same time by including your link in your articles. Create a self hosted WordPress blog; the best platform for search engine indexing, and submit your site to the major search engines. Don’t forget to include your blog link in your social media profiles and email signature.
Paid Marketing
Email Ads
You can easily send out email campaigns through a 3rd party at low cost. Solo-ads.com has a package starting at just $6 for 500 of their subscribers. ViralUrl is an excellent tool that lets you send out to 3,000 people every 3 days.
Advertising
Search for relevant sites and forums in your industry, and find out if they have advertising space. Ad rates will vary greatly depending on the site and the industry, so you will need to inquire. Some of the sites have a banner and link exchange program that gives you free exposure.
Pay-Per-Click
Pay-per-click is one of the most effective strategy. It is easy to get started and can produce quick results, but also very easy to lose a lot of money. If you are new to pay-per-click and start without proper knowledge, it can rob you blind. The Definitive Guide to Google Adwords is a good resource to arm yourself with solid knowledge. The key is in finding the highly searched terms that are relevant to your market but not as competitive, so keyword research is critical. Pay-per-click can definitely bring you highly targeted traffic. If you are serious about PPC, consider using a keyword research tools such as Wordtracker to so you don’t have to spend countless hours searching on Google.
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