Know-How Exchange : E-Marketing

Max

work out first who your best customers are. Even if you advertise to everyone, you will only interest a small fraction of them.

That goes for an email list too. The money you spend on that would buy you lots of clicks - all of which would be targeted right at your best customers. Then catch their email addresses to keep them up to speed.

To your success,

Moriarty xx

Likely, neither of these will result in the results you're hoping for. Why? Because your website's marketing message doesn't convey the key message, "Why should you hire my services?" Start by interviewing a number of local business owners to find out if/when/why/how they'd hire someone like you, and then shape your marketing strategy accordingly.

You have B2B in the subject line? Isn't Reiki something that would be promoted similar to yoga or acupuncture, where you are approaching clients? Wouldn't this be B2C?

Also consider sending info via email, direct mail, flyers to local chambers of commerce, municipal business development departments, hospitals, medical centers, etc. Of course, if anything is sent whether it's by web or snail mail, be sure to address the material to a specific person, with name spelled right and with correct title, etc. It's all part of marketing...

Best!!

I get this question a lot from small business owners, who often insist on sticking with their initial assumptions, and who are universally disappointed with the results when they do. That's because they are starting with the wrong question.

The better question is: What is the best way to market my business and get new customers with a budget of $X?

Maybe you can be even more specific. For example, "My marketing goal is to become well known at 100 area businesses and in 300 local households by X date. How can I do that?" A specific question brings the answer into focus, and in this case would logically include regular email contact with those specific targeted customers, cold calls on area businesses to introduce your service, and participation in events or associations that attract your targeted businesses and consumers, among other things.

Adwords would be a poor choice for your business because without Adwords expertise, you'll find your funds auto-spent in ways you don't intend, or you'll receive too few local results to matter. Rented email lists are similarly unwise -- despite their advertised promises, they rarely get past spam filters and, if they do, are mostly unopened by recipients. The much better solution is to build an email list by hand, a time-consuming but essential activity for any personal service business.

That said, have an hour's chat with one or two local small-business marketing consultants -- usually solo-preneurs as you are -- to see what they can do for you within your budget. The results will be better than what you might achieve on your own, and certainly better than the two options proposed in the initial question. Please don't let yourself make either of those mistakes.

first of all thank u all for some great reponses.

gary just pipped for the points as he made multiple points. Would have loved to give points to all :)

Max, you could have given one point each?

M