If you’ve visited our blog in the last few weeks, or are subscribed to our Hints & Tips newsletter you may have noticed that we’ve been talking about the ways people find small businesses online, and why making it easy for people to discover your business is crucial to your success.
We’ve received a ton of great questions about this topic.
Most recently we were asked, “How can I figure out how people are finding my business today?”
This is an important question for a number of reasons.
For starters, when you know how people are finding your business, it gives you the chance to better focus your marketing efforts so you can bring more new customers through your door.
It also helps identify new opportunities, so that you can put a plan together to reach customers on platforms you might not be using already.
Here are five ways to find out how customers are finding you:
1. Remember to ask
Most customers, especially happy ones, are willing to let you know how they ended up on your website or at your front door.
Ask for this information in the following ways:
- Encourage employees to ask when interacting with customers face-to-face.
- Give people the option to tell you where they found out about your business when making a purchase or registering for an event online.
- Create an online survey; send it to new email subscribers or share it with your social media audience.
2. Use search
Start by searching for your business name on a search engine like Google to see where information about your business is already available online.
Chances are the first page of results looks something like this:
- Your website/blog
- Facebook Page
- Other social networks
- Review sites like Yelp or Trip Advisor
- Online listing platforms like YellowPages, Google, Yahoo, and Urbanspoon
Next, try search terms you think could drive people to your business.
For a restaurant, you might want to try search terms like these:
- Restaurants in [your town]
- [Type of cuisine] in [your town]
- Places to eat in [your town]
Or for a mechanic, your search terms could look like this:
- Mechanics in [your town]
- Car shop in [your town]
- Where to get my car fixed in [your town]
- Where to get [particular repair/service] in [your town]
Make a list of all the places your business is showing up. Also make sure to take note of places where your business isn’t currently listed but you think should be. Then you can make plans to have your business information published on those sites.
3. Set up Google Analytics
With Google Analytics, you can not only see which pages on your website are generating the most traffic, but can also see a breakdown of where the traffic is coming from.
Are people finding you through search engines like Google? Are sites like Facebook or Twitter driving visits to your site? You can also see which devices your audience is using to access your site. This is a good way to see the impact of mobile on visitors to your site.
In addition to insight into how people are getting to your website, Google Analytics also shows you the length of time people are spending on each page. This is all valuable information for helping you figure out how people are finding you and which resources they are using when researching your business.
4. Keep tabs on your audience
While not everyone who visits your Facebook Page or sees you on Twitter will become a fans or followers, keeping tabs on how these audiences are changing provides insight into which platforms offer the biggest opportunity for your business.
Look at how changes in your audience relate to your activity. If a particular piece of content is getting shared and resulting in a spike of new fans, you can incorporate similar content into our posting strategy in the future. Also, look to see how your interactions with different members of your network are impacting your fan and follower counts.
5. Track email list growth
If you’re using sign-up tools to grow your email list, you can easily track where people are signing up within your Constant Contact account.
This allows you track your email list growth online. You can also see how people are joining your list offline as well.
These people aren’t only finding your business but are taking the next step to stay connected. It’s important to make it as easy as possible for people to sign up to accelerate your email list growth and take you a step closer to attracting your next great customer.
More resources to help you get discovered online
Once you’ve mapped out all the places people are finding your business, you can take steps to get more from those places that are already working. Then look for opportunities to put your business in front of the right people in other places as well.
Here is a guide to get you started: How Mobile Search Can Help You Find Your Next Great Customer
You’ve seen them before, and you may have downloaded them, too. They’re free “eBooks.”
Except they don’t look like books at all. They look more like Word docs saved as PDFs.
They’re about as appealing as a 6th grade book report.
If you plan to create an eBook to promote your business, you should aspire to something better. After all, this document represents your brand. It’s the face of your business out in the world.
There’s nothing wrong with using a word processor to create your eBook. (I’m partial to OpenOffice.)
No matter what software you use, take some extra time to set up your pages with the seven tips below to craft a PDF eBook that represents your business as a polished, professional brand ambassador.
1. Orient your page to fit your reader
Your first decision is whether to make your page vertical (portrait) or horizontal (landscape).
Here’s a tip: if you think most readers will download and read your eBook on screen, use landscape. The horizontal orientation fits best on a screen.
If you expect most readers will print your eBook, use portrait. The vertical orientation tends to use less paper and can be easily filed in a folder or notebook.
2. Set wide margins
One of the most effective ways to make your eBook text easier to read is to surround it with a whole lot of nothing.
By “nothing,” I mean white space! Ample white space sets off your text. It gives readers’ eyes a place to rest and take a break from the blocks of text on the page.
Try setting up your page with an inch margin along the bottom, and 3/4 of an inch along the sides and top. That will give your text plenty of breathing room, and your page will instantly look more professional.
3. Use unique fonts
Take some extra time to find interesting, highly readable fonts for your eBook. Stay away from the fonts we’ve all seen too much of: Times Roman, Arial, Verdana, Trebuchet, Georgia. These are built in to every computer, and most of us are tired of them.
When you’re deciding which font to use, try setting a full paragraph with each of the fonts you like. Look at them from a distance and compare: which ones are easiest to read? Aim for readability before style.
If you need more help, you can find guidance for choosing and combining fonts here.
4. Add images and call outs
Another great way to add variety and life to your eBook pages is to break up the text with images and call outs.
Choosing images that complement your text and add shades of meaning is always a good idea. Adding captions is even better — studies have shown that captions are some of the most highly-read text on a page.
Pulling out important sections of your text to highlight in a call out is smart, too. As people skim through your eBook deciding whether or not to dive in and start reading, the call outs will give them a glimpse of what they’ll find inside. They’ll engage them just long enough to begin reading.
5. Remember your headers and footers
A professionally-designed eBook has a header area across the top of each page. For a short eBook, you can simply repeat the title of the book at the top. Longer eBooks with chapters use this space to note the chapter the reader is in.
6. Create an eye-catching cover
Covers are essential components to a well-crafted eBook. They’re the public-facing representation of your eBook content. We often use our book covers to “sell” our eBooks, even when we’re giving them away.
Spend some time creating a cover that draws attention to your topic, engages the reader, and looks polished and professional.
Be sure your cover text is large enough so that when it’s reduced in size (when you create a web graphic of your eBook, for example) the text is still easy to read.
7. Proofread, proofread, proofread
Be sure to proofread your eBook thoroughly. Start by running a spelling and grammar check from within your word processor.
After that, put your eBook aside for at least 24 hours and go back to it with fresh eyes so you can see your mistakes.
The final step is to get your eBook in front of a few people who will review it carefully and check for errors. Don’t skip this step: you may be too close to it to see where your text is unclear or confusing, but your proofreaders will notice and let you know.
Make your eBook stand out
Don’t give away an eBook that’s subpar and doesn’t represent your business well. Spend some extra time to develop a final product that’s professional from the cover to the final page so your brand ambassador does a great job promoting your business.
About the author: Pamela Wilson founded Big Brand System to help small business owners use strategic marketing and great design to build big brands. For more guidance on using eBooks for your business, sign up for her free Ultimate eBook Kickstart.
When you run a small business, the last thing you need is to have another item added to your marketing to-do list.
It’s no surprise then that when the topic of starting a blog comes up, you’re not exactly jumping at the chance to get started.
But what if starting a blog for your business didn’t need to add to your marketing burden? What if instead, it helped alleviate some of your most pressing marketing challenges and allowed you get more from the work you were already doing?
Take your email newsletter for example.
Chances are you’re already hard at work, planning and writing content for this month’s scheduled mailing. You’re thinking of content ideas, going through a few different drafts, and eventually you’ll have everything ready to go — just in time to start planning for what’s coming next.
But let’s say instead of just plugging that content into your email newsletter, you published it on your blog first. Better yet, instead of trying to pack every article in its entirety into your newsletter, you use your blog to trim down the amount of text within your email newsletter and link to your blog to read more.
Right away you can identify a few important benefits.
The design of your email becomes a lot simpler.
This means an easier creation process for you, but also a more enjoyable experience for your readers — especially those email contacts that are checking email on their smartphone or tablet.
There are also benefits that you might not think of right away.
One of the biggest benefits comes from how you measure the effectiveness of each piece of content. By providing a link to an individual blog post, rather than packing the entire article into your email newsletter, you’ll have more insight into which content generates the most attention. All you’ll need to do is look at your click reports.
If you’re a Constant Contact customer, you can see who is clicking each link so you learn more about what your audience finds most interesting.
This provides a new level of insight that isn’t available with open rates alone.
You’ll also have the added benefit of having engagement and feedback features that come with using a blogging platform.
Readers will be able to share links to individual blog posts on their own social networks, or post responses to your content in the comment section of each post.
This is a great chance to answer questions and build stronger relationships with the people reading your content.
And finally there are the benefits that last long after your email newsletter has been sent.
By publishing content on a blog, you’ll immediately extend the lifespan of the content you create.
Because you’re not only publishing content, but also driving people to it with your email newsletter, you’re content should start to generate traffic quickly. This will catch the attention of search engines like Google or Bing.
Content that is available on a public page, that gets viewed, consumed, and shared on a regular basis is the exact content these search engines want to provide to the people searching for answers online.
By posting the content that you’re writing for your email newsletter on a blog, you’ll open your content up to the public and give your business more opportunities than ever to be discovered online.
So, to recap, publishing content on a blog:
- Allows you to slim down the amount of text in your email newsletter resulting in a better experience for you and your readers.
- Gives you a better sense of who is reading your content and what they’re most interested in by looking at your click reports.
- Gives you more opportunities for engagement outside of the inbox thanks to the social visibility your posts can receive.
- Boosts your ranking on search engines like Google and Bing.
Are there any cons to consider?
One of the things you won’t want to overlook is the impact on the exclusivity of your newsletter.
If people can get the content you’re sending on your blog, why would they need to sign up for an email newsletter?
This is why it’s important to also look for opportunities to provide additional value within each email newsletter you send out. In some cases, the value comes from the convenience of you pulling together the content and delivering it to your subscriber’s inbox.
You may also want to test exclusive promotions, like early access to an upcoming event or a downloadable guide that’s just for email subscribers.
The additional value doesn’t need to be groundbreaking but should reaffirm the benefits of being on your email list. See industry-specific email newsletter templates and get tips on creating valuable email content here.
Let’s get started!
Adding a blog to your marketing strategy doesn’t need to happen overnight. If you’ve been sending a regularly scheduled newsletter, you’ve already taken some important steps to building customer relationships. Now it’s time to get more from all that hard work!
Need help getting started? Download our free guide, A Beginner’s Guide to Small Business Blogging.
Have other questions we can help you with? Post them in the comments below.
Getting started with blogging isn’t easy. Anyone who tells you otherwise either hasn’t done it or probably doesn’t understand how busy you are.
And while starting a blog can be challenging, with the right strategy in place it’s a heck of a lot easier.
It all starts with figuring out what you’re going to write.
Keep it simple. The most effective content will be the stuff that answers your audiences’ burning questions.
By providing answers, you will build credibility, strengthen relationships with your current customers, and give yourself more opportunities to be discovered when prospective customers are searching for answers to questions online.
Take some time to jot down the questions you answer on a regular basis.
Make sure to write down both the basic and complicated questions so that you’ll have a wide range of topics to choose from. When starting out, you’ll focus on the more basic questions first, but can then use those more detailed questions for inspiration when creating future posts.
Once you have your list of questions, choose one that you think would be relevant to the most people.
For a mechanic, this could be a topic like, “how to change your oil.” For a wine store, a great topic could be, “how to choose the right bottle of wine for a particular occasion.”
Once you’ve decided on a topic, think of how you would answer those questions with a few simple tips.
This will be your first blog post.
Let’s say you’re an event planner and your question is, “How do I get more people to show up to my events?”
Your first post might be, “10 Ways to Sell More Tickets for Your Next Event.”
Here is a basic template for writing your first post:
- Introduction: This is where you set up the problem. “As an event planner, one of the questions I am constantly asked is how to sell more tickets before an event. Here are 10 secrets to consider.”
- Body: This is where you outline your list of tips. You only need 1-3 sentences to explain each tip.
- Conclusion: This is where you wrap up your tips and set up the value of your business. “These are just 10 ways you can improve event attendance. Want to learn more? Call us to set up an appointment.”
Congratulations! You’ve written your first blog post!
See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?
Not only have you written your first blog post, but you’ve also set yourself up for future posts as well.
Take a look at the tips you’ve outlined in your first post. Each of those tips could be turned into a post of its own.
Let’s use the event planner example one more time.
The first few tips might look something like this:
10 Ways to Sell More Tickets for Your Next Event
- Send invitations in advance
- Hang up flyers at your store
- Post about the event on Facebook
Each of these tips can turn into posts of their own:
- How to Decide When to Send Your Event Invitation
- Tips for Designing an Effective Event Flyer
- How to Promote Your Event on Facebook
You can follow a similar structure with each of these posts too. Set up the problem, give your advice, and conclude with a recap and a strong call to action.
Now all you need to do is set up your schedule.
Come up with a schedule that works for you. Don’t feel like you need to fill your content library in the first few weeks. A lot of business owners will wait until they have a few posts written before they even launch their blog.
As you get more comfortable with writing, you can increase your frequency. You can also try different writing structures so that you can dig deeper into the topics you cover.
When you feel like you’ve done enough with the first series of tips, revisit your list of questions and follow the same format for your next series of posts.
As your content starts to generate more traffic and engagement from your readers, Google will pay attention. Soon you will have your current customers reading and sharing your posts and you’ll also have new customers discovering your business through search as well.
Get started today!
Set a goal to have your list of questions done by the end of the week. If you need help, ask your employees about the questions they’re hearing or spark up a conversation with a loyal customer and see what topics are on their mind.
Once you have your list of questions, pick one and start writing your first post. It may be a little slow at first, but once you start getting your ideas down on paper you’ll be surprised at how much great advice you have to share.