Marketing Strategy: Business Owners Who Want To Profit Online

When it comes to marketing strategy: there are people who understand it and there are people who don't. The granular details matter. Understanding the concept of sales funnels, would help many small businesses increase sales, but many owners never take the time to learn about it. The book You Write, They Pay notes this about sales funnels:

Both B2B and B2C businesses use what we call sales funnels. Funnels work by attracting lots of potential buyers, then taking them step­by­step to the point where some of them make a buying decision. You might write for an audience that’s at the top of the funnel, just beginning to explore their options for solving a problem. You might write for the middle of the funnel, where they’re getting more serious about studying up on their options. You might write for the bottom of the funnel, where they’re on the verge of buying. You might even write for an audience of existing customers, helping your client provide enough ongoing value to keep them coming back for more.

In other words, your customers are going to be in different stages of the buying process, and you should be aware of those different stages, so you can figure out the best way to market to each group. This article will discuss the two most vital (and hardest) stages of the sales funnel.

The first part of a sales funnel is about getting people to visit your website. There are a few ways to go about this. Here are the best three.

Content Marketing

Providing answers to questions about industry­related topics can bring visitors to your site. If you write great content, then people will come to your website; it really is that simple. Making articles that are too "sales­oriented" will just hurt your cause here. You put your website in the best position in regards to SEO, when you seek to educate and entertain first.

PPC

93% of all experiences online begin with a search engine, so you will always be able to get eyeballs by paying for them. PPC can get expensive, but there is no faster way to get your message out there to qualified leads.

Social Media Marketing

Social media appears to have the benefits of PPC and SEO. You can get your message out quickly and cheaply. However, if you do not follow the rules of online etiquette, then you will be doing your business more harm than good. People do not like to be spammed on social media, and they will quickly tune out a company they believe is trying to do so. To be successful on social media, you need to be seen as a productive member of the community. One way to do this is to use your expertise to answer questions and make insightful comments. Then, when you promote your website, you won't look so nefarious to the other members.

Another thing my mentor said was that, "if you don't have an email list, then you are leaving money on the table." In other words, your landing page should be singularly focused on obtaining your prospects email. There is a popular trend to give away something cheap, like a bad e­book, in exchange for an email, but the better your gift, the more emails you can obtain, and the more sales you can make. The beginning steps of sales funnels require a lot of work, but having an email list of qualified leads is invaluable for a business.