If you haven’t read my previous posts, you might want to check them out. There’s one on Email Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Search Marketing and Social Media Marketing

1. Website

It is estimated that 70% of SMEs don’t have a business website, despite the fact that over 60% of high street purchases are first researched online. As a small business owner, a website is probably the singular most important thing you can own for your business. It’s not just about being in with the crowd, but owning a business website could save you £££’s whilst earning you some new ones as well.

Why do you need a business website?  Read more...

Advertising, affiliate marketing, Design, Email Marketing, Increased Sales, internet marketing, Marketing, Online Business, Opportunity, Re-Design, Strategy, Web Design, Web Hosting Hide

If you haven’t read my previous posts, you might want to check them out. There’s one on Email Marketing, Affiliate Marketing and Search Marketing.

2. Social Media Marketing

Over the past few years, social media marketing has grown to become a familiar and a somewhat vaguely understood term in the marketing industry. With Facebook boasting over 300 million users, and presidential campaigns going onto Twitter, it is understandable that marketers want to get a share of the pie, and somehow monetize this ever growing media.

Social Media Marketing (SMM) is simply using social networks such as blogs to promote a company’s brand, products and services, as well as build relationship with customers and possibly the general public.  Read more...

Advertising, blogs, content, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Twitter Hide

If you’re just joining in for the first time, check out my previous posts on Email Marketing and Affiliate Marketing

3. Search Marketing

It’s quite amazing that Google launched just over 10 years ago now accounts for a whopping 87% of searches on the internet in the UK and 68% in the US. Internet users are increasingly using search engines like Google, Yahoo, and the newly launched Bing to search for information, products and even companies online. I’ll have to admit that I’m one of those people that enter company names in Google to find their website, I simply can’t be asked to remember the website URL’s of all the companies I use regularly.

As a company, and even more important as a small business, ranking up on search engines is very important (and I stress the ‘very’). Your potential customers are looking for the products or service you offer online using search engines, and if you are not on the first few pages (I never go past page 5) of their search engine results page (SERP), you might as well kiss goodbye to getting clicked on.  Read more...

Advertising, Google, Marketing, Paid Search, Search Marketing, SEO, SERP, Strategy Hide

If you are yet to read my previous post on Email Marketing, you can check it out here.

4. Affiliate Marketing
Right, so what’s affiliate marketing? Affiliate marketing is simply getting other people or businesses to promote your products or services and rewarding them for each referral or sale. Rewards are usually in the form of commissions per referral or sale.

As a small business owner, affiliate marketing is one of the cost effective ways to market your business. Your affiliate does all the work required to get you potential customers, and you simply pay them an agreed commission for it. I’ll say that sounds a lot more attractive than spending hundreds or even thousands on advertising with no guarantee of any returns.

So how does affiliate marketing work?
Simple, there’s a large number of individuals and even businesses out there who run websites solely to promote other company’s products and services. These individuals and businesses are called affiliates. Affiliates usually belong to affiliate networks such as Affiliate Future and Commission Junction. The networks act as a middle man bringing together merchants (company’s that want to promote their business) and affiliates.  Read more...

Advertising, affiliate marketing, Affiliate Programme, Marketing, Online Business, Search Marketing, Strategy Hide

As a small business owner marketing is one of those things you can do to increase sales, revenue and even customer retention. Online marketing in particular is fast gaining popularity amongst marketers and small businesses. This is probably because unlike traditional marketing strategies (i.e. Radio, Direct Mail, TV, Outdoor, Trade Shows), online marketing strategies are more cost effective, environmentally friendly, and are very easy once you get your head round it.

I’ve compiled a list of my top 5 online marketing strategies which I think are a must. Not only have they been proven to boost sales, but I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy implementing them as well.  Read more...

Email, Email Marketing, html, Marketing, marketing strategies, Online Business, online marketing, Social Media, Strategy Hide