If you are a sole trader that has recently set up in business there’s no doubt you’ve taken care of the essentials.
Registering your business, bookkeeping, accounting, tax and self-assessment returns.
Now you’re all set up and ready to go but how do you bring customers to your door? Clients to your services and followers to your business?
Why Would You Listen to Me?
I help start-ups and household names promote their businesses online for the least amount of money possible. Using a unique combination of PR, SEO, Marketing and Copywriting.
I make sure brands are noticed without shelling out for expensive advertising but I’m not here to sell you my PR and Marketing Services I’m here to show you how to do it without a huge budget.
The Foundations
Before we begin, we need to make sure your foundations are good. When your website attracts, and your socials are complete every effort you make boosts your business further up the search engines.
Without these assets in place, you could experience high bounce rates and short-term followers that tell Google you’re not to be recommended as visitors don’t stick around.
You don’t need to hire expensive web developers and social media managers; you can do it all yourself for just a few minutes a day.
Your Website
Make sure your website leads people towards your contact page. You want visitors to dig deeper with the ultimate goal being to buy or contact you.
It doesn’t matter which path they take as long as they stay on your website until they checkout or write that enquiry message.
A good website has:
- At least 10 pages
- Constant fresh content
- Genuine content (do not copy and paste from anywhere else)
- Good SEO – At the beginning it’s enough to make sure your Meta descriptions are optimised. If using WordPress use Yoast plug in, if using Wix, GoDaddy or Vista take advantage of their free Meta help.
- Links to it from reputable websites (You can call in favours from family and friends at the beginning or trade links with local businesses, helping each other)
- Very simple calls to action that are easy to spot
- Very easy user interface
This all ensures that Google ranks your website and with each new link you acquire and each new piece of content you publish your score will climb and Google will rank you higher.
Your Social Media
Every business needs at least one social media page. Choose the social media platform right for your demographic.
- For Teens and Young Adults – TikTok and Instagram.
- For Adults under 30 – Instagram and Twitter (X).
- For Adults over 30 – LinkedIn and Facebook.
Before you start collecting followers make sure your profile is complete with contact information, opening hours, photos of your products or services and full descriptions of what you offer.
Populate your feed for a good month before you start asking others to follow you. This gives you a chance to gain followers naturally but also to see what content works and what doesn’t.
You can then link your socials to your website.
How to Promote Your Products and Services
Now you’re ready to promote your products and services and here’s a summary of how we do this without spending anything but a little time.
- Join social media groups and lists, don’t share yet but communicate, get to know people.
- Write a basic press release introducing your new business and send to local press.
- Make sure you’re signed up to all free business directories, so you’re found.
- Ensure you’re a part of all relevant marketplaces, from Etsy for products to Bark for freelancers and Trusted Tradespeople for contractors.
- Don’t underestimate the power of local marketing, word of mouth is still the most effective way to win new business. Join your village/ town group and let them know what you’re doing.
I am honoured to be asked to contribute to Tax Rebate Services regularly with tips for small business owners and sole traders. Please keep an eye on my posts as in the next one I will go into more detail as to how you can bring customers to you while you sleep.
Martina Mercer
Freelance PR and Marketing Consultant
