There are so many opportunities for SEO and Content Marketers to help businesses grow. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as putting up a sign and having clients come pouring in (even for a well-optimized website).
As with any business, potential clients are attracted to people they have a personal connection with. The quality clients that will become returning, loyal customers, want to trust your expertise and trust you as a person to do business with you.
To acquire these future customers, there are a few things to keep in mind:
Highlight your unique expertise.
It’s a given you will be competing with chop shops that can pull out content or link building requests at a low rate. Technical analysis tools can be found by the plenty, and spit out a list of basic recommendations.
Is this really what’s best for your client though? Probably not. Chances are for these low rates your client won’t get personalized service, and strategies unique to their niche and business. Highlight your understanding and level of direct involvement.
Networking is key:
Network network network. This is a key way to find new clients and obtain referrals. Remember the personal connection mentioned above? Some clients may not even know they need your services, until you meet them and explain what you do.
Go to industry events, and even events outside your industry but specific to your target market. Make connections, find out what their common problems are, and provide a solution that can help.
Networking is just as important within your industry. It’s important to niche yourself and not be a jack-of-all-trades. Find other business owners in niches you can refer clients to and vice-versa. For example, if you’re a content writer who specializes in sports-writing, you probably wouldn’t be as comfortable writing an article about interior design. Have someone you can refer these projects to, and it will be repaid.
Masterminds are also excellent opportunities to not only learn and improve your own skills but network with a core-set of marketers who may have services complementary to your own. Masterminds are a great investment in your business.
Host a local event:
Host an event near you. Ideally, this free event offers training on a specific area of service directly related to what you offer. The bonus of offering a free event generally means you can get rooms from libraries or other non-profits at low or no cost as well. Make sure to form a connection with attendees and give them something they can take with them to refer to you later.
This has the benefit of:
- Showing your expertise
- Learning more about the challenges of your target audience
- Highlighting your services in a way that doesnt feel like forced selling, which is both hard for some business owners and a turn-off for some clients.
Host a Webinar:
Like a local event, a webinar has the same benefits as above. However, the additional benefit of a webinar is that you can potentially reach a wider client-base than just local businesses. The downside is this may have a higher cost for you in software fees and advertising costs.
Have a Freebie:
I would never recommend working for free, people will tend to undervalue your work and have over expectations on the results. However, creating a freebie such as a quick guide to blogging for a particular industry, or a list of marketing tactics for a particular industry is an excellent way to stand out in your niche, highlight your expertise, and get in your clients inbox.
Share Your Tips
Have a tip to share? Let me know in the comments and I may feature it in this post.
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