If you are new to the whole starting-a-business thing, you certainly have a lot on your plate trying to set up everything you need for it, and of course, you are in a hurry to attract your first sales a.s.a.p. In this situation, marketing seems to be some thing of the future, because… well, there have been no sales, so there is nothing to market yet!

Let me save you the time of reading and say from the very start that this approach would be wrong. Marketing a business is born along with its name, and should grow little by little as you are setting the business up. I will gladly discuss pros and cons of the process with you in comments (or on a chat if you like), but here I am going to share a few particular ways to market your new business as you are setting it up.

Build a community. Every successful business needs returning customers. If you have a little candy store on a street corner, you rely on that elderly couple and that woman with three kids, and that guy in a funny hat who have developed a habit of visiting you daily. Nothing is different in online business: if you have a stable community — a group of like-minded people who keep visiting your website or blog — you feel kind-of backed up by their support. Some of them will certainly buy your products or services once in a while; they will spread a word about you to more people, and thus your community will grow and strengthen.

Connect with your customers via social media. Why not connect with your existing customers via Facebook? Why not place pictures of your store, your goods or just yourself doing various things on Instagram? This will show both, your current and potential customers that you are a creative individual, that you are quite accessible in case if they need to connect with you, and that you are.. well, just a nice person.

Hosting virtual meetings, workshops or masterclasses is another good way to attract people to your business. Call them out to meet you in a chat while you show them how you create your product, or explain how you provide your service. Show them the outcome which they may have if they buy from you. People like to socialize, especially when they can take something (a piece of knowledge, for example) away after a meetup. It is more efficient that hosting conferences or providing webinars where you are the only one who speaks all the time. Think about it. You might make your products and services shine in your customers’ eyes by just showing them how your services work in a virtual meeting.

Do not just tell things to people: show them things. You can attract many customers by simply starting an Instagram account and posting photos related to your business there.

Do not forget about SEO (Search Engine Optimization). SEO is another cost-effective way to spread information about your business. It won’t work for you right away, but in the long run it will help create stable inflow of visitors to your website (blog). Read about SEO on the Internet (there are thousands of articles) and consider doing it if you have not done this yet.

As soon as you have your first customers, consider doing so-called referral-based marketing. Before buying your product or service, eight people in ten would like to see some reviews, testimonials or case studies, to build up their opinion about buying or not buying from you. So, do not forget to ask your happy customers for a review or a reference, or a simple comment on your website about their impressions of working with you.

Provide discounts, offer free trials and previews. Do something for free. Why? Because people love it. I think this one does not even require an explanation, 🙂

Well, I think I will finish here today, but of course this is just the beginning of a long ToDo list which you will have as you start marketing your new business. Please, share your ideas and thoughts in the comments below. I will very appreciate any feedback.

Good luck!