Internet marketing can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you're new to it. Every once in a while you have to take a break and focus on creating your market through offline avenues. Since you should have creating your accounts, produced some content, and built each of your profile pages; now is a great time to work on this approach.
There are several different ways to market your business offline, but it starts by making business cards. You probably have a local establishment in your area, but there is no need to spend this type of money. Just head to vista print and they offer plenty of free "start-up" business cards.
You only have to pay for the shipping costs and you will receive 250-500 business cards depending on their special. They also provide you with the ability to upload your own logo, so take advantage of it.
Make sure you head to their website and take care of this first. If you get the 3-day shipping then it won't be such a long wait. Otherwise you're looking at one to two weeks. In the meantime you can go back and create more content for those article directory sites.
Once you receive your business cards it's time to think about the way you want to approach your offline marketing. Here are a few things I do to get more traffic to my own websites:
Place one on the billboard at each of the local grocery stores.
Anytime you send mail, place a business card in it.
When you fill up your gas tank, leave one by the pump.
Ask local establishments if they will allow you to keep business cards in their store.
Ask restaurants if you can do the same.
Leave one on the table after eating at a restaurant.
Other Marketing Methods Offline
While business cards provide a quick approach to creating your market offline, there are several other avenues you can take advantage of to find success. Here are a few of them you should consider:
Newspaper Classifieds
Local "Value" Magazines
Flyers
Road Billboards
Renting a booth at the Flea Market (if your business fits the mold)
Renting a booth at various local events
Sponsor a youth sports team
Volunteer and Charity work
Etc.
Each one of these can provide you with a different approach to creating your market. Keep in mind; each one of them costs money, so it's important to only do what you can. These are NOT mandatory, but just a few more options if you can utilize them.
I would suggest doing them all at some point, but most of them will come when your business is more successful. So for now consider the classifieds, flyers, volunteer or charity work, and maybe the local "value" magazine.
Making sure you have utilized all the areas I've covered to this point; there is a checklist below. If by chance you skipped over one or simply missed it then go back and make sure you do it.
Here's a complete rundown of each section:
Create business account on Facebook
Create business account on Twitter
Create business account on Squidoo
Create business account on YouTube
Create business account on 5 Forums
Create business account on EzineArticles
Create business account on Hubpages
Create business account on Buzzle
Create business account on Associated Content
Create business account on GoArticles
Create Excel spreadsheet for usernames, passwords, and additional information
Create one piece of content for each article directory (first week)
Create or purchase a logo design for your business
100% completion of profiles under every account (images and bio included)
Get business cards and utilize offline marketing methods
Consider using other offline marketing methods
It's a lot of work right? Well, I've given you the best places to use to create your market. Even now you should see additional traffic coming to your business. I know it's not the thousands upon thousands of people you were hoping for, but you are just getting started.
