8 Essentials for Getting Your New Business off The Ground
If you are starting a new online venture or you are diversifying by venturing into a new niche, you need to seize an opportunity and start off well. Money, just like your wallet, loves speed. Here are tips designed to help you hit the ground running.
Get Your Unique Selling Proposition
What differentiates you from the rest? What makes you stand out? Don’t say price or quality because everyone says that. Point out something else that makes you stand out from the crowd. By doing so, you will find it easier to make it in your niche.
Have a Clear Goal
Decide precisely what you want. You will not reach a goal if you don’t know exactly what it is, so make your chief objective clear. Do you intend to become a trusted expert in your field? Do you intend to build a loyal list? Decide what you want so that you can come up with a good plan to get there.
Identify Your Target Customer
One big mistake beginner marketers make is to target everyone – you can’t market to everyone. Therefore, profile your ideal customer and create content that suits them. Market your product and content through channels that they can relate to. These will be where they will feel as though you are directly speaking to them.
Partner With Someone
Partners will vary depending on your goal; you can find a partner that will help you build a list, sell a product, etc. Also, they vary according to your target audience. Pick a partner who will help you reach your goal at a faster rate, and start building a relationship with them by asking them what you can offer in return. You can offer to come up with articles, emails, blog posts, etc. for them. The best way is to offer it upfront.
An alternative approach would be to approach them with a clear, exciting goal like raising money for a charitable event. Potential JV partners will not ignore a potential opportunity that seems profitable. They will want to be part of something newsworthy.
Make Use of Social Media
Focus on two social networks where most of your audience are and create new profiles exclusive for your venture. Start reaching out to them. You can offer incentives to people who share your content or run a contest to attract more more people in your audience.
Create Valuable Content
Create interesting content for your website or blog, or videos for your social sites. Make it informative and enjoyable to read. How do you make it shareable? By using controversial content and humour.
Share Your Content
Don’t just write content and post it- share it on social sites, email it, use guest blog posting, and any method that will make your content reach your customers.
Give Them Small Bits
There is a notion that if you disclose all your secrets to your customers, they will buy your products in bulk. However, that’s not normally the case. Why should they buy your guides if they are getting the best advice from you for free. Or do you think they will buy because they will assume what you are selling is better than what you give them for free?
Instead of disclosing all the best tricks to them, tell them what to do but don’t disclose how to do it. Let the “how to do it” part be in the product you are selling to them. This is the secret of marketers who sell their products at premium prices. People will appreciate your products because they will find them more valuable.
So there are your 8 tips for launching your next online venture so that you can hit the ground running. You don’t need to reinvent anything. You need to use the solid basics that have been proven to work time and time again.
One of the essentials that I mentioned here was to partner with someone. Following a proven blueprint from someone who has done what you want to do is one way that you can partner with someone without actually entering a formal partner agreement.
In last week’s supplement I told you about a new book that Nick James has written that is called ‘Six Figures A Year In Information Publishing’.
I believe he is still giving away free copies of the book so if you didn’t already order one from him I suggest you jump in now and get a copy while you can.
>> Six Figures A Year In Information Publishing
I hope you found this week’s supplement useful and as always I love to hear your comments.
