Need Local Business Marketing Tips

21 replies
Not sure if this is the correct place to be posting this, but hopefully it will be moved to the correct place if it isn't:

I am currently stuck in a dead end job ( how many times have you heard that before, ). Anyway, I'm approaching 40, and i think that if I don't do something about my situation now, then I never will. I have looked at my options on what I can do to finally stick my middle finger up at my boss, and tell him to stick his job right up his arse, and have decided that probably my best option, would to be concentrate on local businesses, seems a lot less competition than trying to promote Amazon, ClickBank, and whatever else people do to try and earn money online nowadays, etc, etc. Now, although it would be nice to become the next "Internet Millionaire", i'm not initially wanting to set my targets too high. I am in the UK, and with my current crappy job, my annual income is just over 17k, ( before tax ). I would be happy to be able to match that, ( or to at least build up to a similar figure ), and have the opportunity to NOT be getting up at 5am, and being able to spend more time with my family. Just wondering if anyone can offer any good advice on the following:

1: What services to offer local businesses that would be of benefit to them.

2: What sort of prices to charge for those services.

3: What software/tools to use to make life easier for me in giving those services. ( obviously I don't expect these to be free, but preferably one time payment, rather than monthly )

Now, I guess I'm going to be getting the negative replies here ( i.e, if I don't know what to do, why even bother ), but even the most successful business's have to start somewhere, so that's why I'm asking for advice before I start, .

Appreciate any advice that people can give,
#business #local #marketing #tips
  • Profile picture of the author MelanieandMiles
    Originally Posted by mwinning101 View Post

    1: What services to offer local businesses that would be of benefit to them.
    Marketing services! WordPress skills can go a long way and content marketing via WordPress can be extremely valuable for local businesses. There is a learning curve, but its not too bad and getting started is relatively inexpensive... Also, you can outsource about 99% of the work for $10hr or less. This can lead into all kinds of other monthly services as you continue to develop your skillset and confidence.

    Originally Posted by mwinning101 View Post

    2: What sort of prices to charge for those services.
    As much as the client can afford lol... Ok, not exactly, but it varies greatly depending on how much new customers are worth to the client and how big (or small) the company is. Hourly is a sliding scale from $20 - $50 for most wordpress work and $150+ for Analtytics, SEO, PPC and Marketing Coaching.

    Originally Posted by mwinning101 View Post

    3: What software/tools to use to make life easier for me in giving those services. ( obviously I don't expect these to be free, but preferably one time payment, rather than monthly )
    The starting point would be a hosting account and a domain for you to install WordPress on, so you can get comfortable with the dashboard... Maybe an account with a theme family like Elegant Themes so you can make the site look good quickly, or start building a team of outsources through oDesk.

    Google has a free Keyword Tool that helps you find what people are searching for, then you simply create content that answers the questions those search phrases represent. An autoresponder like Aweber (paid and worth it) or mailchimp (which is free up to 2.000 subscribers) can help you turn a WordPress blog into a lead generating machine... So dialing that all in yourself is definitely the path to offering those services to local clients.

    Market Samurai is a go-to keyword tool that we use on a very regular basis and we have an incentive marketing system we promote to local businesses that helps local businesses attract more clients, but that is really it. It can be a very lean start-up once you have the skills and confidence.

    For us, the progression from noob to full time marketing consultants went like this... Started out overwhelmed with WordPress, couldn't figure out how to install it, couldn't figure out how to install the theme, felt like we were banging our heads against the wall for the first few months. This was 3 years ago.

    Then, we started getting traction and after failing forward for a while we started getting organic search traffic... At this point, we also started outsourcing the development tasks through oDesk to help us customize our theme more and to build other simple sites for new projects/ideas while we stayed focused on keyword research and creating/publishing keyword rich content.

    Now, we have a team of people on oDesk who do most all the 'work' customizing clients' wp sites (and Magento sites and other CMS' that we have had ZERO experience with before landing big jobs).... And we simply help the business owners get the concept of WordPress marketing and then act more as project managers than anything.

    Working with local businesses is a great step towards securing your financial future, but it also has its drawbacks... Like needy clients who can't figure out what they want, or constantly change their mind.... lol. Firing our bosses was fun, but firing a few clients along the way has been a great relief, too.

    Remember that massive action is your best friend and even if you mess everything up and fail miserably, you have the opportunity to understand WHY it didn't work while eventually finding some things that do work... Helping local businesses avoid the same mistakes you made is indeed valuable... And obviously getting their site on page 1 of google for their 'service + location' keywords is incredibly valuable, too.

    Best of luck and remember that a hosting account is only like $100 per year and offers you just about everything you need to learn a TON from the school of hard knocks...
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  • Profile picture of the author kebertt
    What are you good at? If you're good at making websites, SEO, PPC - these are services that you could market to businesses and gain recurring business.

    Establishing and positioning your services is only step 1 - start to produce solid ideas on how to prospect businesses to generate leads and clients from.
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    • Profile picture of the author mwinning101
      What are you good at? If you're good at making websites, SEO, PPC - these are services that you could market to businesses and gain recurring business.
      TBH, I wouldn't really say that I am exceptionally good at anything.

      The starting point would be a hosting account and a domain for you to install WordPress on, so you can get comfortable with the dashboard...
      Hosting isn't a problem, I have a reseller account. Have had it for a while now, but have just been using it for my own sites, about time I made use of that anyway.

      WordPress skills can go a long way and content marketing via WordPress can be extremely valuable for local businesses.
      Setting up websites, I can do that easily enough, providing it is WP, I am familiar with it already, so creating the DB's, and uploading different themes and plug-ins isn't a problem. I have also used Artisteer to create my own themes for some of my sites, though they are obviously not as professional looking as the ones at Elegant Themes, so until I can learn a bit more with Artisteer, I probably wouldn't want to be using them for a potential client site, lol. But Elegant Themes looks like a good option, and very reasonably priced too.

      So yes, marketing would be what I was thinking of, but apart from the website and hosting which I could easily offer, there is the other stuff like SEO that I am not too good at. I have a few FB related software that I could probably put to use in creating fanpages, am just waiting for the developer of one of them to release a new update which apparently supports FB Graph, so if that turns out as expected, then that is going to be a cool thing. In fact, I have purchased a hell of a lot of different WSO's and FSO's over the past few years, I'm sure that I would be able to find some sort of use for a lot of them, lol. I already have Market Samurai. I also have a GetResponse account, which I have had for a few months now, and am paying for monthly but not using. I think it is about time that I started trying to get some kind of return on my past investments, lol.

      I think the main thing at the moment is that I just need to work out exactly what services I am able to offer, and become a little more confident in being able to approach local businesses, and basically sell them my services.

      So what services would I offer for a one time payment, and what service would be a recurring monthly charge?
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      • Profile picture of the author StarkContrast
        Originally Posted by mwinning101 View Post

        TBH, I wouldn't really say that I am exceptionally good at anything.
        Love that honesty. However, you probably know more than you think. As I read the rest of this post, you are well ahead of most offliners.

        This evening I wrote a quick email to a group of people that went something like this. "He owns the domain and hosting. Not sure if she has the login/password for the Wordpress site but I'll check."

        Big deal, you say? I just know I will get puzzled looks and replies from the people this was sent to. We live in the domain/hosting/login/password/Wordpress world everyday. Most people don't.

        Don't sell yourself short.
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  • Profile picture of the author DaniMc
    Originally Posted by mwinning101 View Post

    i'm not initially wanting to set my targets too high. I am in the UK, and with my current crappy job, my annual income is just over 17k, ( before tax ). I would be happy to be able to match that, ( or to at least build up to a similar figure ), a
    This line of thinking will not lead you to success.

    1) I can guarantee that you are underestimating the amount of work that is required to hit your goal. We all underestimate. Because of this fact it is important to....

    2) Set your goal 10x higher than you would be happy with and make a plan to get THERE. So, in this case, your plan should be to make 170k. If you plan for 17k you WILL plan incorrectly and come up short. If you plan for 170k, you WILL STILL plan incorrectly and come up short. But, think about it, which goal would you rather come up short on? Come up short on 17k and you have a lot of explaining and pain to go through. Come up short on 170k, and you will still be celebrating.

    3) So...now that you have set your goal appropriately...build a plan to get to 170k and work it like a madman. Once you figure out what you will sell, break it down to how much you make on each deal and then how many deals you have to close to make 170k. Pick your close ratio (start low..say 20%) and you will know how many pitches you have to make to make 170k.

    4) Figure this stuff out, put it on paper...and break your neck making it happen. IT'S WORTH IT!
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  • Profile picture of the author ADukes81
    Offer ONE service and dominate that. Don't offer everything to everyone as that never works. I pissed away 18 months figuring that out. I found success when I started offering mobile websites to attorneys.

    I am taking a bit of a different approach as of late by looking for "customers" as oppose to "clients". Customers being in the $400-$997 range and don't have my cell number like clients do. I am sick of the phone calls on Saturday mornings (a bit my fault) and calls on Tuesday night. I offer "tangible" services (content creation, social postings, community building).
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  • Profile picture of the author ADukes81
    I realize I said ONE service and posted I offer content creation AND social postings, but I feel their is a sinergy between the two.

    Like Jay Baer said, "Content is fire, social media is the gasoline"
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  • Profile picture of the author Roger Mayne
    @mwinning101 Just sent you a PM
    Signature

    "If you don't quit, you can't fail"
    Success will follow.

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  • Profile picture of the author Igor Fridrihs
    Give a cheese to a business owner. Buy Google voucher at Fiverr for $5 and make 3 days Adwords campaign for a business. It is very easy to bring their business to the front page of Google and impress your future client. Show him screenshots from Adwords campaign to prove that you really brought them customers. Then make an offer.
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  • Profile picture of the author alexdigital
    Hey,

    Just seen your post. I'm in Bedford UK too and i've been happily living off my own income for over 15 years.

    Here's what I currently do in a nutshell.

    1) Sell Wordpress sites. I get a premium theme and customise it for customers. (one off fee)
    2) Sell Wordpress hosting. I have a reseller account and I deal with all my clients problems. (Annual Fee)
    3) Sell AdWords Campaigns and management. You can charge a good monthly fee on this. (monthly fee)
    4) Sell SEO Advice. Notice I said advice, I generally just give help on an ongoing basis (monthly fee)
    5) Joint Ventures. If I find a client that I think has great potential i'll work with them for free in return for a cut of profits.

    Hope that makes sense. If you want to buy me a coffee sometime i'd be happy to meet up with for a chat.

    -Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author bsummers
    In what particular profession are you really good at and happy to do? All the suggestions above are really good stuff, but if none of these bring you enjoyment, then you are practically living the same life you have with your dead-end job. If you could answer these two points satisfactorily then you'll be able to figure out where to go next.
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    Need help in LEADS for your business? Ask me on how to generate qualified and targeted leads from appointment setting and lead generation campaigns through calling, social media and email marketing.
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  • Profile picture of the author J R Salem
    Originally Posted by mwinning101 View Post

    Not sure if this is the correct place to be posting this, but hopefully it will be moved to the correct place if it isn't:

    I am currently stuck in a dead end job ( how many times have you heard that before, ). Anyway, I'm approaching 40, and i think that if I don't do something about my situation now, then I never will. I have looked at my options on what I can do to finally stick my middle finger up at my boss, and tell him to stick his job right up his arse, and have decided that probably my best option, would to be concentrate on local businesses, seems a lot less competition than trying to promote Amazon, ClickBank, and whatever else people do to try and earn money online nowadays, etc, etc. Now, although it would be nice to become the next "Internet Millionaire", i'm not initially wanting to set my targets too high. I am in the UK, and with my current crappy job, my annual income is just over 17k, ( before tax ). I would be happy to be able to match that, ( or to at least build up to a similar figure ), and have the opportunity to NOT be getting up at 5am, and being able to spend more time with my family. Just wondering if anyone can offer any good advice on the following:

    1: What services to offer local businesses that would be of benefit to them.

    2: What sort of prices to charge for those services.

    3: What software/tools to use to make life easier for me in giving those services. ( obviously I don't expect these to be free, but preferably one time payment, rather than monthly )

    Now, I guess I'm going to be getting the negative replies here ( i.e, if I don't know what to do, why even bother ), but even the most successful business's have to start somewhere, so that's why I'm asking for advice before I start, .

    Appreciate any advice that people can give,
    1) What services do you WANT to offer local businesses. It's up to you. Wanna offer SEO, Consulting, Web Design? It's up to you, you just need a system and funnel in place.

    2) Again, what do you WANT to charge. It's up to you. You can attract $200 clients or $5000 clients. Really up to you and how you position and present your service offerings.

    3) There are many tools, but many of the best ones have recurring fees. But if those tools help you grow the type of business you want, aren't they worth the cost?

    Taking "imperfect" action is important sometimes to finally take the first step to get where you wanna go.

    But make sure you are properly setup to get there.
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    • Profile picture of the author mwinning101
      Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

      The main things that I was considering offering to start with, would have been the website creation and hosting, ( so search for local businesses that haven't already got one would have been my first move, I have already done a quick search within my own local area, and found some that don't seem to have one ) and SEO services. I am certainly not an expert in either of those, but with the help of WP, and a good selection of premium themes at my disposal to choose from, I could easily set up a professional looking website for potential clients, and with a reseller account, hosting is no problem. As for SEO, I would be looking at software to help with part of it ( have been looking at IBP, so if anyone has any reviews on this, or any alternatives, that would be good ). I just feel that If I had a full SEO report in front of me, detailing the changes that need to be made, It would make things fairly simple to implement those changes.

      So to start with, I just need to get myself a domain, and set up my own website. Then I need to find the funds for a good SEO software, and a good theme source ( preferably a one time payment like Elegant Themes, as MelanieandMiles suggested ). Any logo/image creation for the websites would be easy enough to outsource through fiverr or something, I already have someone that I use for all my own stuff on there.

      I am looking at other options of services to offer, like social media stuff, but my main priority at the moment, is to get the funds together to set up a site, and get the relevant tools that I need to get me started.
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  • Profile picture of the author Igor Fridrihs
    Hey,

    Offer marketing services. Try to start from 3 days free Adwords campaign and then show the result to a business owner. Your expenses must not be huge. Just buy Adwords voucher for $5 at Fiverr.
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    • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
      Just being able to set up a functional site is a great start.

      You're talking about making around 350 pounds a week which
      is certainly achievable.

      One guideline to pricing if you're pricing per project...charge
      at least as much as your monthly income goal for one project...
      1,400 pounds a project.

      You just need to make sure you're delivering value with whatever
      project you're delivering.

      If you're creating more profits for a client than what they're paying
      you for the project...even if it takes several months for that to
      happen...then you're delivering a valuable service.

      Charging enough will make it a whole lot easier for you to make good money
      because when you get just one client that's a month's income
      before you need another client.

      When you're starting out probably 3/4 of your work is going to
      be getting clients so prepare for that.


      Given your lack of experience with SEO that may not be the best
      service for you to provide yourself starting out.

      Perhaps experiment and learn a little more before you consider
      taking that path (one tip...there's really no software that wil
      do SEO for you...it's not too complex but you do need to
      understand the basics. That tip should save you wasting money
      on the software anyway.)

      If you ground yourself in some marketing basics that will help
      you enormously both in getting hired and in coming up with
      ways to help a business make more sales and profits.

      A GREAT way to start would be these resources from Jay
      Abraham...
      Abraham.com - Marketing Genius


      Outside of that learning the basics of email marketing is one
      good way to help many businesses make some serious money
      (most businesses don't follow up with people who are already
      walking into their premises every day...that can be a gold mine.)

      If you know how to use social media like Facebook that's another
      marketing strategy that's becoming more effective for many
      businesses.

      There are so many strategies you can use it's mind numbing.

      You just need one or two that you master to a level well enough
      that you can produce some results for a brick and mortar business
      (that's actually not too difficult).


      And I'll give you one more strategy as a gift.

      It's something you could do right now that will work for many busineses.

      As crazy as this sounds I know many businesses who get a substantial
      number of clients and customers advertising free on sites like Craigslist.

      You can offer to bring in customers for a business and put free ads on
      these classified sites for them.

      The biggest secret is to have a compelling headline on the ad and a clear
      call to action in the ad.

      If you're bringing in paying customers for a business they're going to be
      happy with you.

      Kindest regards,
      Andrew Cavanagh
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  • Profile picture of the author bob ross
    You can send ten thousand A4 sized flyers or postcards via the Royal Mail "unaddressed mail" program for something like £1650 total.

    You can fit a 12-15 ads comfortably (using both sides). Get together a dozen or more restaurants, bakeries, car service stations, and pizzerias, with their best coupons possible for only £250 - £300 each.

    Who wouldn't want to receive a big coupon postcard in the mail chock full of fantastic coupons/special offers at local restaurants?

    You now have yourself a £25k+ annual profit that can be 75% autopilot and your clients will LOVE you for bringing them loads of business consistently.
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  • Profile picture of the author MegaPackBiz
    I would advice to not ditch the Artisteer ... not yet because what you do not like your clients might like and in this case he is your "boss".
    I am using it since January and so far I made (mostly on fiverr) close to 200$ (might not be much but it adds as pocket cash which is something :-) ) from building wordpress themes with Artisterr.
    Its true that it do not makes to awesome themes (or themes that are on my liking) but as long as the final product my client likes then thats all I had to do deliver something that in his eyes is simply WOW ... because they could not create such work therefore they are willing to pay for it.
    Also I had a client that was to picky and even after I explained in super detail what to modify he could not tell me or explain what to change only gave directions like: its to cluttered, I do not like the font and all this kind of directions but without telling or giving examples of what he might like (of course something that I could do in Artisteer as well since I am not a coder to get into the css and walk my way there, I am just a simple designer ... but I did told him all of these and he could still not explain).
    So bottom line is that if the client likes what you have build for him its all you need to know; and you will feel satisfied that you have made a client happy ;-) which is a good reward for a designer (service provider).

    My tips:

    - you can offer to business owners in your area website design/hosting/inclusion on google maps/facebook page and the list can go on and on

    - also explain to them the importance of having all of these (this is your main goal)

    - build a small portfolio (might require some previous work but worths on the long run) with lets say 5-15 websites designed (different temes/layout and all that - so they can see that you do not do just 1 type of websites and thats it)

    - regarding SEO i would suggest some tutorials to get into so that you would learn even the basics to can explain as well to the customer (which more then sure has no idea what SEO come from)


    Best of wishes and hope you will make up your mind and TAKE ACTION because this is most important thing to do.
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  • Profile picture of the author sdentrepreneur
    Here is a sample of a $950.00 Per Month Quote/Contract. I charge more is they need a Wordpress Site or Google Adwords. Hope this give you an idea of what to do. Land 4 of 5 of these clients per month and you can quit your JOB. I did it back in 2008 and have been Full Time online ever since. Mostly Consultant now...



    Social Media - Internet Marketing Package


    Set Up 15+ Social Media Accounts
    Social Networking such as Facebook
    Multiple Micro blogs such as Twitter
    Multiple Video Sites such as YouTube
    Multiple Directory Sites for Google Places/Maps
    Content Creation sites such as Pinterest
    Set Up Geo-Targeted sites such as Foursquare


    FACEBOOK

    • Create Custom Graphics For Fan Page
    • Add Custom Facebook Apps/Tabs
    • Post Status Updates 1-3 Times Per Day
    • Grow Fans/Likes By 100+ Per Month
    • Comment and Interact with Fans
    • Set Up Facebook Places Deals and Maintain

    TWITTER

    • Create Custom Twitter Backgroud
    • Post Tweets 3 To 5 Times Per Day
    • Grow Twitter Following By 500+ Per Month
    • Interact with Followers


    YOUTUBE

    • Create Custom Graphic Background
    • Customize YouTube Account
    • Link YouTube To All Social Media Accounts
    • Get Videos on Page One Of Google On Selected Keywords

    GOOGLE PLACES/LOCAL

    • Claim or Access Google Places/Local/Map For Client
    • Optimize Google Places For Page One Results
    • Set Up Google Places Deals and Maintain
    • Set up 10+ accounts on top Directory sites
    • Set up Google+ Branded Page


    FOURSQUARE

    • Claim or Access Foursquare Business Account
    • Optimize Foursquare for Search Results
    • Set Up Foursquare Deals and Maintain
    • Set Up Strategy To Grow Foursquare Following




    PINTEREST

    • Set up Pinterest Business Account
    • Create Industry Related Boards
    • Upload clients content and find Industry Related content
    • Connect to Facebook and Twitter
    • Create posting strategy
    • Grow followers by 50+ per month

    * Client to provide all content including Articles, Blogs and Video
    * JMH Marketing will provide coaching and training on content creation.

    $950.00 Per Month – Minimum 3 Month Contract
    Signature

    Learn Digital, Internet and Social Media Marketing For Your Business
    Click here to learn more - Digital and Social Media Marketing Training Course

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  • Profile picture of the author SiteSmarty
    - Buy an iPad & iPhone or the alternative
    - Create Mobile sites with this: Mobile Website Made Easy | Free Mobile Website Design | DudaMobile. (Resell)
    - Put on your leather shoes
    - Start showing local businesses what their site would look like to mobile users
    - Once you know what you're doing, move up to medium sized businesses
    - Sell those medium businesses a mobile site for $1500+. Hire the dudes at Duda to do the custom design at $495
    - Once you get a few under your belt you'll be the mobile guy in your area

    Good luck man, you can do it!
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  • Profile picture of the author Krisz Rokk
    Don't sell yourself short! Agree with Dan & David on that one.

    What is it that you love and like to do? What interests, experience, knowledge, talents do you have? What challenges have you mastered in your life so far?

    A lot of (local) small biz in the UK don't have a website and are looking for alternatives. Demand in London is very high, the market quite competitive.

    If you're looking for sound online and offline marketing advice checkout Frank Kern (IM), Dan Kennedy and Jay Abraham - just to name a few.

    Loads of valuable input / feedback above!
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