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Chamber of Commerce Worth Joining?

by Scott Botkins
8 replies
  • SEO
    • |
I'm a freelance web designer. Is the Chamber of Commerce worth joining to get a link? The domain authority is 50. It cost $375.00 a year. On the plus side I could also pay an additional $200 to reach 2000 businesses via their newsletter.
#chamber #commerce #joining #worth
  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    I would test it for at least a year & see what happens for new clients. IMO $575 isn't bad for 2K targeted local businesses. If that's a monthly newsletter that's 12 opportunities to generate new clients.
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  • Profile picture of the author Scott Botkins
    Thanks, that's what I'm thinking too. If I get 1 new client then I make my money back plus more.
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    • Profile picture of the author yukon
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Scott Botkins View Post

      Thanks, that's what I'm thinking too. If I get 1 new client then I make my money back plus more.
      Yep, for a monthly newsletter that's only $48 a month advertising, basically free If you only generated one client per month out of those 2K subscribers.

      The local authority backlink would help for SEO but you need to check other businesses existing links on the Chamber of Commerce site to see If they're followed links (links that don't include a nofollow tag in the HTML) & make sure the business profile pages are indexed in Google SERPs.
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  • Profile picture of the author limekyln
    I was on a chamber of commerce in Los Angeles for 5 years. I was active on multiple committees. I was on the board of directors, I chaired one major committee, I raised funds for the police department, I knew everyone and everyone knew me. I put out a lot of effort, time and money in personal networking over a long sustained period of time. At the time I ran a mainstreet brick and mortar family business in the community. I would say that the chamber can provide you with connections and business leads, but it's no magic bullet.

    If you just join, pay your money and let it go at that, then you likely won't see any lasting results. If you redesign the chamber site, and you get an article about your work and you get a link and you pick up a few accounts from influential bigshots, then you can build a referral business from that modest beginning. You will have to work the chamber of commerce in order for it to work for you. You need to build credibility, you need to know the movers and shakers, you should do work for them, you should also be referring business their way as well. If you get work from the local attorney or chiropractor, you should strive to send them a customer too. It's nothing more than good old fashioned people networking.
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    • Profile picture of the author Scott Botkins
      Originally Posted by limekyln View Post

      I was on a chamber of commerce in Los Angeles for 5 years. I was active on multiple committees. I was on the board of directors, I chaired one major committee, I raised funds for the police department, I knew everyone and everyone knew me. I put out a lot of effort, time and money in personal networking over a long sustained period of time. At the time I ran a mainstreet brick and mortar family business in the community. I would say that the chamber can provide you with connections and business leads, but it's no magic bullet.

      If you just join, pay your money and let it go at that, then you likely won't see any lasting results. If you redesign the chamber site, and you get an article about your work and you get a link and you pick up a few accounts from influential bigshots, then you can build a referral business from that modest beginning. You will have to work the chamber of commerce in order for it to work for you. You need to build credibility, you need to know the movers and shakers, you should do work for them, you should also be referring business their way as well. If you get work from the local attorney or chiropractor, you should strive to send them a customer too. It's nothing more than good old fashioned people networking.
      This is what I would be worried about. I have absolutely no time available to go get involved. That's why the back link and the newsletter with 2000 businesses were the only things that interested me. It would be a $575 gamble, but business has been great so it's nothing I would lose sleep over.
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  • Profile picture of the author RyanLB
    I would say so. I haven't joined my own, but then again I don't do a whole lot of local work. But, if you are trying to network with local businesses or find new clients - I would definitely say that is the simplest way to shake hands with business owners in your area.
    Signature

    I'm a Freelance Copywriter that helps Agencies, Startups and Businesses Educate Their Audience and Grow Sales
    Skype Me: r.boze
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  • Profile picture of the author timpears
    You got a whole lot of prospects in that club, so I say go for it. If you don't make your money back in the first few months, you are in the wrong business I would say.
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    Tim Pears

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  • Profile picture of the author nettiapina
    I just joined the local one. You get couple of backlinks from them too, but the directory they're on is not that great. However, I joined because of the whole package that includes networking events and stuff like that.
    Signature
    Links in signature will not help your SEO. Not on this site, and not on any other forum.
    Who told me this? An ex Google web spam engineer.

    What's your excuse?
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