1. Start with a blog, and make sure it's about your passion.
I would say the number one thing you need to do if you want to be successful in marketing is to start a blog (or website). I know this sounds like common sense, but it's actually very rare for people who start their own businesses without having previously had any experience or education in marketing. You can't market anything if you don't have something to sell! If you want to be able to market effectively, then first and foremost you need something that people care about (and thus will buy). Starting a blog is the best way I know how to create/advertise something that will interest people and get them so excited they want what we're offering.
If we can't convert them into paying customers because we don't have something worth paying for, then all our efforts at marketing won't help us succeed. So let's assume we've got a product or service worth selling – now what? We need somewhere where potential buyers can find us! The best place for this is through blogging – blogging not only shows potential customers that we're an expert on our topic (which gives added credibility), but also allows us an outlet for writing content that inspires visitors enough so they'll take action and buy whatever it is that interests them on our site(s) ("content" being anything from text posts on blogs or websites, videos on YouTube/Vimeo/etc., podcasts, images…etc. I am going to use new methods of marketing soon, but I still consider content creation to be one of the most important – and essential – forms of marketing).
2. Create a guest post on an industry blog.
Now that we've got our own site(s) and we're actively creating new content, the next step is to get people talking about us and sharing our stuff with others! The best way to do this is by guest posting on other blogs within your niche (in order to gain authority as well as traffic). There are lots of ways to find blogs in your niche (using Google/Bing/Yahoo, social media like Twitter or Pinterest…etc.), but my favorite tool for this purpose is called BuzzSumo. It helps you find popular content based on what people share across social media; it's great for finding influencers who may be interested in working with you too (see #3).
Once you've found a blog that fits your niche and has good traffic, choose a topic related to the area of business you're trying to promote. Then send the owner/editor an email telling them about yourself and what makes your product so great – explain how it can help their readers solve a problem they have without being overly salesy or self-promoting. If your offer is relevant and interesting enough, they will be more than happy to post it on their site for you (and if they don't, that's fine – there are always other blogs out there). At the end of your article, make sure to include a link back to whatever it is you're selling.
Don't forget to include a byline at the top of your article too! You can also use this opportunity to build relationships with influencers and other bloggers in order to create long-term buzz about whatever it is we're selling.
3. Start an email list and follow up with people who visit our site(s).
Now that we've got some content on other sites (and maybe even our own), let's get people interested in us so we can start converting them into paying customers! The first step here is creating an email list; any time someone visits our website(s) or blog(s), we should automatically sign them up for this list using a tool called Aweber (or Mailchimp if you'd rather not pay). Then every time I write something new, I'll send my subscribers an email letting them know about my latest blog post…etc. After that comes the second part: following up with people who visit our site or follow us on social media.
I hope you've found this helpful!
