Marketing is easier, faster, and a lot more effective than it used to be. But, if you’re a new business, it often doesn’t feel that way. Ever notice how some businesses grow suspiciously fast — coming “out of nowhere” and rocket into the #1 spot online? Their sales explode and it seems like they can do no wrong.
Here’s their secret and how you can use it to your advantage.
Stick To The Basics
Print media is often thought to be an old, outdated, media. But, it’s not. And, while everyone has an opinion about what works and what doesn’t, most professional marketing agencies agree that traditional print media direct marketing is one of the simplest, and best, ways to attract new clients.
If you use address & envelope printers, it doesn’t have to be expensive, either. You’ll get new clients right away as long as you have good ad copy.
Choosing Your Market
Don’t try to get tricky with it. Your market is whomever benefits the most from your products or services. If you sell hot dogs, your target market is people who love hot dogs, not people who love hamburgers.
Only a very small portion of the population is interested in your product, and that’s OK. That small segment of the market will pay top dollar for you to solve their problems. If you try to market your startup company to everyone, then no one will really be interest in what you have to offer. Why? Because you’ll look too generic to your market. It’s easy for many startups to believe that their market is anyone who fogs a mirror. The reality is that you’re wasting a lot of time and money if you try to market your business to everyone.
Consider the true market size for your business. Who are you marketing to? What’s the key demographic? Know how many potential customers are in your target market, and how much money they have to spend on your product or service. What competition do you have, and how saturated is the market? Finally, what’s your value proposition — can you easily cut through the noise in your market and offer something unique that will sell?
Learn Simple Copywriting Strategies
Learning how to write ad copy is probably the best skill you can learn as a businessperson. You should spend time learning from the greats, like Claude Hopkins. But, you should also spend time learning from ad men like Gary Bencivenga, Dan Kennedy, Gary Halbert, John Carlton, Eugene Schwartz, and Mel Martin. Each of these big-name marketing gurus brings something unique to the table. Yet, each and every one of them can teach you the basics of copywriting that works to bring in sales and revenue.
How To Estimate Your Conversion Rate
When you do make sales, you need to know something called your “conversion rate.” Let’s say you have 100 new newsletter signups per month. This could be great or terrible depending on your ad spend and conversion rate.
If you spend $10,000 on advertising, and get 100 signups, at $10 each, then you’ve only made $1,000 — not great. But, if you spend $100 on advertising, the same 100 signups at $10 each becomes a positive ROI.
Set An Ad Budget
It’s a reality for most startups — you need to set an ad budget and buy as much advertising as you can afford. At the end of the day, it all comes down to how much you can afford to spend on your marketing strategy. Remember that while inbound marketing can cost 61% less than outbound marketing, nothing in marketing is truly free.
And, according to some studies, up to 60% of all marketing managers aren’t basing their budgets on any kind of ROI analysis. They’re just “winging it.” This is not something you want to do because you could find yourself out of business before you ever get off the ground.
About the Author
Evie Norton works in the marketing industry. She enjoys brainstorming and the creative side of marketing a new business, making people notice a new brand or new business from day 1 of launch. Look out for her marketing articles online.
