Published:

03/15/2011 03:41pm

Twenty Steps to Marketing Yourself Online

Marketing yourself online can be a daunting experience. It takes time, dedication, a lot of energy and some technical skill. However, with a little practice, ANYONE can do it. Here are twenty steps to take to enhance your product visibility. Take each one in order and before you know it, you will be getting requests and sales from all over the world.

1. Start with a good product. If you haven’t got something other people want, you are wasting your time.
2. Create all the standard profiles so people can find you
a. A Facebook page for your business (not a personal one)
b. A frequently updated website that encourages people to take some type of action, leave a comment or at least leave their email.
c. Get onto LinkedIn with a dynamite profile
d. Establish a Google profile
e. Get a Twitter account
3. Now none of the items in 2 mean a twit (or a tweet) unless you get the information to potential customers. So you need an email list that can grow and grow. There are many free products to start with and as your list grows, you can upgrade. Begin with the people you know and ask them to spread the word.
4. Do something to keep yourself in the minds of your customers. Write a blog that has meaningful information or that helps customers see you or your product as something they want. Boring blogs will turn others off. Also you don’t need to blog every day, that will also turn people away. Once a week is or less is fine for most products.
5. Write articles for online magazines which showcase your expertise. Try to find ones that match the type of product or service you offer. (For example, I offer leadership training for women so I write for Excelle, Womensradio, the DivaToolbox and similar sites. I also write for our local newspaper). Of course, you need to write meaningful articles on topics people care about, not just your product.
6. Get interviewed. It is easier than you think. Consider what you have to offer and get onto a talk radio interview or a podcast. People are always looking for experts or unique products.
7. Get cited in articles by joining online groups like Pitchrate and HARO. You might find someone wants to learn more about exactly what you are selling.
8. Join LinkedIn groups that match the type of product or service you are selling. I am a member of 40 groups that range from Women to Business to working mothers to the Society of Women Engineers to authors groups. Post meaningful articles and discussion questions.
9. Offer a webinar. You can do this yourself or do it though organizations that offer these for their members online. The latter avoids having to manage the technical issues and usually earns you an honorarium of sorts.
10.Whenever you write an article, post it on Facebook, Tweet it, and if possible start a discussion on your LinkIn groups about it.
11. Post your articles on Digg and get your email list to DIGG you
12. Post on utube. You can make simple videos with your cell phone but flip video cameras are also helpful. The more clever, the better. Also post the video on your website and your facebook page.
13. Google yourself periodically to see what is there and what comes up first.
14. Search for your competition online and see what they are using to sell. New things are being introduced all the time.
15. Put your blogs together into an ebook and offer it on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. This takes some time but you can then include an author profile and announce this offering to the world through all your prior sources.
16. Get the emails of the producers of various local and not so local TV and radio shows. Send them a terrific press release about what you could offer on their program that is different. Don’t focus on your or your product, focus on what people want to hear about. Then work your expertise in.
17. Whenever you are selling in person, ask for your customers’ email addresses. Keep growing your list.
18. If you have a product that can enhance someone else’s business and vice versa, link to each other’s web