HOME BASED BUSINESS MARKETING, ADVERTISING & PROMOTION

YOU NEED A BUSINESS GMAIL ACCOUNT

The first step in the process is very simple.  You need a Gmail account that is dedicated to your business to make it easier to set up your marketing channels.

The reason for this is because one of the main strategies your are going to use is setup with a Gmail address.

I would suggest that you not use your personal Gmail for this.  You can use your personal account, but it makes it very difficult to keep your business separated form your personal emails.

Plus, you can also use this account to setup all of your other business related accounts so that you don’t get a lot of random business email and promotions in your personal email.

One other advantage is that by setting up this account you already have immediate access to other Google tools like YouTube.

Setting up a Gmail is simple. If you don’t already have a business Gmail, go to www.gmail.com and setup your account right now.

YOU NEED A LANDING PAGE

Next, you need some type of landing page for your business.

This is typically a business website. This can be a website that you create, one that you have created or had created by a marketing company, a Google Business page, or a page that is given to you when you join a business program.

It can even be something like a Facebook page, but it is definitely better to have a landing page that people don’t have to create an account for to view or interact with it.

This is the link where you will send everyone to as a place to learn more about your business and to buy your products and services.

The best option is to have an actual website of some type that you control to use for your business landing page.

HOW CAN FINDING YOUR BUSINESS HELP?

You can definitely attempt to create your Business Website Landing Page yourself.

There are tools that make it somewhat easier to do like Squarespace and WIX, but it can still be challenging to use these tools to create something that you feel represents your business. This is especially the case if you don’t have a lot of experience with design or coding.

You can also try to build your own website with a more flexible tool like WordPress and a Premium WordPress Theme Design.

You can purchase WEBSITE HOSTING [partner link], upload and setup WordPress on your website hosting, setup your premium WordPress theme design and then customize it for your business.

It sounds easy to do when you watch a YouTube video about it, but in reality there many parts of the process where you can get stuck and not be able to move forward.

It is a challenge to put together a website even when you have experience because every site is unique even if you are using a theme design as a starting point.

FINDING YOUR BUSINESS CAN BUILD A WEBSITE FOR YOU

Our website packages start at $2,750, which includes one year of Google Business Profile and Local Business Directory setup & management ($350 value).

Use the form below to request a more specific quote and to let us know you that are interested.

YOU NEED A GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE AND MORE LOCAL LISTINGS

One of the best ways to let people know about you is to setup a Google Business Profile. This also sets you up in Google Maps. Then you also will want to setup many other local business directory listings with the exact same Business Name, Address and Phone Number (NAP).

This consistency and effort shows Google that you are a real business and that someone is taking the time to manage the listings. This gives Google more confidence that your business is real and still open. Then, Google will be more likely to send potential customers to your Business Website Landing Page.

Of course there is more to it than that, but that is the basic idea around why this step is very important if you want to get found in your local area.

Even if you don’t have a location based business where customers come to you, you can still setup a Google Business Profile and set yours up as a Service Area so that your address is hidden on the listing.

After setting up your Google Business Profile you will also want to setup many other local business directory listings like Bing local listings and many others to increase the number of places where Google can find your consistent NAP information, which gives Google even more confidence in you.

Many of you may have already setup a Google Business Profile, but most probably haven’t setup the other listings.

Even if you have a Google Business Profile, it might not be setup correctly or completely. But, there is a way that you can setup these listings and bring consistency to your online information.

You can try to do it yourself. You can setup your Google Business Profile HERE and then attempt to find all of the local business directory listings that you can, setup accounts with each one, and fill in all of your information, logo and photos correctly. This can be done on your own, but it is very time consuming.

FINDING YOUR BUSINESS CAN CLAIM, OPTIMIZE AND MANAGE THESE LISTINGS FOR YOU

The process of doing this yourself is extremely time consuming and tedious. Finding Your Business partners with a company that can claim, optimize and manage these listings, including your Google Business Profile, in a much faster and more complete way.

We work with you to get the information you need for the listings then use the service to quickly bring consistency to your online reputation and listing information.

The Google Profile & Local Listings package is $350, which includes initial setup and one year of updates in case you need to change information or photos in your listings.

Please Note: The Google Profile & Local Listings package is INCLUDED if you have us build a website for your business as described above.

Use the form above or below to let us know you are interested and to get a more exact quote.

YOU NEED A WAY TO GET POSITIVE ONLINE REVIEWS

After you setup your Google Business Profile & other Local Listings to let Google know you are a real business and you’re open for business, you need positive online reviews.

One definite advantage of setting up your Google Business Profile is that it also sets you up in Google Maps. So, even if your address is hidden, your business has the possibility of being found when people are searching both in Google Maps and regular Google search in addition to your website link.

But, Google doesn’t just want to know that the business owner is real and active. Google wants to see that real customers like and recommend your business.

Getting POSITIVE Google Business profile page reviews is one of the main ways to show this social proof.

Not only does this show Google that real people like your business, but it is absolutely essential in helping potential new customers make the decision to use your business over another one.

So, how do you get these positive Google Business Profile page reviews?

One major tip is to not just tell everyone that you want them to leave a review. Don’t put out a big stack of review cards with links to your Google and Facebook profiles asking for reviews for everyone to see.

Don’t tell brand new customers that they can leave a review before they even work with you and you know they are satisfied.

ONLY ASK HAPPY CUSTOMERS for a 5 Star Positive Review.

You won’t have to tell unhappy customers how they can leave a review. Those people will find a way, so don’t make it easy for them.

But, happy customers are not that motivated to leave a review because they are content and satisfied. Those are the people you want to leave a review, but you may have to remind them AND make it extremely easy for them to do.

One of the easiest ways to tell people how to leave a Google review is to ask them to use the Google Maps App, find your listing, and leave a review. Of course, you need to setup your Google Business Profile listing explained above so that they can leave the review.

The reason the Google Maps App option is so easy is that they are already logged in with Google when they use the Maps App and they can simply leave a review on your listing.

But there are a couple of other resources that you can use to ask for positive reviews.

WHAT CAN YOU USE TO GET POSITIVE REVIEWS

JUST ASK FOR REVIEWS

The simplest way is to just ask the happy customers for positive reviews and show or tell them how to do it.
But, if you want to use tools that can simplify the process and help you collect reviews there are a couple of options.

USE VIDEOASK

VideoAsk makes it easy for people to submit reviews and for you to collect text, audio and video reviews using their mobile device or a computer.

You can send them your VideoAsk link and it walks them through exactly what to do using their device. You have access to all of the reviews to use on your website and social media. It even has them confirm that they are giving you permission to use their review publicly.

The best part? You can get started for free. Go to www.videoask.com to sign up for free.

CREATE POSITIVE REVIEW CARDS

Another simple thing you can do to ask for positive reviews is to create a card with instructions that you can give to or leave for happy customers.

You can have it designed by someone on FIVERR [partner link] and print it using an inexpensive service like CLUBFLYERS or RUSHFLYERS.

You can find your Google Profile link where a person can leave a review and create a QR Code for it using a site like QR.IO or QR CODE MONKEY, add simple instructions asking for a 5 Star Positive Review and then put your business logo on the back.

The cards are extremely inexpensive to print using one of those printing services. And remember, only give them to happy customers.

YOU NEED WORD OF MOUTH REFERRALS

As most of you already know, one of the best ways to get business is when a happy customer refers you.

They are using their influence to refer you to people they know. It takes a lot of the hard work out of getting the sale if they are already somewhat sold on your product or service based on the recommendation of their friend.

You can offer a referral fee or finders fee to encourage referrals. But, the best referrals probably come from people who aren’t being paid. They really like your product or service and want to tell people about it.

Social media makes it very easy for people to share about your business. But, it is also a very crowded space to you will have to figure out how to cut through all of the mess and noise to get your posts seen and shared.

The best way to get people to talk abut you is to give them a reason to share what you to do with other people. Make the effort to make them them WANT to talk about your business or how you helped them.

• Make it easy.
• Make it interesting.
• Deliver amazing quality and results.
• Go above and beyond.
• Follow up.

If you do those things you most likely won’t have to worry about people talking to others about what you do.

HOW CAN FINDING YOUR BUSINESS HELP

One product that we offer that you could use for your business to make it more visible even in the front yard of your home based business is a custom vinyl banner to hang in or outside your business.

This is a great solution for a home based business since these banners are inexpensive, are water resistant and work great inside or outside your home.

Our vinyl banners are $5 per square foot, which includes help with your graphic, grommets, pockets and shipping.

Fill out the form below and choose that option for more details.