Stop me, if this story isn’t your story. You’re an internet entrepreneur. You’ve got a business and a website, but no customers. You know about submitting to search engines and you’ve tried a few link exchanges, but still you don’t have any customers. You hear people talking about blogging and social networking which all sounds great, but you’re not quite clear on when all the blogging and networking helps you get customers. At the end of the day, you clearly know that business isn’t business without customers, but you just don’t understand how to drive traffic and customers to your website.
I’m a visual learner, so hopefully my explanation works for you. Think of yourself (the entrepreneur) as an actor. Your website is your stage and your business is your play. You know you’ve created a masterpiece, but nobody else knows because you don’t have an audience. Every time you sit in front of your computer, you need to be thinking about how you can create an audience around your business filled with curious browsers and potential buyers. Your goal is simple and so is this point; if you can’t attract an audience online, you won’t have customers online.
The easiest ways to drive traffic and customers to your website are as follows:
- Search Engine Optimization: If people can’t find you online, you won’t get traffic. Optimizing your website for search engines is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to build your business’ online presence.
- Buzz Building: Right now no one knows you online and that’s your biggest problem. SEO is important, but you can’t just sit back and hope the search engines will do all the work. You have to create a marketing plan to promote yourself and your business. Furthermore, the more you promote yourself and build external links to your website, the better your rankings will become in search engines.
- List Building: Every business starts off small. Even when you are only getting a small amount of traffic or a handful of customers, you need to get into the habit of tracking that traffic and your current list of customers. Don’t make the mistake of focusing only on attracting new customers. Your business won’t grow overnight, but it will grow overtime if you learn how to consistently build a list of existing customers, new customers, and business associates.
Last but not least, don’t make the mistake of wishing for a magical marketing moment. Even if you’re lucky enough to get a business grant or spotlight promotion from a big name celebrity, you still have to figure out how to use that money and/or publicity to attract customers to your business. If you learn how to find customers online, I guarantee you that more customers will start to find you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Internet Entrepreneur and Web Business Expert LaShanda Henry is devoted to teaching women entrepreneurs how to start and build successful businesses online. To learn more about attracting customers, take LaShanda’s 7 Day eCourse: How to Find Customers Online, findcustomersonline.com.
Katrina Mitchell, Platinum Member and owner of Fundamentals Spa is one of our featured Panelists and she wants to show you how She increased her sales so that you can do the same!
