Are you stuck trying to figure out how to market your home-based business?
There are a lot of different marketing strategies out there, and all the “gurus” seem to have different opinions and advice. So, what do you do? Who do you listen to? What marketing strategy will work best for you and your business? In this blog post, I am going to help you answer all of these questions.
Even if you are feeling overwhelmed by this part of making money from home, don’t worry. I’ve got your back.
This was an area of business I struggled with too. As an introvert, I had a really hard time finding a way to market my online business that I was comfortable doing, and that didn’t drain all of my energy. You may also have fears of spending money on the wrong thing or showing up in the wrong places.
But I promise I am here to help you find a marketing strategy that WILL work for you and your business. So, let’s get started.
Why Is Marketing In Your Home Business Important?
No matter what kind of home-based business you are running, it is incredibly important to have some kind of marketing strategy in place. This is how you will get your business in front of more eyes, increase your profits, and boost your business success.
Think about it, if you aren’t getting your business, products, or services in front of your potential buyers, how can you help them solve their problems? How can you boost your income?
Marketing is the answer. It’s the secret sauce that will help you get your business in front of all the right people.
Is it possible to market your online business with a small budget?
Without a doubt, yes!
While you can spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on marketing if you want to, you don’t necessarily have to. There are more marketing opportunities than ever before thanks to the internet, emails, social media, and more.
In this blog post, you will find marketing ideas that match any budget so you can find one that suits you and your home business, as well as your budget.
10+ Home Business Marketing Ideas
#1 – Create a free My Business Google Account
According to Google, a Google Business account lets you take control of how you show up in Google search results and Google maps. While this marketing strategy can be worthwhile for many business types, it would be especially beneficial for a local home-based business.
For example, if you offer hair-cutting services from your home, you might find that having your business show up on Google adds credibility to your business and helps people find you easier.
If you take your time and set this up properly, you also have the opportunity to be found in Google search. Let’s say you offer snow removal services, and someone searches for this service in Google, you will then pop up under the locally listed business section. This can help you find more customers without having to put in the continual effort.
To learn how to set up your Google business account, go here.
#2 – Post on Social Media
In today’s social media world, it is invaluable to have your business on social media too. More and more people are finding businesses, products, and services they want from their social media accounts.
Now, before I dive into this topic further, I do want to caution you against having too many social media accounts. They are a lot of work to maintain, so I would recommend choosing just one to start with.
The secret to finding any kind of success on social media is consistency. The more consistent you are on a platform, the more eyes you will get on your content. So, again, just pick one to start with, be super consistent, and then add more social media accounts as you see fit for your time and your business.
Here are the top social media platforms you can consider using:
- TikTok
- YouTube
When choosing which social media you want to use, consider where your ideal customers are hanging out. This should be your top priority.
#3 – Share Free Value With Long-Form Content
When you are looking for information, where do you go? Do you Google it and read articles? Do you watch YouTube videos? Where are you learning and finding out new information?
The internet has given us the unique ability to learn almost anything we want with just a few button clicks. And your ideal customers are doing this too. So one way that you can reach them is by sharing free value and information in the form of content. Some popular long-form content options are:
- Blogging
- Podcasting
- YouTube
When choosing what type of content you want to create, consider where your ideal customers are going for information, but more importantly, what kind of content you are willing to make. For example, if you don’t want to make videos, then YouTube wouldn’t be the best option for you.
No matter what long-form content you decide to create, it should always aim to answer your customer’s questions, inform them about your products, services, etc., and build the know, like, and trust factor with you and your business.
Related Read: 10 Reasons Why You Need To Start A Blog Website When Building A Business
#4 – Email Marketing
Email marketing is another popular marketing strategy for your home business and it’s a great option because it doesn’t cost a lot to get started. All you will need is an email marketing platform that you use to store your list of emails. You can also send emails from these platforms as you aren’t allowed to send mass emails through something like Gmail or Outlook.
What makes email marketing so powerful is the vast number of ways you can use your email list for additional marketing options. For example, every time you run a promotion, you can send out an email. This is a great way to market your sales without having to spend a lot of time or money to get the word out there.
You can also send your email contacts links to the long-form content you are creating which will help to answer their questions, teach them how you can help them, and continue to build that relationship you have with them.
Are you in need of an email service provider to store all of the leads you’ve worked so hard to generate for your business? Click here to learn more about MailerLite – my #1 recommendation for a FREE email host.
#5 – Networking
If you are outgoing and love meeting new people, then you should consider networking to grow your home business. This may not be a great marketing option for everyone. As an introvert, I know it’s not the best option for me and my online business. However, networking can be extremely powerful if it’s something you are good at doing.
Of course, you can go to in-person networking events in your local area. Some people will also travel to network at events where their ideal clients and customers will be.
However, if you would prefer to network from the comfort of your own home, you can also do this by getting active in Facebook groups, talking with people on LinkedIn, and so on. You don’t necessarily have to leave your house anymore to network with others which is amazing.
If networking is something you want to try to market your business, but you don’t know how to go about doing it in a way that isn’t pushy or too salesy, go here for some tips you can follow.
#6 – Host A Challenge or Competition
Challenges and competitions are great because they can generate a lot of buzz about your business. This is especially true when there is something in it for them.
In my opinion, any challenge or competition you run should give every participant something they can walk away with. Some ideas of things you can do to generate buzz during a competition or challenge include:
- teaching participants something new
- helping participants achieve a specific result or overcome a specific challenge
- giving away freebies or prizes
You should also encourage people to share the challenge with their friends and family too. You can add additional incentives for this, or even use accountability as encouragement to actually do the challenge. These work really well when you are addressing an important pain point that the participants want to overcome.
#7 – Set Up A Referral Program
Word of mouth is hands down one of the best marketing strategies in the world. It’s one thing when a business owner tells you that their product or service is the best. It’s a completely different thing when your best friend is raving on and on about how amazing this thing was. The two just don’t even compare.
However, simply relying on word of mouth can be a little bit unreliable. Not everyone will remember to mention it to their friends and family. However, if you can offer them an incentive, this can increase the likeliness that they will tell their friends and family.
Remember, you should always be thinking about what’s in it for them!
You can do this by setting up a referral program. In this program, you can offer discounts, gift cards, freebies, specialized offers, and so on.
#8 – Get Business Cards
It’s funny, when I first started my online business, I thought that business cards were only for businesses that had an office space and staff. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. You never know when you might meet someone who wants to learn more about your bookkeeping services or who is interested in learning more about how you use Ikea furniture to organize closets.
So, no matter what type of home-based business you have, you should get business cards.
The nice thing about this marketing strategy is it doesn’t have to be expensive. You can even create your business cards yourself to save money on the design. And don’t worry, you don’t need to be a graphic designer to do this! You can find business card templates on platforms like Creative Market that you can customize to suit your brand. This is a great way to get a unique design without having to spend a lot of time or money.
#9 – Get Your Business Name Out There
You should do everything you can to simply get your business name out there. This can include putting your business name, website, and phone number on things like:
- your vehicle
- pens
- clothing like hoodies, jackets, toques, etc.
- notebooks or notepads
- calendars
- and so on!
You can give your company swag to customers and clients as well as your friends and family. This is a really easy solution to help you get the name of your business out there as much as possible.
#10 – Host Collaborations
A great way to get your home business in front of new eyes is to host collaborations.
Now, you may not necessarily want to host collaborations with direct competitors. The sweet spot is being able to find a collaboration opportunity that doesn’t directly compete but is still related to the products or services you offer.
For example, if you are running an online tutoring business, then you could collaborate with a blogger who helps moms with kids that are the same age as the kids you tutor. This wouldn’t be considered direct competition but would still get you in front of your ideal customers.
To look for collaboration opportunities, start connecting with other business owners in Facebook groups, LinkedIn, any social media platforms you are using, and so on.
Before you make any pitch to them, also consider what is in it for them. They will need some incentive too, otherwise, what’s the point for them. You could offer them:
- affiliate commissions
- a collaboration swap
- swag
- discounts on your products and services
#11 – Run A Booth
Do you sell products or services that could be sold at trade shows, craft fairs, and so on? If you answered yes, then consider running a booth. This is a great way to drum up potential business, network, and meet new people.
One really valuable thing from this marketing strategy that you might not get from some of the others included in this list is the unique opportunity to talk directly with your ideal customers. You can use this time to get to know them better, find out what problems they are struggling with, and how you can help them.
#12 – Sponsor A Local Sports Team
Did you know that you can sponsor local sports teams for a pretty low cost? This will help you get your business name out there without having to show up in person and network.
You can even be strategic with what team you sponsor. For example, if your ideal clients are parents, then consider sponsoring a kid’s teams. Alternatively, if your ideal clients are middle-aged adults, then you could support adult sports leagues.
You will want to consider who you want to know about your business, and then do what you can to get your business name in front of those people.
#13 – Run Advertisements
The last marketing strategy I want to share is the most expensive out of all the ideas I have shared in this blog post. It’s also the one most people think of first when considering how to market their business.
Advertisements are a tried and true marketing strategy. However, for this to be successful, you do need to have some money to spend as it costs money to buy advertisement space. Here are some popular places you can run advertisements.
- Billboards
- Radio Station
- The Local Paper
- Magazines
- YouTube
Remember, there are a lot of other marketing ideas, and you don’t have to jump straight into this one if your budget doesn’t allow for it. This is a marketing technique you should only do once you are financially able to.
How To Choose The Best Marketing Strategy For You And Your Home Business
Now that you have some ideas of how you can market your home-based business, you might be wondering which one or ones you should choose to get started with.
Honestly, there are no right or wrong answers to this question. Every business and business owner is unique. Therefore, your marketing strategy should also be unique.
So instead of thinking about which is the “best” to choose, you should focus on which is going to be the best for you and your business. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing at this moment. Focus on you.
Here are some things you can consider when choosing which marketing strategy to get started with.
- Which strategy suits your personality style the most?
- How much time do you have available every day, week, and month to market your business?
- Where are your ideal clients and customers hanging out?
- How can you help your customers the most?
- Which of these marketing strategies will help you build the know, like, and trust?
- Which of these marketing strategies meets your budget?
- Are there any that you really don’t want to do and can eliminate immediately from the list?
- Were there any that stood out to you when you read them?
You don’t necessarily have to answer all of these questions to decide. You might find your answer after just answering one. But, by answering these questions, you will be able to find the answer you are looking for.
Are you looking to learn more about how to implement the marketing strategies you’ve chosen?
SkillShare offers lots of awesome marketing classes that will teach you everything you need to know to effectively market your home-based business. To learn more, click the button below!
Before I end this blog post, I also want to remind you that you don’t have to do every marketing idea included in this blog post. Just pick one or two to start with. Once you are comfortable with those and they are working well for you, then you can consider adding more.
In this case, it is always better to go all in on one strategy that you can commit to rather than doing a whole bunch of them, but not doing them well.
I hope that this blog post has helped you decide how to market your home-based business, or at least given you a place to start. Now, it’s time to get to work! Good luck.
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