To the Top Smart Free Marketing for Entrepreneurs and Self-Employed

Introduction

Dear Reader and Entrepreneur,

I have never been an employee, being independent my entire life. Therefore, this book has been written through the eyes of a founder and a true entrepreneur. My enterprises included an art gallery, a jewelry design studio, fifteen years of flying freelance as a commercial pilot and flight instructor, then starting my own flight school. Now, I am a publisher for more than thirty years, starting out on publishing a flight magazine, and finally established a book publishing and marketing company. I wasn’t born with all this knowledge, I had to learn a lot from the bottom up and work hard on it. Unfortunately, most of it cannot be learned at university or college. So I was (and still I am) constantly searching for ways to learn new skills, get information and business insider tips.

The question I had been often asked in my marketing workshops: How can I promote my start-up with little or no marketing budget? It is a valid question – now more than ever – during these uncertain economic times. While many activities are expensive, there are still numerous possibilities to get the word out about your company on a shoestring budget. The motto of this helpful entrepreneur guide is Marketing vs. Advertising. Both, Internet-based and creative offline ideas are innovative ways to market your enterprise. It doesn’t matter how fantastic your startup’s product or service is — finding customers is always the key to success.

Guidebook for Entrepreneurs: What You Will Learn

•How excellent customer service and a positive corporate culture boosts your success

•Detailed tips on Video, sweepstakes, e-commerce, podcasting, email marketing, etc.

•Successful Content Marketing strategies that work for small and medium-sized businesses

•How to gather new customers, clients, or patients and how to profit from existing ones

•Numerous tips on connecting to the media to get interviews and free promotion for your company

•Compete with other brands in the industry, learn the tactics of influencer and social media marketing

•How to achieve amazing results on a tiny budget using direct response marketing

•Discover SEO’s greatest secrets: it’s not rocket science!

•How to get free advertising on Google maps

•Video, sweepstakes, e-commerce, podcasting, email marketing, etc.

For Whom is this Book Especially Useful?

For entrepreneurs that are not funded to a great degree or those startups who are not (yet) listed on the stock exchange. They all will profit from these valuable tips. Freelancers, retailers, small publishers, IT specialists, accountants, lawyers, Instagram and YouTube influencers, tradespeople, health professionals, and other business owners and service providers will learn to promote their enterprise for free.

However, if you don’t have the passion to overcome setbacks or to motivate yourself through tough times, you won’t have the grit required for the long haul. Consequently, what’s needed is confidence in yourself, the necessary knowledge resources, strong motivation, and the spirit of determination and passion. Starting a business takes tremendous amounts of work and time – so better enjoy it! And don’t forget: It is impossible to run a company without taking risks. Should anything fail, dust yourself off and start again. Without darkness, you can’t see the stars.

Chapter One

Business tips for starters

At the beginning of their career, many later millionaires were not too proud to work as parking attendants, for example, millionaire Michael Bloomberg as McDonald worker. Plenty of wealthy celebrities and CEOs say they did sales work before becoming rich, too: Kanye West was a salesperson at the Gap. Jennifer Aniston and Johnny Depp were telemarketers. CEO Reed Hastings from Netflix was a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman.

Have you landed a great idea and expect to earn a lot of money? It can be a great first step. But there is a lot to consider before leaping into the world of entrepreneurship. How many people will actually buy the product or service and engage with it? What are the numbers telling about your idea?

•Follow your passion – not what you think is going to be easy to make it profitable. The life of an entrepreneur isn’t for everyone, but being passionate, committed, and willing to risk big to win, you will make it.

•Play to win but never stop improving. Avoid going into any venture doubting that you will succeed, because then you will. Expect the best for yourself and for your company.

•I will not squash your spirit, but you need to think long and hard about any idea before you risk your livelihood on it. Building a business isn’t like finding a job. In fact, it should never ‘feel like a job". It should be something you are willing to work tirelessly to build for yourself, and those around you.

•Question your commitment from the beginning. Too often startup entrepreneurs say how diligently they are working and that they are ‘all in’. If you are not willing to dedicate the time and obsess over the business in the early years, you are not cut out for this kind of life. And that’s fine – it’s not for everyone.

•Customer service is king! Accordingly, how to treat customers is vital to future business success. Listen to what your customers’ needs are, instead of assuming you already know what they like. To be a successful entrepreneur, you need a quality connection with clients. You cannot build a trusting bond with cold impersonal transactions.

•So, leave your office and talk to your clients face-to-face. No matter how successful you are, be humble and get real with customers so you can collect raw, useful information on how to make their experience even better. James Sinegal, one of the founders of Costco, toured hundreds of stores a year until he retired at seventy-seven. This way he kept his ear to the ground and understood his customers’ needs.

Before You Start Your Business: What to Consider – and What to Avoid

Not Adapting to a Changing World

The city newspapers still deliver our news in print. However, billions in assets and even survival is under threat as information distribution moves online. Bloggers, Twitter, and technology have changed the game. So what are indicators that you are becoming irrelevant in a tsunami of change and what can you do about it? Not the biggest survive – but those who are able to quickly adapt to change. Adapt to new situations. No one can predict everything – so verify you are flexible enough to react to surprises quickly. Don’t follow into the footsteps of movie rental company Blockbuster, the latest business to have failed in recent years due to their inability to roll with the punches. Here are signs that your enterprise is in trouble:

Not Serving Your Customer

While you should rightfully feel ownership of your startup, remember that it’s there to serve your customer and not you – vanity projects won’t last long. Keep the customer in mind with every decision you make, and you will build a product or service they can be excited about. Assuming you know what customers like could prove costly. Researching first doesn’t need to be expensive – you can use search forums, ask questions on social media, or spend money on surveying opinions – in order to save yourself a pricey mistake!

Not Planning Thoroughly

A business plan is way more than a necessary evil to help you find funding – it can act as a guide and keep you focused on the task at hand. Document everything! Not only will it help you delegate the day-to-day tasks as a founder, but it will also make training, re-training, and process improvement streamlined. Processes change as you grow. Having clearly defined manuals early on will pay large dividends, and give you something concrete to look back. It will also be proof of your company’s growth and improvement. It’s easy to get caught up in the minute details and lose sight of the big picture. Constantly re-evaluating the business and the direction it’s going in can help you find opportunities for growth.

Technology is an Afterthought

Often the key difference between continuing to be relevant extinction is technology. That doesn’t mean upgrading the photocopier, but looking at trends in your industry that are promising. E-commerce, for example, is commerce-driven by technology that offers excellent service, market speed, and global reach. Invest in technology until it hurts.

Not Global Thinking

How often do you order a product from the other side of the world? Books, software or fashion? So, your own competitors can also be in Hong Kong, New York or London. Often delivery is faster than buying from the corner store. Relevance today means global thinking.

No Continuous Learning

So you have been to university or college. Your education is done. You can sit back and bask in the glow of the framed degree on the wall. Read blogs in your industry, attend conferences and subscribe to professional newsletters. A fast-changing world means your degree is just a piece of paper. As an entrepreneur, you have to work hard and tirelessly – but just as important is that you have a good business idea and outstanding abilities and skills in your field (or develop them as quickly as possible). If you only want to set up your own business to earn a lot of money, you will fail sooner or later. You can only be successful in the long run if your product or service benefits other people.

Is Buying Too Complicated for Your Customers?

Ever bought an ebook? It is done in one click! Why place obstacles in the way of customers? Are you letting them jump through hoops? Companies such as Selz, with the quick and easy set-up of e-commerce for bloggers and entrepreneurs, know that. Or take Canva, who makes design as simple as find, drop and drag. They understand the beauty and importance of simplicity. Another one is Square, which makes buying easy, using a mobile. It started in 2010 and now has 600 employees.

Surround Yourself With Supportive People

Don’t contend constantly with people who are putting you and your business down. Don’t waste your time or energy on the defense. Relentless negativity is of no use to you, but thoughtful criticism can be valuable. Any opportunity to improve should be warmly welcomed. Believe in yourself! Self-doubt can be crippling, so it’s important that you believe in yourself. Be sure you are putting one-hundred percent into making your business a success. Self-confidence often follows.

Network On – and Offline

Harness the power of social media to help connect you with prospective employees, partners, clients, providers, or people who can promote your product or service. But don’t forget offline opportunities. Step away from the computer, put away the smartphone, and find people in real life at conferences and networking events. The connection you can build with a person face-to-face is naturally stronger than one mediated between screens. Networking and sharing your expertise with others can help you prove your abilities to the community. A variety of people, from freelance journalists or writers to aspiring entrepreneurs, can help to create buzz. Try offering your expertise to new entrepreneurs through forum sites like Quora, where thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs ask questions for pros to answer.

Share the Central Why

What do you do for a living? A simple question that will be asked during almost every introduction. Do you answer with a quick, I’m an entrepreneur (vague and a little diluted) or, I run a small business (makes people think of brick-and-mortar spots)? Then you are cheating yourself out of an opportunity to generate word-of-mouth marketing for your business. Differentiate your company from others and spark a conversation. Sharing the central why,’ and ‘how you improve peoples’ lives’, and the story on how your startup came to be. It will brand the business memorable to others. Plus, it will interest people at parties. Rehearse the ‘elevator pitch’ and why your start-up helps people.

Create a Platform and Build Industry Credibility

Your startup’s shoestring budget can’t keep you from carving out its own niche. Assemble a culture around the firm by offering an insider’s perspective to those on the outside. Start content marketing: If people don’t know you exist you can’t expect positive results. Whatever your budget, there are measures to start spreading the word out. Tweet, post, contact blogs and tell everyone willing to listen about your new venture.

What does the buzzword ‘platform’ mean? In a nutshell, a platform is the visibility, the authority of the business and its owner. It is the proven reach, as well as her or his audience numbers. It is shown in your social media and web presence, your visibility, on and off-line connections, and the communities you are part of. Building a company platform cannot be done overnight or in a month. The best time to start working on a platform is long before starting the enterprise.

Don’t Give Up

In the majority of cases, startups don’t fail – the people behind them give up. An effective action one can undertake to accomplish the startup a success? Refuse to throw in the towel!

Chapter Two

Evolution of content marketing

Remember when Bill Gates wrote: ‘Content is King’ back in 1996? Twenty-five years later, it is highly regarded as one of the best ways to drive sales, to draw in leads, and promote your brand. And with 93% of marketers and entrepreneurs using content today, we can see how forward-thinking the former CEO of Microsoft was. Content marketing is smart, low-cost, and one of the most successful way of marketing.

Content marketing isn’t new. It dates back to 4200 B.C when cavemen used to carve paintings onto their caves. Centuries past and it moved on to magazines and how-to guides, but when the internet launched, it opened the doors up to a completely new world of opportunity. Gates couldn’t have put it better himself