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Jumpstart Your Business Even Without a Website – A Non-Tech-Savvy Starter Kit
Welcome to “Jumpstart Your Business,” a guide designed to help you build your business online, even if you’re not tech-savvy. In this guide, we’ll walk you through simple and effective strategies to kickstart your online & offline presence and connect with your target audience. Let’s get started!
Capturing Your Ideas for your Future Website
If you haven’t established a website yet, there is still valuable information all around you that can aid in creating copy for your site. And guess what? It will be authentic and enticing to your ideal clients. Thanks to smartphones, we all possess a deluxe note-taking device in our pocket. However, if that doesn’t appeal to you, consider keeping a small journal. Your future website will serve as your online business hub, showcasing your expertise, communicating your message, outlining how potential clients can collaborate & work with you, and drawing in your best-fit clients while deterring those who aren’t. Here’s how you grow your business with a Launchpad website.
When starting your journey, ideas are your best friends. Start by jotting down:
- What questions do your clients or customers ask you? This is like market research that comes to you. Note it all down. Are there any patterns? The same questions that come up over and over again.
- What do you have to explain a lot to prospective clients to clarify your work?
- What do you notice in your industry that drives you up the wall?
- What do you notice in your industry that you think could be done better. Start formulating your point of view about why and how you do what you do.
Example: I am a Web Designer and Online Marketer and I don’t think everyone needs a big fancy website or maybe even a website at all.
Google Business Profile (GBP) formerly Google My Business
If you offer a local service, it’s essential to set up a Google Business Profile. If you don’t have a website, consider this as your central hub. Opting for a Google Business Profile is a better decision compared to establishing your business solely on a Facebook page or an Instagram account. However, it’s important to note that a website is the only online asset you truly own; everything else is constructed on platforms owned by others.
As long as you are capable of providing services locally, you are eligible to have a GBP. Additionally, if you offer your services via Zoom, you still need to select a geographic location for your business when setting up a GBP.
- Once you have a profile make it as complete as possible.
- Update it at least once a week or a few times a month. You can post updates, services, promotions, events, photos.
- Fill out the FAQ with those questions you have been gathering
- Ask for reviews
- You can use the chat function on Google business profile so potential customers can contact you easily.
DID YOU KNOW: once you are set-up with GBP you show in Google maps and people can call you right from there mobile phones?
Reconnect and Re-engage
Reach out to your old and current clients with special offers. You probably have people you can reach out to. They showed interest in your service at one time, they fell by the wayside, they don’t know you offer x-y-z.
- Offer a reintroduction discount or promotion
- Use this opportunity to reconnect and gather feedback. Why have they dropped off for instance?
- Tell them about new services that you have
Use a Customer Relationship Management [CRM] Tool
A CRM is just a system to email people like Mailchimp. Email systems can be used to send newsletters to your audience but try these ideas to get more clients:
- Ask to add people to your list when you think it is a fit.
- Send out a ‘last minute availability’ email once a week or occasionally
- Imagine you wake up Monday with a crook in your neck you wish you had made that massage appointment days ago. Then you get a friendly email from your preferred massage therapist saying the have a couple of openings that week! WIN-WIN
- You can also send out occasional promotions or updates about your business
- Most CRM’s like Mailchimp and Mailerlite offer a free version which you can make use of while you build your business.
DID YOU KNOW: That your chosen email provider can be integrated into your website and you can gather more email addresses in exchange for something. You do not need 1000’s of people on your email list, you just need the ones that resonate with the work you do.
Engaging but Informal Workshops
Workshops sounds serious but what about informal workshops? Offer a living room gathering or coffee shop sip & learn.
- Approach a local coffee shop and say I am inviting a few people here Wednesday morning and I am going to run a mini workshop (Maybe it will become a regular shop highlight!)
- You get to teach and teaching is a great way to learn more about your people. –> What questions do they ask? What did they get excited about?
- You can also get referrals from these events or even a testimonial!
Partnerships for Promotion
Partner with complementary businesses for mutual promotion:
- Find businesses that share your target audience.
- What if a nutritionist partnered with a local farm from the market. You offer recipes for the veggie box and the farm promotes your next event?
- Everyone needs a bookkeeper! Find one you like and support each other.
- Join local groups just to meet people, be friendly, learn and network
FACT: I partner with a Bookkeeper, a Theta Healer, a Jin-Shin Jyutsu practitioner, a Marketing Specialist, a Translator, and a Social Media Manager. Those are great fits for my circle.
Above Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash. Below Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash
You don’t need to be a tech expert to make a meaningful impact online. By implementing these strategies, you’ll be well on your way to building a successful presence and connecting with your target audience.
You can check out my blog posts here on Ideas To Build Your Business Online
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OR send me an email and I will answer your questions.