As a new online business owner, the marketing aspect may seem daunting.  Since you probably are not spending a lot of money on advertising right away, you need to do some things to make quick money and earn a reputation.

Pulling in traffic and buyers to your site is not limited to article marketing and getting backlinks.  Here are some commonsense strategies to help your business thrive.

TIP 1 – CONTACT FRIENDS, FAMILY AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATES.

The 3-D world is full of real contacts who may be more valuable that anonymous contacts in the Internet world.  These include current and past clients, family members, old co-workers and so forth.  Get in touch and give them an informal update about your business and online presence. Nowadays, if you have a Facebook account, it is easy to contact your family members and friends.  Convince them to visit your set and keep in touch with them, letting them know about any updates. Solicit their opinions.  They’re more likely to endorse you if they’re clear on what you do. Because they already know you, they might turn into paying customers.

TIP 2 – FOCUS ON THE TARGETED MARKETS.

You can have all the web traffic in the world, but if it is general hits from people not really interested in what you have to market, they will not translate into paying customers.  Find ways to connect with your target audience; that is, people who are genuinely interestested in what you have to offer.

Check out the business directories at your local library which will give you some insight into industries that may be interested in your services. You can determine the size, location and other attributes of the different companies.

Contacting them is your next step.  In these days of getting bombarded with email advertisements, do something different and mail them a friendly letter telling them about your website and services.  Send a reminder occasionally.   

TIP 3 – GIVE THEM SOMETHING FREE.

It is important to get contact details from our prospects so that you can follow up with them. An easy way to do this is to get them to subscribe to your weekly newsletter or e-zine.

Then, you have to uphold your promise and deliver the newsletters. This will convince them that you are genuine and trustworthy. Then, it’s up to you to convert them into customers. 

Another thing you can do is to give a trial membership to your website or perhaps a free report that offers some valuable tips. You can capture email addresses and follow up with your potential customers with both of these methods.

TIP 4 – ESTABLISH YOURSELF AS AN EXPERT.

Make sure that you’re known as a knowledgeable person in your field. To do this, make a name for yourself. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways.

You could form alliances with other like-minded companies, write articles for other publications and include your resource box, attend important conferences and network with the participants, etc.  Speaking at seminars, workshops or other events is a powerful way to establish yourself as an expert.  Your local newspaper might be interested in printing a column for you.  Keep providing free and useful information to your contacts. This is a surefire way to increase your target traffic and ultimately, your sales.

TIP 5 – GET HELP WHEN IT IS NEEDED.

While running a business, you’ll definitely need a few good workers to keep the ship steady. Contract with assistants, accountants, coaches or other professionals to take care of your needs.  Hire them as independent contractors on an “as needed” basis. If not required to handle your business operations full time, employees — rather than contractors — can become an expensive burden.

CONCLUSION.

Try out these offline techniques. You could gain a lot of customers and prospects from them.  It may not be a point and click automated method, but these tips will pay off in long term business relationships.

Beyond these tips, there are some fantastic online marketing tools as well that are frequently discussed at Not Guru.  You’ll love the price of the #1 recommended tutorial:  You get 12 weeks of hard core Internet marketing help absolutely free.