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Small/ Home Business Articles |
1. Contact Local ISP's. Most Internet Service Providers offer a few MB of webspace or hosting accounts to their customers. However, most don't offer website design services. Contact local ISP's and offer a generous referral fee if they send business your way. This tactic has worked very well for some of our Resellers. Note: It's important to help the ISP's promote your service by providing them with some marketing materials they can send out by email and snail mail to their customers.
2. Local Networking. Time and time again, web developers have cited this as one of their primary sources of new business. You can't do business sitting on your behind in front of your computer all day! You need to devote some time to getting out and meeting local business people. This is most easily accomplished by joining local business organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary. If you keep active in these groups over time you will establish yourself as the person to go to for any web-related services. Always be sure to carry business cards, or better yet, full-color postcards to handout with a screen-shot of your website or web design portfolio.
See http://www.web-cards.com for some great business card and postcards ideas.
3. Online freelance sites. There are number of sites now, such as http://infousa.com) and others. You can then contact similar businesses and let them know you specialize in creating websites just for their type of business. Tell them about the specific tools you can install to help their business increase profits, save money, and gain an advantage over their competitors.
8. Smile and dial. Telemarketing can be a great way to find new business clients when done properly. The best way to do it is to start with a free offer that will help you qualify the lead. For example, if you create a community directory, you can then simply call the businesses in the directory and let them know they are entitled to a free listing. This will give you an opportunity to chat with them and see what their needs are. You can then email or fax them a brief form asking for a description of their business to post on the community website. Let them know when it's up and then send them full details on your web development services. From there it will be easy to set an appointment.
9. Send postcards. Direct mail using postcards can be a very effective and cheap way to get the word out about your services. If you use full color postcards you can even showcase screen-shots of some of the sites you've designed. Always offer some type of free offer on the postcard, such as a "FREE Website Analysis," "FREE Search Engine Readiness Review," etc. in order the increase response.
10. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. There is an old adage in marketing that says it takes at least seven contacts before a prospect will purchase. This is as true in selling web design services as it is with anything else. No matter what marketing tactics you use, remember that you must relentlessly follow up with people that have expressed the need for your services. If you keep in touch, a good percentage will eventually become clients.
There you have it, ten of the best ways to find new clients and increase your Web Development business this year. But remember, none of them will work unless you use them. So stop fiddling with your computer and get marketing!
OnNet Web Hosting (http://onnethosting.com) provides high-speed web hosting services, featuring 50% discounts for Web Designers and Resellers. They also publish the email newsletter, "Marketing For Web Developers." For a FREE subscription, send an email message to: mwd-request@onnethosting.com, or visit Return to Top