Marketing your Corporation, LLC, or LP online
By: Abby Copuyoc | Posted: 26th August 2007
I've incorporated my business. Now what?
Now that you've incorporated, let's talk about....
Developing your business online
There are several ways of developing your business online. E-commerce is widely popular today. If you're not on the web, then you might as well not exist at all. The internet is a great vehicle to communicate and spread the word about your business.
Some ways in which you can strengthen your online presence:
1. Create a blog.
People from all walks of life have blogs. CPA's, lawyers, regular Joe's and not so regular Joe's like Donald Trump. A blog is a great place to put all the things you can't put on a website. Talk about your experiences with your clients, your new products and current industry trends. The sky's the limit. Of course create a link to your business website on your blog, and mention it often, but not in such a way the readers will feel that they're being spammed. Content must be natural and relevant. A blog is also a way to reach out to the members of your business community that are on the blogosphere. Link to their site. Ask them to link back to yours. Some examples of blog formats are blogspot, typepad and wordpress. For reading I recommend "Clear Blogging" by Bob Walsh.
2. Mingle in the virtual community
Just like in any other community, networking is vital. No man is an island, and your online presence will wither away and die if you don't fill it with social sustenance. Some easy ways to communicate is to leave comments on other people's blogs. Don't stop with saying that it was a "nice post!" Add something relevant, and and of course, don't forget to drop your URL at the end. Again do this naturally. No one likes to feel that their blog is being used for purposes other than it was intended for.
Another online area where you can spread the word about your business is message boards. Google relevant forums and register on these forums. For example, if you're selling jewelry, a good forum would be http://www.jewelryforum.net. Start by registering. Don't post information about your site right away. Introduce yourself, say hi to the forum participants. The easiest and most natural way is to actually include your site URL in your signature, so anytime you post anything, your business information is automatically posted with it. A good read on this topic is "Permission Marketing" by Seth Godin.
3. Be reachable online.
This doesn't stop with email. Your customers, prospective and current, must be able to reach you. Install a comment form in your site for easy communication. A lot of business owners and webmasters also use Instant Messengers to communicate with customers. Examples of messengers are Yahoo Messenger, AIM, and MSN. This is an easy way to stay in contact with them - all they have to do is type their inquiry or message and press the enter button. You could post your screen name information on your site on the contact us tab along with your e-mail, phone number and address.
Gmail also has a chat program that enables you to send instant quick messages to your email contacts. I highly recommend Gmail if you want to use a public, free email program.
Those are just some basic ways by which you can promote your business online. It just takes a little bit of time and effort. The best news is that it's all free! The great thing about the internet is that you can try different tactics and make mistakes, without losing money. So just surf on and create the buzz!
If you haven't incorporated yourself yet, then do so now. This is the initial step you have to take if you want your business to get up and running. Corporate Store Front is a company that incorporates your business in as quick as one week. All you have to do is fill out a questionnaire and send it back to us. Then we do all the work.
More info about us at http://www.corporatestorefront.com. Call us at 213-291-0925 and ask for Abby.
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Tags: business online, google, presence, business website, several ways, business community, walks of life, experiences, donald trump, lawyers, blogging, typepad, industry trends, selling jewelry, relevant forums, wordpress, sustenance, virtual community