Posted on Jan 16, 2009 by Stuart Gilbertson

If you run a business, you'll know how difficult it can be to keep those punters knocking at the door. I've had a good look around the Internet recently and have compiled a short checklist style report on what you should be doing on a regular basis to market your business!

Website Content

Write articles on a regular basis in relation to your business industry. If you're a builder, post up some information about bricks and hammers.

Micro-Sites

If you offer a lot of different services, think about splitting them up into specific niches. A smaller more focussed site on conservatory installations will probably result in a higher search engine ranking. Once the visitor is on that micro-site you can then link them to your main one!

Viral Marketing

This can work wonders, and it needn't be expensive either! Get a desktop wallpaper made up and make it available for download on your website. Talk to a Flash Game designer and see how much it would be to have a simple game made up branded with your business details.

Blogs

We're doing it! So should you! Having a blog will mean search engines visit more frequently and will absolutely love the fresh content on the site. Users might also decide to subscribe via an RSS feed - so make this available to them too!

Email Stationery

Every single time you send an e-mail to someone, make sure it has your company name, website link, and a short bullet pointed list of your services.

Email Newsletters

Keep your clients informed with things happening in the business. If you've just won an award, or you've just started offering a brand new service, make sure you let your clients know about it!

PPC Advertising

"PPC" stands for Pay-Per-Click, and the biggest contender in the marketplace just now is Google Adwords. More information and a fantastic consultant can be found here.

Online Forums

Get signed up and involved in online forums. If you can, create a link in your signature (some forums require you to pay for this; but if it's a big forum, this is well worth it!). Don't spam on these forums - there's nothing more that forum users hate than a spammer. Dive into your own industry-related topics and make useful contributions to the forum. Your time spent here will get your business known and inbound links via your signature, too! Here's two: UK Business Forums, Scottish Business Forums.

Promotional Items

When was the last time you were given a branded mouse-mat, or a fridge magnet? Everyone nowadays seems to be using pens as their promotional items. This is boring. Have a browse on the Internet for fun and exciting promotional items you can put your name to and give them out to potential clients.

Offline Networking

Do you attent networking events? If you don't, you're missing out! Get your business cards printed out, and get along to a local networking event where you'll meet lots of friendly like-minded individuals. There are absolutely hundreds of events around the country you could be attending. Some of which are: Power Lunch Club, BNI, Ecademy.