Getting the word out about your work doesn’t have to be big, complicated and expensive.
Being a business owner is hard, let’s not make it harder than it should be. There are truly simple ways we can promote our businesses and ourselves. It doesn’t have to be big and complicated and cost lots of money. Let me say it louder for those in the back — it doesn’t have to be big and expensive to be effective! OK, let’s get into 5 of my personal favorite steps.
1. Set up a coffee meeting
I’ve said it before, and I’m going to say it again — and again and again. Use 👏 your 👏 network 👏 to build growth within your business. Take a look at who you know (friends, acquaintances, former colleagues, friends of friends) and make a list of 10 people you can reach out to in Q2. Schedule a coffee (or a happy hour champagne pour). Chat about what you’re doing, what they’re doing. See if there’s a place y’all could work together. It’s literally impossible to know if there’s an opportunity to collaborate out there if no one knows what you’re doing (or selling, for that matter).
Before you go, take time to sit down and think through points you want to hit when talking about your business as well as any specific questions you’d like to ask the person you’re meeting with. It’s better to have a conversation plan and throw it out the door than to have nothing and feel like you’re stumbling and struggling.
2. Write an “elevator speech” about your business.
Keep it simple. Sit down and type 3-4 sentences about your business — what it is, what it does and what problem it solves for your clients. Afraid of the blinking cursor? No problem. Open the notes app on your phone, turn on the microphone and talk. Let the technology transcribe it for you. Then read it over and edit. The goal is to have a quick description at the ready so when someone asks, you can quickly and easily have words without feeling like you’re stumbling or not leaving people with a true picture of what you do.
3. Make sure your social media handle is your business name
Have a business social account(s)? Make sure they reflect the name of your business — or you personally. Don’t make people guess if this account is for your business. Consistency is key. If your handle is not the same as your business name, google “how to change my ______ handle,” then make it happen.
4. Delete old, dormant social media accounts
Any account you no longer post on, that you no longer feel like serves your business, I’m empowering you to delete. Do it. I swear, it’s ok. It’s better to delete it than to have it hanging out there looking like your business isn’t still open. If you have a fear of deleting things, archive all the posts (if the platform allows) and put a message in the bio or post a final post that says where people can find you on other social media accounts as well as your website.
If you don’t know how to archive posts (it can be convoluted), then go back to our trusty friend Google and type in “How to archive posts on _______.” Find the platform’s instructions and then get to work.
5. Read your website and click every link
Grab a notebook and a pen, and take 30 minutes and go onto your website and read your copy and click any links. You’re looking for just two things — any copy that doesn’t make sense or doesn’t reflect your current business goals and any broken links. If anything’s broken or something you want to change, make a note. Don’t stop to fix it. Write down what needs to change and where that info is located.
Go through every single page and click every single link. The goal is to audit the site completely, then go back and fix things later. If you fix as you go, you can get distracted so easily and never get through the whole site.
And that’s it! I swear, y’all, it can really be this easy. When you’ve done these, reach out to me at nisha@npatelcommunications.com and let me know so I can celebrate with you.
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