Here are some of the ways, I feel, you should be marketing your business.

Of Course, the Internet…

A Business Web Site

If you want any kind of success at all you need to market your business online. I don’t care if you are a major investment company or if you own a small lawn mowing business- YOU NEED A WEB SITE! Web sites can be expensive and this scares a lot of businesses, but the truth is you can obtain a web site your can afford.

Smaller Businesses

You can have a very nice, optimized web site for as little as $100 a year (and you can even save more).

Medium-Sized and eCommerce Businesses

You have several options include the one I mentioned above and I also really like Designersi . There sites are great for eCommerce sites, but any kind of businesses could use their system. There are several interactive features for clients and the coding is spectacular. They also have a great shopping cart program.

Large Businesses

You don’t have to spend a lot of money for a web site. I created one for a business that makes about $250,000 per job. I can’t do all the fancy stuff, but I can make you an attractive, optimized site. If you need a web site that will really impress your visitors you need to invest some money in a great web site.

There are some problems with some web design companies; I have discussed some things for you to considerwhen designing a new web site. A web site gives you credibility and also brings you more clients. More people use the web than the yellow pages today. You need to be online and your site needs to be optimized so you will attract people that will invest in your services.

Optimization

Optimization has to be a part of every marketing plan. You optimize your web site for local search, for keywords related to your business/services/products and you optimize for keywords that might have been used in your commercials or other print media. You may want to read this entry about local search.

If you have a blog you optimize it to support your current web site. Then you need to learn how to cross-market your blog and web site. The combination of an optimized web site and optimized blog will do amazing things for your business and Credibility.

Multimedia Advertising

For some businesses TV commercials are a must. We have all seen just dreadful and embarrassing commercials, so I say avoid this. My good buddy Geoff Levin knows how commercials should be shot, for the best visual appeal, what needs to be said and how it needs to be said. He even writes the scripts because he knows what makes a successful commercial.

Geoff is going to give us some more information on the commercials, yellow pages, radio, newspaper ads etc. in part 3.