Trying to market your business, but think it’s too early to issue press releases and make social media worthwhile?  Think about it – is it ever too early to start generating interest and gathering information from prospects?  Of course not!  With a little creativity and the techniques outlined below, you can learn a ton, and create some valuable assets that will help you market your business now and well into the future.

But let’s get specific – what can you do?

Build up interest and audience.

Maybe you’ve seen some of these “coming soon” pages for products or apps that are not yet widely available?  This is a great way to generate interest for your product or service, and stock your email contact list and social audiences with early adopters (who tend to be willing to accept a product with a few rough spots in exchange for being the first to have access!).  Check out the example below.

This type of page lets you accomplish a few things:

• Quick and easy development cycle: Build a website landing page using tools like Unbounce or Optimizely to quickly create multiple versions of your “Coming Soon” page from a single template (you can create your own, or use one of the templates provided).  Keep it clean and simple; you want to create enough interest that visitors give you permission to engage with them again via email or social media.
• Test your marketing message: Use those “Coming Soon” landing pages to try out a variety of messages, tag lines, calls to action, lead capture forms, etc.. Determine if there are specific messages that are more effective at engaging the folks that will ultimately become your customers.
• Build up your social audience: Start signaling what type of product this is and who it is for. Worried you won’t have anything “worthwhile” to tweet or post about your business yet? No worries – follow and “like” other people or companies that are in your general area of interest, and share items from those sources with your audience.  Be sure to add a novel comment or perspective; don’t just pass on random items without showing how you add value!

Do social media via your personal network.

Share updates about your business via your LinkedIn status (not on LinkedIn?  You should be!). If you blog, use the apps on LinkedIn to display your blog feed on your profile. Participate in discussions on question and answer sites like Quora. Have lots of coffee meetings. Get honest, constructive feedback from your network, and listen to the questions people have after you tell them about your business. Ask people to tell you why it won’t work. Would they recommend it to a friend? Why wouldn’t they use it? How would they describe your business to their colleagues? Value and take to heart feedback that indicates you may not have it quite right yet. If you can’t get the people who find YOU interesting and worthwhile to engage with your business, how in the world will you capture the interest of busy, distracted strangers?

Lighten up about press releases!

It’s not the daily briefing at the White House, and you don’t have to have earth-shattering news to do a press release. Did you sign a new partner? Make a key hire? Attend an industry event? Write a new eBook? Expand your service offerings? All of these are worthwhile subjects for a press release, as they give you a chance to put your key messages into context, and hand feed them to social media and search engines. Press releases get extremely favorable treatment by Google, and are a great way for a your fledgling business to “own” Page 1 of search results for your key phrases.

One other note on press releases: you don’t need to hire a PR firm to do a press release (though there are lots of really great firms that can help when the time is right). Use one of the services on our Best Free and Affordable Press Release Services list  - they’re easy to use, and will often throw in some free SEO advice on your press release to help you get the maximum bang for your buck.

Looking for help with other online marketing, advertising, and social media questions?  Then check out the online marketing and advertising resources section of the Leadtail website. We’ve compiled lots of helpful information to help you market and grow your business.

And let us know how we can help. Ask your question on Facebook, tweet us @Leadtail on Twitter, drop us a line – or just give us a call at 888.330.3236

[Editor's Note: Special thanks to Karri Carlson for this guest post.  Karri leads Marketing & Customer Development at Leadtail.]

Sure, it can take a while to build a quality email list. Totally agree. And if you’re starting up your business or need to boost sales fast… you don’t have the patience to sign up prospects one email address at a time.

Maybe you’re thinking the answer is to buy a “bulk” email list. You’ll then import the addresses into your email marketing software… and blast them with a special offer email. Sales will come pouring in!

Sounds pretty good right?

Wrong… don’t do it. Even though people often say you should buy not rent… when it comes to email marketing the opposite is true!

Here are 3 reasons why you shouldn’t buy an email list:

1.  The email list won’t be any good. Your email list broker has sold that same bulk list to many others who’ve been “spamming” away… making sure any prospects have long since unsubscribed. That means the list will be of poor quality and filled with people who won’t respond to your offer (sorry!)

2.  Your email marketing company will shut off your service. No reputable email service provider will mail to a list of purchased (third party) email addresses. Why not? Because they’ve learned from painful experience that these lists contain so many bad addresses that it’ll get them blacklisted (their mail won’t get delivered). Instead, they’ll refuse to do business with you. Don’t believe me? Read the terms of service of the company you’re using to send emails. 

3.  You may be breaking the law. Each email address on that list needs to represent someone that gave permission (opted-in) to receive an email from you. Otherwise, you’re spamming them. Did you know that? It doesn’t matter what the list broker assured you. You’re the one on the hook if you’re breaking the law.

Read about CAN-SPAM if you’re not sure what we’re talking about.

Instead, consider renting an email list.

Have a good idea which online publishers reach your target audience? (If not, our free service Leadtail can help). Guess what… many will have an email list you can rent.

You can pay publishers to send emails to their high quality lists on your behalf or buy advertising within emails that they deliver to their customers and prospects (e.g., email newsletters). You’ll get the added bonus that they implicitly endorse your offer… since it’s going to their own list!

There are reputable list brokers that can rent you opt-in lists of people who’ve signed up to be contacted about products and services like yours. For example, InfoUSA and CityTwist are worth checking out.

Of course, it’s not cheap to rent a quality email list… figure you’ll pay $50 to $150 for every thousand email addresses. But it can be worth it,  especially if the list is a good match for your target audience. Keep in mind that you’re also paying the list owner to handle your mailing… and to ensure that everyone on the list has truly given their permission!

Get started building your own email list.

Just put a “subscribe” or “sign-up” box on your website to make it easy to collect email addresses. And why not give your customers and prospects an extra incentive to give up their email address… like a free newsletter or coupon. You get the idea!

Over time, your email list will become your best marketing resource for growing your business. It really will!

Want to learn more?

Here are a few additional posts for your reading pleasure:

Email address lists: buy or leave alone?

Trying to turn website traffic into sales? Do this instead…

Does email marketing really work?

As always, we’re here to help… just give us a call at 888-330-3236.

Don’t try to do the (almost) impossible. That is to get someone to buy from your website on the very first visit. It just won’t happen. Why? Because we consumers like to shop around, get familiar with your offering, and feel safe and secure in buying from you. Nothing personal, it’s just how it is. And it takes time… usually seven or more visits before we’re willing to pull out our credit card.

Instead, focus on getting website visitors to give up their contact information. More specifically, their email address… so you can start building an email list of prospects for your products and services. You can then market to this list again and again to get potential buyers comfortable with your brand and what you have to offer. Over time, this ever growing email list will become the heart of your marketing efforts!

Of course, website visitors aren’t going to hand over their email address for free. You need to promise something valuable in return. Coupons, newsletters, buying tips, and free trials are all good examples of content that not only gets prospects to “sign up” but also keeps them on your list… as you work to build a trusting relationship.

How to get started:

• Put an easy to see “sign-up” or “join mailing list” button or link on every page of your website. The upper right hand section of your site is a great location for it.

• Link to an email capture form that asks for your prospect’s name and email address. Sure you can ask for more but it’ll result in fewer folks handing over their information.

• Set up an “auto-responder” email that will automatically be sent to prospects after they join your mailing list. Use this email as a welcome and to let them know all the benefits of opening your emails!

Don’t worry if you’re not technically inclined (I’m not). Most email marketing companies offer tools that make it easy. Check out AWeber, MailChimp, iContact, and GetResponse to learn more and get started.

You’ll also have to figure out your content strategy. Meaning, what are you going to email to the prospects on your list at least once a month (or more!)? Make sure and send helpful information that they’ll be happy to receive such as newsletters and coupons. Otherwise, they won’t open your emails… or worse, they’ll ask to unsubscribe from your list!

Just remember to create goodwill with your email list. Your prospects will thank you… by taking advantage of special offers you send their way!