10 Things I Know About Marketing a Home Business

So often we feel like we know nothing but there are always things we do know for sure. This series is all about those things, the things you know for sure.
The inspiration for this series came from this TED talk by Sarah Kay, which is incredibly inspiring!
If you want to join in and share your 10 things, mail me laura@samomblogs.co.za

Claire from Entrepreneur Mom shares the things she knows for sure.

Website: www.entrepreneurmom.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EntrepreneurMomZA
Twitter: @BusinessMomZA

Creating awareness of a business is tough for any entrepreneur but possibly more difficult for most mompreneurs (especially if you first started a business after having children). Even experienced business people get stuck while marketing their home business for two main reasons: lack of time and lack of creativity. Let’s face it; this is often a big challenge for moms, who often have even less time to devote to marketing and business than the average entrepreneur. Plus, having so many demands on our day can zap our creativity!

For those of you who need a little help in creating buzz around your business, whether it is a brand new start up or been around for a while, here are a few tried and  tested ideas that I have picked up in my years of promoting my own clients.

1. Know your key influencers

Key influencers are people who sway our potential customers and clients; your audience may base their buying decisions on the opinions of key influencers (think journalists, presenters, editors, and their publications, as well as celebrities, people high in the community, group leaders etc).

Have a brainstorm session (and use Google) to find out who is influencing the people you want to do business with, make a list, and follow them on social media.

2. Connect with your key influencers on social media

Now that you know who is influencing your group, connect online with those who already captivate your target market. Connecting is more than just liking a page or following them. It takes time to grow your following and make true connections; no one would meet someone face-to-face at a networking event and immediately push to do business. Social media relationships are the same. Let the relationship develop, comment on posts that you find worthwhile, retweet, and share content that they have posted. Let them know that you are interested in what they have to say and over time, they will likely follow you too, realising that you have likeminded interests.

3. Start blogging

Blogging is a great way to generate content that can drum up interest, even from media who can use blogs as story ideas. Again, follow bloggers online, comment on their posts, invite them to read blogs that you have written that they may be interested in, and overtime they will return that favour.

4. Guest blog

Find a blogger who is relevant to your business, nurture that relationship,  and then take it a step further by suggesting writing a guest blog which they can share (exclusively) to their readers (and vice versa, let them write a post for you). Sharing content is mutually beneficial and gains more followers and increases the likelihood that a journalist will notice.

5. Write a press release

Two problems pop up here right away, especially for moms. One challenge for mompreneurs is not knowing what to write about. The other is not finding the right angle to pitch. I assure you, if you have started your own company you do have something to write about and with some guidance you can find an angle that gets noticed.

Finding the right angle is the trickiest part for non-PR people to overcome, but remember that you are a thought leader in your industry (I promise, you hold a wealth of information within you). What do you know, do, or have that can help others? For example, let us look at a mom who has a home industry business, bakes pies and cakes, called Mom’s Cakes. Writing a press release about Mom’s Cakes being the best on the planet will not get published nor will a story about discounts or specials currently being run. But, she could submit a recipe to highly sought-out publication or write a story on “Top Tips for Baking a Cake” (HINT: Tips and Lists make for great articles and are most often used, especially with online publications).

6. Leverage with others

One thing with moms: we often take on everything that comes at us, and become queens of multitasking. But you do not need to do everything on your own in business, in fact becoming more interdependent and less independent is the best way to leverage your business: there is amazing strength in numbers. Find another small business that complements yours and join strengths. A public relations consultant can team up with a marketing pro and offer a one-stop awareness creation shop. A real estate agency and a housing inspector. A mom who makes party packs /lucky packets can offer her services to a party planner.

7. Products in magazines

What types of magazines interest your target audience? Brainstorm a few you know (or look at the Key Influencer list you made in point 1), take a look at a big book store, conduct a Google search, and compile a list of all the magazines that your potential customers are reading. It is a good idea to get a few copies as well, so that you can see what types of products are featured and the layout. Look at the product pages, the name of the person who put together that particular page will usually be mentioned. If there are no contact details on that specific page, look in the first few pages of the magazine, there will be a contact list of emails. If the person you are looking for is not listed, phone the magazine (the number will be listed on that page). Do a short write up of your product (not more than 150 words or so) and send the write up and photograph to the publication.

8. Give a few freebees

If you have a list of three publications that are your Key Influencers and you truly believe in your product, consider hand delivering it as a gift (this should go without saying, but this is a gift, so you will not be getting the product back, but you knew that, right?). Several years ago I was on board with a great community project that had, through a large retail chain, created the greatest reusable shopping bags that I had come across but no matter how hard I tried, none of the print publications were biting at the story. It was time to take action. There were 10 different designs on the bags so I chose 10 different magazines and newspapers and hand delivered a bag to editors and news editors. Not everyone used the story, but one of my best memories is opening up a copy of the Oprah magazine (South African version) while at a friend’s house and seeing the bag featured inside. If a picture is worth 1000 words, then a good product is worth a million.

9. Publicity stunts

Putting together a publicity stunt takes some creativity on your part but can be a fantastic way to stand out from the crowd, and get noticed by potential customers (especially by media). Going back to leverage, one way to spark a few ideas is to find a calendar which lists all the days of celebration and observation globally and make note of any that pertain, or could pertain, to your business and use that as a creative starting point for your event. For example, there is an International Thank You Day. If you are a mom who makes beautiful handmade cards then here is perfect way to showcase your wares. One idea may be to find a niche group that is of great interest to you and aligned with your values, perhaps children, veterans, or teachers fit the bill. Start a campaign (social media is a great place to gain traction) encouraging people to reach out and say thank you within their community, then start the ball rolling by dedicating to send your handmade cards to a particular sector (perhaps for every teacher in a particular school if you live in a small area, or one per school in a larger area). Hopefully by now you are feeling more confident with social media because this particular campaign would do very well on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter. This could even become a pitch for a media interview with a prize of a box of handmade cards (see below).

10. Media contests

Have you written a book, created a line of children’s clothes, or custom design surfboards? Get your foot in the door of mainstream media by offering your product as a prize which they can offer to viewers/readers/listeners. You may well score an interview as well, but at the very least, your product will be reviewed and showcased on mainstream media which adds to its credibility and most certainly creates awareness. Morning shows and talk shows are a good place to start, but also niche programmes related to your market will usually accept products for a competition.

A rule of thumb: the amount of space you receive in a magazine is directly proportional to the value of the product you are offering, measured as ad space. For example if the magazine you have approached sells one full page of advertising in their magazine at R4000, then you will need a product worth at least that much to ask for a full page. To be honest, I have found that the magazine will require a bit more, but it is a place to start negotiating!

If you have written a book then you could propose an interview on a local television programme and offer viewers a book prize if they phone in with a story that relates to the topic (perhaps biggest challenge in business, best tip for working with children, favourite life hack, etc).

Now that you have 10 solid ideas for creating buzz around your business, choose three that really stand out with you and take 15 minutes to brainstorm how you could implement the choices selected. Out of the three one idea will likely resonate with you the most, even if the thought of trying it scares you (that is a good thing). A few, especially around social media and creating a website, are ongoing projects and still others will take a larger time commitment initially. Each idea presented will be worth it in the end – I personally have used every single one of these tips successfully either in my own business or for my clients. Just make sure that whatever you choose, you give it your best and see it through to the end. Your business will thank you.