You run a business. Your time is limited. And the Internet can be a difficult market to navigate, even for professional marketers. If you want to have a good online marketing presence for your business, but don’t have a lot of time or resources to invest, here is what I recommend. 

If you do nothing else online, do these 3 things:  Get a website, collect emails, and create a Google business listing.

Seem overwhelming? It doesn’t have to be. A website is simple to start. You can use a free service like Weebly or Wordpress to create a simple website using a template that is mobile-friendly. Or, you can contact a professional (like us!) and find out how much a custom website will cost that will be designed and set up for you. Once you have a website set up, you can optionally choose to purchase a domain (www.yourbusinessname.com) for your website through a service like GoDaddy. Once you've purchased the domain, Go Daddy will walk you through the process of connecting the domain to the website / web page you've created.

Still sound overwhelming? Then set up a Facebook page. A Facebook page will still rank, and it will allow you to have a presence on the web that represents your business and where you can direct people who want to learn more about you. And Facebook is definitely mobile-friendly. The downside? Facebook doesn’t let you collect emails.

Email is the most valuable digital marketing medium, with the highest reported ROI. Collecting emails on your website or blog is the best way to build your list of subscribers. How can you start collecting emails? Have a simple sign up form placed prominently on your website. In your form, collect basic information (the more details you ask for, the less emails you will collect). Tell your subscribers what kind of content you will send them (special deals, company newsletter, industry news and tips). Keep is short and sweet.

Be sure you have a place (like an email service or CRM, or even a spreadsheet) to store your emails so emailing and segmenting your email lists is simple as you get more subscribers. Also, be sure to honor unsubscribe requests. Email Services like our PostalParrot have automatic unsubscribe features and also tracking so you know how many people are opening your emails. There are lots of options, so shop around to find the service that is best for you.

Here are my email marketing hacks to make it a little easier for beginners.

The best way to get listed on Google is to add your business to Google My Business.  It’s simple. And FREE. Just click Get on Google and it walks you through the process (you will need a Gmail account to manage your Google listing). 

Google will mail you a verification code if you have a physical location. You can add your hours, contact information, images and slogans / tag lines. Once you’ve completed your set up, your business will appear in local searches and rank better overall for your industry. To really improve your rankings, post your content on your business page. 

Getting started marketing online doesn’t have to be difficult. But it is crucial to success. Make sure people can find and connect with your business with these 3 simple steps. Is your business online? What steps did you find the most important?