Your new business has to start somewhere.

There’s that first client to win, first contract to sign, first ranking report to send.

Unfortunately, none of this can happen by itself.

There are a number of challenges many newly launched businesses face, from lack of recognition to low budget to practically no cash flow at all.

Needless to say, marketing and promotion in such circumstances is a challenge.

Not something you couldn’t overcome though.

Naturally, being an SEO consultant, one choice of strategy is obvious. But is SEO really the only way to kickstart your business? Given the amount of time it might take to yield results, perhaps not.

PPC, yes, but only if you have the budget.

Email? Sure but what about the list? There’s probably no one on it yet.

What about this instead?

Get the basics right

Who is your target market?

You can’t work with everyone. Not every company is a good client for you. Some might be too big, with projects far exceeding what you can deliver, others too small and unable to pay you your rates. There might also be industries you might not feel comfortable working in or lack experience.

You also might not be a good fit for many businesses either. Many will not feel comfortable working with a newcomer. Your experience might not match their expectations either.

So the first step for you should be to find your ideal target market. It should be one that:

• you have easy access to,
• you can service and handle their requirements,
• needs your services,
• is big enough to sustain you in business.

What makes you different from other companies?

There is no point in denying that there are plenty of SEO agencies out there. The competition is fierce. And from the clients point of view, very few factors separate one agency from another. Price, types of clients they work with or location are probably the main ones. Neither of those is ideal to differentiate yourself from competition.

Therefore, think of any other ways that could help you stand out from the crowd. What problems are you trying to solve for their clients? What resources do you have (or could develop) to differentiate yourself from other agencies? Developing your own software/ web crawler might be too much of a task but perhaps there is something else that you could produce? A library of useful PDF guides? An iPad magazine? An online educational resource?

What resources could you leverage to win first clients?

Is there anyone that could help you to get first project? Friends? Family? Or perhaps your former boss could send some work your way?

When you’re starting out, leveraging connections and other resources you have is one of the best strategies for winning first work. And those initial projects will keep you busy while also allowing you to start marketing your business and slowly build a clients base.

What is your (realistic) budget?

Lastly, assess how much money do you have for promotion. I am sure you have great plans for your business. Your budget, however, will affect if you can make them a reality. Assess your budget realistically to avoid any disappointments or worse, putting your business into financial trouble from the start.

Use channels properly

The world of marketing is complex, it goes without saying. Content, search, online advertising, authority building, email lists, social media, it’s easy to get lost among all this.

There are, however, certain elements you should do to get started promoting your business online.

Use Your Website As a Reference Point

A website is your window to the world and I am sure you know this cliché already.

When you’re starting out, your website is an essential point of reference that prospects can use to assess if they should hire you. And these don’t necessarily have to be online leads. It might be someone whom you handed over a business card at a networking event or sent a cold call email asking for a meeting. The first thing they’ll do is going to your website to find out more about you.

That’s how you should approach creating it. Your website should represent you the best it possibly can and confirm your authority. You can do this in a number of ways:

• Offer authoritative content and advice in your blog. I am sure you already publish posts on your blog, mainly to attract more search engine traffic. Try a different approach however; write posts you would like potential clients to see. Ones that clearly indicate how much you know about SEO but also, how well you understand their problems, needs and requirements. By the way, this is where knowledge of your target audience helps. Most SEO agency blogs are written with this one goal in mind – to present the company in the most favorable light to their customers.
• Display clients logos. Trust is a major factor in hiring services. Your prospects don’t know you and are also unsure if they should trust you. If you can, display current and past client logos to overcome their objections.
• Present client testimonials. Testimonials are the most persuasive content on your site. They support your credibility, confirm the trust others have in you, and they confirm your track record. Display at least one testimonial telling what you have helped this particular client with and how.
• Present a case study. One of the things business clients look for in potential vendors is proof of your knowledge and expertise. They want to know that you know what you’re doing. A case study, outlining a particular project, from problem to solution and how it was achieved can highlight your expertise on the subject.

Show Your Human Side on Social Media

It’s hard to exist in business without at least a basic presence on social media. Depending on the industry you want to service, your clients might be more or less active online. Regardless of their level of activity though, having Twitter and Google+ profiles seems to be a must these days. Potential clients might research you on those networks to learn more about you and discover your personality.

At least then you should consider setting up the following:

• Profile pictures. Both networks allow adding main and profile pictures. Make sure that your images match between the two (and ideally are in line with your website and brand) so that clients moving from one network to the other won’t get confused about you.
• Complete profile information. You should include at least one element showing a personality.

Develop Offline Email Strategy

Yes, you heard it right. Offline.

Email is by far the most powerful marketing tool for any startup. If done well, it can generate you great income. But, for that to happen you need to build that email list first and then implement a posting plan.

A common mistake new companies make is focusing online on web traffic when luring people to their email lists. What about that small business owner you pitched your services last week to? Or that guy who is thinking of starting an e-commerce store you met in a bar over the weekend? They should be included in your list, too.

Moreover, at the start these will be the most likely people to join your list. Your site will not have a huge traffic at the start. Not to mention that it will take time before you learn enough about your prospects to be able to build a solid list building strategy.

So ask everyone you meet if they want to join your list. It doesn’t matter if you are at a networking event or in a pub. If there is someone who could benefit from it, ask him or her. Explain what kind of emails you will be sending and how often and then ask them for their email.

Does it work? Sure. The majority of quote requests I used to be getting in my old business were replies to my newsletter.

Use Content to Build Authority

Content is undoubtedly a strong online marketing strategy for any new business. But, here lies a problem. At the start, you don’t know your customers well enough to be able to envisage a strong content strategy. You end up writing tons of posts but none attracting any traction.

At the start then, consider the following:

• On your blog, publish posts that could confirm your authority. We spoke about this already. Your blog, at least should confirm your expert status. Bringing traffic is a secondary gain. You will most likely be getting more work from offline activities first so target those clients first.
• Develop a content strategy for other sites. Become a contributor to some recognized blogs in the industry or publish a set of Slideshare presentations. This way you will be able to cement your expert status and your prospects will come across all these great resources when researching you.

Gain Local Coverage

Startups need coverage. What’s a better way to get it than through outreach? But as a SEO startup, you might need a different type of outreach thought.

Instead of reaching out to influencers and other key people in your industry, you should reach out to journalists and people who can offer you that much needed local coverage.

Your first clients might be businesses from your most immediate location, be it city or state and it’s important that you gain media presence there first.

Build Strategic Partnerships

Lastly, develop strategic partnerships. Winning new business on your own can be challenging. By joining forces with other professionals whose services compliment yours and vice versa (i.e. designers, programmers, copywriters) you can win new clients and moreover, approach much bigger clients whose requirements far exceed what you could deliver on your own. Many companies use strategic partnerships to build their client base and offer more services.

Conclusion

Launch is just a first step in building a business. You still have to win that first client, sign the first retainer and deliver the very first ranking report. In order to get there, you need to devise and implement a strong marketing plan. There just isn’t a way around it.