bootstrap marketing for entrepreneurs

Bootstrap Marketing Tipsfor the Unintentional Entrepreneur

Presented by Lorna Li

Disclaimer: The Truth About Bootstrap Marketing

Free or low cost marketing often comes at the cost of your time. Free, open source software is not really freeFast, Cheap, Good – Pick 2So be prepared in front of your computer for long hours every day if you don’t want to spend any money!

7 Things You Need to DoDefine your brandGet a websiteSearch engine marketing –DIY SEOGet listed - DIY local SEO Advertise – DIY PPCEstablish your social web presence

DEFINE YOUR BRAND

Define Your BrandPick a memorable name with your target keyword in itMake sure your domain name has your target keyword in itThen create go your brand identity

LogoBusiness cardsWeb designLetterhead

What’s My Target Keyword?Use Free Keyword Research Tools to:

Research demand for your servicesUnderstand competition for those keywordsIdentify the best keyword to rank for:

“Massage Therapy” - 20,200,000 results“California Massage Therapy” - 1,050,000 results“San Francisco Massage Therapy” - 674,000 results

See what keywords your competitors are targeting

Keyword Research ToolsGoogle Adwords Keyword Research Toolhttps://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Keyword Research Tools

GET A WEBSITE

PLAN YOUR WEBSITEBuild your website with SEO in mind:

Keyword research & planningMap 1 keyword per pageDo not optimize pages for more than 3 target keywordsThey ought to be related e.g. social media, social media marketing, social media strategy

Map your site architecture Do this before you do design your site

SEO copywriting write the copy first, don’t launch an empty site

DIY SEO: Site Architecture

Got Domain? Get A WebsiteNever pay for what you can get for free:

Free websites – many, many optionsCheap web design - $300-$500Cheap webhosting – starts at $7-$10/monthCheap web development - $100 code / $500 installCheap web copywriters - $10-$30 / 500 wordsFree web analytics – Google Analytics - FREE!Free email with your domain – Google Apps – FREE!Cheap email marketing – starting at $15 / 1000

Bootstrapping Your WebsiteFree blogs

Blogger.com – can map to own domainWordPress.com or WordPress.org

Free websites Moogo – Build a website in 10 minutes. Mapping own domain name costs $5-$15 a monthHipero – Free website builder with over 200 designsGoogle Sites – Integrated with Google Account. Basic.

Free social networksCollectiveXNing.com

Website Production on a ShoestringCheap graphic design & web design

Run design contests on 99Designs or Crowdspring for logos, biz cards, web design, banners

Cheap web developmentOdesk takes screen shots of your contractor at work!

Cheap web copywritersElance & OdeskGet a variety of writersAsk writers to do a trial postBest to work with an individual

Bootstrapping Web Design

DIY SEARCH ENGINE MARKETINGSEO & SEM

Search Engine Results Page

DIY SEOOn Page Optimization

Internal linking Interlink your website pages

Anchor text optimizationMake sure your internal links contain KW rich anchor text

Image Optimization Do not use giant image files – 72dpi is the normSave image file with keyword e.g. organic-coffee.jpg

DIY SEO - Off Page Optimization

External Link BuildingDirectory listingsSocial media profilesPress release optimizationBlogger outreachGuest bloggingLinkbait developmentSocial media marketing

DIY SEO – Local SEO & Getting Listed

Localize your contentHome, About, Press, ContacthCard Microformats

Claim your local business ListingGoogle LocalYahoo LocalBOTW LocalGetListed.org3rd Party Data Providers / IYP Portals - SuperPages, CitySearch, InfoUSA, YellowPages, Yelp.comLocal citations - “mentions” of your business name and address on other webpages

DIY PPC Advertising

Google AdwordsThe bulk of all paid search advertising

Yahoo Search MarketingHas a Google Adwords Account converter

MSN AdCenterLower traffic, but may have higher conversions

Bootstrapping PPC Tips

Don’tSend traffic to your website pages, unless you have a way of capturing leads on those landing pagesDon’t buy traffic without considering conversions

DoTarget less expensive key phrasesUse geotargetingUse ad schedulingContinuously test your ad creativeContinuously test landing pagesCheck your bids and positions regularly

Questions?

Green Marketing 2.0 http://lornali.com/

Green Marketing TVhttp://greenmarketing.tv

Facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/lornaliTwitterhttp://twitter.com/lornali

Slideshare Presentationshttp://slideshare.net/LornaLi/

YouTube Video Tutorialshttp://www.youtube.com/user/lornaliana

RESOURCES FOR THE BOOTSTRAP ENTREPRENEUR

Bootstrap Marketing Resources

Blogging: Hostedhttps://www.blogger.com/http://wordpress.com/Blogging: Self Hostedhttp://wordpress.org/Crowdsourcing Designhttp://99designs.com/http://www.crowdspring.com/Email Marketing & Email List Managementhttp://www.aweber.com/http://www.mailchimp.com/Free & Cheap Stock Photographyhttp://www.sxc.hu/http://www.istockphoto.com/

Outsourcing & Offshoring Anythinghttp://www.elance.com/http://www.odesk.com/

Social Media Marketinghttp://www.facebook.comhttp://www.linkedin.comhttp://www.twitter.com

Web Analyticshttp://www.google.com/analytics/

Web Development & Software Developmenthttp://www.rentacoder.com/

Web Copy http://www.textbroker.com/ http://www.dreamhost.com/

Web Hosting http://www.bluehost.com/ http://www.dreamhost.com/