The Shoestring-Budget Guide To Promoting Your Web-Design Business

 by: Steven Danziger

The shoestring-budget guide to promoting your web-design business

Most webdesigners are small or one-person companies with limited resources for promotion and advertising. Bulk mailings, mass-media advertising, and glossy brochures just aren’t an option – and if you’re like most of these small companies; they won’t be for you either!

Over the next few minutes I’ll talk you through a few of the techniques I used to build my web design company on a shoestring. Thankfully we now have a considerably larger marketing budget than in the early days; but for this article, I’m going to go back to the days when all we could really afford was a couple of hundred bucks... if that!

The good news is that working on such a tight budget can actually be to your advantage. Many IT professionals rely on expensive mailings, phonebook advertisements, and brochures, as well as tonnes of time consuming and complex search engine optimization schemes, not to mention Google and Overture advertising. But in actual fact, they’re wasting a lot of money on these things; as they tend not to deliver a very good return on investment.

Thanks to your tight budget, you’ll have to be a bit more inventive! You have to think about marketing more carefully and simply can't afford to throw away your money. You have to be smarter, leaner and wiser than the competition – which will work to your advantage. While your richer competitors just throw cash at their marketing, you’ll need to be more imaginative and find creative, low-cost, high-impact ways to attract new business. Of course its easier to just throw cash at something, but trust me, its not the best thing for you company’s future!

Your marketing plan has to be simple and effective. :

1. Identify a target market.

2. Create a strong message and USP (unique selling point).

3. Develop a single marketing method that will attract prospects and set you apart.

4. Get visible in your target market the manual way.

5. Keep following up to build relationships and credibility.

Before you begin:

Before you get started, there are a few things you’ll need. Building a successful business in a competitive market like web-design is not easy, so unless you are/have the following, then maybe you ought to consider giving up straight away and getting a job at WalMart instead:

1. You're good at what you do, and can deliver what clients expect. If you don't have the technical skills required, you won't last long.

2. You're willing to take the action required to succeed, even if it means doing things you don’t feel 100% comfortable with. You don't have money for marketing, so you need to invest your time instead. You’ll need to approach potential clients and referral sources, and make them listen to you. Make some noise. There’s no need to ever be rude or pushy (this will almost always backfire) but you will need to make your voice heard. Some people find this difficult or uncomfortable; but its an essential part of building a successful business!

3. You're committed to prioritising marketing and promotion. A lot of people get distracted and think that the shine on their website, or the quality of their business cards, or the fancy management techniques they’ve got planned will get them business. They’re WRONG. Any business is only as good as its marketing plan. You can have the best business idea in the world, with the flashiest letterhead and the swankiest offices – but if your marketing plan isn’t your number one priority, your business will fall flat everytime. A businessman who's an excellent marketer will make more money than a genius who can't or won't market. Ideally, you have both skill sets. But if you have to pick one priority, choose marketing.

4. Commitment. Starting a business is not for the faint hearted or for people who think they can just give it a go and see. Whatever your end goal; starting your own business is not for dabblers. When the going gets tough, and it will (especially at the beginning), only your commitment to success will keep you slogging forward. This is essential!

5. You have enough reserves to cover your basic living expenses for a while. To start with, your business is unlikely to make enough profit to put food on the table and cover your rent – it’s a sad truth! If you have no reserves to cover basic expenses for six months or more, consider getting a salaried job where the risks are lower. That doesn’t mean giving up on your dream, but it does mean putting it on the back-burner for a bit while you save up some reserves. Kinda like a squirrel storing nuts for the winter!

YOUR MARKETING PLAN STE-BY-STEP:

Step 1: Identify a Target Market

Choosing a target market, preferably by industry is something many new businesses resist. They don't want to focus, for fear of missing out on any opportunity to generate business and bring in money. They also like the illusion of having an unlimited number of prospects. But more often that not, they find that by spreading their focus to thinly, they fail.

Focusing your marketing efforts on a specific industry ends up being less expensive and more productive. You reach your market at a lower cost, because people in the same industry read the same publications and go to conferences, trade shows and meetings. People in the same industry talk to each other, and word about you will spread more quickly. You’ll also find it easier to build credibility because you can speak your prospect's language, understand their specific industry issues, and show exactly how your services/products have helped similar companies which they can directly relate to.

When you’re starting out, I’d recommend spending about 70% of your time pursuing business in a focused target market and the remaining 30% of your time pursuing business based on your existing network and sphere of influence. That way, you’ll begin to build a strong foothold in your chosen niche, without feeling that you’re missing out on too many important opportunities from people you know.

Cost of Step 1: $0. You can choose a target market without spending a dime, based on your own experience. One of the key criteria for choosing a target market is that you already have a good story to tell those prospects. Also, it costs nothing to research an industry on the Internet or by calling trade associations and people you know who are in it.

Step 2: Develop a Strong Marketing Message.

Once you've chosen a target market, you need to decide what you’re going to say to people to get them excited about your service. You can't just tell prospects that you are a new Web developer or designer. They won't care, and you'll be quickly forgotten. Instead, you need a strong, individual marketing message that makes you stand out from the crowd, and helps people immediately realise the benefits of hiring you. In other words, what is your Unique Selling Point (USP)

Before you can start selling yourself to other people, you need to have it very clear in your own mind what you are, what you do, and why people need you. Unless you have a succinct understanding in your own mind, you’ll never be able to express it well to others. To help clarify your business in your own mind, break it down into the following bullet points.

• What problems do your prospects currently have

• What can you do to solve those problems.

• What benefit will your service bring?

• How do you deliver results (what is your methodology)?

• Why are you different to other service provider in the market

• How can you prove yourself (testimonials/case studies)

Of the above elements, new business owners often have the hardest time explaining why they are unique and then offering proof.

The way to explain why you are unique is by completing the following statement: "Unlike our rivals, we…"

• We offer a money-back guarantee unlike any other company

• We will host your site for free and can guarantee 99.9% uptime.

• We have a unique 5-part methodology that ensures we deliver faster and more reliably, keeping you informed throughout the development process.

• We have a unique technology that allows us to deliver at half the cost of our competitors.

• We have worked with the largest firm in your industry.

If you’re reasonably established, then proving your ability to deliver on these promises is just a matter of contacting your previous clients and asking them to write a few lines commenting on the service you gave them and what they thought. If you’re starting out it can be a little harder, but you’re bound to have done some work for/with people in the past who will be happy to write a couple of sentences attesting to your knowledge, skills, results, and credibility. Anyone will do, friends, collegues, teachers etc. At the same time, you should have a number of examples of your work easily available to show off. You should always make sure that you create a website of your own for starters!

The next step is to take what you’ve done so far to create a marketing hook. Using all the things we’ve discussed (your USP, your customer’s problems, your solutions etc.) try to put together a simple paragraph that sums it all up, for example:

• We help lawyers who struggle to attract clients build a Web presence that makes them look more professional than the competition, and gets clients to call.

• We develop ecommerce solutions for retailers who want to double sales online and attract new customers."

With a strong hook, people will be interested in learning more. Once you have them listening, you’ll be able to tell them more about your solution, the additional benefits you provide, and why you are unique. You can also tell them about relevant projects you may have done.

Cost of Step 2: $0.

Step 3: Develop a single marketing method that will attract prospects and set you apart.

OK, so far we’ve been doing a lot of thinking and talking, but haven’t actually done anything that will get your message out to market. Thinking up the greatest spiel in the world will be pointless if no one hears it! To get your message out there you’ll need to choose a powerful marketing method that gets you noticed. Above and beyond your portfolio/website!

Prospects don't want to hear a general, all-purpose pitch. They want to hear how you’ll provide value to their business. Your marketing piece should educate them, give them important information, and leave them wanting more. So what worked for me? Here are a few ideas we tried in the early days:

• An industry focused white-paper on the importance of an effective website to companies operating in your chosen industry. A general piece about Web sites is generic and boring, no one will read it if its not directly relevant to their company and delivering value. So focus your content on the specific issues your target market faces. "Five Things Every Business Website Needs to Have" will be ignored "What Every Lawyer Needs to Have On Their Website – That Most of Your Competitors Don't Even Know About” will prove irresistible to your target market.

• A benchmarking study of Web presences in your target industry. Identify a set of criteria that make a Web presence effective. Compare a sample of Websites along those criteria, and make recommendations for improvement – which sites work, which don’t, what does a site need to do to be effective, what are the developing trends in the industry. Show that you are a visionary who understands how the industry needs to evolve. People will appreciate your insight, and it will position you as an authority within the industry.

• A report of best practices from other industries that you can apply to your target market. I recently sold a $20,000 engagement by showing a client how I could apply lessons learned from the online publishing industry to their IT services business. I did that by identifying the elements and navigation scheme that represented best practices in one field, and showed how the prospect could apply it to their field.

• Create a report of Websites you have designed, and explain the "secret sauce" about the elements you created, why they work, and how they apply to your target market. That way, you show your portfolio in terms that non-technical prospects will understand and value.

Cost of Step 3: $25 in printing costs, and a decent amount of time.

Step 4: Get Visible in Your Target Market – the Manual Way.

You’re on a shoestring budget, you have a message, and you want it to get heard. Its not an ideal situation to be in, but all it means is that you’ll have to roll up your sleeves and get down to work!

How? By working your network. Sit down with a pen and pad, and write down the name of EVERY person you know and contact them all. Yes every single one of them. You’ll need to be a little shameless, but you’ll be surprised how effective this is. If you really work at it, you should be able to think of at least 100-250 people you know. Think of your friends, classmates, neighbours, relations, family friends, members of your religious organization, fellow volunteers, and so on.

Contact each of these people individually and tell them that you are starting a business. If you think they are potential clients, tell them your hook, tell them how you can help them grow your business and tell them how keen you are to help. If (as most of them will be) they are unlikely to require your services themselves, ask them who they know that might benefit from your services. Help them jog their memory by asking specific questions (e.g. "Who else do you play tennis with that might be interested?"). Ask for advice about your marketing piece. You should aim to get at least one referral from everyone you know. As a new business, you’ll be surprised how keen most people are to help. They’ll know full well that what you’re trying to do is not easy, and as long as you know them reasonably well, they’ll do the best they can to help.

As you meet with leads, don't make a hard sell. Tell them who told you to contact them, tell them why the person thought it might make sense to talk, show them your marketing piece, and ask about their Web presence. If it seems like they have a need, ask them if they would like to talk more. And of course, be sure to thank the people who give you referrals, and keep them informed on how its progressing. I always found that sending a hand written note; “thank you for putting me in touch with X, it was very kind of you to keep me in mind and I am optimistic that X will hire me shortly to design his new website…. Etc. etc.” – handwritten notes are much more personal, and your friend will be flattered

But this is far from the only technique you can adopt, try some of these ideas:

• Arrange to give lectures about Web development to locan trade associations or business groups. Many organize regular meetings for their members and are always on the look out for good, informative speakers.

• Participate in community service. Join the board of a non-profit organization. Become active at your Chamber of Commerce (as an Ambassador or committee member). Take a leadership role in planning a fundraiser or visible community event. Volunteer your skills. All these activities will get you in front of influential people, improve your reputation, and get you more work. For instance, I can trace $100,000 of revenues from people I met while volunteering my consulting services to non-profit organizations.

• Join a networking group. Wherever you live, you’re bound to find some sort of business networking club, who will be more than happy to have another member – and they can be a goldmine of referralls! Try using Google to find one near you.

• Write articles. There are plenty of websites that accept article submission, and many real-world trade publications accept articles from outsiders – as long they don't make a blatant sales pitch! Keep your articles genuine and informative, and focus it on the needs of your target industry; for example how your target market can solve a problem that is in your domain of expertise.

• Contact business leaders and ask for advice. Successful people almost always love giving advice, especially to people just starting out. Try contacting local business leaders, politicians, and other prominent people in your community and asking for advice. Tell them you are starting a business and wanted to learn more about how they got started. Not only will you receive a lot of geniuinely helpful advice, but they will normally be very well connected and once they know you, will almost certainly refer you to others.

• Offer to conduct a free research study for a local trade association. Trade associations want to keep their members happy. One way you can help them do that is by offering to complete a benchmarking study of members' Websites. When I have used this tactic in the past, the association has made appointments for me, invited me to present my findings in front of members, published an abstract of my findings in their newsletter, and even asked me to present my findings to their board. You can probably get the results published in the local newspaper too!

• Develop an e-newsletter about online marketing and send it to people you meet – with their permission. That way, you stay in touch and they continue to remember you.

There are other creative techniques you can use to get visible in low- or no-cost ways. The key is to take action and be visible.

Cost of Step 4: From $0 to the cost of a few lunches.

Step 5: Keep Following up to Build Relationships and Credibility.

Once you begin the process, don't stop. Starting and growing a business initially feels like pushing a rock up a hill. It takes ten units of energy to get one unit of result. At times you will want to give up… but those who succeed in the long run are those who don’t! Other times, you will imagine that there is some sort of magic formula that you are missing (there isn't and you aren't!).

Over time, if you keep following up and building relationships, people will begin to remember you. They will know that you are not another one of those contractors who is in between jobs, but a serious businessperson. They will benefit from your articles, research, advice, referrals, and speeches.

But you have to follow up. Research shows that it takes 4 or 5 positive interactions before a prospect is willing to consider you for a project and hire you. So stay in touch with the people you meet. Find out their interests and professional aspirations, and support those, for instance by sending them articles or inviting them to seminars of interest. Keep up your newsletter. Stick with your community service efforts. Send referrals to people in your network. If you keep following up, you will jump ahead of your competitors, most of whom tend to meet with a prospect once and then give up on them forever.

Cost of Step 5: From $0 to the cost of a few lunches.

Conclusion: Effort, NOT money success.

The above plan takes hard work and hustle. Essentially, you're using your time and creativity in place of money. Sadly, there's no way around this if you don't have a budget and want to grow your business.

At the same time, many firms with huge marketing budgets might be better served using this same strategy. The professionals in these firms have a tendency to hide behind expensive mail and telephone campaigns, or expensive salespeople. They wait for the phones to ring, instead of actively chasing business.

If you start your business with the plan described above, you will become more connected, more disciplined, and more successful than the employees at any of those larger firms. Good luck!