1. Targeted Email Campaigns

Emailing your customer base is a great way to stay in touch, send reminders, promote sales, and offer coupons and other savings. If you have a brick-and-mortar shop or throw IRL events, you can collect your customers’ email addresses for the cost of a clipboard and a pen. Even with how prevalent social media is these days, email is still the most effective way to reach people and gain a customer base. JP Wallhorn, founder and CEO of digital consulting agency Syntx, says:

Cold outreach is still one of the best ways to gain attention and get actual clients. Even though it’s old school it’s very effective. Most important is to find a good subject line. It doesn’t matter how good the email is if nobody opens it. From there, make it short and simple. Set up automated follow-up emails from there if they don’t respond. My favorite tool is Mailshake.

You’ll want to use an email client to look more professional, for one. Most offer templates for different occasions and allow you to link right to your site from a clean, custom interface. Services like MailChimp and Constant Contact are easy to manage and offer free, basic plans. (Premium plans come at an extra cost.) Sending out the occasional newsletter or sale announcement keeps you fresh in people’s minds, and makes your product more accessible to them. Think about it: If a customer receives a coupon delivered straight to their inbox, they’re likely to click through to the site and try to use it. And even if they don’t take you up on your offer, sending that email didn’t cost you anything but some time. Here’s another best email practice: Create an email signature that’s unique to you and has a call to action or a click-through button to grab people’s attention. Your signature will show up on any email you send, even if you’re just sending an update, like announcing holiday hours or a reminder of a new policy. Even if you’re not directly selling something in your email, that signature is a built-in way to remind people of what you do sell. Wallhorn also suggests pairing your email blast with a personal touch—a phone call. “Call your list in addition to emailing them, especially if they are not responsive. When you call, you can refer back to the email you’ve sent, and you can make your way towards the decision-maker.”

2. Curated Social Media

If you’re not using social media to promote your business, you definitely should be. Alongside a small business website—which you absolutely need to have!—social media platforms are usually the first place prospective customers go to get a feel for who you are and what you do. And business accounts on the main platforms, like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Snapchat, are generally free. An active presence on social media is a crucial way to let people know what kind of service you’re providing, and offer a snapshot into your company culture. Thoughtfully curated social media profiles—think well-lit shots of your products, fun and informative Instagram stories, and active Facebook conversations—are an easy way to elevate your business, and make people want what you’re selling. Katherine Hunter-Blyden is the founder and CEO of personal chef service Hello Cheffy, and has specialized her different social media channels for different customer bases.

Initially, we set up Facebook and Twitter accounts. We now have Instagram and Pinterest as well. We post at least daily on all social platforms and we vary the posts by platform. We also have a content marketing calendar to be sure that we are delivering relevant posts to our target market, which vary by channel. For instance, Twitter is used more for media and end users, while Instagram is used for chefs.

Also, if you have an active social media presence, it’s easy to interact and communicate directly with your customer base. People like knowing there’s a person on the other end of the screen, and forming those personal connections with people encourages brand loyalty, making them more likely to become return customers. Plus, if you have a social media practice that’s unique to you, like a hashtag or a filter (or simply great content) your customers will be more inclined to pin, tweet, and share with their own friends and followers. Essentially, free advertising for you.

3. Strong SEO Strategy

As you probably know from your own Googling, you’re more likely to click on (and buy from) the first few links of search engine results from a query. It follows, then, that you’ll want to earn your own business a top spot within search results. SEO is how you get there. SEO stands for search engine optimization—and it essentially dominates everything you read online. Good SEO tactics help control the amount of traffic that goes to your site, which, in turn, increases your visibility—and hopefully your sales, too. Learning SEO best practices can be very do it yourself; if you do a little research, you should be able to optimize your site without spending any money. The foundations of SEO strategy revolve around finding and using the keywords that your audience is searching for, and using them effectively on your site so your page surfaces in top results. Being strategic and specific with your keywords is important, so that you stand out from the rest of the internet. (No small feat, we know. But it’s doable.) If you do want a little professional help, there are services like Moz that can help you optimize your site and see the analytics, so you know how you’re doing. These do come at a cost, but it may be worth the increased traffic and visibility. Independent consultants can also help you audit your site, and might work with you on a sliding scale. It’s a worthy investment.

4. Google AdWords Implementation

Google is a great resource for small business owners. Google Drive makes it easier than ever to keep all your staff on the same page, and once you’re part of the Google business family, all kinds of doors open up for you. For one thing, you’ll have access to Google Adwords, which is one of the best tools to use to promote your business. You’ve seen Google Adwords in action—even if you don’t know it. These include search result ads (usually the first item that pops up when you do a Google search), video and display ads (in your sidebar and your YouTube videos), and in-app ads (for all your mobile users). If you use AdWords correctly, your business can be visible all over—without looking obtrusive. Plus, Google allows you to set your own budget, so you’ll be able to keep your finances under control while still getting the word out about your services. AdWords offers users a library of resources you can peruse that offers everything from how to choose the best keywords to suggestions for visual ads—a helpful resource for beginners. Once you’ve learned how to make the most effective ads, Google AdWords will walk you through actually creating one, and you’ll be off to the races. Keri Lindenmuth, marketing manager of the Kyle David Group, says that paid ads via Google AdWords has worked for them:

These ads give businesses a lot of control over the content they market and the breadth of their marketing efforts. Businesses can control the ad budget, allowing them to spend as much or as little as they want. They can also control times the ad displays and the geolocation of the audience seeing the ad … Your business has complete control over the content being shared, the audience seeing the content, and the budget you’re willing to spend.

5. Promotional Incentives That Speak to Your Demographic

Promotional incentives are a great way to get the word out, but also to encourage people to actually spend some money with your business. If people know all about you but never buy anything, their knowledge isn’t doing much good for your bottom line. Sometimes people need a little extra nudge before they pull out their wallets, and meaningful incentives can help. You’ll need to do a little bit of legwork to understand your industry and demographic to know what kind of promotions or business giveaway ideas work for you. Sure, you can make T-shirts and keychains with your logo on them to give out to people, but that’s likely an investment where you’ll see little return. Instead, consider offering coupons or discount codes for your products. Not only is there less upfront investment to create your promotion and advertise (see above about using email campaigns!), but you’ll be encouraging people to spend with your business. If you know that one product does particularly well for you, offer sales and coupons for that product—especially if you rarely do. When planning an incentive campaign, it’s important to make sure you know what you want to get out of your campaign. Have a goal in mind so that you have something to measure your success against. Also try to target a specific customer group; not all of your customers are the same, so trying to market to all of them the same way won’t always work. By using different approaches for different age groups and other demographics, you’re more likely to be successful.