Freckle Media got a new lead this week. This person reached out completely unprompted and I didn’t have to spend a penny.
This can happen a lot, actually. Usually this happens through word of mouth. I have been #blessed with wonderful relationships with my clients that advocate for me whenever they get the chance (like Realtor Colleen Davis for example, who I cannot recommend enough for all of your NJ real estate needs!).
And while this has certainly brought about new business for Freckle, that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t take the opportunity to advocate for myself. (It would be… insane if I didn’t.)
If you’re a small business like me, your margins are on the tiny side. So here are three places you can promote your business by spending $0. I’d love to hear how these work out for you and if you have any additional spots I’ve missed! Please share them in the comments for the other readers. (And there’s a real perk to commenting – you’ll get to that at the end!)
1. Your Personal Facebook Cover Photo
This is how I got my lead last week. I simply updated my personal Facebook page’s cover photo with “www.frecklemedia.com.” No call to action, no pictures. Just simply my URL. This piqued a few people’s interest and now I have a call set up for this coming week to discuss a possible new client relationship. And all I had to do was make a graphic. Pretty sweet, huh? And you can do it, too.
I think the first thing people will think is that by doing that you are being somehow obnoxious or “in someone’s face” about your business. But I am here to tell you this – in my 3 years experience of working for myself you need to be shameless. You need to not care about the naysayers and simply consider all the people that will say “yes!” to your attempts.
And one more additional tip: change your cover photo monthly or quarterly. Facebook sends cover photo updates to your friends, as if you wrote a status update. The more regularly you update, the more chance your audience will see it.
2. Your Email Signature
My Freckle Media email signature is chock full of goodies. I’ve included my name, title, web address and phone number. That’s pretty standard stuff. But I beefed it up with my social handles as well as a link to my recent blog post with its title. This is a fantastic opportunity to provide value upfront. And all I did was add an extra link to the work I already did.
Send your prospective clients to your website unprompted and watch your website and your work speak for itself.
3. The Comments Section
I can imagine the meta comments now! But comments sections are seriously underrated when it comes to drumming up contacts, and later, business. The internet has given us the opportunity to drop into just about any “network event” we’d like. They are happening around the clock and there is always someone willing to talk to you. The “comments section” can be viewed more broadly – think participating in Facebook & LinkedIn Groups. Then they can be viewed more literally, like searching specific Instagram & Twitter hashtags and joining the conversation that way.
Just like you may pick up a lead just by having a conversation with a stranger in line for coffee, you can do so online. The only price you need to pay is your time. (And you have more time than you realize – if you’re watching the Giants v. Cowboys game today as I am, consider all the commercial breaks where you usually just scroll and read. Pull a Jones and play offense for your business today. (Either the Giants or Cowboys Jones, haha.))
I hope these all work well for you! If you liked this piece and want to read more like it, check out Freckle Media’s blog. We are just getting started though so bare with us. You can get alerted when new pieces are out by signing up for our newsletter.
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