Hey, it's Rick Kettner here. Let's explore 33 of the very best ways to get more customers
or attract more clients. And let's talk about how to choose the best opportunity for
your specific business. This is a follow up to my previous video on how to come up with
great business ideas, you can find the link to that video in the description box below. And if you're interested in learning more about how to grow your business, I recommend that you
subscribe to the channel and turn on notifications, that way you won't miss
out on future videos. Now, when it comes to
attracting more customers. There are three different approaches including an organic
approach, a paid approach, and a social approach also
known as a viral approach. We're gonna to start by going through practical options for each category, but stick around to the end because I'll go over a simple framework that you can use to choose and execute on the best opportunities
for your business.
But with that said,
let's dive into the list starting with organic strategies. These are all geared towards
attracting customers naturally. So rather than paying money to advertise these strategies typically require an upfront investment of time or energy. But what I love most
about them is they tend to deliver more and more value over time. We're gonna go through
this list quite quickly, but if you wanna follow up video on one or more of the strategies, just click the like
button here on YouTube, and leave a comment below
to let me know which topics you'd like to learn more
about in the future.
First on the list, is content marketing. This can take many different forms, but a few options include, publishing videos, articles, case studies, how-to guides, podcasts,
and even infographics. The basic idea is to
create high quality content that people wanna consume, and then to leverage that
content to build a large and engaged audience around your brand. Next up, we have the search
engine optimization or SEO. This is all about getting
your website or content to rank well in search engines like Google that way you can get steady and reliable traffic without
having to spend money on search engine advertising. And of course, SEO also
applies to any other platform that has some kind of search functionality including YouTube, Medium, and even shopping sites like Amazon. Third on the list is media coverage. This is the art of getting
free publicity by working with media outlets, including news media, and of course, industry publications.
One popular strategy is
called trading up the chain. The idea is to start
with small media sites that are eager for new stories and then to leverage their early
coverage to go after larger and larger media sites. Next up, we have content partnerships. The idea here is to team
up with other businesses or other brands to increase
the exposure of your message. For example, you can write guest posts for someone else's blog, you can participate as a
guest on their podcast, or you can even do what
a lot of musicians do and create audiences by co-creating or co-publishing content together. Fifth on the list, you can
leverage existing platforms. The idea here is to take advantage of the momentum behind
Amazon, YouTube, Medium, or even something like Apple's App Store.
Each of these platforms
has a search function, an algorithm for recommending content, and often reading or sharing mechanisms. So you can use these
platforms to attract people that may not otherwise find you. For example, instead of
just publishing articles on a personal blog with few visitors, you can publish them on large platforms like Medium or LinkedIn. And as you learn how each platform works, and as you build a following
there, you can get bigger and better results over time. Next up, you can get into book publishing. This is a form of content marketing, but it's so different
that it really deserves to be treated completely separately. And that's because
physical media, like books have a long history and becoming an author is still a great way to establish yourself
as an expert in a field, you don't have to write
the entire book yourself. You can get co authors
to help with the process. Or of course, you can hire a ghostwriter to translate your expertise
into written form. But regardless of the approach, it's important to consider
this option if you wanna become a trusted thought leader in your market.
Okay, next up, you can
build tools and widgets. The idea here is to
create interactive tools to help people solve simple problems. For example, HubSpot offers tools like their blog idea
generator, website SSL checker, and email signature generator. They're 100% free, and they attract people to the HubSpot website. So ask yourself, is
there a task or process that you could help
automate for your customers? Do they often come to you
with repetitive questions? Can you create a quiz or
tool to address their needs? HubSpot uses web based
tools, but of course, you could also create a
simple mobile application for the same purpose.
Okay, next up, you can
use a freemium model. This is a very popular
approach in the tech space. Services like Dropbox, Asana, Slack, and many others offer a
completely free version of their product or service. And this approach can
lead to a brand dominating their industry because it
often attracts many customers that aren't yet ready
to pay for the service. The key here is to offer a
really great free version that fully showcases the
core value of the service and then to find ways to add even more value for paying customers.
For Dropbox this might involve
increased file storage, or for Asana and Slack,
it might be in the form of additional collaboration features. Whatever the case may be, it's important that the free version is still very compelling on its own. Ninth on the list, you can
create a tripwire offer. Now, I'm not a fan of the name, but the idea here is to create an exceptionally compelling
offer at an unusually low price. Something that's so attractive
that it converts people that would never normally
consider your primary product. This is powerful because
not only does it create an opportunity to upsell
your primary product, but it also triggers an
important psychological shift. When someone makes the transition
from prospect to customer, they view your business differently and are far more likely to buy
from you again in the future.
Okay, next up, you can get
into community building. This is a powerful way to connect with both industry leaders
and highly engaged prospects. You can create an online discussion forum, start a Slack channel or
even just invite people to a Facebook group. And once there you can
initiate conversations, answer questions and establish yourself
as an industry expert. And of course, this opens up
all kinds of possibilities when it comes to building relationships with potential customers or clients.
11th on the list, you can
get into email marketing. A list of loyal subscribers is one of the single most valuable assets that you can build for your business. And that's because it
gives you the ability to instantly direct
attention to new content, products, services or ideas. But it does take time to
build a loyal following. The goal isn't just to
attract subscribers. It's also critical that you
create ongoing value for them, so they always look forward to opening and reading your emails. Next up, you can create a lead magnet. The strategy here is to
create something of value that can attract potential
customers like a PDF report, a how to guide or a short video tutorial and then to offer it for free in exchange for a prospects email address. It's a great way to attract subscribers, community members or even
signups to a freemium service. Now, one big mistake that
people make is they just slap something together without
really taking time to think about their potential customers or they over promise and under deliver.
The key to this strategy is
to understand your audience and to create something that offers practical and immediate value. That way, you not only
get a new subscriber but you also create a strong
first impression with them. So that's a quick review
of organic strategies. Let's move on to paid strategies. These methods require money
up front, but they also tend to create results faster. And one of my favorite
aspects of paid strategies is that they're typically
easier to track in terms of return on investment, you know exactly what you're spending.
And in most situations, you can get a pretty clear sense of how well the strategy is working. Now, once again, I'll be going
through these quite quickly, so if you want follow up
videos on any of them, please click the like button and let me know in the
comment section below, but let's get into it starting
with search advertising. The idea here is quite simple. You advertise to people
that are already searching for products, services or topics that relate to your business.
Google AdWords is far and
away the most popular option. But of course, you can also advertise on search results for Bing,
YouTube or even Amazon. Next up is Social advertising. This involves buying
ads on social networks like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. The ads typically show
up in the user feed, but they can also appear elsewhere. Depending on the network. The unique power of this approach is being able to target users
based on demographic data. So if people aren't searching
for your product on Google, this is another great
way to get your message in front of them.
You can target audiences
based on age, gender, location, interest, and more. 15th on the list is content advertising. You can work directly
with content creators to sponsor everything from
articles, to videos, to podcasts, or you can work with
large advertising networks to reach a broader audience
across many creators. Generally, I recommend
working directly with people that way you cut out the middleman and you link your brand more directly with one content creator is doing. Next up is offline advertising. This includes print ads, billboards ads, television ads, magazine
ads, and even radio ads. These are typically harder
to track than online options and are more geared
towards brand marketing.
In other words, reminding
customers that your brand exists so that when they need
whatever it is that you offer, you're at the top of their mind and they consider buying from you. Next on the list is influencer campaigns. This strategy involves finding influencers that relate to your business in some way, and then having them endorse or promote your product to their audience. You can find influencers on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook,
Tiktok, and even LinkedIn. This is a powerful way to build trust and credibility around a new brand. And of course, it's also a
great way to remain relevant with potential customers over time. Next up celebrity collaborations. This is different than
influencer campaigns because it involves
working with a celebrity or influencer much earlier in the process. Instead of just having
them endorse a product, you work with them directly
to create an original product that is built around their personal brand. And rather than paying for exposure, this often involves paying
them an ongoing royalty or offering the mistake in the venture. Next on the list is promoted content. This is a great strategy
to use in combination with content marketing.
The idea is to give your content a boost by using paid promotion, rather than just waiting for people to discover it on their own. Sites like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and many others will gladly
take your money to feature or boost your content
to a larger audience. And of course, this can
drive additional engagement, word of mouth referral, and help the content build
momentum that much faster. Number 20 on the list
is audience retargeting. You can use this in combination
with promoted content, content marketing or even
just a standard sales website. The idea here is that you can track users that have visited your website
or engaged with your content and then you can display ads
to them on Facebook, Instagram, or across other sites
using Google's ad network. If you've ever viewed a product on Amazon, only to start seeing ads for
it everywhere else on the web, you've experienced retargeting.
It's an incredibly effective
way to follow up with people that have viewed your product
or engaged with your content. Okay, the final page strategy
is affiliate marketing. This involves offering
some kind of incentive to existing customers or
independent businesses to generate interest in your products. Typically, this involves
paying a commission for each referred sale but it can also involve paying for leads, paying for email signups or even paying for free
trial registrations. You can work with the
major affiliate network like ClickBank, or ShareASale, or you can work directly with affiliates by creating your own custom program. So that's a quick summary
of paid strategies. If you're enjoying the list so far, please let me know by clicking
the like button below. But let's move on to the third and final category, social strategies. These are built around social connections and creating a movement. And what I love most about
this kind of approach is that it tends to scale well
with the size of a business.
So while some organic and paid strategies become less relevant as you grow, these tend to scale well as
your business grows in size. First up on the list is
word-of-mouth referral. This may be the single most
important marketing strategy for any business. It's based on having existing
customers recommend your brand to other potential
customers on your behalf. And it leverages their
built in trust and authority to make a more compelling case than you could make on your own. Now, many people assume that
word of mouth just comes down to creating a great product but there are things that you
can do to engineer something to be more shareable. If you're interested in learning more. I recommend that you pick
up a copy of Contagious by Jonah Berger it
covers the six principles of contagiousness simple
things that you can do to make something more likely to spread.
Next up is brand merchandise. Having customers where or
display your brand name in public is a great way to catch the attention of new potential customers. Not only does it get your
logo in front of more people, but it also serves as
a form of social proof. In other words, it lends
credibility to the business. If I know a friend or family member already trusts the brand, I'm more likely to check it out myself. Next on the list, public speaking, not only is this a great way
to reach a large audience, but it's also a very powerful way to create a deeper connection
with those in attendance. And that's because, as
I mentioned earlier, people still value physical or in person experiences very differently than their digital alternatives.
Being in a room with someone and hearing them speak
can have a more profound and lasting impact than consuming the exact same message in video form. And of course, you can also film your talk and publish it online to
get the best of both worlds, greater impact for those attending live and greater reach online. Number 25, is hosting events. The idea here is to host
anything from small gatherings to huge conferences. You can make an informal event
like a local Meetup group, or you can host multiple speakers and put on a major production. Neither case this approach
can strengthen your brand, position you as a leader
in the space and create valuable long term relationships
with potential customers.
Next up is brand messaging. The idea here is to be very intentional about how your brand is perceived. So customers and prospects
have a better understanding of who you are and what you do that way, not only are they more
likely to think of your brand when they have a need for your service, but they're also much more likely to recommend you to others. I like to think of this
as enabling chance, the easier it is for someone to remember who you are, what you do and how you can help them, the more likely they are to think of your brand. When it matters most. Okay, next up is viral content. The idea here is to create
highly shareable articles, videos, social posts, or anything else that is engineered to spread quickly. Now, this isn't the same
as content marketing, because we're that content is generally geared towards
meeting ongoing needs or delivering long term value. This content is specifically engineered to be shared socially. And once again, I recommend that you read Contagious by Jonah Berger
to learn more about this. And you may also wanna check
out Break Through The Noise by Tim Staples and Josh Young.
Both books cover very valuable insights on how to engineer content
to be more likely to spread. Next up is live streaming. This is a great way to
make a deeper connection with an online audience. It's a strategy that's
been growing in popularity over the past few years, especially as mainstream social networks like Facebook, Instagram,
and YouTube have incorporated this into their platforms. And unlike public speaking
this is a format that allows you to reach a global
audience in real time. Next on the list is referral programs. The idea here is to reward
people that recommend your product or service to others. Now, this might sound a lot
like affiliate programs, or even word of mouth referral, but the difference is that
instead of offering a commission or just letting referrals
happen naturally, you offer social status or special access that relates to your product or service.
For example, if customers invite people to your online community, you could reward them with a special badge on their public profile or
if they invite enough people, maybe they could earn free products or get special privileges
in the online community. Number 30, on the list
is platform integrations. This is most applicable to tech companies offering online services or SAAS products. The idea here is that integrating with popular online services
can attract new customers. So for example, if you
integrate your service with a popular tool like Zapier, their audience might discover your app and be more inclined to try it out. Of course, this concept can be applied in many different ways. For example, some TVs may sell better because they have Netflix integrated right into the software. And the opposite is also true. Netflix benefits when their
app comes pre-installed on televisions right out of the box.
So you wanna look for ways to integrate with other products and services. Next up is crowdfunding. Not only is this a
great way to raise funds for a new product or service, but it's also a great way to evaluate a business
opportunity, collect money up front and motivate early customers
to help spread the word. So for all of these reasons, and many more entrepreneurs
turn to crowdfunding even when they don't actually
need to raise capital.
It's a great way to attract attention and increase social sharing. Next on the list is storytelling. People love to hear unique
stories and they love to share those stories
with friends and family. So the idea here is to
craft compelling stories that relate to your brand. These can be customer success stories, brand founding stories, or even just sharing a
behind the scenes look at how you do business. The goal here is to craft these things into relatable stories that
others are inspired to share. Okay, last strategy on
the list is newsjacking. The idea here is to find creative
ways to attach your brand to trending topics or trending news items. You can make a funny video
support a relevant cause, share your expertise by
publishing related content or just weigh in on social media. The options are endless, and the more that you
look for this kinda thing. The more that you'll find
that everyone from celebrities to big business use this tactic to remain relevant and newsworthy.
It's a very effective
strategy that can generate a lot of attention for your brand. Anyway, that's the list and
again, if you want more details or practical examples for
any of the strategies, click the like button and let me know in the comment section below. But when it comes to
choosing the best strategies for your business, I highly recommend that you
follow the bullseye framework from Traction by Gabriel
Weinberg and Justin Mares. It's a four step process
for exploring options, and then narrowing down the field to the most promising opportunities.
Step number one is to
brainstorm potential ideas. This is where you take time to come up with realistic scenarios
for each and every one of the 33 strategies that
we covered in this video. This is important because it's really easy to dismiss strategies that
aren't typical for your industry. Meanwhile, it's often these
uncontested opportunities that have the most potential. Step two is to select a
few promising options. Of course, this is
important because we need to dramatically narrow the field down to three to five options
that are most exciting or most promising for your business. That way you don't spread
your efforts too thin. Step three is to conduct
inexpensive tests. The goal here is to learn as
much as you can about each of the promising options without spending a lot of time or money. You can run inexpensive campaigns or if that's not
appropriate for the strategy that you've selected, you can do additional research to get a better sense of the opportunity. Finally, step four, it's time to select the
most promising option. This way, you and your team
can focus all of your efforts around capitalizing on the
single best opportunity for your business before
eventually revisiting some of the other
promising options as well.
Anyway, that's it for this video. If you have any questions, or if you have
recommendations for other ways to get more customers, please share them in the
comment section below. And be sure to subscribe to the channel and turn on notifications
if you wanna get an alert when new videos are
published in the future. Thank you for watching and
I'll see you in the next video..