Jump start tips for Inbound lead generation for Startups
1. Pick a name that sync with your business. Needs to be simple, memorable and unambiguous. Either a “.com” or ".biz" or ".in" domain should be available, for the name you have chosen.
2. Get a Business Email, preferably on Google Apps, on your own domain - Why Google Apps? for now, just get it done, you will surely thank for this advice later!
(Quick tip: If not opting for GApps, get a Gmail account, it helps in having G+ profile, Youtube Account, Your contacts, leads, all managed centrally via a single account)
3. Put up a Good website. The goal is to put enough content on the site to get your pages indexed. Make sure to use a decent content management system (CMS) and not Dreamweaver or FrontPage, but a Joomla, Drupal, DNN, Wordpress. Wordpress would be a good choice due to sheer number of paid and free themes available. Go for Cloud hosting, it is cheap, and can grow when your business grow.
Make sure your site is working on Mobile and all other devices, you should ideally opt for RWD+CMS+HTML5 website. For websites, you could end-up spending nothing or thousands of $$, but what you get is what you pay for. So, free website can only take you thus far.
4. Get some links into the new startup website. If you have a personal website or a blog, link to it from there as well. Also, ask your friends with websites and blogs, to link to your new site. Ask your close friends who participate in Answers / community / forums. Ask them clearly not to spam and instead, let them spent time and answer to queries/content if related to your site - and when they are answering via such forums, they can link it to your blog or website as a "source"
5. Create Company listing on directory portals. Look up for good b2b portals and local directories and list your company there.
6. Setup a Twitter accounts. Name of the Twitter account should preferably match your company's domain name. Link to your Twitter account from your website and to your website from your Twitter account.
7. Add a business e-mail subscription. Allow interested people to sign-up to get an email about your product or service. A simple email sign-up form is sufficient.
8. Get a nice logo plus branding colors and fonts . What looks just OK is not OK. So, please take professional help here.
9. Setup a Facebook business page for your start-up. You may not get many fans in the early months. That’s just fine for now. Just add a simple description of your startup, link back to your website, add photos of your business partners, videos if any. Do upload the logo created in step #8
Refer the strategy to achieve Social Media Goals, refer this link http://slidesha.re/13JGo1k
Remember to have genuine, human touch and be yourself, share the updates about your firm, share the next big project, photos of your workforce, office etc...one share/post per week is good to start with.
10. Setup a blog. If you have a created a CMS powered website in step#3, it would have been easier to create a blog setup, but nevertheless, you can use one of the free hosting tools (like blogger.com), but not in their domain instead have it like blog.mynewsite.com but never make it mynewsite.blogspot.in. The reasons are many, don't bother for now, i will tell you the reasons later, but you can quickly refer my other blogs (visit techbizmarketing.blogspot.in if you need the answer right away)
11. Write a blog article describing your goal and challenges you are facing as your are setting up your start-up website, twitter account, blog etc...please put it up in your own language, and DO NOT copy!
Being honest works,
12. Update your LinkedIn profile. Mention your new Startup company's vision, and add a link to your new website.
13. Get business cards printed. Please remember to keep the logo and branding picked in step#8 is maintained throughout.
14. Setup Google Analytics (GA) for your website and see where the traffic is coming from, and from where it is not coming. How is it growing? What keywords people are using to find your site?
Do spend daily at least 30mins on GA, this should become an addiction, hope you know what i mean. When you see the numbers picking up, you will get addicted for sure!
15. Device a Pull with Content Vs Push Advertisement Strategies, Content with pull works in the long term.
You might still need Push Strategy (read Adwords PPC Ads. FB Ads, or Email Marketing in the short term to generate sudden surge of right set of audience)
For more details and for a jump start on startup incubation on web, there are plenty of trusted options like Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program and TobocBiz's Startup Starter package
1. Pick a name that sync with your business. Needs to be simple, memorable and unambiguous. Either a “.com” or ".biz" or ".in" domain should be available, for the name you have chosen.
2. Get a Business Email, preferably on Google Apps, on your own domain - Why Google Apps? for now, just get it done, you will surely thank for this advice later!
(Quick tip: If not opting for GApps, get a Gmail account, it helps in having G+ profile, Youtube Account, Your contacts, leads, all managed centrally via a single account)
3. Put up a Good website. The goal is to put enough content on the site to get your pages indexed. Make sure to use a decent content management system (CMS) and not Dreamweaver or FrontPage, but a Joomla, Drupal, DNN, Wordpress. Wordpress would be a good choice due to sheer number of paid and free themes available. Go for Cloud hosting, it is cheap, and can grow when your business grow.
Make sure your site is working on Mobile and all other devices, you should ideally opt for RWD+CMS+HTML5 website. For websites, you could end-up spending nothing or thousands of $$, but what you get is what you pay for. So, free website can only take you thus far.
4. Get some links into the new startup website. If you have a personal website or a blog, link to it from there as well. Also, ask your friends with websites and blogs, to link to your new site. Ask your close friends who participate in Answers / community / forums. Ask them clearly not to spam and instead, let them spent time and answer to queries/content if related to your site - and when they are answering via such forums, they can link it to your blog or website as a "source"
5. Create Company listing on directory portals. Look up for good b2b portals and local directories and list your company there.
6. Setup a Twitter accounts. Name of the Twitter account should preferably match your company's domain name. Link to your Twitter account from your website and to your website from your Twitter account.
7. Add a business e-mail subscription. Allow interested people to sign-up to get an email about your product or service. A simple email sign-up form is sufficient.
8. Get a nice logo plus branding colors and fonts . What looks just OK is not OK. So, please take professional help here.
9. Setup a Facebook business page for your start-up. You may not get many fans in the early months. That’s just fine for now. Just add a simple description of your startup, link back to your website, add photos of your business partners, videos if any. Do upload the logo created in step #8
Refer the strategy to achieve Social Media Goals, refer this link http://slidesha.re/13JGo1k
Remember to have genuine, human touch and be yourself, share the updates about your firm, share the next big project, photos of your workforce, office etc...one share/post per week is good to start with.
10. Setup a blog. If you have a created a CMS powered website in step#3, it would have been easier to create a blog setup, but nevertheless, you can use one of the free hosting tools (like blogger.com), but not in their domain instead have it like blog.mynewsite.com but never make it mynewsite.blogspot.in. The reasons are many, don't bother for now, i will tell you the reasons later, but you can quickly refer my other blogs (visit techbizmarketing.blogspot.in if you need the answer right away)
11. Write a blog article describing your goal and challenges you are facing as your are setting up your start-up website, twitter account, blog etc...please put it up in your own language, and DO NOT copy!
Being honest works,
12. Update your LinkedIn profile. Mention your new Startup company's vision, and add a link to your new website.
13. Get business cards printed. Please remember to keep the logo and branding picked in step#8 is maintained throughout.
14. Setup Google Analytics (GA) for your website and see where the traffic is coming from, and from where it is not coming. How is it growing? What keywords people are using to find your site?
Do spend daily at least 30mins on GA, this should become an addiction, hope you know what i mean. When you see the numbers picking up, you will get addicted for sure!
15. Device a Pull with Content Vs Push Advertisement Strategies, Content with pull works in the long term.
You might still need Push Strategy (read Adwords PPC Ads. FB Ads, or Email Marketing in the short term to generate sudden surge of right set of audience)
For more details and for a jump start on startup incubation on web, there are plenty of trusted options like Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program and TobocBiz's Startup Starter package
Good content
ReplyDeleteHi nice and valuable tips which are useful for me, i like the way you explained these things. As a person who is fresher in this lead generation services these tips are very helpful for me in boosting up my career.
ReplyDelete