subject: Start Your Online Business and Watch it Grow [print this page] Start Your Online Business and Watch it Grow
This is not a guide on how to start your online business, layout a sales page, or how to get traffic to your blog. Instead, this is an article on how to gain connections for your own online business. This can be done in many ways, and I am just going to show you a few that are easy to initiate and use in your small business today.
Offline Connections for Your Online Business
Offline connections can be the most valuable way to get online connections. Marketing conferences and conventions are a very big thing in the Internet marketing community. They usually occur on a semi-annual basis and are very large gatherings. If you get a chance to attend one, it will be the best network experience of your life. This is where people go to learn the newest tricks of the trade, and more importantly to mingle and meet new contacts.
Social Media is the Key
Now, with the popularity of social media, it would be a business killer to ignore and not take full advantage of all forms of it. Everyone should have accounts on the big three social media sites: Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIN. Each of these serve different purposes and each would be used in your business in a different way.
Twitter is the best way to keep your current clients and potential customers up to date. With Twitter, you can even keep them up to the minute about what you are working on, and keep them informed all the time, 24/7.
Facebook is the best way to get your face out there. I know that may seem obvious by the name, but not everyone uses it to its fullest advantage. You can really get yourself out there and target people and groups of people that are potential customers.
Not enough people, even in business, know about LinkedIN. It is a social network created just for this purpose. It is made to help you network with other business people online and off. It lets you put a resume online, post a job history, and connect with groups within your niche. It is the best resource available to any online business person, no matter what niche you are in.
Good Communication = Successful Networking
Communication is also a skill that you will want to practice and hone for the rest of your career. Networking is the best tool we have in business and the best potential money maker I can think of. If you try your hardest at making connections you will be able to build the best online business that you can build. As I said at the beginning of this article, this is not a guide to starting a business; but, if you follow these simple steps, it will be easy not only to start your online business but also to watch it grow.
