Offline marketing has become a legend in Internet marketing. It wasn’t that long ago that you couldn’t open your email inbox without seeing a message telling you that the best way to make money online is to market to offline businesses. It’s absolutely true. As a former offline business owner, I can tell you without a doubt that there are ways you can make money this week when you cater to offline businesses...this is even faster than online methods, in some cases. You’re basically going to give them an offer they can’t refuse. They’d actually be crazy to refuse because of what you’re going to do for them.
In fact this is the method that I would choose if I were desperate for quick cash, or had to start over, because I know I could do this easily, and it would help the local business owners in a huge way.
And even better, even though these methods are generally more about quick cash infusion rather than long term recurring income, with this method you can have both.
Business owners, of all kinds, are always looking for ways to make more money. And let’s be honest-- this is a tough climate for small businesses. People are spending less in certain areas and those mom and pop shops can really suffer. They’ll suffer even more if they’re not online...that’s where you come in.
This particular method may not be for you unless you are already familiar with WordPress and some basics of what a nice website for an offline business looks like. These things are easily learned, however, if you are willing to dig in to YouTube tutorials. This is a good strategy if the money pressure is severe, because you’ll get paid very fast.
The Basic Method
You’re going to research businesses in your local area to see who you can help with their website. The goal is to find those who need the most basic help with their online presence.
Go through the phone book (Yellow Pages) or your local chamber of commerce or wherever you can think of to get a list of small businesses in your area. You want to find businesses that either don’t have a website at all, have a very poor website, or don’t have an opt in form on their website.
If you’re using the Yellow Pages for your research, any local business that has a display ad in there is typically spending a lot of money on a monthly basis for their advertisement, and obviously knows that getting new customers is worth paying for.
This method does require you to be at least a little knowledgeable about the benefits of local businesses having a nice website and opt-in form.
You can outsource these technical tasks, but it will really cut into your bottom line at first-- especially since you’re going to price your service to lead to a very quick sale. You want cash this week, so you can’t afford to be that choosy. At the same time, know that this is a very valuable service. These businesses probably pay a pretty penny on other advertising methods that they can’t test and track...they have no idea if that tiny ad in the newspaper is really doing them any good. You’ll probably charge less and can offer measurable results...it’s a no-brainer for small business owners.
Hint: When it comes time to contact offline business owners, really point out that other forms of advertising cost more but can’t be tracked. What you’re offering is measurable and will get them more business. It will help them develop better relationships with locals, tourists, and so on.
For Businesses That Do Not Have a Website
You’re going to create a ‘starter’ website that is fairly generic, yet targeted to their specific type of business. That’s just so they have something tangible to look at-- something that can be theirs. You’ll complete the website with their specific information once they choose to hire you.
Make it very clear that you’re showing them the very bare-bones basics of what their site will look like. Try to paint a picture in their mind of what their site can be and do for them.
You’re going to give them an offer they can’t refuse, including free hosting for 3 months (just sign up for a Hostgator Reseller account).
You’re going to upsell them on an autoresponder service, monthly maintenance and marketing, and more.
For Businesses That Do Have a Website...
For businesses that do have a website but no opt in form, you’re going to put together some talking points on the value of collecting email addresses in their industry. The basic benefit is they will have instant access to anyone who signs up. They’ll get more sales, any time they mail their list. You’ll create an autoresponder campaign for them, and a squeeze page if it’s appropriate for their business.
You’ll make money for each of these services. Then, you’ll upsell the business owner by offering to maintain the autoresponder, website, and possibly social media for a monthly fee.
This can be a lot of fun and you can actually have cash in hand within a few days. In fact, the daily breakdown is going to be a bit different than with other methods. You’ll follow the steps according to when you get a ‘taker’, no matter which day that happens to be on. The faster you make a sale and transfer a site, the faster you can rinse and repeat.
Day One
Today, you’re going to research the local businesses in your area. You want to find those that will be a pretty easy target. You want them to have very little experience in marketing their business online. At the same time, your hope is that they know just enough so they immediately see the value in what you’re offering. Luckily, most offline businesses these days are aware of the benefits even if they haven’t quite followed through yet.
How do you find these businesses? You can break out the phone book. You can also do searches for general types of businesses in your area. Look at the listings in Google-- if there is an address and phone number but no website, you might have a winner.
Hint: If they have a website but you have to dig like crazy to find it, it’s not serving them at all. Explain your findings and how you can do better for them. Always focus on ‘what’s in it for them?’
I suggest targeting one business type at first. It will make your research much easier. Again, your local chamber of commerce should also have a website. Examine these listings for ideas.
You can read the remainder of this post or download it in PDF format here.
If you find this content helpful, you can find lots more like it, that you are free to use for your own purposes, at my site: http://www.PLRContentSource.com