Your target audience must know who you are –– a solid solopreneur.
Solopreneurs are at the forefront of the entrepreneurial movement. Based on its most recent stats, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) classified 81% of small business owners as solopreneurs — entrepreneurs with no employees.
But this means competition is tough. So how do you stand out?
The answer is advertising. Leverage the opportunity and reach a wealth of potential clients with these five types of advertisements. It’s time to take your small business to newer heights.
What is advertising?
Advertising is a marketing strategy that involves buying digital or physical space to promote a product or service. Companies use advertising to spread information about their goods and services and convince people to buy them.
With technological developments, conventional formats –– such as billboards and radio advertising –– have made way for modern media, including digital marketing, display ads, and mobile advertising.
Technology also helps businesses target consumers and monitor their ad campaigns’ success. Now, companies combine traditional advertising platforms with new advertising mediums to reach the masses and stay up-to-date with modern trends.
Why is advertising important for solopreneurs?
Your genius idea, product, or service needs to reach the audience –– and advertising is your best friend.
Don’t believe us? Take a look at the following examples for proof.
Apple began with a single computer in a garage, IKEA's founder used a cash reward to sell stationery items from a tiny shed, and Nike first operated from a car trunk. These companies had revolutionary ideas and products. But without the right marketing, they would never have achieved the multi-billion conglomerate status we know today.
Advertising is essential for any small business, especially solopreneurs. If clients don't know you exist, how will they buy your products and services?
And while you may not have time to indulge in advertising as a solo business owner, it’s worth the time and effort to learn different types of advertising. The good news is there are tons of marketing techniques ideal for solopreneurs.
5 different forms of advertising for solopreneurs and client businesses
Given a solopreneur’s solitary nature, time for research and advertising can be hard to come by. We’ve done the heavy lifting for you. Here are a few different offline and online advertising methods well-suited to solopreneurism and client-based businesses:
Direct mail advertising
Direct mail is a traditional form of print advertising. Businesses send ads –– including brochures, flyers, and newsletters –– directly to consumers.
For example, if you start an online tutoring business, consider sending leaflets to residents within two miles to notify them of your services. You can also include a discount voucher for first-time clients or referrals to attract new clients.
Podcast advertising
Podcasts are a great way to advertise your business online while earning additional income. You can also pay other podcasters to advertise for you. Companies generally pay podcasters to include ads for their products and services. These play at the beginning, middle, and end of episodes.
If you run a podcast, you can earn money for a short ad slot and ask the publishing company to promote your episode –– a win-win situation. Plus, you can dive into topics you want to discuss, giving listeners a feel for your personality and services.
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Social media advertising
With 4.89 billion global users at the time of writing, social media is one of the best avenues for business advertising. Target specific demographics based on location, age, purchasing patterns, etc., and customize branding across all platforms to create a consistent and professional brand image.
For instance, to promote your tutoring business, you can collaborate with social media influencers, bloggers, and other users based on your account's insights. These individuals can promote your services through a post, making it more cost-effective than a full-blown marketing campaign.
Paid search advertising
Paid advertising, often called pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, is a marketing method where companies pay for every ad click. Using this strategy, you can bid for specific keywords related to your business. Higher bids have eye-catching product placements and digital ads on websites and search engines, like Google’s first page.
For example, a small coaching business uses "coaching services" while bidding. Users searching for the term will see the company's ad in their search results, resulting in the business’ high engagement levels.
Display advertising
Typically, display ads pop up while searching the web or watching a YouTube video. These ads usually look like a banner and appear at a web page’s top, bottom, or side.
In display advertising, brands encourage users to click on the banner ad, which typically includes a follow-up call-to-action (CTA), redirecting them to the company's website and persuading them to purchase.
6 marketing tips for your solopreneur business
You’ve decided on an advertising style and are ready to take on the world with your stellar products and services. Incorporate the following tips into your advertising strategy to carve your niche:
- Set daily goals: Start each day with a plan. Even better — list all your attainable objectives the night before, and you'll be ready to go first thing in the morning. Check emails, reply to clients and reviews, and see what people say on social media. Use the feedback to improve your targeted ads.
- Keep an eye on the competition: What are players doing with their ads? Have you noticed something going viral or another being ineffective? There's plenty to learn from others' successes and failures. Run a competitor or SWOT analysis to understand your rivals and where you stand in the market.
- Use storytelling: Create ads around a central story. People love a good brand backstory, especially for a client-focused business like coaching that revolves around human emotions. Storytelling makes your brand relatable, helps form connections, and encourages customer loyalty.
- Build a website: Your website is your business’ identity and a must-have for any solopreneur's marketing toolkit. Link it to your socials to turn leads into buyers. Usually, ads redirect to websites, and search engines boost brand awareness by ranking them at the top of the result pages.
- Leverage social media ads: Small business owners prefer social media over other digital advertising channels. In fact, 67% of them use social networks to market their companies.
- Automate your business: It's impossible to be everywhere at once. But not for automation software. These tools help take some weight off your shoulders and save time so you can focus on creating appealing ads.
Find success as a solopreneur with Practice
Scaling a solo business is challenging, but we can make your life easier with useful tips and tools.
Our free blog is an excellent resource for solopreneurs, small business owners, and coaches. Learn how to promote your business for free on social media, along with other handy marketing plans and coaching methods.
A Client Management Software tool doesn't hurt, either. At Practice, our professional systems, designed with coaches and solopreneurs in mind, help store client data, manage payments, and streamline your workflow –– all in one place. Try it today.
