small business marketing ideas

heathcote123

Micky_d wrote: »

Hi, I haven't posted for a while and since then I have qualified as an electrician. I want to set up my own business in a bid to get back on track, to clear down some debts having been unemployed for 6 months.

I have used any spare cash that I had on a small van and tools but I desperately need to do some marketing and advertising to let people know I exist.

I know there are many more experienced people out there than me and want to know how to market and advertise for as little as possible and what would give me the best response.

Every company, newspaper and magazine I have spoken to want several hundred or even thousands of pounds which I do not have.

Any help will be gracefully accepted:eek:

I am absolutely not an 'seo consultant', but I can tell you what worked for me (and brings in new clients free on a regular basis, my business is IT support)

You'll need a website - don't do it yourself if your not a web designer, it will look crap. Speak to local web designers & work with one that you feel comfortable with and doesn't promise you the world. Target it at your locaility (assuming thats where you want the work, easy for small towns , trickier for large cities as much competition). You want to be minimum of first page for 'electrician yourtown' on google - maybe use the town name in the domain.

Setup a blog for blog.yourdomain.co.uk seperate to your website, whenever you get an interesting job or problem, write a bit about it. Technical details regarding electrical stuff, google will love you for it. Get links wherver possible from any other sites - not spamming forums etc, but things like trade organisations, suppliers etc. Don't expect top rankings immediately, it can be a long haul.

Personally I found local papers,yell etc a big waste of cash, but the site, which has cost me next to nothing other than a few hours here and there brings in the contracts.

On another note - if you've just qualified, don't you think it might be an idea to take a regular job to learn the ropes & the trade before starting a business? There's a lot more to most jobs than an exam.

pitkin2020

just to make you aware this is quite an old thread, just in case you didn't notice. All good advice though.