Many online business owners get strung up over the branding or marketing of their business.
Cold-calling and selling can be a toe curling experience, so why not hide behind your internet business? You can remain safely anonymous at home and wait for people to come to you, right? Wrong! Find out more in branding online - 4 simple steps if you hate to sell.
Although I like your way of thinking, staying safely anonymous means that's just the way you will remain - anonymous! It is so important to take the bull by the horns and understand how to use branding to make your business successful - even if you are the shyest person in the universe.
So where do you begin? First of all, if you really have an aversion to branding yourself or marketing, maybe now is a good time to ask yourself whether you are in the right career.
Is online business really right for you? One of the key aspects of online business is the branding and selling of your product and there are ways to get your message across without directly dealing with a customer.
The knub of marketing is to take your brand and learn the process to get yourself known in such a way that you will create an interest in your potential buyer.
So, for branding online - here are my 4 simple steps if you hate to sell: 1) Feel the fear! Look it squarely in the face and figure out which aspect of marketing you hate the most.
For instance, do you curl up with embarrassment at the prospect of telling a complete stranger about your offer? Do you feel wimpy when discussing aspects of your product with your customer and think they probably won't want it anyway? What is the hub of the problem? Once you know, move on to number 2.
2) Educate yourself.
Once you have identified what the problem is, do something about it.
In the examples above, the main problem is lack of knowledge and confidence in the product.
But, you can overcome that.
You can educate yourself by learning all the benefits of your product and the problem that it will solve for buyers.
This will instil confidence in your brand.
3) Use the right medium.
If you don't like the idea of chatting to people on the phone because you get really nervous, brand yourself on video! Make a video of what you want to say and do a voice over.
Upload it to the internet and simply direct customers to your video link via article, email or facebook.
That way the deed is done once and will work for you 24/7 - even while you sleep.
If you don't want to do the talking - ask a friend of family member.
4) Outsource to Fiverr.
Fiverr is a website that costs $5 for every request placed there.
If you still feel weak at the thought of branding yourself to customers, pay someone else to do it for you.
Simply work out your budget, create a sales message, make a list of telephone numbers and place a job on Fiverr.
Be specific in how you explain your task- eg "I will pay $5 for someone to Skype my message to 15 people".
If your budget is $20, you will have contacted 60 new customers that day! All the Fiverr person has to do is read out your message and point the customer to your website.
Simples! If you think branding online is too hard for you, think again! Although it involves more than following 4 simple steps, there are a myriad other ways to get your business to the forefront - you just have to find out what they are and do what others do.
Make a decision today to invest in yourself and get yourself known.
I hope you have enjoyed branding online - 4 simple steps if you hate to sell.