If i am to offer a service and im willing enough to try and find clients as opposed to putting up a website and just hoping that they would find the site, if i contacted them individually through email/contact form on their site with an email showing them that i have taken the time to look at their site properly and then tell them what i could do for them, how would you personally see this?
Im fully aware of the whole issue of spam, but this is not a case of mass mailing with a generic email.
Also i intend to target locally, within the city that i live and possible surrounding areas, i intend to link to the site that i plan to build for this but each email will be individaully for each company.
Im not thinking so much of volume because i think theres nothing to be gained from blindly emailing companies, but rather seeking out companies who i think i can help with my service and that are severely lacking.
My other more recent thought regarding trying to get clients was to drop leaflets into local companies but this doesn’t seem like such a good idea for the reason that i would literally need to see if they have a website first which would require quite literally walking by and seeing if their sign also mentions a website address or looking them up online first and of course a leaflet cant be suited to each company, plus ive even thought that it then takes the receiver of the leaflet extra effort to enter the url, plus less chance of the leaflet reaching the right person if i dropped it into a reception.
So to be 100% clear, im not talking about spamming, no mass emailing.
Instead actually putting in effort, checking out the website of a company before contacting them by email.
I would appreciate your overall thoughts and opinions on this, as long as im polite and the recipient can see that its an email meant for them/their company, i think it has a better chance of being read.
Hi Steve, i can totally understand that, i like your suggestion regarding establishing a relationship on first contact rather than trying to sell so quickly.
The whitepapers and reports approach i would definately be comfortable doing, it does make a lot of sense that a fee offering like that could be a polite, informative way of beginning to gain their trust.
I plan to offer marketing services to them and i think it would be worth spending some money in the early stages to help get their attention.
Thanks very much Steve for your suggestions and advice, its very much appreciated.
Thanks to all the garbage I get from other companies pitching their services/products to me I personally have a hard time seeing unsolicited email as a good way to get new business. If you can comply with whatever unsolicited email regulations exist in your country (If you’re in the US then CAN-SPAM would apply) and use your first contact to start to establish a relationship instead of making an immediate sales pitch, then I think you might have some success with email, but like everything else in the world of marketing you’ll need to test and see what works best for you.
What’s a good offer to send the first time you contact someone? Whether you’re using email, direct mail or display advertising, I think a free offer of some kind will almost always work better than anything else. I like offering free whitepapers or reports that can provide your prospect with some immediate value while demonstrating your expertise - and these are also a great way to get someone on your email list so you can continue to market to them over time. Offering a free simple service like a website critique to show them where their website could be costing them money is something that could also work well, but again you need to test to see what kinds of offers work best with the folks you’re trying to reach.
Lastly - I don’t know just what services you plan to offer and how much you stand to profit if you get one client - but if you’re selling something where you could profit a few hundred to a few thousand dollars or more - don’t be afraid to spend some money to get the attention of your prospects. Which would get your attention more…an email or a priority mail package with a free informative whitepaper inside?
Hello DCrux, the service that im talking about would be marketing their site for them, just just to clear things up, im not talking about offering a redesign or insulting them but rather showing them where they might be losing out on potential business.
You mentioned better luck by not using the contact form but i dont see alternatives that could look better, for example just phoning them with an offering can appear rude, as mentioned already the leaflet approach seems less than ideal.
Unless you mean specifically trying to find the email address of the business owner so as to be more direct?
Im aware of when trying to convince someone to take up a service or buy a product from you that its about informing them of the benefits, thats why i intend to contact each company only after having done my homework on their existing site and seeing if i can help them, if i check out a site and it looks like its doing well in the search engines then theres less reason for me to contact them, and quite possible that they have someone dealing with that side of things for them already.
Thanks for the link btw, im going to read it after this reply.
Hi Ted, i agree that its a bad approach and rude to point out that a website looks or is bad, this is not my intention, because i intend to market them im not going to use that approach, if anything i will compliment them on what they have so far and can explain how business can be increased.
Where many internet marketers say they will do this and that but quite often wont be doing what they say they will, they also dont take into account ROI, and i can understand that a client spending money on marketing services wont stick with a marketer for long if they dont see some gradual improvement and a return on the money that they have invested.
Because im not trying to sell them design or development or to critique their site, i feel that im already on a more positive approach path.
For them to see that i have actually visited their website and looked at things properly, seeing that they dont show up for the very services/products that they offer, instead of sending out a random email (which i myself receive quite often) which are very unprofessional and are obvious that they haven’t checked anything.
As i mentioned, im not talking about volume, i intend to target locally for one reason that should they be interested and wish to have a meeting that i can travel to these potential clients.
DCrux, why are you being rude with me? Ive started a polite thread and been modest enough to ask questions and im more than open to views, input and everything else and you’re replying to me like i woke up yesterday and decided to be an internet marketer.
Im nearly 34 years old and have been involved in marketing my own sites since 2005 and done some work for others occasionally.
I dont know what you mean by enjoy the next two years?
You’re not looking at my post count and instantly thinking that means im new are you?
Please tell me why i have a lot to learn and lets see if the opposite happens and i might end up teaching you something, you even took for granted that i must be a designer or a developer.
Why not ask me, im polite with you, why be so awkward with me?
I haven’t announced anything to the world, i dont call myself anything to be perfectly honest, im not here to compete with other peoples business.
Lets try and stay polite with each other and keep this thread on topic, i started using sitepoint recently because im so disappointed with dp, dont let this be another dp.
And that service would be …another site they’re just hoping someone finds?
if i contacted them individually through email/contact form
You’ll have better luck if you Do Not use the contact form. About anyone will tell you why. . … And just what clued-in business savvy service were we talking about offering?
Oh yes. Sites designed with the understanding of why 1) The target decision maker may not be reading email from the contact form. 2) How people respond to solicitations on their contact form, even when the target is the one going through them.
Im not thinking so much of volume because i think theres nothing to be gained from blindly emailing companies, but rather seeking out companies who i think i can help with my service and that are severely lacking.
If you think what you’re offering is an improvement, then targeted, individual email discussing that particular site might work. But execution matters.
And whether prospects agree what you suggest is an improvement. Standards, CSS replacement of tables, and cool web 2.0 graphics or CMS aside, what’s in it for them?
Take those cherished standards away and quite a few developers are at a loss as to what they could offer. They have every intention of using these solutions, not too firm a grasp of what client problems they solve (without creating other problems)
So, you’ll do better if you can add some problems (other than your need for money) to go along with all the solutions.
i understand what you mean when it comes to getting that foot into the door. One thing is that you can call them up and create a relationship with them and compliment them about something you like about them. And then from there tell them what you do.
Also you could send the a very professional post card to tell them you are offering services and that you think that you can help bring them more leads and generate more profits.
You could also email them with your url link and then when they check out your site, have a opt in for local marketing secrets or something to that effect to get them on your list. This means they trust you because you are showing them something that they would want to know. And then email them every 3-4 days with a local tip and then offer your services with a link. and a discount for a limited time.
We will stop here i have just been reading through some of your other posts and you’re entertaining to say the least, lol, i notice that you have a tendency to rabble when replying in threads but could reply which much more simplicity.
You clearly do a lot of reading, i admire that, though i dont admire where you think this has taken you.
If i may advise you, see the sig links that you have there, never forget that its easy for others to see how you are as a person, easy to research you, easy to be put off by you, for all you know i could have been looking for what you offer in the near future, not very wise to be rude is it.
Im not sure why you’re so agitated, and i did reply thanking you and all the rest.
Once again i thank you for your input, as i do Ted too, i wish you all the best and will stay out of your way on the forums, although if you choose to reply in another thread that i post in theres nothing i can do about that.
I have taken everything on board that you have said.
Im still open to others opinions on the thread topic, thanks.
There’s nothing wrong with reaching out to potential clients, that’s marketing. However when you’re talking about a local business you want to focus things simply on how you are going to grow their business and drive a profit out of the cost. Many people try to convince businesses that their site is bad, this is a poor tactic that may insult the business, or simply be irrelevant (a less than perfect site doesn’t mean it isn’t doing it’s job).
Offer a solution to help their business. Not a better design. Not better code. Not better technology. This of course means being more than just a designer / developer, you have to be strategic and show them how you will help innovate and push the envelope to get them more traffic, more integrated with the latest trends in social and education, more conversions, and more results.
