Have you read Michael Port’s book entitled Book Yourself Solid?

This book is specifically designed to teach small service based business owners how to increase the number of their clients.

In his book, Michael describes 7 core self-promotion strategies. The first four are the mandatory strategies that every business should be doing:

  1. Networking (networking with people you already know)
  2. Direct Outreach (marketing to people that can help you build your business)
  3. Referral from people who are a fan of you and your business
  4. Keeping in touch with existing and past customersThese are the foundation marketing strategies which will give you the most results. You know how they say that 20% of your business comes from 80% of your efforts? Those first four are where 80% of your business will come from.

    The next 3 strategies are optional and should only be used if it is amongst your strengths:

  5. Public Speaking. If you think about it, this is the inverted funnel model. One speech to many people. This is probably one of the fastest ways to get clients quickly.
  6. Writing Articles -- On the web, in newspapers, magazines, newsletters, blogs, forums, etc. You can even offer to have your article published in other people’s publications… as long as you get credit of course.
  7. Web/Social Media -- These are tools to help you interact with potential clients, build mailing lists, etc.

Of course having your own website is almost essential these days. You don’t have to start out by creating the authoritives web destination of choice for your particular industry. Many people on a tighter budget might start off with the single page business card site, the 1-2 page sales letter site or the 4-5 page pamphlet site, which includes pages such as Home, About, Contact Us and Our Services.

With the Smartphone revolution going on right now, you may as well go with a solution that enables you to easily offer a mobile version of your site.

Check out the first two chapters of Michael Port's book "Book Yourself Solid" on his website.

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