Women Entrepreneurs Born with Secret Weapons for Online Marketing Success

Growth. What a beautiful word. We are all growing each and every day and our businesses grow right along with us. Women in business, though, have a unique edge, a secret weapon of sorts, that allows them to flourish and grow in times when maybe the economy isn’t so good or the market is on a downswing.

I’m Sonya Neblett, of TrulyTwistedMarketing, new Startup Princess Fairy Godmother and marketing expert specializing in the online environment and I love to connect with and assist others, particularly business owners. I know I’m not alone in this… I’ve seen it over and over again. It’s a common denominator that we women all share, a trait I believe we’re born with. Our businesses, clients, customers, co-workers are all personal to us. Personal in the sense that while businesses owned by women might be lucrative enterprises or are simply a means to pay the bills, the success of those businesses comes from the fact that they are extremely personal extensions of who we are as human beings, mothers, sisters, daughters and wives. They are reflective of what we know and love best.

Sound hokey? It’s not. In fact, that very thing, that personal connection we have to our businesses and clients and customers is what sets us apart. It’s our sweet spot, our angle to success that secret weapon I was just talking about. And, it’s what is sorely missing in today’s business world.

So, in keeping with that thought…let’s take that quality, born intuition, “The Gift of Knowing When and How to Personally Connect with Someone” and inject it into these five quick tips to grow your online enterprise.

1. Use the socialization of the web to your advantage. I’m talking about using tools like StumbleUpon, Digg, de.licio.us, Twitter and Technorati but don’t forget about online business networks, entrepreneurial networks and networks for women in business. You never know when someone you are networked with might provide you with a valuable resource, tip or piece of advice. AND networks are excellent places to throw out questions and even establish working relationships. Check out (Startup Princess, of course ☺), Biznik.com (business networking), Divapreneur (for women entrepreneurs), BlogHer (for women bloggers) and WebGrrls (for techy networking types).

2. Always, and I mean always, under-promise and over-deliver. In the eyes of your clients and customers, this will set you apart from the pack. Plus it will help in word of mouth marketing.

3. Advertise on blogs and on websites where your target market congregates. This also provides a great link back to your site. But be sure to check traffic stats and the estimated impressions your ad will get from the placement. You can check traffic stats at Alexa and BlogAds is a great place where you can see blogs that accept advertising sorted by market groups (they call them hives).

4. Use digital press releases whenever and wherever applicable. They are pure content and picked up by google, yahoo and msn almost immediately. Here are some places that will help get your release out there: PRWeb, Business Wire, Market Wire, PRNewswire

5. Be a resource. Establish your position in the market by being a resource to your market segment. Providing resource information for your customers or clients is extremely important because it legitimizes who you are, builds trust and furthers the relationship you are creating. It has a two-fold purpose though. It also legitimizes you in the ‘eyes’ of the search engines as a resource and when written with the searchable phrases your customers and clients are using to find you gives your SEM (search engine marketing) a healthy leg-up. The more content in the form of articles, buyer’s guides, and FAQs the better.

Ok. You’ve got your five fabulous tips and you know you are equipped with that secret weapon of personal connection. You are officially ready to jump start and inject a little growth into your business. Now, let’s get to it! And, as always, if you need a little help along the way, feel free to shoot over an email, give a call or leave a comment. We (over at TrulyTwistedMarketing) are always happy to help.

Sonya Neblett has just joined Startup Princess as a new Fairy Godmother marketing expert. She owns and operates TrulyTwistedMarketing where she does consulting and design for all things related to the internet with a focus on ecommerce and working with women in business. Her newest project is to spread the eco love with BestEcoStuff.com and BestEcoStuff.com/blog because going green is well…fun, fabulous and sexy. The site and blog are in the works, but feel free to check them out and leave your ideas and comments!