Getting new customers for nothing

[Just love Gardening]

Getting new customers for nothing
I have been working in my business for seven years and have worked very hard building up my client base, spending up to a third of my time chasing new customers. A few years ago I set up my internet site http://www.justlovegardening.net/ and was hoping to get new clients that way. The problem with my internet site was, if I want more customers I needed more internet traffic. After many hours of researching and listening to so called internet experts, the only way I was told to get more traffic, was pay per click like Google. In theory pay per click works, although the cost made it totally uneconomical for my lawn business. Even when pay per click visitors came, I still could not figure a way to convert them to lawn clients without offering silly discounts or giveaways. I just didn’t know who my internet site visitors were, so it was pretty much a waste of time and money.

Now the good news that all businesses want.
I found a free way of getting internet traffic to my site, and the big thing is, it is also a way of collecting my internet visitor’s details, so I can contact then to discuss what they want in the way of lawn care. It’s like set and forget, because when I want more customers I just make more free internet traffic.
How I did it.
I was doing a Google search for “Star Cities International” and found this free SMS promotion I put on my website, I think it is called Richleads, but you find it by the search I did.
If you have the term free as a keyword and you have a free service on your website, search engines pick this up and your site will be featured in the search results on the main part of the Google page. Free is one of the most searched words on the internet, and having free SMS is very popular. Put these key words together with all the words that relate to my lawn business, you get more traffic and more people interested in lawns. The best part is people have to register through my website to get the free SMS service and I get their contact details to follow them up.

Now, simply do what is described in the above, click on the Home & Garden category, or what category best suits you, choose a promotion suitable for your own site, fill out your details and you will receive your promotions for approval and once approved you will receive an email with the code to put anywhere on your internet site.

So far I am happy with the early results, mainly because it hasn’t cost a cent.

Alan

[kathiemt]

Hi, you haven't introduced yourself, given your name or anything so I don't know who I am addressing.

I've had a look at your site but really and truly, I feel you need to get it done professionally. However, given your industry and the areas you cover, I would expect you'd get more customers through the local newspapers, letterbox drops and the Yellow Pages in the locality guide.

It's great you're on the web and I suppose you probaby have the URL on your car/ute or whatever you're driving? As that would be another way to get people to your site. However, I feel your site doesn't do justice to your business, the adverts or whatever at the top is very distracting, the image blurred and the SMS thing at the bottom looks amateurish. Sorry, but that's how it comes across to me.

Unless you were only here to try and get hits and nothing else?

[Hugh Thyer]

IF you're spending 1/3 of your time acquiring new clients then you should try this.

Write up a flier offering to mow people's lawns FOR FREE. Then explain that you want to grow your business and so you thought the quickest way was to show people that you're the best gardener that they can hire at no risk to them.

So you spend one hour doing their lawns and if you do a good job, put them on a monthly mowing/gardening program and you've got a regular client for life.

[Lucki]

hi Alan,

Welcome to the forum, great to have you on board.

I just had a look at your website and would have to agree with Kathie the main image on your website looks blurred and could be off putting. You have some great photos in your photo album particularly of the gardens and I think these images would be better suited to promote your business.

Good luck with everything.

Cheers
Lucki

[Just love Gardening]

My brother put the website together with a zero cost outlay from myself. Yes , I'm sure if I put in hundreds / thousands of dollars , I could get my website looking quite flash.
Will look into this as my income increases with my website presence. Thanks for your input

[gigglemedia]

Thanks for sharing that tip Alan, I'll keep it in mind as a strategy to recommend to some of my clients where relevant. I've hear mention of something similar but nice to know it's working for your business.
-- May