Strategy doesn’t require a Harvard degree, nor does it have to drain the bank. With technology in our corner, there are simple yet HIGHLY effective ways to reach who you need to, to connect deeper, to brand yourself and your business, all while not spending a dime. Read further….

1. Determine the 10 people or businesses that you absolutely want to work with in the next 1 year. Then make a plan to build a relationship with them virtually and in person if possible.

   • Go to their blog, start making really good comments, give positive feedback, and answer questions. Don’t do this one time and think it will work, plan to do this for a few months at least.

   • Email this hopeful contact an article that you think will help or benefit them.

   • If you’re really aggressive, send a book that you think this contact would love to read to their office.

   • If you know that a contact will be speaking at a particular conference…. go if you can. Then if you plan to go, try to connect with the contact before the conference. Tweet them and let them know you will be there and would love to connect in person AND ask if they have any events they are attending pre or post conference ( I’ve gotten a VIP invite to a dinner this way)

   • Ask to interview the potential contact for an article, blog post, ebook, etc.

   • Offer to give a paid product of yours to your contact for free in exchange for advice or feedback on said product.

   • Determine how you could work for, work with, or volunteer for this contacts upcoming event or program.

2. Join forums in your industry. This is a ninja move and a very unused one. If you go to Google and type in your niche and put forum behind it, you will find some. For example, “florist forums” “ small business attorney forums” etc. This will be one of your BEST sources of leads, business, speaking engagements and exposure if you do it right.

   • Join the forum ( most are free) 

   • DO NOT start talking about your business and what you sell for at least 2 weeks

   • Go into the forum with the longterm mentality and start giving quality answers to questions asked.

   • Don’t try to answer everything or everyone, but position yourself as an “expert” in this forum, but picking a few subjects and giving a very detailed answer to the questioner. This tactic right here, if done regularly, will get you more exposure than posting what you are selling.

   • Plan to be active consistently in the forum, so you need to pick only a few very active ones, with engaged members from the beginning that you can be in for years.

   • After you have established a relationship with the forum, THEN mention that you have a launch coming up in a month of this AWESOME product that may just help a few people in the forum and reference some of the questions that you’ve answered, for example “ Mary, Sue, Jane, Angela, by the way, the question that you had last week, my product will help you greatly with that. I will definitely let you know when it is available. Also, I am looking for 5 reviewers of my product and I will pick all 5 from this forum”…..

3. Consider creating the holy grail of all lists, list with very useful information for your industry or niche and post it on your blog. This will keep people coming to your blog for this information AND your post will probably get picked up and shared by other bloggers. Some of our most useful posts are shared by many bloggers and gets us hits to our site- visitors who then read our other info. Here is an example of a content packed list post AND here are some places to send your article:

   • to 10 bloggers whose audience would benefit from the post

   • to many sites on this article submission directory

   • to contacts in your new forums that you are already seen as useful 🙂

   • on your social media channels

   • Also, consider creating a resource list like:

     1. top 10 questions to ask your accountant

     2. 10 places to go to exercise outside of your house

     3. the top ways to get your body ready for summer

     4. 10 things to do to prepare for your first speaking engagement

     5. 20 tools ( in your industry)  that you CANNOT live without

4. Repurpose your content. Consider these things for already created content:

   • Break it up into bits, have it designed from someone on fiverr and post on your business Pinterest board

   • Take your speeches ( speaking engagements) and break them down into blog posts or webinars

   • Take your articles/blog posts and use each topic, bullet point or number as a social media post. Reference (link) back to the entire article

   • Taking some of the holy grail lists and turning it into a small ebook that you give away and that continuously brand you and your company as a resource

• Use that same ebook that you just created and link back to a couple of documents that you made to accompany this ebook and that are resting on your website. For example, you’ve created an ebook on accounting, then insert a few links to worksheets or templates that you’ve created to go with it. Yes, you can add your company and social media info somewhere on the document, so even if they share it, or it spreads around ( this is what you want) your info is spread right along with it. Here is an example of one of our gifts, that also brands us the more it is shared and downloaded. Your audience will LOVE all of the content, probably find it useful ( as long as it IS useful) and people who are just visiting, will definitely consider becoming a part of your community from this. 

1. Create a video series. This has proven to be one of the most powerful components of our strategy plan and our audience seem to love it. But the catch is……. it MUST be useful. It’s can’t just be about you. Huge mistake. Make the series so focused on content, trust me, folks will want to know who you are after they watch. Create:

   • demos ( if you have a product that can be demoed)

   • how to, step by step ( Make each step a separate video. This keeps your audience anticipating and invites questions)

   • interviews

   • product reviews

• book reviews ( books that are relevant to your niche or industry) 

• for more create tips tools and strategies, you’ll love this….

1. Kind of like a digital business card but more powerful, consider writing a white paper, filling it with content, then adding your bio ( 1 page) and contact information at the end of the paper. White papers are really useful and strategic pieces to gain clients and especially consulting clients. And you will not only gain contacts, but more informed contacts. You will save time from answering questions of people who aren’t quite ready to work with you, then you satisfy the people who potentially want to work with you, that you know what you’re talking about. Then do this with your white paper:

   • add a link to it in your email signature

   • send it to all inquiries, so they can know a little more about me

   • send to all callers who potentially want to work with you- send them the link ( all who call as potential consulting clients or organizations who want me to speak, I send them this)

   • post it on slideshare, then link it to your Linkedin profile

   • add the paper to the resources section of your website/blog

   • I talk more about white papers and how to use them in your strategic planning here

When you are thinking about strategic planning, don’t make it hard. It doesn’t have to be hard or costly. There are many things, connections, and ways that we can leverage free, technology tools, social media, a little effort and elbow grease, and create the connections and business that we want ALL while bootstrapping. 

WHEW! That was just 6 eh? I have tons of ideas. Need an intense, project specific strategy session? Click here to see how we can work together. And drop me feedback in the comments… What strategic moves do you use that are FREE?