5 Unusual Ways to Find New Customers Online

Bringing customers to your website or e-commerce store is similar to bringing customers to a physical shop: you need to make your site a great place to be, and also get out there and tell people it exists. At boxChilli, we do both for our customers: we build great websites, and then do the SEO and online marketing that gets viewers onto the site. The 5 suggestions below have been chosen because they’re both unusual and simple.

1. Write a guest post

Your expertise is valuable, so spread it around! Contact a blog or website in your sector with a significant following, and offer to write a post on your area of expertise. How-to articles are a great way to show that you know your stuff and also give readers something of value. Negotiate with the site to include links to your own material.

Pro tip: Make sure the content is fresh and different from that used on your own site.

2. Leave a Comment

Encourage your team to leave comments that link back to your site. Comments should be genuinely useful as spam or nonsense comments can have a negative impact on SEO. Most blogs and websites encourage commenters to include their own URL in their profile, so having a standard company account can be a real benefit.

Pro tip: Don’t copy and paste. If you’re answering the same question repeatedly, create a blog post or article on your site, and link back to it.

3. Sponsor a Give Away

Everyone likes free stuff, and publications of all kinds do giveaways. Choose a blog, website, magazine or new outlet that will reach your audience and offer them something to give away. The links back will be good for SEO, and also attract new clients.

Pro tip: Magazines have to find giveaways on a regular basis, so don’t be afraid to make an offer, particularly if you can match the sort of thing they’ve given away before.

4. Send out Review Items

Print magazines often receive or ask for items for review, blogs and websites don’t. Send your product to key bloggers or reviewers and you’ll be rewarded with posts on their sites covering your products. Send a nice package and the reviewer will likely be in a good mood before they open the box. This is particularly effective if your products are relatively low in price, as you can send out dozens of items at a low price.

Pro tip: Don’t try to influence the review: they work best if they’re honest.

5. Make a Video

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth ten thousand. While there are hundreds of thousands of videos online, there are some major gaps in the market. Making a 2-minute video explaining the difference between a soffit and a fascia or talking through the features of a suitcase or hair dryer won’t make you into an overnight internet sensation, but if you fill a gap, people will find them.

Pro tip: Use a tripod. Shaky cam isn’t a good look.

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