There are many ways to market your online service business today. It is more difficult to creatively find ways to do it organically. So, how do you market your service business organically?
Not with ads or anything that will cost you money. These are ways I’ve learned to market my service business over the last 18 years.
Market Your Service Business Organically
In general terms, marketing your online service business organically is a natural overflow of who you and your business are. There are so many opportunities to do digital marketing organically today. I cannot list all of the places to market your business in this brief article.
We will discuss the following ways (see list below) to market your business organically.
- Client Referrals and Testimonials (including reviews)
- Online Directories
- Online Events
- Online Magazines
- Podcasts
- Website
1. Client Referrals and Testimonials
It may seem obvious, but many forget this marketing. It means asking current clients for referrals and/or testimonials. And I want to share specific ways to use both.
Referrals
It is always great to get client referrals from current or past clients. This means that you are doing something right because clients like and trust you enough to share your information with others.
How to Get Referrals
One of the ways you can obtain client referrals is to offer a discount to current clients if they will refer you to others. I always offered a percentage off their next invoice if the referral signed on with us. They loved that option.
You can also offer a reward for referrals. In other words, you give them a gift card or something similar when they refer you to others. People love receiving gift cards or gifts in general.
The gift card or gift option is also great when networking. You can offer a specific dollar amount to a big, well-known store (like Amazon) in return for their sending clients your way.
Reviews and Testimonials
Testimonials are always needed. They should be throughout your website so others can see what people are saying about you. Testimonials should also be shared as posts on social media on a recurring basis. Prepare a graphic, write out the testimonial, then share it on all channels where you have a presence. Share it on a regular basis.
When a client gives you a great Google review, you can take a screenshot (showing it on Google) and share it in a post as well as on your website.
How to Get Reviews & Testimonials
One of the best ways to get these reviews and testimonials is to ask! Simply ask your clients in a professional email. In the email, provide the link where you would like a review or testimonial.
Some may want it on LinkedIn or a social channel, but I suggest asking for Google Reviews because you can always copy those to your website. It is difficult for online service providers to get reviews that show up easily, so providing the link can help.
Not all clients will respond or do it, but a small minority may follow through. These will help boost your visuals even through sharing in a social media post saying something like, “We Love Our Clients…”
If you receive a Google Review, always respond to it. You can give a reply, yes, even to good ones. It is nice to acknowledge it, thank them or say how nice it was to work with them.
2. Online Directories
Online directories are big business and no joke. They work hard to get your name on their marketplace. Yes, they try to sell you premium spots on their list, but most directories offer a free listing.
Online directories make money from those premium spots that put businesses at the top of their list and in showcase places on their website.
You can always put money to test those ideal spots on their directory later. Then they have to prove their worth by backing it up with great SEO (search engine optimization). Their job is to draw the search engines to their specific directory over others. Usually this is done with SEO and by focusing on niche markets.
As we are addressing organic marketing, we should note that many directories offer a free listing. Most of the free listings are a no-frills one. It can mean that you do not get to add the little extras or even your audience or tagline.
Discern the best directories for you and which are most advantageous in your niche area.
Defining Online Directories:
You didn’t think I would get through one article without using a definition, did you?
“An online directory is a curated, digital catalog that organizes listings of businesses, websites, or people into searchable categories and locations. It functions as a modern, interactive version of the traditional print phone book (like the Yellow Pages), helping users easily discover specific services.” –Google AI
A big thanks to Quora and their “Assist” (AI program, I’m assuming). Quora is a great community to get answers to questions you have in general, but especially for your business. They did part of my job here by providing a huge list of directories (see below for part of that list) you can add your business to if appropriate.
Please do not list your business on every single one, because most directories have niched down, featuring specific business types and categories. Some feature contractors, painters, and home repairs as an example. This would not be a good fit for an online service business.
Make certain to check out the directory to see if it is a good fit for your business type.
Must-Have A Listing In These Directories:
- Google Business Profile — critical for local search and Google Maps; allows posts, photos, services, booking links, and reviews.
- Microsoft Bing Places — important for Bing search and Windows ecosystem; syncs to many partner networks.
- Apple Business Connect — influences Apple Maps and Siri results; increasingly important on iOS.
- Facebook Business Page — social + local discovery, reviews, messaging, and advertising gateway; good for consumer-facing businesses.
- Yelp — strong consumer review platform for local services, restaurants, and professional listings.
- LinkedIn Company Page — essential for B2B firms, professional services, recruiting, and content distribution.
Regional Directories
Regional directories are country-specific directories (you should pick ones for target markets), according to Quora.
- United Kingdom: Yell, FreeIndex
- Canada: YellowPages.ca, 411.ca
- Australia: TrueLocal, YellowPages.com.au
- India: Justdial, Sulekha, IndiaMART (B2B heavy)
- Europe: 118 directories vary by country (e.g., Germany’s DasTelefonbuch, France’s PagesJaunes)
- Latin America: Seccion Amarilla and local country directories
This same answer in Quora gives many more directory listings in several categories.
Categories Listed By Quora
- Large multi-category/general directories (free tiers)
- Niche – Industry-specific directories
- Aggregators and citation services – they help distribute your business profile for a fee.
- Specialized platforms for ecommerce
List with the “Must-Have” directories first, then move on to large multi-category directories. After that, you should begin to list in your regional ones. Followed by the niche and industry-specific directories.
If you want a detailed strategy for listing your business in these online directories, just click the Quora link, and you will find one at the end of all the discussion on directories. They did such a great job detailing this; I will not give you the steps here.
3. Online Events
Next, hosting online events is another good organic marketing strategy. I will warn you that this one takes a lot of time to do.
Steps to Hosting Online Events
- Create your event in your online hosting program. This may be Zoom, LiveWebinar, Eventbrite, or another program. You have to have a link to provide to those who sign up for the event.
- Make a list in your email marketing system to go along with your event. One that you will easily recognize. You can always add more to this list later if you do more events named the same.
- Connect your list to your landing page. This is where your form lives that should connect to the list you named for the event.
- Set up your automation. This may be the most difficult part for some. The first few times I did this, I think I sent out reminders after the event. It is helpful to map out your process and what it should look like to your audience (see the image below). Mind mapping tools can be helpful. Always double-check that the automation is working properly. Yes, this means signing up for your own event, checking that your name is added to the list, and that you receive the first email from the automation. [See the example below done completely from their AI tool]
- Prepare your presentation, slides, or talk for the event. This is the most time-consuming (from my experience).
- Marketing your event. Share with your audiences across different online platforms. Create your content, from digital media (photos, videos, & others and write the copy you will add to your posts. Don’t forget to add the event to your website (if your landing page for the event is not on your website).
- Follow up after the event. The automation should take care of some of this, but you may want to personally follow up with someone specific.
, Example of process for online events (from MindMeister AI).
4. Website
I hope I don’t need to tell you to have a website. It is imperative. It is your space and you own the domain.
You control the wording, photos, and videos on your website platform.
I always recommend SEO Blogging to clients. This helps them be seen by Google and other search engines.
The best way to be seen is by making sure your SEO is done well. This is especially important for your blogs. Fill in the keywords and meta description on every page.
Today, Google is not the only search engine out there. You have all the social media channels and other search engines.
5. Online Magazines
There are several other ways to organically market your business. A couple of those are podcasts and online magazine articles.
Getting featured in an online magazine. This is a bit easier than you think. Watch for others in your industry to see if anyone in your community has been featured. If you find who is featured in one, there is a good chance the same magazine would love to feature you (with a few exceptions from the larger ones in this category).
Examples
You may also receive invitations to be featured. Usually these magazines are trying to make money from your feature. However, don’t be tricked into paying for being featured. The few I have appeared in (examples are shown above) have all been free.
You can also visit my speaker page and see other places I have appeared.
6. Podcasts
Podcasts can be a little more difficult, especially if they have a large audience. There are many opportunities, however, in the smaller-audience podcasts. And for those who are still early in development or who are in a small niche audience.
If there is one you enjoy listening to, try to reach out to them to see what the process is to be on their program. Often their process is listed on their website, or they may have a form to complete on their website.
You can also join groups that offer opportunities. I know I used to belong to a group where podcasters could come in and announce they needed a guest on short notice. Sometimes they have cancellations or a guest is sick, and they need another guest quickly.
One word of warning about doing podcasts. Do not do all podcasts that you receive invitations for, as not all are a good fit. Listen to at least one of their podcasts and check out their website to discern who their audience is. If the audience is a good fit for you and you want to be a guest, then commit to it (after all the checks).
Final Thoughts
There are so many opportunities to show up online organically. Be purposeful in the way you do your appearances, blogs, and content. If you are purposeful, you will see that all online materials should represent your brand correctly.
I love helping women online service businesses scale. Helping you Work Less and Earn More!
Tammy Durden is an award-winning business coach and consultant who specializes in helping women online service providers grow a business to fit their lifestyle rather than squeeze a life around their business.
Tammy has established herself as an authority figure over the last 18 years while creating and growing several online service businesses. She is also a sought-after thought leader, course creator, and speaker in the online service industry.