How to Effectively Sell Your Services Online
When you work as a freelancer or offer a service business, it could be hard for you to get your first customers – especially if you don’t possess the experience or credibility. Finding a reliable source of prospective consumers or customers who require your services can be tricky. Luckily, there are several ways you can effectively sell your services online. Whether you are teaching, creating web designs, or selling homemade scented candles – there is a wide pool of prospective clients you can reach out to online. One of many important things to consider before getting online is to look at the different internet providers, and plans for your area then pick the one most suitable for you and your company. Below are a few more factors on how you can also effectively sell your services – no matter what they are, online.
Before you get online
Here are some things you must be able to do before you get online to sell your services:
- Have a thorough understanding of your services and what you intend to offer your customers.
- Condense everything you know about your services into a brief explanation that catches the attention of prospective clients.
- Know who your prospective customers are.
- Have a thorough understanding of the type of message your prospective customers are ready to receive.
How to establish an online presence
- Create a website
To be able to sell your services online, the first step is to have an online presence to let people know of your business. This is where having a website is essential. Your website must contain any information that will be useful to your potential clients and help build trust in you. The necessary pages include:
Home page: Informs visitors about the services you offer.
Portfolio page: Showcases the quality of your work.
Services pages: Provides a breakdown of all the services you offer. Consider investing in business insurance as this gives your business more credibility. Find out more here.
Testimonials page: Written testimonials and video testimonials from happy customers.
Customer reviews: Social proof of your services in action.
Contact page: Lets your visitors know how they can reach you.
Having a website is not enough. Your website must be search engine optimized to ensure increased organic traffic and drive potential leads to your website.
- Create a blog
Blogging is one of the best ways and most important ways to promote your services online. It provides your readers with free and valuable content that helps readers gain trust in your brand. But there are several thousands of blogs online, and to make yours stand out, consider providing content that your readers find relevant, informative, and useful. Also, don’t be afraid to talk about the benefits of your services and why your readers must invest in them.
Most importantly, ensure your blog contains relevant keywords. Keywords are all the terms that your potential customers are looking for when searching for services you offer. When these terms match the keywords that you use, search engines will direct these potential customers to your blog.
How to reach out to new customers
While your website and blog are a good start and critical to establishing an online presence, they are not enough. There is a wide pool of online potential customers that must still be tapped into.
Social media platforms: A strong social media presence can help you connect with your target audience on a one-to-one basis and help you nurture potential leads into customers. Social media marketing allows you to advertise your services, answer questions, increase your brand awareness, and grow your business’s online following and revenue.
While you don’t need to have a social media presence on every platform available, it would be beneficial to be on platforms your potential customers use. A thorough understanding of your prospective customers will give you fantastic insight into the platforms they use.
Networking: Networking with industry influencers, influential bloggers, and industry leaders can help you promote and sell your services. Professional networking sites like LinkedIn and local networking groups can help you grow your business online.
Freelance platforms: There are several freelancing platforms you can make use of to advertise your services online. These platforms can help you extend your reach to people who use these platforms to search for specific services they need. You can include your qualifications and experience in addition to the services you provide and your contact information. Once you create an account on a freelance platform, ensure you stay active there to catch potential customers as they arrive.
Fiverr, FlexJobs, Freelancer, Guru, Moonlighting, Hubstaff Talent, PeoplePerHour, and Toptal are just some of the well-known freelance platforms. As well as these, there are industry-specific websites that you can use as well. For example, AquaMobile, Lingoda, and Skillshare are some websites to offer your teaching and tutoring services. Handy, HomeAdvisor, and Jiffy are some websites you can offer your home maintenance and repair services.
Conclusion
Services are not tangible like products. So, the key to selling your services online is to sell yourself and get people to trust you enough so they want to do business with you. You must be able to showcase your real value online, engage with potential customers regularly, build trust, and deliver on your promises.
References
HostGator. 2018. How to Sell Your Services Online: 5 Steps to Getting Started. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.hostgator.com/blog/sell-services-online/. [Accessed 19 January 2021].
Dummies. 2021. How to Effectively Sell Your Product or Service. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.dummies.com/business/sales/how-to-effectively-sell-your-product-or-service/. [Accessed 19 January 2021].
FirstSiteGuide. 2020. How to Sell Your Services Online. [ONLINE] Available at: https://firstsiteguide.com/selling-services/. [Accessed 19 January 2021].
Looka. 2020. 60+ Places to Sell Services Online and Grow Your Business. [ONLINE] Available at: https://looka.com/blog/places-to-sell-services-online/. [Accessed 19 January 2021].
Selz. 2019. Selling Services: How To Sell Your Services Online. [ONLINE] Available at: https://founderu.selz.com/selling-services/. [Accessed 19 January 2021].Thomas Digital. 2021. How to Sell Your Services Online – The 4 Stages of Conversion. [ONLINE] Available at: https://thomasdigital.com/sell-services-online/. [Accessed 19 January 2021].
