HowTo: Marketing Efforts of a Startup -- Part I

Ok, so Property Stampede LLC is still in its infancy. We don't have a finished product nor an office. We are working on setting up the mail server and have not decided on a design for our business cards. And yet, we already have users signing up for our early beta. We must be doing something right...

Before I go on with this post I would like to tell you a bit about my experience and knowledge in marketing. I have been self employed for 3 years. Being self employed I have learned a great deal about word of mouth marketing and first appearances. I have learned that customer service far surpasses technical expertise. Not to say that anyone can be an IT Consultant, but what I am saying is that by no means am I the most decorated consultant out there. I have no formal training, I have meet people that blow my mind away when it comes to technical expertise, but I have been extremely successful with my clients.

I have had my blog for almost 4 years, actively writing for almost 1 year. I have learned a great deal about online and offline social networking through my involvement in BNI, local chambers, linkedin and others. Building networks is important and essential to marketing a product, services or yourself.

The two things that I have learned is that great customer service and strong relationships with friends, family, colleagues and other complimentary professionals will build a great foundation towards a successful marketing campaign.

Now to our marketing efforts for the soon to be #1 Property Management Application on the web.

Step 1: Tell Everyone
Hey we are starting a company! Tell everyone! Tell family, friends, co-workers / colleagues, and clients. You may be surprised who is and who isn't interested.

Step 2: Get Domain Names
Its hard to find a good domain name... but guess what? You have to. You have to find a domain name that makes sense but contains at least one of your top keywords. Once you find a domain name, find one for your blog. Once you have those two, think about if your business is one that will go global in the future, if so register those domain names in the countries you think you would expand to first.

Step 3: Update Social Networking Profiles
For those of you who are knee deep in social networking sites, this is a no brainer. But for those of you who are just getting your toes wet, go sign up with linkedin, facebook, myspace and twitter just to name a few. There are hundreds more, many that surround specific industries. Pick the best ones to match your startup and be thorough. Fill out the entire profile and begin networking. If there is a Q n A section, join in the discussions and share your expertise. Don't be a slouch and don't just spam plugs of your startup the whole time. Provide valuable information and people will learn about your startup.

Step 4: Focus on Your Easiest & Cheapest PR, Your Blog
Be transparent. Tell your audience how your progress is going. Tell them what you are trying to do and your planned time line on completing it. Remember proof read and stay professional... but keep it personal.

Step 5: Tell Everyone! Again...
Tell everyone again. Point them to your blog. If you wish you could select the people who you think would be genuinely interested in your startup and sign them up for email subscription to your blog. Let them know that you signed them up and that they could unsubscribe at any time. Get traffic to your blog.

Listed above is just some of the things that we have done up to this point. I will post part two sometime next week.

Chris