Best Practices for Digital Entrepreneurs
Here are a few best practices to help you position yourself online as a digital entrepreneur.
Refine your message
To best position your brand in front of the right people, it’s essential to have a clear and refined message.
Ask yourself: What is the one thing you want your audience to know about what you do? This can be as simple as, “I want to simplify complex processes” or “I want to inspire people to start their own business.”
Once you know what drives you and what you want people to take away from interacting with you online, it’s easier to determine what your strategy will be, such as which platforms you want to be on and who your target audience is.
Know your audience
Once you’ve defined your key message, it’s important to hone in on who that message is for. Every type of entrepreneur has an ideal customer. If you want to position yourself in front of the right audience, then it’s essential to know how to reach and communicate with that customer.
If you’re not quite sure where your ideal audience hangs out online, research your customers or clients. Figure out which platforms they spend the most time on, whether that’s LinkedIn, Instagram, or even email, and focus on one platform at first.
Next, determine how best to communicate with your audience. Do they prefer to read long-form content like e-books? Or would they rather watch a short video clip? Does your audience enjoy inspirational messages or do they want to stay informed? Knowing all of this will help you find your audience and speak to them in a way that resonates with them.
Whether you sell software or offer private coaching, building an online community is essential for every type of entrepreneur.
Building a community around your business is key to creating relationships with your target customer, building trust, and ultimately increasing brand loyalty (which often translates to sales).
A couple ways to build community online is through a newsletter or social media platforms. These outlets are a good way to communicate with a large number of people in a shared space.
But if you want to take the idea of community one step further, it may be worth it to start a membership site. Not only do membership sites act as a resource for your community, but they give people a chance to connect on a more personal level than they could on social media platforms.