Side hustles are becoming more and more popular, as ambitious people find new and creative ways to make some extra cash alongside their regular day job. They are also a brilliant option for people who can’t work for one reason or another, such as stay-at-home parents or carers.
The great thing about side hustles is that they can be absolutely anything – from handmade products or foods that you sell to various services you provide, such as content creation through Tempted.com. However, no matter how good your products or services are, you will struggle to earn any money from it, unless you learn how to advertise and grow your business successfully. Here are some great tips on how to do just that.
Understand your audience
Research is the most important thing to do in any business and so it’s a great place to start. To be able to grow your business, you need to really dig deep and find out who exactly your key customer is. You can’t successfully market your product or service if you don’t understand your audience.
Look into the market of your business as well as your competitors: How are they operating? What prices are they charging? What is the typical feedback they receive? Try to also understand the behaviour of your consumer, such as where do they usually look for products like yours (is it on social media, on popular marketplace platforms or through individual websites?). This information will help you adapt to the exact needs of your audience, increasing your chances of success.
Gather positive reviews
As you first get started, your business will not have a lot of credibility. This means that getting your first customers will be extremely difficult, since they won’t be able to trust you yet. Therefore, it is essential that you establish a good portfolio and receive at least a few positive reviews early on.
Now, trying to do this may require some sacrifices. For example, you could give some of your products or services away for free or with a huge discount in exchange for a review. You won’t earn much profit from it, but the positive word-of-mouth will be extremely helpful in the long-run.
Start making connections
Networking is a huge part of most types of business, as it can help you broaden up your potential customers and meet other sellers with side hustles. Some of these people may be your competition, but that’s not always a bad thing – you can learn a lot from their experiences and share tips with one another. You can create such connections by attending local events or joining online forums and blogs, focused on your specific area of business.
Creating connections with your customers is essential too. Try to go above and beyond when delivering your services – show your customers that you care about their experience with you and try to take their feedback into account going forward. Things like that don’t go unnoticed, so when you ask your customers to spread the word and recommend you to friends and family, they will be more likely to do that.
Get creative with your digital marketing
While using print advertising or giving out flyers locally may get you some leads, digital marketing is king in this day and age. Not only should you be easily accessible online but also put some effort into your marketing campaigns.
Social media is one of the most impactful marketing techniques, which can also be incredibly budget-friendly. Such platforms as TikTok or Instagram give creators with no following or experience an opportunity to become viral and spread the message. If you are consistent with your social media efforts and put out unique and creative content, you are bound to get noticed by some customers.
Additionally, making use of the more contemporary digital marketing methods may also be important, depending on the age, demographics and lifestyle of your audience (this is where your market research comes in handy!). Email marketing and cold calling your potential customers can offer great returns when done successfully.
Paid advertising
If organic marketing techniques are not bringing in many results, you can also look into some paid advertising ideas. While this does mean a bit of an investment into your side hustle, it does not have to break your bank. For instance, a successful PPC social media campaign will only set you back £10-20 but could potentially bring in lots of new orders.
Again, depending on your audience, you can make use of a wide range of paid advertising techniques. A mention on the radio or in a local newspaper will work better with older generations who are less tech savvy. On the other hand, getting featured in a blog article or mentioned on social media (by someone with a considerable amount of followers) could go a long way with younger consumers.