In today’s digital-everything world, nearly every business—no matter how small—has some online presence. From websites and social media to e-newsletters and mobile apps, it’s virtually impossible to survive in today’s marketplace without having a digital footprint.
However, building your company’s online operations and making money from them can be challenging unless you have a background in online marketing. This is why we are offering five tips for monetizing your company’s online presence, so your business can thrive and grow in today’s highly competitive digital marketplace.
1. Offer premium content
Consider offering a paid subscription or exclusive access to certain content on your company’s website, mobile app, and other digital media. Premium content could be in the form of blog posts, webinars, ebooks, videos, podcasts, or an exclusive members-only area that requires users to pay a fee to access. If your online platforms have a large enough audience, you can even offer other businesses the opportunity to sponsor your content for a fee for exposure.
These days, you will find a wide range of easy-to-use, digital-content platforms that allow almost anyone to create premium content that’s immersive and visually engaging. Some platforms target web designers, but even people with no skills or experience in web design or code can create interactive content that generates more web traffic to your online outlets and earns you money simultaneously.
If you are going to have a paid subscription with premium content, contact us to review your subscription terms and conditions. Setting clear boundaries on the use of your intellectual property (IP) is an often overlooked hole in your legal foundation that we can help you fill.
2. Create user-friendly e-commerce features
If you sell physical or digital products, you can set up an online storefront where users can purchase them directly through your sites or third-party platforms, such as Amazon or Udemy. Alternatively, users can purchase and download digital products directly from your online outlets.
Just remember, people shop online for convenience, so make the shopping experience quick and easy for customers. Examples include an easy-to-navigate digital storefront, fast shipping options, and superior customer service.
And if you have a fulfillment partner that packs and ships your products, these vendors must offer the same high-quality service as you do. If a customer’s online shopping experience is fantastic, but their shipment takes weeks to arrive or is damaged when it arrives, you’ve likely lost a customer. Have us review all of your vendor contracts to ensure your business is protected from any of the impacts of errors by a vendor.
3. Make money by collecting user data
If your website and other digital platforms collect data from users, such as email addresses and additional demographic info, there are several ways your company can make money with this data. One way is to sell the data to third parties for market research and advertising.
Alternatively, you can use the data to improve your products and services, attracting even more customers to your brand and generating increased profits.
Collecting data can be risky business without the right privacy policies and website terms of service. If you haven’t had a recent review, ask us to review yours for you.
4. Use affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is performance-based marketing where you earn a commission for promoting other people’s products or services on your website or digital platforms. Companies typically do this using an affiliate link, and you get paid based on providing a specific result to the company you are partnered with.
Typically, the result is a sale. In addition, many other affiliate marketing programs pay you for leads, free-trial users, website clicks, or app downloads. Many affiliate programs are free to join, so startup costs are usually minimal. You can turn a simple side hustle into a true money-making venture with minimal effort using affiliate marketing.
And by offering affiliate marketing partnerships to your vendors or other companies you do business with, you can make money and build valuable relationships. If you are going to use affiliate marketing, make sure you provide your affiliate partners with all the proper disclaimers they’ll need to share about your products when they are promoting you, so you do not run afoul of any of FTC rules inadvertently. Don’t know what disclaimers you need? We can help.
5. Invest in online advertising
Different online advertising options will help you market your brand, spread your business’s message, and engage your customers with targeted marketing campaigns. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, website banners, Google Ads, or pay-per-click advertising, the goal of any successful advertising strategy is to get a positive return on your investment. This simply boils down to earning more revenue from your ad campaign than you initially invested.
Personal newsletters and targeted email campaigns, in particular, will help keep customers updated on company news, like the opening of a new location or the launch of a new product or service, and to promote your products and services directly to your customers’ inboxes, which can generate increased profits, while keeping your brand at the top of mind for your most loyal fans.
Before you invest in online advertising, make sure your websites have all the needed terms and conditions to give your ad campaigns the best chance of being approved by Google and other online advertising platforms.
Expand And Secure Your Digital Operations
If you’re serious about growing your digital footprint, sit down with us, your Personal Family Lawyer® with business planning expertise for an evaluation of your legal, insurance, financial, and tax (LIFT) foundations. We can help you identify opportunities for growth and review whether your LIFT systems support your digital expansion. Contact us today to get support.
This article is a service of a Family Business Lawyer™. We offer a complete spectrum of legal services for businesses and can help you make the wisest choices on how to deal with your business throughout life and in the event of your death. We also offer a LIFT Start-Up Session™ or a LIFT Audit for an ongoing business, which includes a review of all the legal, financial, and tax systems you need for your business. Call us today to schedule.