Thinking it might be helpful for new entrepreneurs, small business owners, or those starting a practice or service, here are some ways I try to get clients. It can be a hard road, especially at the beginning, but try crafting a great online reputation as a building block for developing clients. First, Prepare Your Reputation Breathe. While not really directly about reputation building, start by trying to get out of fear–the fear could be about anything: lack of money, anxiety, not knowing what\’s going to happen. Personally, this has taken me a long time to not be afraid of what might or might not happen. Being in an anxious state shuts you down, and clients can sense this. Write. Create excellent content such as blogs, white papers, presentations, etc. that provide excellent solutions to problems your clients actually need. This is part of online reputation management development–showing that you are the expert in your field. Give Talks. Give away some key information for free as a talk or presentation. This could be at the local library, at an industry event or via a Zoom gathering. Then, Share and Connect Contact Leads. Email everyone who has contacted you about your service, and offer something that will help them. It could be the two items above, a related article, or a free brief evaluation. Also, see if they or someone they know are looking for your services. Feel free to ask directly for leads if you know them; approach them with more tact if they are \”lukewarm\” contacts. Contact Past Clients. Do the same as above, but since you\’ve worked with them in the past, you could be more casual and friendly. Try to schedule a coffee or lunch in person, if possible, soon (in the next two weeks). Remember that they could be looking for a new service you are offering or they might know someone–a friend, family member, their accountant, etc.–who needs what you do. Cold Contact. Find new people and reach out to them, even if you don’t know them. It could be an author of an article or an expert in your field. Honestly, this can produce limited results, but if done with a specific and well-thought-out reason, it could work. Examples might be asking a business in a related field to speak at a Zoom panel or offering a free ebook you authored. Do your research! Mutual Synergies. Seek out other businesses that are related but not direct competitors. If you know them, meet in person, and pitch ways you can work together. Connect with Competitors. Look at competitors and see how you differ. Maybe they are too big–or too small–for a project, which might be perfect for you. Meet in Person. Nothing beats an in-person meeting. It might not be possible or appropriate for some potential clients or related businesses but schedule a coffee, lunch, or gathering. Pick up the phone too. Follow up. Repeat the above steps several times. Reach out to your list with news, new services, helpful tips, articles, meetings and more once at least once or twice a year. These are just some brief ideas. I am probably missing several tasks, so feel free to add your own in the comments. Importantly, keep at it, continue to reach out to leads, and always build a positive online reputation. How Long Does Online Reputation Management Take? Each repair or brand building project is different and unique. Most projects average about six months to complete, although it could be a little less or more. In most cases, you can start to see an impact within a month. Why Does it Take So Long? Repairing your online presence is complex and requires analysis, site set up and time to take effect. For example, Google does not rank recently made sites highly, so it can take months for changes to be found properly by Google. Also, it takes months to create a genuine and trustworthy online presence where sites link back to you or treat you as an industry leader. Generally, an average project takes about six months to complete. What Can I Do If Someone Posts Negative Comments? You might not be able to stop the attacks, especially if they’re anonymous. In fact, you might not want to: if they don’t show up on the first page of your search results, it might be best to leave it alone; attempting to contact the poster could cause them to add additional negative posts.There are steps you can take steps to limit the potential damage they could cause, however. For example, maintaining an active presence on websites like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube can help give you a layer of protection from online attacks and also give you the tools to promote positive, truthful information about you and your business. Can You Stop Slander on Social Networking Sites? The Internet has made it easy for people–including competitors–to share opinions, and sometimes these opinions are slanderous or harmful. On many of these sites, if the comments violate the terms of service you can report the post as abuse at Facebook and YouTube. We also advise customers to engage in a management service to take control of your online presence. Being proactive and creating a positive profile helps prevent future negative content from appearing online. Engaging with a lawyer to take legal action, however, is very costly and might not be effective. What is Online Brand Building? Google has recently changed its algorithm so just search engine optimization is not enough to get your site visible. Online brand building includes SEO as well as social media and content creation, such as article writing and blogging and is the post effective way to generate traffic that lead to sales. Can Recover Reputation Make the Negative Results Disappear Forever? Sometimes we can completely remove negative posts, especially if it includes personal information such as social security numbers, bank accounts, and your home address, for example. However, the best plan is
