The digital area and the World Wide Web offer a new marketing opportunity for small business owners.

Benefits of online marketing

If you're a computer savvy business owner and enjoy online activities such as texting, email, interacting on LinkedIn or Facebook, email marketing may be just the ticket for you if you're not doing it already.

From the comfort of your own office you can reach hundreds, even thousands of prospects and turn them into leads, and then into clients. You'll have the breathtaking experience of having HNW prospects chasing you.

The secret is having an E list. It's your list of names and email addresses of people who are interested in you and your services. An email list enables you to market your services in ways that would be impossible without it.

I have a list and an online marketing strategy that allows me to successfully market my services to thousands of my ideal prospects like you. They happen to be small business owners and self-employed professionals such as financial advisors.

I work 100% from my home where I can watch the deer and squirrels play (sorry no antelope) from my picture window.

I can promote my services by simply sending out emails like this one.

If you have an email list, you too can use it is a valuable marketing tool for getting new profitable clients.

Guiding principles

Here's the strategy. It's based on the law of reciprocity. Everyone wants to repay favors. It maintains a sense of fairness, even if those favors were not invited.

Research has shown that givers gain. Takers lose. Some people take and never give. They are viewed as selfish and mean-spirited. They gain little from their efforts because people resist and avoid them.

Most people take a 50/50 position. They're willing to give only when they see a probability of getting something in return. This careful, self protective position results in lukewarm relationships.

Some people give unselfishly. They are not motivated by what they hope to get in return. That makes a strong and genuine impression on someone when you give selflessly, generously and without the expectation of receiving anything in return. Most people want to pay such a person back. They feel good about them and like them.

Most people fit along a continuum. All the way from not giving at all and taking everything they can, like some notorious dictators. Others are at the other extreme. They give all the time, like Mother Teresa. She's at the positive end of this continuum.

The closer you are to the positive end, the richer your relationships, the more people like you and the more they want to give to you.

How to

Here's how to use the principle of reciprocity in your business. Send articles with helpful content to your E list. This is a tried-and-true strategy and is called content marketing. You give away free valuable information to build a relationship. You are far from a "giver purist" because you are hoping to get something in return, something big - a sale.

Go on social media forums and offer a little free financial advice. You can do this on Pinterest, Facebook, for example, but the best place for financial advisors and other independent professionals is LinkedIn. Go on LinkedIn and join as many groups as you can, not groups that are full of other financial professionals.

You want groups that are full of potential clients. These may be business owners who live within 50 miles of your office, for example. You can use LinkedIn's search function to find such people and the groups they belong to. Join such groups. Join the conversation. The most powerful thing you can do is join discussions and make helpful comments.

It used to be posting a link to your website that had helpful information was effective. It seems nowadays, spam aversive members tend to look at such posts as self-promotion. A self promoter is seen as a taker. You can get away with a little self promoting if you do a lot of giving.

Summary

Again, the best strategy is to have discussions where you offer helpful advice and once in a while post a link to your website with your offers. You'll be surprised when profitable prospects on LinkedIn start asking you to connect. You can start offering them helpful tips and then ask for a portfolio review. Statistics show that about 30% will accept your offer.

I know successful financial professionals that use this strategy almost exclusively. Give it a try. You'll be glad you did.

Special request

Do have colleagues who would find this information helpful? Be a giver and pass it along.

Warm regards,
Stan Mann