Hi,

I am currently developing a niche which includes small rural businesses. As they are all geographically remote, cover a large area and not particularly active online ie twitter, online networking, how do I make that important link with them that will allow me to promote my business to them?

I expect to concentrate on artistic professions ie artists, craft producers, writers, as well as more traditional coaches, consultants. The latter group are usually quite visible and active online but the more artistic community is not so much.

Is it appropriate to contact them via their website contact form with a short message which states what I do and that I would like their permission to send them some information on how I think I could help them? If not, does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

Sue

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Gray VA Services - Virtual Business Support
www.grayva.co.uk

My husband is an artist and participates in online forums and also belongs to art and craft organizations. You might be able to connect with people through Yahoo! Groups using such words as art and craft. You could also research craft and art guilds, which generally are based on their medium, such as basketry guild. Google "art magazines" and "craft magazines" then buy some to review. They will have articles about organizations and guilds, which are likely to have online forums.

Good luck to you.
Leanne

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WorkSmart, Administrative Assistance
When one of you is not enough

Before sending a note on their website, check the website out and see if you can decipher anything about where they do spend their time - if they're an artist - do they mention a show they attended that you may be able to contact the organizer to see if you could sponsor the show or offer a goodie bag to each of the participants? Do they mention any websites they frequent that you could check for forums and the like? One great thing about small areas is that if they have a (semi) local paper, the cost of advertising is quite cheap and that may be an option as well.

What did you learn about your ideal client when you were determining that this would be a good niche for you to work within? What do they like to do? Where do they spend their time? Try to put yourself in their shoes and figure out where they're hanging out and then make sure you're there too.

I don't think it's wrong to approach them via their website, but in my business, if another company emails me via my form, it's 99% trashed right away. It would also be a lot of extra work for you to source the client, find the website, find the form and submit. It's kind of like cold calling for the 21st century.

Good luck with your niche and if you have any questions - come on back and post'em!

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Thanks for the advice. I was worried that the contact form method was too much like cold calling for my liking and therefore more likely to be ignored. I had decided to start visiting craft/art fairs in my region to try to meet people in my niche.

I suppose the real issue was for those out of my area. There are a couple of particular areas that are out of my region but are rich in the types of clients I am hoping to attract. Perhaps I need to contact as many of the online groups as possible and ask them to put the word out to members.

Sue

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Gray VA Services - Virtual Business Support
www.grayva.co.uk