On the Internet

• 1). Start a website and have a presence on the Internet. There are many "free website building" websites that can be found on the Internet. One such website is Office Live Small Business where the website, design tools and web hosting are free. This website also provides site traffic reports showing how many visitors there have been, a contact-management system allowing frequent contact with visitors and online business applications that assist in managing your online business.
  
  
• 2). Begin a blog writing short bits of information about your business. Blogs are a way of providing up-to-date information about your industry and valuable topics customers need to make an informed decision when choosing a bookkeeping business. Blogger, Blogspot, WordPress, and 360 Degrees are free blog sites to choose from, and all provide directions for getting started.
  
  
• 3). Ping your Blog, Pinging will let the search engines know when you have put additional information on the blog. Ping sites include: Pingomatic, Google, King Ping, Feedshark, AutoPinger and FeedBurner. You will need the name of the blog and the blog url address and the ping site will send out the pings.
  
  
• 4). Place a classified ad on many websites for free. This type of Internet advertising, for a small business, provides exposure just like classified ads in the newspaper. Place an ad in CliQs.com, Hoobly.com, DomesticSale.com, webclassifieds.us, pennysaverusa.com, or finditclassifieds.com. The content for marketing a bookkeeping business should focus on what individuals need and how your bookkeeping service can fill that need. Benefits for a bookkeeping business would be "reduce tax liabilities", "respect your privacy", or "peace of mind".
  
  
• 5). Use the social websites to market a bookkeeping service. Create accounts on Craigslist, MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Become part of those communities and become known as an expert in the field.
  
  
• 6). Write articles about topics potential customers would find interesting and submit them to prominent article directories such as ezinearticles, goarticles, and articledashboard. The resource box will be about your expertise in the industry and have a link to your website or blog
  
  

Personal Marketing

• 1). Make business cards and hand them out to everyone you have contact with. Make a list of businesses within a five mile radius of your location. According to Universal Accounting, "With this list, you will want to go to the library or city/county clerk's office and obtain the owner's name, mailing address, and type of business. This information is available to the public from the Business License records." Mail out a letter of introduction along with several business cards.
  
  
• 2). Create a joint venture with businesses that can refer clients to each other. Tax preparers can send their clients to a bookkeeping business and vice versa.
  
  
• 3). Attend trade shows. Trade shows are a way to meet people, be visible in the community and generate new customers.