Entrepreneurs are successful because they have learnt the art of not only creating plans but executing said plans as well. A saying by Earl Nightingale goes thus, “All you need is a plan, a roadmap and the courage to get to your destination.” Invariably, this means that a plan on paper is worth nothing except there is a plan to execute.

The process of getting a product from start to finish is quite complex. It starts with your idea, which you have to bring to life through the process of creation. Next, you test the product to ensure it works as it should. Finally, you have to get the product to market.

If you thought creating a product was the hardest part, try selling the product. Selling is one of the hardest things to do. Why? Because you are dealing with the human mindset and the average human being is irrational. People are so set in their ways and it is really hard for us to accept a new way of doing things and actually change. As humans, we also have short-term memories and short attention spans. The average person’s attention span is 8 seconds and in a lot of cases, we have to see something about 3 – 5 times before it actually resonates with us.

With all these factors working against you, it can be easy to throw in the towel and give up, but not to worry, there is nothing a little perseverance and strategy can’t do to help you get your product to your ideal customer and get your business growing.

There are several ways to promote your products, one popular way is using a lead magnet. A Lead Magnet is something businesses offer to visitors in exchange for a contact, the contact could be an email, phone number or an address. The principle by which this operates is that people (visitors) come in contact with your brand. Over 90% of them leave without communicating with your brand, even when they stand to benefit from your product. By offering something (lead magnet), you get their contact and are able to talk to them about your product at a later date. A Lead Magnet could be a Sample, Articles, a Resource List, or a Report. It kind of operates on the principle of you give something to get something. Here are five ways to promote your products.

Using Articles.

An article is a short, non-fiction prose written on a specific topic. Articles can be used to inform customers about a specific product and can form a part of your content marketing strategy if it is already included in your marketing portfolio. You can use articles to promote almost any product like physical products, information products. Basically, the goal of writing articles is to enlighten your customers, you want to tell them why they need your product and how it can help make their lives better. Writing articles is not an easy thing to do, you have to be creative with words and images and like research. If writing is not your thing, you can pay someone to do it for you.

Using Guides and How To’s

A Guide is a document that assists people and shows them how to use a particular item. Some products may require that you inform users on the best way to use the product to get the best results, while others may need you to teach users how to use the product, or use it in combination with other products. Guides work best with products that are a little technical. Most guides come as instructions with the product but you can also create instructional videos to post on your website, or on social media as a way to promote the product. When you do this determine what to include and what not to include in your videos and always refer them to your website or store to order.

Giving out Samples.

Some people like to try a product before they buy it, you can package your products in smaller sizes and hand out to people for free. Samples can work for any type of product, you need to know the best way to package them. For physical products people use, you can package then in small mini sizes, which make it easy to hand out. For food, you can package them in sample sizes or create a stand where you prepare taste size portions for people passing by. For books, you can hand out a chapter of the book. Samples have been known to increase sales because according to researchers, people are more likely to buy a product after getting a sample because, for some reason, we feel like we owe for the sample and try to pay by buying the product.

Coupons and Discounts.

Coupons are another good way to promote a product. A coupon is a voucher given out to customers which allows them to get a discount on a particular product or service. Coupons work because people love to get a good deal, in fact, people can actually buy stuff they don’t need because of the savings. You can print out coupons to hand out to your customers or send coupons by text or email. You can also give out coupons for a particular product and actually attach it to the product or the label.

Affiliates.

There is nothing that can make a product sell faster than having people talk to others about the product. In a lot of circles, these people are called referrals, which essentially is getting people who have used your product to tell others their experience, in a way convincing them to try it as well. This can happen organically, or you can offer an incentive to someone for a referral. An Affiliate is a person who has some form of attachment or connection to a larger organization, which could be in an official capacity. As a business, by getting people to rave about your products can help promote your business and increase sales.

Promoting your products and your brand is a must do, and you must do it constantly if you want to grow. Employing any of this options or a mix of them can be beneficial to your brand.