50 different marketing channels.

It's January, you're stuck for creative marketing ideas.

Fear not! Here's 50 different marketing channels to try, to nail the perfect sales strategy. ??

You don't have to use them all. Selecting, testing and improving your purchase funnel is an ongoing process. All marketing funnels can experience periods of dryness, so it’s important to understand how to innovate with new channels.

Once you’ve learned the process of channel selection, testing and improvement, you’re set for life. ??

This is an extract from 'Lean Marketing Strategy' available from mid February. ??

If you'd like to order a copy of the books I wrote on content marketing or social media, you can get them here:

Right. Let's go!

50 marketing channels:

• Viral marketing - create content that users find so valuable, they share it for you ??

• PR - contact magazines, newspapers and blogs
• Paid PR - approach magazines and trade press for paid content
• Unconventional PR ?? - do something so unusual, publicity finds you. The guys at BrewDog are especially good at this. They brewed the world's strongest beer and served it in stuffed animals:

• Search engine marketing - beat the organic results with pay-per-click
• Social and display ads - target certain users based on their social media
• Offline ads - hard to track, but good for local boosts. Local directories, local papers and advertisers often offer good deals in January. Billboard advertising is tricky, but some brands nail it:

• SEO - boost your organic search ranking with content ??
• Content marketing - content that your customers are interested in
• Email marketing ?? - communications via email, warming up leads
• Tool based marketing - build a product that draws people in (a calculator, a tool etc.)

This calculator by Halifax is perfectly engineered to suit their customers needs. ??

• Target bloggers - reach out to bloggers or influencers in your niche
• Business development - partnerships that result in recommendations
• Affiliate program - reward people who help sell your services
• Community building - via social network groups
• Lead magnets - create quizzes, resource lists, calculators, eBooks, reports, infographics, educational videos, audios or physical books
• Sales - ring up businesses and ask for their custom ??

Cold calling isn't as unpleasant as you might think.

Just make sure you have something to offer, and you're clear on getting your message across fast.

• Webinars - online tutorials to boost lead pipeline
• Free session - offer a free 1-2-1 ??
• Free trial of your product
• Newsletter - build a group of regular email subscribers

Everyone's a bit scared of email since GDPR.

As long as you've got a legitimate reason to email someone, you're absolutely entitled to. But do check before you press send, if you're uncertain.

Here's a good guide to navigating GDPR:

If it was good enough for Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, though? ??

• Email course - offer a course through a series of emails

• Giveaway - offer the opportunity to win free stuff ??
• Case studies - write case studies of your best work, host on your website
• Google My Business - list your business in Google’s local directory

• Google reviews - encourage customers to leave positive reviews to boost your rating
• Google My Business posts - post weekly to boost your profile in the right hand side of Google
• Video marketing - grow a YouTube channel ??
• Podcast - grow your own, or appear on others

• Brochure - produce a printed brochure for use in direct mail or in F2F marketing
• Trade shows ?? - attend relevant trade shows, reserve your stand
• Offline networking events - search your key terms in Eventbrite to find a litany near you

My old coworking space, DeskLodge, ran some lovely networking events.

Start close to home, and work your way out, if you're nervous.

• Speaking gigs - these can be arranged for free, or can be paid opportunities
• Direct mail - send prospective customers information in the post ?
• Instagram - create an Instagram for business page, develop video stories, grow a relevant following
• Twitter - create a business account, share your content and retweet others

There's loads of great people on Twitter. Finding them is half the fun! John Espirian is definitely worth a follow.

• Twitter chats - join industry specific chats, or create your own ??
• Twitter lists - build a list of relevant industry experts, potential clients and colleagues

• Trial products - offer low cost ‘loss leaders’ or gateway products to entice others
• Offline events - organise your own regular event
• LinkedIn pulse ?? - publish content onto LinkedIn’s own platform
• Medium - create a magazine and edit the work of others, or grow your own profile
• LinkedIn connections - add connections in your niche
• LinkedIn Inmail - allows you to cold email prospects ??
• LinkedIn Ads - target a group of professionals with an offer
• Word of mouth - often neglected, come up with a referral incentive, tell your customers and ring past clients

DoubleTree by Hilton serve every new guest a warm cookie. I can't get over this tactic, it's pure genius!

And probably the best example of a word of mouth strategy, ever.

• Expert Q&A sessions
• Video tours and interviews ??
• Thought leadership - white papers, eBooks and reports based on research
• In person seminars and workshops

Phew! We made it. Well done to get to the end, and thanks for reading.

This article is also part of a series, designed to help LinkedIn users make the most of marketing in 2019. You can read the others below:

• 76 LinkedIn marketing ideas
• 80 free marketing ideas
• 99 things I learned from my business in the first year
• 40 ways to Brexit-proof your marketing

I write content for a living. If you'd like me to help you with marketing in 2019, give me a shout!