“Abbey Ryan has painted a new painting every day for 8 years. Isaac Asimov published 400 books, by typing every day. This is post #6000 on this blog. Writer’s block is a myth, a recent invention, a cultural malady.” – Seth Godin

During my recent social media bootcamp with small businesses and entrepreneurs, we spent close to an hour of the four hours discussing blogging and writing articles. I am a huge advocate and reap the benefits of writing two blogs a week as a way to drive traffic and engagement however, it isn’t an easy process.

Whilst I will always say that blogging is a great traffic driver, there are other ways you can talk about your business, and what you do “on the side”.

To fill this void, some might turn to paid advertisement. This can work, but remember that people buy from people, and most “people” hate the hard sell, and actively use ad block software, along with a blatant avoidance of anything advertorial.

So, what can you do to drive more traffic to your business? You can use side product marketing.

Crew; a web designer and development agency were almost down and out. They had only three months left of cash, no marketing budget and no customers. After their new website design, they had some pictures left over, which they decided to give away for free.

They used a Tumblr theme to launch their “side product” Unsplash in just three hours. This side project became their saviour. Unsplash generates 11 million unique visitors a month and is now a stand alone product which has helped them save their original business.

To be successful at side product marketing, you need to be giving something away that is of value, to have the chance to sell something related.

How do I use side product marketing?

I am a social media and digital marketing expert that specialises in business growth within small businesses. This is what I do, BUT, there are multiple ways I can market what I do.

I have many downloads on my website that I give away free of charge, as part of my side product marketing. I have a simple & effective social media guide that once you give me your name and email address, you get to download. You then become a part of my email marketing strategy where I can market my services.

Other examples

One of my channel partners; Creare has also utilised side product marketing. They are a digital agency, that has a side product called a Digital Health Check. They give away a free report, that gives a business a better understanding of their digital marketing health. This is where they can cross market their services.

One of my clients, FiftyFiveandFive which help Microsoft partners communicate more effectively, reach new audiences and drive leads has a great side product called Blog Analysis. Their free tool assess the core components of your blog and provide guidance on how to improve it – this is how they up sell their main product.

Now you know what side product marketing is, and how it can be used, what can YOU do to utilise your business and drive more traffic?