Whether you’re a freelancer or a small business owner, you’ll eventually have to promote your work online. But, with so many platforms to choose from, how can you make sure you hit the right note?

To help you figure out what works and what doesn’t when marketing your business online, we gathered 15 unique ideas from the best minds in digital marketing. Each idea focuses on a different area that you can test out with A/B or multivariate testing. So, whether you’re looking for ways to grow your email list or want to try out a new method for converting website visitors into paying customers, these ideas will help.

1. Create a video overview of your business.

One of the best ways to establish yourself as an expert in your industry is to create a video overview of your business. You can use your phone’s camera to record a quick video of yourself providing an overview of your company’s services and the importance of those services to your customers. You can also use a software like Canva to create a mock up of a slide presentation and then simply record a few sentences to describe what the video will be about.

2. Measure the success of your video marketing strategy.

Videos can be used in many different ways to promote a business, so it’s essential that you measure their success. To do this, you can use a tool like Google Analytics to track video plays and clicks. You can see exactly which videos were the most effective at drawing in audiences and then determine what works best for your business – maybe a video explaining the product or an animated clip showing the benefits of your service.

3. Test out different types of videos.

If you run an eCommerce store or sell your own products directly to customers, videos can be an extremely effective way to promote your business. But, if your business is not directly connected to the products you sell, a video can still work to establish your expertise. Maybe you’re an attorney who teaches people how to protect their intellectual property rights online or a financial advisor who wants to explain the importance of staying ahead of the market.

One of the best things about videos is that you can test different varieties to see which one performs best for your business. You can use a tool like Google Testing to do this. Simply search for a topic you’re passionate about that relates to your business, create a test group, and get to work. Once you have your test group set up, you can use Google’s video wizard to make different versions of your video to compare. You can test out a plain narration version, a version with pictures, an interactive version, and more.

4. Set up a hotline to take calls from potential customers.

If your business provides some sort of service, you can put your expertise to the test by establishing a hotline for customers to call and get answers to their questions. Just set up a simple phone number (e.g. 1-800-WeddingGrooms) and answer a few questions about your services. While you don’t have to provide all the answers, being able to say you have someone on the other end of the line who can help provides customers with a comforting answer when they’re deciding whether or not to make a purchase. Just make sure you screen your calls and only answer specific questions about your business.

5. Start a blog.

Blogs can be a great way to establish your expertise in your industry, and when done right, can also be a very effective way to generate leads and grow your business. If you’re looking for some inspiration on how to start a blog, take a look at our blog’s income over the years. We’ve had our blog for several years now and it has steadily grown in popularity and seen increased engagement from our readers. If you want to kickstart your blog, you can use the free platform, WordPress, to do so. Once you have your blog set up, you can use a tool like Google Analytics to track the performance of your blog and determine what’s working and what needs to be changed. The good news is that, with a little bit of effort, you can eventually turn your blog into a money-making machine – just like our blog.

6. Host a contest for bloggers to write about your business.

If you’re looking for ways to engage with your audience and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry, you can host a contest for bloggers to write about your business. This could be done through an online news publication or a traditional magazine. The contest could be open to anyone in the world to participate in and entries could be published monthly or bi-weekly. The key is to find a way to get high-quality content written about your business. By doing this, you’re essentially letting the world know you’re serious about growing your business and being an authoritative voice in your industry. To find the right participants for your contest, look for influential voices in your industry. If a popular blogger in your industry is interested in participating in your contest and has the right media platform, they may be willing to join forces with your business – providing you with valuable content and gaining you some free advertising. Of course, they might also decide they want some of what you’re selling, in which case you’ll need to work out a fair trade or pay-per-click arrangement.

7. Use social media to create engagement.

You may have heard of the term ‘digital nomad’ and the lifestyle that comes with it. A digital nomad is someone who works remotely from anywhere in the world and gets their work done wherever they choose. As someone who travels a lot for work, I can tell you that having a steady stream of clients and income from freelancing is what defines a digital nomad’s lifestyle. Having a strong social media presence is essential, as you never know when a potential customer may come across your content.

If you think that your target audience is mostly made up of digital nomads, you can use social media to create engagement with them. You can start by simply creating an account on the biggest social media platforms for marketers (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) and then use your resources to join relevant communities. For example, if you’re a speaker who also happens to be a digital nomad, you can join the Remote Global Speaker Network to connect with other digital nomads who are looking for speakers for their events. You can also take this approach with other types of businesses and industries that you feel your target audience resides within.

8. Build a community.

You can use your blog to establish yourself as an industry expert and provide your audience with valuable information. But if you really want to grow your business and engage with people, you can build a community for people with shared interests. The key is to find your target audience and create content that they want to engage with – whether it’s through your blog or another form of media. You can do this by joining relevant communities on social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) and participating in discussions.

If you run a WordPress blog, you can also take advantage of the functionality of the platform to create a community for your audience. With WordPress, you can use a plugin called ‘Social Sharing’ to turn your blog posts into small bitesize nuggets of content that can be shared on social media. When a reader shares one of your blog posts on social media, you can appear as an expert in their feed.

9. Add more value to your content.

Your content will only be as good as your audience perceives it to be. If you want to add more value to your content, you need to determine what your audience wants and then give it to them in the form of high-quality content that they’ll value and remember. To do this, you need to make sure your content is accurate, and provides them with useful information. But, to be able to provide them with the most value, your content should also be presented in a way that is interesting, entertaining and offers them some takeaway or actionable advice.