15 Useful Ways to Market Your Services (+Examples)

Want to grow your service business? You’re in the right place. 

In this article, you’ll learn 15 of my best strategies to market your services and achieve results like these:

Sound good? Let’s dive in.

Biggest takeaways: 

✅ The first step to marketing your services is to thoroughly understand your audience and their dreams and challenges. 

✅ Build a strong brand by defining your own values, story, and unique skills. 

✅ Focus on one marketing strategy before you expand to other strategies. Start with the “lowest hanging fruit” (AKA strategies you can quickly and effectively implement). 

What is a service business? 

A service business is the opposite of a product business. Instead of selling goods, you trade your time, skills, and expertise for money. 

Popular examples include:

• Coaching
• Fitness instructing
• Counseling
• And babysitting

It’s a great business model for new business owners because you can start by selling your existing skills. 

Take my student Emily Liou, for example. She was a recruiter for Fortune 500 companies before turning her experience into a successful career coaching service. 

So, if you want a business with a simple start, coaching, freelancing, and consulting are the best options. 

Another great thing about service businesses is that you don’t have to spend much to market your services. 

Whether you’re an executive coach or a yoga instructor, you can work with clients and get your name out there with just an internet connection, no office required. 

Want to know the best ways to market your business? Keep scrolling.

How to market your service online in 15 ways 

Marketing your services doesn’t need to be complicated. To me, the simpler, the better. 

Because with simple marketing techniques, you’re more likely to be consistent, which brings great results.

The good news is you’ve got lots of options! 

Let’s dive in.

1. Find your ideal client 

Let me ask you a question: Who do you want to serve with your business? 

You’ve probably already figured out what you do – whether that’s coaching, writing, photography, or something else. But the key to a great niche is knowing your audience. 

For example, let’s say you’re a career consultant. Your business could serve college grads, middle-aged executives, or mid-level millennial women. 

You can create a profitable business with any of these audiences, BUT your pricing, messaging, and content will be completely different for each one. 

So, picture your ideal client:

• How old are they?
• What do they do for work?
• How much do they earn?
• What are their interests?

And most importantly: 

What problem do you help them solve?

How do they talk about that problem? 

Figuring this out helps you create relatable content for your specific audience.

More on that in this video:

Quick recap: 

💡Understand who your ideal client is and how they talk about their problems and goals. A great way to do so is by doing market research calls. 

2. Build a remarkable brand

What are your favorite brands?

Maybe…

Apple.

Peloton.

Or Spotify.

And what do they have in common? Simple: A consistent, remarkable brand. 

You can build a memorable brand for your service business, too. 

Just focus on the three elements of a strong brand.

1. Identify and highlight your unique skill

It’s a myth that you have to be the best in the world or the most revolutionary to stand out from your competition. But you do have to be different. 

In other words, what sets you apart?

Think about your: 

• Approach
• Style
• Aesthetic

And ask yourself: Why are you the best at what you do?

2. Share your backstory 

Your backstory can be your superpower. 

And no, this isn’t your entire life story – just a summary of how and why you started your business. 

Here’s mine: 

I was inspired to start my business when I was stuck in a corporate job with no freedom or fulfillment. Then the worst happened. 

In the space of one year, my father had emergency heart surgery, my mother was diagnosed with cancer, and my sister almost lost her sight. And because I had limited PTO, I couldn’t be there for them. I became an entrepreneur to have more control over my time so I could put my family first.

It comes down to this:

People buy from people, so your brand should show your humanity. 

3. Demonstrate your character

Your backstory leads to your skill. Your skill is what makes your service unique. But your personality is what makes YOU unique. 

Answer these questions: 

• What are your fun quirks?
• Are there character traits your clients can resonate with?
• How can you get across your personality in your content?

Now that you’ve defined your secret sauce and your ideal clients, let’s get into some actionable marketing strategies. 

Quick recap: 

💡Build a strong brand by identifying your unique skill, sharing your backstory, and defining your character (your fun quirks, personality…). 

3. Tap into your network 

Your next client could be just around the corner…literally! 

Reaching out to your network is one of the easiest marketing strategies that brings real results. It might not be right away, but a friend of a friend could be the perfect client for you. You just need to let your friends, family, and colleagues know what you do and how you do it. 

Now, what if you don’t want to “sell” to your friends and family?

I hear you. My student Emily (the one who started a career coaching business)  said the same thing. 

So, she decided to tap into her network in a simple, hands-off way – posting on LinkedIn. 

Use a script like:

“Hey!

I’m starting a new business that helps people with….

If you know someone who would be interested in this, please let me know.

I’m happy to offer them a free coaching call so that they can get to know me and start getting some great results. If they’re interested, I’ll share more about how I can help them further, but if not, they’ll still get great value out of the free session.”

Just like that, you’ve let your network know you’re open for business. And who knows? Potential partners and collaborators could see your post. 

More on that next.

Quick recap: 

💡Let your network know about your business. A great way to offer value upfront is to offer a free 20-minute coaching or consulting session to people. 

4. Market your business locally

If you have a local service business, this tip is for you. 

Some of the best clients come from referrals from other businesses. But how do you get your name out there? 

Here are some ideas: 

• Partner with local businesses: Depending on your business, you can create alliances that can bring you steady income. For example, if you have a dogsitting business, team up with your local groomers and vet.
• Attend and speak at conferences: Industry conferences are a great way to find collaborators and potential clients. I don’t do it anymore, but early in my career, I attended entrepreneur conferences like Gary V Live to get my name out there. 
• Use local SEO: Search engine optimization (SEO) can help you get website traffic (and clients) through Google. Local SEO means using location-specific keywords, Google Business, and other methods to highlight your business in your area. 

That said, there are also ways to grow an audience online. That’s what we’ll look at next. 

Quick recap: 

💡Local marketing can be highly effective – sometimes, people specifically look for local service providers. Partnering with other businesses and using local SEO are a few ways to market your services. 

5. Create an online presence 

Creating an online presence is crucial for any service business, especially digital entrepreneurs.

Now, does that mean you need the most beautiful website right off the bat? No. In fact, I got my first clients without a website. 

Early on, working on your site can become a distraction from things that really bring in clients. 

My advice is to build your online presence in other ways that get you closer to making sales first. 

For example, you can partner with other brands in your niche to create online content together. That way, you get exposure to a new audience.

Social media is another great way of building an online presence. Focus on one platform that will connect you with your ideal clients (more about that in tip #12). 

Next up: Email marketing.

Quick recap: 

💡Create an online presences – typically, you’ll do so by creating a social media presence or in other ways getting in front of your audience online. 

6. Use email marketing 

Email marketing generates over $42 for every $1 spent. 

It creates huge results for me, too. In fact, email marketing is one of the main channels for my eight-figure business. 

Why? Because it builds community. 

I write an email to my readers every day with advice on how to create successful businesses.

Brainstorm topics for emails only you can write. Then, write them on a consistent schedule. 

I recommend my students send three to four emails per week to get to know their audience and help their audience get to know them. 

As you build those relationships, you’ll be able to provide even better services in the future.

Here’s more on how to use email marketing: 

Quick recap: 

💡Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to build a relationship with your audience. Send out at least 3-4 email per week. 

7. Focus on transformation 

People want to know the transformation they can expect from working with you. 

Take my student, Mara Freilich, for example. Her business, Top Law School Consulting, helps students get into law schools across the country. 

Now, she could focus her messaging on the features of her service – the number of consulting calls you get, the documents she’ll review, and so on. 

Instead, her headline is “You CAN Get Into Your Top Law School“. 

This shows the clear benefit of working with her. 

Tip: Always frame your transformation in the positive. 

For example, instead of saying:

“Avoid feeling lost at the gym.”

Say…

“Gain confidence at the gym.” 

I talk more about this approach here: 

Quick recap: 

💡Always focus on the transformation and results you offer with your services. That’s what people will pay for. 

8. Get testimonials

Testimonials sell without being salesy.

Let me explain.

In marketing, social proof is known for being extremely powerful. 

Studies show that online reviews are a huge factor in people’s buying decisions.

Why? Because your client reads your testimonials and imagines themselves in your past client’s shoes. “If it could work for them, why couldn’t it work for me?”

I use testimonials a lot in my marketing, too, as they’re visible proof of my results:

Want to know how to get testimonials? Check out my guide.

Quick recap: 

💡Testimonials are an effective way to build social proof (and land more sales). Ask for testimonials from your clients and people you’ve helped for free. 

9. Build relationships    

Building relationships with your audience is one of the best and easiest ways to make sales. But how exactly do you do that with hundreds or thousands of people?

Easy: Engagement. I’ll give you an example. 

Say you’re following two yoga instructors on Instagram. One posts every day but never responds to comments or DMs. The other posts twice a week but consistently interacts with their audience in comments and stories. 

Which yoga instructor would you feel a closer connection with?

The best part about engaging with your audience is that a little goes a long way. Just 10-20 minutes a day of engagement can have a huge impact on your results. 

Because studies show that 67% of consumers need to trust a brand before they buy. 

Building that trust through social media engagement, one-on-one consultations, and live online events can transform your business.

So does creating useful content. That’s next.

Quick recap: 

💡Relationships are the foundation of your marketing. Engage with your audience every day by publishing new content, responding to their comments, and initiating conversations. 

10. Create useful content 

Want to grow your business with content? Getting visibility can be simpler than you think. 

One powerful way is reaching out to industry publications with your story. This is great for getting new clients and building brand awareness. 

Podcasts are another option.

There are thousands of podcasts out there in every niche. All you have to do is find the ones your audience is likely to listen to and pitch yourself as a guest host. 

Here’s a script you can use:

“Hi NAME OF PODCASTER,

My name is (your name) and I am (include something relevant about yourself so the podcaster understands why YOU are the right person to feature on their show). 

I’d love to set up an interview for (name of the podcast). Here are a few topics that I think your audience would love:

Podcast topic suggestion 1

Podcast topic suggestion 2

Podcast topic suggestion 3

Let me know if these would be interesting to (name of the podcast) listeners? 

Best,

YOUR NAME”

Hint: Content marketing works with consistent effort. Make time in your schedule to get your name out there.

Quick recap: 

💡Share content either on social media or on other platforms, such as podcasts. Note: Be consistent! 

11. Adopt an SEO strategy 

The average online business drives 53% of traffic from organic search.

SEO, as I talked about in #4, helps you increase this organic traffic with a few simple techniques.

Think: 

• Using keywords relevant to your niche
• Writing high-quality blog posts and landing pages
• Building links with established industry websites

And if you’re wondering how powerful it can be, I grew my own search traffic into a multiple six-figure channel in less than two years. 

And that was just by writing one blog post per month. Plus, once you’ve published your blogs, they continue to drive traffic for months or even years. 

(Check out this article on the benefits of SEO for more details.)

📘Read more: Here’s how to use SEO.

Quick recap: 

💡SEO is an advanced strategy. Use it to scale your business once you have at least a few clients. 

12. Use social media 

Look: Every business is on social media. But to be successful, you have to use it the right way. 

By that, I mean focus on the platforms your ideal clients use and create high-value content for them. 

Here are some ideas: 

• Create Facebook groups: Facebook groups work great for personal brand-based businesses like coaching 
• Post high-value content on Instagram: Use a mix of reels, photos, and graphics to create shareable content on your niche
• Start a YouTube channel: YouTube is the second largest search engine (after Google). So it’s a great tool for finding new clients and building a community

📘Read more: Here’s how to use social media for your business. 

Quick recap: 

💡Use social media to build an audience. Focus on one platform where your audience hangs out – and be consistent. 

13. Use paid advertising

So far, we’ve talked about marketing strategies that work no matter what stage of business you’re in. 

But if you’re already making sales and you want to scale bigger and faster, paid advertising could be a good option.

When I wanted to scale my business from six to seven figures, I doubled down on paid ads.

Why? Because paid advertising is:

• Scalable
• Measurable
• And reliable

However, I recommend spending time learning how to use paid ads or hiring someone to help. 

It can take some trial and error to get ads to work. And, paid advertising can be volatile because ad costs tend to increase (so don’t rely on paid ads to scale your business). 

📘Read more: Here’s how to use Facebook advertising. 

Quick recap: 

💡Paid advertising can help you scale your business. However, don’t attempt this strategy before you have enough time and money to learn how to use it. 

14. Get referrals 

Referrals are a more organic marketing strategy than ads. Basically, you encourage former clients and your network to recommend you to people in their network. 

The best referrals come from clients who have had great results from working with you.

Send them an email just before your project ends asking for a referral. You can even incentivize them by offering a commission or free sessions with you in exchange.

Referrals are great as they focus on one-on-one relationships. But if you want a wider reach, this final marketing strategy is for you.

📘Read more: Here’s how to ask for referrals.

Quick recap: 

💡Ask your network and clients for referrals. Offer a 10% commission to incentivize people to share your business. 

15. Do live webinars  

Webinars are one of the best ways to market your services.

If you’ve never tried this technique before, it’s a game-changer for converting your audience into clients. 

The trick is to focus on sharing value that your audience can take action on today. At the end of the webinar, pitch your service as another way of helping your audience reach their goals. 

Going live builds another level of trust, as you can also answer questions in real time. 

I talk more about how to do webinars here: 

And that’s it! Those are 15 ways to market your service business. Next, we’ll talk about the 7Ps of marketing for an even stronger strategy.

Quick recap: 

💡Webinars are highly effective for quickly explaining how your business solves your clients’ problems. 

What are the 7Ps of service marketing?

The 7Ps of marketing are a theory that helps you create better marketing strategies. Read through the list and think through how you can apply these to your business.

• Product: In other words, what are you selling? A high-quality service is the most important part of building a business. 
• Price: Figuring out your pricing comes down to two things – how much is your audience willing to pay for your work, and how much do you want to make? Different pricing strategies work for different services, too. My advice is to keep it simple with a per-package price (more on that in this article about pricing).
• Place: How accessible are you to clients? For example, if you’re a yoga instructor, you need to have an accessible, affordable studio space for your ideal students. Online services might need to use apps and platforms that are easy for your clients to use. 
• Promotion: Promotion is all about awareness. Getting in front of your ideal clients is a key part of your marketing strategy. And it’s simple – go where they are like I did with Facebook groups early on in my business (as that’s where my audience hung out).
• People: “People” can refer to two things. The first part is you and your team – make sure you’re hiring the right people to deliver the best results for your clients. The second is your clients.
• Process: Processes make your life so much easier. Define your sales, onboarding, and service delivery processes to make sure you deliver great work every time.
• Physical Evidence: This is also known as the client experience. Whether you have a physical location or an online business, how can you make the experience of working with you as high-quality as possible?  

Next, let’s look at some service businesses that are killing it with their marketing.

Examples of successful service marketing 

Here are some examples of service businesses with successful marketing:

LuisaZhou.com

First, let’s take my own business as an example. By using a combination of YouTube, email, and SEO, I’ve built a successful eight-figure service-and-course business based on my personal brand.

Airbnb

Airbnb is well-known for offering home rentals and experiences. They focused on building relationships and community with their marketing, which kept people coming back. 

UPS

UPS is one of the most successful package delivery businesses of all time. Over the years, UPS has built a worldwide network of trusting customers through local SEO and business partnerships.

Next steps

There you go. That’s how to market your services!

But nailing your marketing is just one part of building a successful business. If you want to dive deeper into how to create a six-figure service business, my free blueprint will show you how. It’s the ultimate guide to becoming a free and fulfilled entrepreneur.

Read more:

Online Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business

How to Market Your Business as an Introvert 

How to Market Your Business Without Ads