24 Best Ways to Grow Your Online Business in 2024

Want to know how to grow an online business? 

Today, you’ll get the exact, proven strategy to grow your business online. These strategies have helped businesses scale to six figures, multiple six figures, and beyond. 

Want to learn more? Read on!

What are the best ways to grow your business online? 

The common advice I see on how to grow a business goes something like this.

First, you should build a beautiful website, create a ton of different social media accounts, and throw a lot of money into paid ads. All you need to do to grow a six-figure online business is to learn how to run webinars, write emails, and create complicated sales funnels.

…Does this sound crazy or what? 

Let me tell you: Learning all of this will take you years. And cost a fortune. 

I know this because I’ve been there.

When I first started my business, I eagerly threw money away to build the perfect website. 

I even created a 41-page PDF. How many of those who downloaded it became paying customers? …Zero. 

The reality is: 

You only need a few things to get to six-figure sales and beyond. 

I grew my own business from $0 to $100,000+ in four months. I didn’t do it with any of the ‘fancy’ or sophisticated marketing tactics that business gurus love to throw at you. In fact, I only used a couple of strategies (marketing my business on Facebook).

What’s more, I scaled to seven figures using that same social media platform. I just added in a few things – livestreams, paid ads, and email marketing. 

And this little tidbit puts you ahead of most other new businesses. Because according to a Gallup survey, 39% of business owners work over 60 hours a week. (The average is 52 hours.) That doesn’t show in their income, though. According to Payscale, small business owners make a bit over $64,000/year.

You can get far better results if you focus on the right strategies. 

Here below, I’ve listed 24 ways to grow your online business. But don’t use all of them at the same time. Choose one or two and focus on those until you hit your next revenue goal.

1. Know your target audience 

The first step is to understand who your target audience is. You see, you want to focus on the RIGHT people who are willing and able to pay for your products or services. 

Look at your target market and think about the different audiences you could serve. A few examples include career coaching for female leaders or freelance writing for tech startups. 

Want a real-world example? My student Ruby started a dating coaching business for men.

(Note! If you’re not sure about your business idea, follow my steps in this post on how to start an online business.) 

2. Define your unique niche 

The next step is to find a profitable niche. While most business “experts” will advise you to choose a niche like “business consulting,” “freelance writing,” or “health coaching,” you need to be more specific than that to stand out. 

Ask yourself: 

What’s the ultimate result people get when they buy your program? 

If you’re not sure, do some quick market research and ask a few potential customers what they would consider paying for. 

Get someone in your target audience on the phone. (Important: NOT a random friend, but someone who would actually be a potential customer). Ask them: 

“Hey, I’m not trying to sell you anything. But if someone like me was to help you get results, would you be willing to pay for it?”

If they go, “I don’t know…. Maybe if there was (insert random features) included, I’d pay $100,” you know you need to refine your offer. 

But if they say, “YES, this is what I need!”, you know your offer is good. 

(Note: If you’re wondering how to find people to interview, there are plenty of people in online communities like Reddit or Facebook groups.)

3. Use content marketing 

Content marketing is essential for your business. Whether it’s social media content, emails, or blogs, creating content is one of the most effective ways to draw customers in. 

For a successful content strategy, you do need high-quality content. That means: Relevant content that resonates with your target audience. 

In this quick video, I talk more about creating high-quality content: 

4. Grow your business online through social media 

Social media platforms offer a great way to build your business, especially as a new business owner. Why? Because they help you build relationships and give value to potential customers. 

People see you in their feeds and, thanks to your social media presence, become interested in working with you.

That said, don’t stretch yourself thin on all the social media platforms out there. You simply won’t be able to master all of them. Instead, focus on one social media account. The platform you choose depends on where your audience hangs out – is it Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Reddit, Pinterest, or other social media networks? 

If you want to learn more about building your social media presence, take a look at this short video where I share the top three mistakes: 

5. Create video content 

Video content is one of those powerful strategies that will help your online business grow fast. 

You see, video is incredibly engaging – 81% of marketers say video has helped them increase sales. At the same time, use the right video strategy. According to HubSpot, 39% of marketers say that short-form videos generate the biggest ROI and 68% say that content showing products and services generates the biggest return on spending. 

How do you get started, though? Check out this short video where I outline how to create your first YouTube videos: 

6. Leverage paid media to increase your reach 

One of the reasons digital marketing is so effective? 

Paid ads, which can help you scale fast for a relatively low price. Those ads can be on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or other social media platforms. Social media advertising works especially well for you if you don’t have a big audience because you can reach your target audience fast. 

However, paid ads are not the “holy grail” they’re often promoted as. You see, when a platform becomes more established, prices go up. 

While paid ads work, they eat your profitability. So you might get started with ads (like I did), but building organic traffic sources is just as important. 

7. Build a converting website

A website is your business’s online home. And hear this: You need one when you want to grow your business, not when you’re starting a business.

So don’t create a website until you have at least a few customers. That’s what I did. I signed tens of thousands of dollars without a website and then built a simple website when I was ready. 

When you do create a proper website for your business, it shouldn’t just look beautiful. It also needs to perform well to keep people on your site and be optimized for search engines. 

You see, your website needs to be fast so that people don’t have trouble loading it. And as Google’s research shows, if you use too many titles and images and too much text, the probability of conversion drops 95%. Your website also needs to be optimized for mobile devices as most Google searches happen on mobile (63%). 

8. Use email marketing 

Email marketing is one of the most effective sales channels with an ROI of $42 for every $1 spent. 

And that’s precisely why you need it to grow your online business.

Now, you can’t just send out email marketing campaigns once in a blue moon and expect results. Email is all about building relationships. 

You can send several emails per week or daily posts if the emails you send are all about giving value to people. 

The best email marketing tools? Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign. 

9. Create strong partnerships 

A partnership or joint venture is all about teaming up with other businesses and leveraging each other’s audiences. You can do it on social media, a webinar, or email. 

However, make sure you work with someone who shares your target audience without being a direct competitor. A good example is a copywriter who works with a designer. 

The thing about partnerships is that YOU need to make them happen. (Unless you have a big network of suitable candidates.) 

You’ll likely get more interest if you work with people whose businesses are on the same level as yours. However, if you have something unique to offer, you could even get people with bigger audiences to sign up.  

Also, remember the partnership needs to be a win-win, so come up with ways you and the other person will benefit from it. For each person you reach out to, figure out that first before you pitch them. 

Send a quick message or email where you introduce yourself and highlight how the partnership would add value to them. 

10. Grow your business with organic traffic 

Organic traffic is one of the best ways to scale your small business online. Search engine optimization or SEO means that you optimize your website for search engines.

When someone searches for a key term or keyword in the search engine, they might click through to your website if it’s optimized properly and ranks on the first page. 

The thing that makes this strategy so scalable is that SEO is organic, so you don’t have to pay for every person who comes to your website.

That said, SEO is a monetary investment because it takes time and resources to build your traffic. 

But in my experience, this is a traffic source well worth the investment. Within two years of having started with SEO from scratch, my business was generating multiple six figures from my blog. 

Here’s the strategy I use:

11. Set up affiliate programs

With an affiliate program, affiliate partners get a commission when they promote your products or services to their audiences. 

The commission varies a lot between different programs. If you’re promoting service offerings, commissions tend to be anywhere from 10% and up. If you promote products, courses, and similar, the commission will be higher (often at least 50%). 

12. Join online communities

Before I started my business, I asked a copywriter I was working with where she found her clients. “In Facebook groups,” she replied.

When I checked out those groups, I realized that my potential prospects (at the time, I was offering digital advertising consulting) were hanging out in these groups. 

So I signed up for them, sharing as much value as I could. And it was in one of these groups that I found my first, paying client.

Online communities can be a great way to meet people interested in your services. But because these are communities, you shouldn’t go in to promote yourself but rather to build relationships. You see, when you establish yourself as an expert in your niche, people will become interested in working with you. 

Some online communities include Reddit, Facebook, and LinkedIn groups, as well as niche internet forums. However, focus on one platform; otherwise, you’ll be stretching yourself thin. 

13. Share livestreams 

Another effective marketing strategy I used early on was livestreams. 

I’d hop on a quick live video where I talked about my topic and people asked me questions in real-time. Because people saw me live, I built rapport fast. And as a result, I grew a highly engaged audience from the start. 

The platform you use doesn’t matter – go for the one where your audience hangs out. 

14. Get social proof 

What’s a simple but highly effective way to make more money? 

Getting testimonials is one of the best ways to get more clients and raise your rates.

You see, 49% trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. And if you can prove customer satisfaction with your testimonials, you’re off to a great start. 

But not all testimonials are created equal. Ask your customers to provide specifics. 

What was their situation before they started working with you? How was it to work with you? And what does their life look like after having worked with you? 

15. Organize live events 

A secret “hack” to grow your business online? 

Live events, such as live challenges. 

Let me explain:

When I was building my audience and launching my courses, I used to build a funnel that involved live challenges. These would typically last from a few days to a week, and they involved helping people get to a very specific goal (such as finding their business idea). 

People loved them! And because they saw how much value they got from just one challenge, they quickly understood the value of my courses.

The best part? Live challenges work even if you don’t have an audience yet because they’re a great way to build that audience, whether that’s in an online community or through email. 

16. Get interviewed on podcasts 

If you’re wondering how to grow your business fast…

Then, this is for you.

You see, podcasts are one of the best ways to reach your customer base early on in your business. 

Think about it: People spend anywhere from half an hour to an hour listening to you. You quickly build trust and position yourself as an expert in your niche. 

While you might not get invited to the bigger podcasts without building your business first, there are tons of podcasts with smaller, but just as engaged, audiences. Google them by searching for search terms like “Podcast” + “your niche” and reach out by telling the podcast host why you’d be a good fit for the podcast and what relevant topics you can talk about. 

17. Guest blog on other websites 

Similarly, small business owners can build their credibility with guest posts. 

A guest post is a post you publish on another website. To write guest posts, reach out to websites in your niche and share relevant guest post ideas. 

Granted, you’re probably not going to get published in The New York Times on your first try. Start with other publications that cater to your audience but are a bit smaller so that you can build your portfolio of guest post articles before you reach out to bigger websites. 

18. Network online

Online networking is undervalued. Sure, in-person networking is important too (for example, at conferences and events) but reaching out to people and providing value is really powerful. Especially because so few are making the most of this opportunity in the online world. 

It can be as simple as sending a message on LinkedIn because you happened to notice that this person is looking for help with something you are in a position to give them advice on. And then hop on a short call – no strings attached. 

19. Tap into influencer marketing

Influencer marketing means that you get influencers to promote your services or products. You typically pay them or, if they’re a smaller influencer, offer free products. 

80% of marketers say influencer marketing is effective. However, don’t try to reach the Kim Kardashians of your niche. 

Instead, look for “micro-influencers” with under 100k followers with engaged audiences. 

20. Measure and analyze your results

Something lots of businesses miss out on is all the data they could be getting from free marketing tools like Google Analytics. 

You see, GA and similar tools give you all your website data – traffic, engagement, conversions… And by using that data, you can see where you can improve to grow your business online. 

For example, is a page not getting a ton of traffic? Maybe you need to optimize it for Google. Or is your engagement rate low? Consider improving your website copy. 

21. Record webinars 

Webinar marketing is an effective digital marketing tool. In fact, 95% of marketers think webinars are important.  

A webinar is a live or recorded online training, workshop, or presentation where you share valuable insights on your topic. Thanks to building that expertise fast with your webinars, you’ll rapidly grow your business online. 

22. Work on your mindset 

All the strategies on this list are online business tips for beginners… Almost. This one is not specifically something you do online.

You see, your mindset plays a big part in your entrepreneurial journey. If you believe in your own success and aren’t held back by limiting beliefs, building a business becomes so much easier. 

As mindset is a topic in itself, I’m linking to my guide on developing an entrepreneurial mindset. 

23. Increase your prices

Is it time to raise your rates? 

Because increasing your price can be one of the best ways to build your online business. 

Sure, you need testimonials and online proof that you help people get results. But once you have those, increasing prices can help you build up your profits much faster – while working with people who are motivated to invest in themselves. 

Here’s how to create those drool-worthy offers:

24. Add a scalable offer

And last, take a look at your business strategy.

Have you built business models that help you scale fast? 

You see, businesses without products or services they can sell at scale will quickly fall behind.

If you run an online store, that means manufacturing a product you can offer at scale. Or a service business (a coaching, consulting, or freelancing business) can add on group coaching or online courses.

The point is: Come up with an offer that you can sell to more customers without sacrificing more of your time.

Over to you!

There you have it! Now you know how to grow an online business.

Which strategy are you going to use first?

Let me know in the comments below!

Read more:

How to Build Your Business without Social Media

How to Increase Your Organic Traffic