The pandemic is impacting companies on a global scale – but that doesn’t mean that startups should have to fear to shut down their businesses.
We share seven ideas that startups can adopt to improve their chances of longevity.
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Online Consultancy
A large section of the population is spending time online for work and leisure – which opens up business opportunities for startups.
Companies have one undeniable resource that can be leveraged in a number of circumstances – particularly during crisis – their human resources.
Every member of a team has their own unique skills and experiences, which can be used to set up consultancy services for a startup.
When you can’t sell products and your regular services are hard to deliver, pivoting to consultancy can help bring in leads and revenue.
Startups with experience in the sales prospecting, tech, or creative fields can share their expertise with solopreneurs or businesses.
These consultancy services can be offered via video calls to simulate face-to-face interaction even from a distance.
Moving into a B2B model may not be the best fit for everyone but when most companies are struggling, information-sharing can become a valuable asset for growing your business.
Creative Services
Businesses and individuals have a regular need for creative services – especially with digital marketing fast becoming the primary source for generating leads. You can utilize this pandemic to start a lead generation business.
Startups who have been doing their own in-house marketing can offer to take on proof-reading and editing tasks for other businesses.
For the more experienced startups in this niche, copywriting, ghostwriting, or designing graphics for external parties could become a steady source of income for the foreseeable future. With so many people looking for employment, resume writing has become a key service that individuals are looking for, another area where startups could generate income.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is fast becoming an accessible source of revenue for startups. The process requires businesses to market a product or service on behalf of another company.
The profits come in through commissions, tracked through links and pixels – the system works very similar to selling products through Amazon or Shopify. Startups can join a number of affiliate programs like Fiverr, Bluehost, BigCommerce, and more – these simplify the process of creating links and tracking transactions.
Podcasts
Podcasts are fast becoming a lucrative enterprise for businesses, no matter what their size – 25% of marketers get their information from podcasts.
With more people staying in, there is a greater need to keep oneself entertained and informed. That is why podcasts are more in vogue now than ever before.
For customers and businesses, being in the know is of utmost importance at the moment – but reading the news isn’t the only way to stay informed.
Podcasts not only add context to information but they simulate human conversation and interaction.
Since people are so cut off from others in the current global environment, podcasts help to mitigate feelings of isolation.
Podcasts also act as excellent lead generation tools – people can download podcasts from a number of different sources and listen to them.
By adding calls to action to your website or social pages, you can increase cross-promotion efforts.
There are a few things to consider when trying to start a podcast – most importantly, that you need good equipment and a certain amount of time to script and record.
You should choose your podcast hosting service wisely – something that is user-friendly, without breaking the budget.
Podcasts don’t fund themselves, so advertising revenue may be your primary source – but you can also fundraise via Patreon.
For startups, a podcast could be a great pivot when regular income methods are drying up. It can take some time to set up but will eventually bring you the leads you require.
Thought Leadership
Not all startups are geared towards B2C audiences – for B2B users, thought leadership could be a business idea to explore during this time.
Thought leadership has been an intrinsic aspect of B2B content marketing – sharing your startup journey is a great way for businesses to reach their target market.
There are a number of areas where one can share thought leadership. Startups can write white papers or create ebooks on their business ideation, success stories, and lessons learned.
And one doesn’t need to generate white papers, articles, or ebooks from scratch – these can be sourced from existing blog content and compiled into a larger document.
Creating a case study on a client or strategy that worked is also a great way to showcase your company, source testimonials, and teach others about your business.
Placing yourself as a thought leader has a number of benefits – you get to share your insights with others, and you showcase positive aspects of your company to generate more business.
Content Marketing
Content is an essential part of digital marketing – without content, one can’t optimize for SEO, improve SERP, or widen the reach of your business.
Most startups now have experience in the content marketing field – they’re generating content regularly for their own business.
There is a way to pivot content generation into a new business idea – creating content for other companies using a host of digital marketing tools.
As an income generation method, there are many positives for moving into the content marketing arena.
Businesses around the world need content, now more than ever – and people are spending more time online looking for content to keep themselves engaged.
But creating massive amounts of content can be difficult, even for the most prolific of businesses.
Startups can step in for the industry here by creating the content they need – social media posts, blogs, or creating social calendars. They could also offer to edit or produce vlogs.
Another idea that is catching on is guest blogging, where marketers and experts in a subject write blog posts for third party websites.
Guest blogs help build thought leadership and open up opportunities for creating long-term partnerships with businesses in your niche.
Content marketing has immense benefits for your own company but can also be a powerful tool for revenue generation.
Delivery Services
A large section of the population is working from home but they still need certain products to continue living their lives and conducting business.
Organizations have stepped up to the plate to ensure that lifestyles and business opportunities aren’t adversely affected – they have done this by adopting delivery mechanisms.
With people unable to go to stores, restaurants, or suppliers to pick up their essential items, delivery to one’s premises is the only option.
But not all businesses have the wherewithal to organize delivery with the resources available to them.
Startups can enter this gap by offering pickup and delivery services for companies in need.
This is a business idea that not everyone can pivot to – the business will need drivers, packers, packaging supplies, and transportation.
An accessible app or website would also be necessary to expedite the ordering process.
For startups who already have connections within this field, delivery services might be the best idea for a sustainable future.
Conclusion
With the pandemic affecting the entire world, it is necessary for businesses to start looking at new ways to reach audiences and generate income.
These seven online business ideas will help startups continue working and bringing in revenue for the foreseeable future.
Featured image source: Freepik (Affiliate Link)
