So, you've become a notary, but your current clients are simply limited to friends and family. Or, maybe your new leads are becoming stagnant, and you're ready for a change? Either way, you will need to find innovative ways to scale your notary business and build a base of returning customers.

While "pounding the pavement may work for some businesses, your company's growth depends on long-term strategies that strengthen the foundation of your brand. If you are struggling to come up with new ways to generate leads, take a look at these following five approaches you can use to scale your notary business.

1. Tap into your community

Meet your customers and learn more about them in a low-stakes environment. Volunteering and attending public events are easy ways to build long-lasting relationships through shared interests. If you can, contribute your notarial skillsets to a charitable cause. Community members are more likely to remember your service and give you valuable word-of-mouth referrals. Remember to save pictures and videos from these occasions for future engagement on your business's website and/or social media.

2. Spread out into different fields

You may be accustomed to serving companies or individuals in the real estate industry, but have you considered offering your services to the administrative departments of hospitals? Although you may face a learning curve when operating outside of your clients' primary industries, you will ensure that your business is marketable to a wider audience in the long run. Some possible fields or businesses that you should target include:

• Human resources
• Hospices
• Banks and credit unions
• Legal services
• Background verification companies
• Lending companies
• City administration

4. Pay attention to your website's user experience

Notaries need a clean, well-organized website to acquire and retain clients. Your website should differentiate your brand identity from that of your competitors while still keeping your message concise. Each landing page should be intentionally created to address your clients' needs and be related to organic search terms. Consider hiring a marketing professional who specializes in search engine optimization (SEO) to ensure that you are making the most out of your website; after all, your site is the face of your notary business, especially if you conduct remote online notarization (RON) or offer mobile services.

If you do not have a website yet and need an easy website builder to begin marketing your services, try one of the following options:

• Wix
• WordPress
• GoDaddy
• Weebly
• Squarespace

5. Keep learning

As a notary, you are uniquely positioned to take on all kinds of verification and identification projects with minimal additional training. Consider learning about the following services to supplement your current offerings:

• I-9 form verification
• Photo inspections for claims
• Testimony witness
• Wedding officiant
• Field inspection
• Signing agent