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If you have a website, you are constantly bombarded
with information about how to promote it, from
pay-per-click search engines to submitting articles
to exchanging links with other sites. The sheer
volume of information that one encounters when
embarking on Internet marketing is just overwhelming.
As I was talking to a potential client the other
day, the topic of promoting her company's website
came up, and I knew that my telling her about
all of the ways to conduct online marketing would
just sound like gibberish to her. So, instead
I started rattling off all of the offline ways
she could promote the new website. These she understood
and they made sense, as she could relate them
to traditional marketing techniques. It occurred
to me that in our quest to be the biggest and
baddest online, we often forget to use more traditional
means to get the word out about our online presence.
So, here's your checklist of the top 10 ways you
can market your site offline that won't break
the bank:
1. Collateral Materials: Print your URL and email
address on all of your collateral materials, including
letterhead stationary and envelopes, business
cards, postcards, greeting cards, business checks,
mailing labels, invoices, brochures, fax cover
sheets, print newsletters, press releases, and
customer feedback forms. By doing this, everyone
with whom you have any contact has your website
address. Many of these items pass through tons
of hands, and you never know who might see one
piece of your collateral material and become a
customer.
2. Front Door of Your Business Location: Do you
have a retail location? If so, somewhere on your
front door or in the window near your entrance,
place a sign that says, "Open 24 hours a day online
at www.YourWebsiteName.com".
You could also add this to the permanent outdoor
business sign. Let your website do your selling
for you!
3. Voicemail Messages: On your voicemail message,
include your website address in the content of
the message, letting listeners know that they
can find information about you and/or buy products
and services via your website. If you have music
or a message that plays while callers are on hold,
incorporate your website URL into the information
that they hear.
4. Promotional Items: Plaster your URL all over
any promotional items that you might give away
-- mousepads, pens, magnets, notepads, etc.
5. Automobile: Use your car to advertise your
website for you as you go to client meeting or
run errands around time. Place your website URL
on removable vinyl magnetic signs on the doors
of your vehicle, vinyl cling signs on your back
windshield, or I.D. It Plates (www.iditplates.com)
on the back of your car.
6. Clothing: Have clothing printed with your web
address and logo and give them to friends and
family members to wear around town -- baseball
caps, T-shirts, button-down shirts. Or, you can
give them away as prizes or promotional items.
Have your friends and clients become a walking
billboard for your website!
7. Media Opportunities: If you're a guest on a
radio or TV show or being interviewed by a newspaper
reporter or magazine writer, make sure that your
website address is mentioned. For television appearances,
have the show scroll your URL across the bottom
of the screen. For print media, ensure that your
website address appears in your quote as a part
of your business name, or in the back of the magazine
in the resources section for articles.
8. Advertising: Whether you advertise in a newspaper/magazine,
television or radio ad, local cable advertising,
program booklet, visitor's guide, coupon promotion,
or on the back of a register tape, make sure your
website address appears. If you are listed in
your local telephone directory, have your website
printed as a part of your listing.
9. Guest Books: If you're in a bed and breakfast,
salon, or gift shop with a guest book, sign it
and leave your website address. The guest books
are usually left in public places and are perused
by guests while waiting for appointments.
10. Virtual Grand Opening: Brick and mortar businesses
hold ribbon-cuttings and grand openings all the
time. Why not do the same thing with announcing
your new (or updated) website? You can send announcements
to the local newspapers and media or to current
or potential clients. I recommend that you send
a postcard with the front page of your website
on it, and www.webcards.biz
does this beautifully!
Bonus tips:
11. Email Signature: Any time you send out an
email, send it from an email address that includes
your domain name (instead of your AOL or Earthlink
account, for example), and create a signature
file in your email program that includes your
website URL. You can also create a special offer
in your email signature to drive people to visit
your website, like giving away a free e-course
or special report. Here's my email signature:
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Donna L. Gunter, M.Ed., Online Business Coach
mailto:coach@OnlineBizCoachingCompany.com
409-883-2148
(voice)
http://www.OnlineBizCoachingCompany.com
Get your
free ebook, TurboCharge Your Productivity: 50
+ Tools
To Help You Automate Your Business and Make More
Profit in Less Time
Online!, at our site!
Read about running an online biz at our blog,
http://onlinebizcoachingcompany.typepad.com/online_business_coaching_/
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
12. Business Name Tag: When you go out into your
community or are running errands or are attending
networking events, wear a custom name tag with
your business website URL prominently featured,
along with a catchy slogan. Your local printshop
should be able to help you design a permanent
nametag, or you can purchase an LED scroll message
badge (Google "LED scroll message badge" for suppliers)
and get noticed!
13. Outgoing Mail: Stamp your website URL (or
have special stickers made) on the outside of
all outgoing postal mail, and include your business
card inside the envelope. Do this for both business
and personal mail, as well as when paying your
bills.
Don't become a victim of tunnel vision when you're
trying to spread the word about your website.
Try a few of these simple, off-line marketing
techniques and get your site noticed!
(c) 2006 Donna
Gunter
Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps self-employed
professionals make more profit in less time online.
To sign up for more FREE tips like these and claim
your FREE ebook, TurboCharge Your Productivity:
50 + Tools To Help You Automate Your Business
and Make More Profit in Less Time Online!,
visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizCoachingCompany.com.
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