Help! How do I
Market This?
By Diane Standish The number one request I
receive, hands down, is 'How do I market
this?', or better yet, 'How do I market
this for free?'. Notwithstanding the
books that have been written on the
subject, and the fact that any one of
these topics is bookworthy, following are
my top ten picks for marketing your site
for free, or nearly free, without
spamming. Keep in mind that you get what
you pay for, and advertising for free is
going to mean you will spend your time
(and a lot of it), not your money. If you
want free, you have to be incredibly
persistent.
- WRITE and SUBMIT
ARTICLES.
Take a subject that you know well
and write a clear and concise
article about it. Keep it under 3
pages, proofread it, have a
friend proofread it, then submit
it to newsletters, resource
sites, or try the World Wide
Information Outlet at http://certificate.net/wwio/index.htm. Just be sure you don't
spend 10,000 words promoting your
product. You are providing
information, not giving a sales
pitch. You should get name, email
and/or site credits on your
submittals.
- SWAP LINKS.
Start surfing and find sites that
will enhance what you offer your
visitors. Write a short message
asking for an exchange of links,
include your name, site URL,
product or service, and email
address. Then email the webmaster
or contact person. Make the
message personal ("Hello
Diane") instead of "To
Whom It May Concern". Don't
be afraid to swap with
competitors!
- POST ADS IN LINKS
PAGES.
Yes, you do have to re-submit ads
constantly, but you will get
exposure, and visitors DO click
on headlines that grab their
attention. Do a search on Free
Links Pages (you'll find
thousands) or check sites as you
visit them for a Free Links Page.
If ads change before your very
eyes, don't waste your time
posting. Those sites are linked
with search engine submission
services and your ad will only be
online for a few minutes before
it's replaced. Your headline is
your only chance here - make it
work.
- START YOUR OWN
CLASSIFIED ADS SITE.
It's Free, quick and completely
painless. It takes a minute to
sign up and a few more to set it
up. Then just place a link to it
on your home page, and post ads
in free links pages or other free
classifieds sites to advertise.
- ADVERTISE IN YOUR
EMAIL SIGNATURE FILE.
Every time you send out email
include your name, site name and
URL, slogan (if your site name
isn't self-explanatory), email
address, and a brief ad for your
product, service or perhaps your
new classified ad site.
- PRESS RELEASES.
All too overlooked, press
releases are an unbeatable source
of free exposure. For information
on writing and submitting your
own (rather than paying an editor
to do it) logon to:
PR Web at http://www.prweb.com/
For tips on what to do and what
not to do, logon:
Imediafax at http://www.imediafax.com/helpfulhints.html
Be aware, however, that 'just
another PR piece' won't get
published.
- BANNER EXCHANGES.
The old staple, still going
strong. Join: Link Exchange
(http://www.linkexchange.com)
SmartClicks
(http://www.smartclicks.com)
Banner Co-op
(http://www.bannerco-op.com) for starters.
- START YOU OWN
MAILING LIST Keeping contact with
your visitors and customers is
the Number One goal of any
marketer. It is absolutely
paramount! And the Internet lends
itself perfectly to that goal.
Start your own mailing list and
keep your visitors up-to-date on
your services, offer 'members
only' discounts, launch a new
product, etc.
- SWAP CLASSIFIED
ADS Contact publishers of
newsletters and offer an ad swap.
Put their ad in your publication
and ask to put your ad in theirs.
Look for publications that are
close in number to yours so the
reciprocal arrangement will be
beneficial to you both. For
information on ezines logon to
John Labovitz's E-ZINE-LIST at http://www.meer.net/~johnl/e-zine-list/ or search in your
favorite search engine.
- SEARCH ENGINE
SUBMISSION The best source of
free advertising. The traffic you
receive will supplement all of
the other sources you use to
promote your business. Search
engines are the starting point
for many surfers, particularly
those new to the Internet. A good
placement will make a difference.
One more for good measure:
- TAKE ADVANTAGE OF
EVERY OPPORTUNITY. Get your
site's name and URL public
whenever you can by joining and
posting messages in appropriate
forums, discussion groups,
surveys, lists, anything that
will give you exposure.
Appropriate is the key.
Keep in mind, through
all of the above, you need to give
serious thought to attention-grabbing
headlines. Work on them constantly.
Headlines are your lifeline on the Net.
Brought
to you by: World Wide Information Outlet
- http://certificate.net/wwio/, your
source of FREEWare Content online.
Diane
Standish is Publisher
of the eCave NetGazette. She has 15 years
of marketing experience, both off and
online in computer and business services,
and is founder and President of a
multi-million dollar service business.
Reach her by email at ezine@ecave.com or visit her
site, eCave Internet Services, at http://www.ecave.com
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