Business Cards

One of the best ways to do this is through Business Cards. Handing someone a business card is going to help them remember you after that person walks away. How many times have you had a conversation about doing something when you got home only to forget by the time you got there? With a business card in hand or in their pocket it will be seen when they get to their desk and if they remember your conversation and are intrigued enough about what you are offering, they might type in your web address which is listed on your business card and learn more about you.

Brochures, Flyers, Advertisements

Advertising your website through print media is just as important as a business card and if you have the money for printing and distribution it is definitely the way to go. You could put your website on anything! Get t-shirts, pens, calendars, coffee cups, and about a million other trinkets embossed with your company name, logo, phone number and especially your website address. There are literally millions of places online you can order these from but if you need assistance or to delegate your time I am always here to help.

You can also promote your website through more traditional methods, adding your website onto your stationary and invoices, envelopes and fax cover sheets. Anything that helps draw the eyes of a potential customer is worth trying. Anytime someone sees that trusty www they think website and they think, let me go check out that website and see what they have to offer. The more places your www is listed the more chances you have of that happening.

Emails

The next thing you can do to promote your website is send out emails. If you are like most everyone on the planet these days you have email capabilities and probably a good list of email buddies. You could email your friends a link to your website and ask them to send it on, but how many of them truly will pass on an email that says “hey go check out my new website”

Email signature

Many email programs have the ability to create and add what is called email signatures. Create one with your name, company name, phone number, website and whatever else you want mentioned and it will be added at the bottom of every email you send – how many times have you sent on forwards – now you will be promoting your business without even thinking about it. One note, keep it short but make it stand out. If it’s too long it will be ignored if it is basic black text at 12 point font, you’ll never stand out in the crowd.

Email Newsletters

Email newsletters are very important especially if you are promoting a business. By writing a newsletter and including some interesting facts, pictures of your products, sales or specials you are having and whatever else might intrigue viewers, the recipients of that newsletter will be more likely to click on your website and also more likely to pass on that newsletter to others they think might benefit from it. 

Email Distribution Lists

If your client list is small or non-existent you can purchase email distribution lists although finding a reputable company, valid email addresses, viewers specifically looking for your content can be difficult and sometimes you may be thrown into a spam or junk mail filter. Sending out mass emails can be troublesome but also rewarding depending on how you do it.

Internet Advertising

Internet advertising can be quite involved and time consuming but is a necessary endeavor if you want your website found. You need to substantiate your keywords especially if they are new, you need to work on link popularity, moving your website up the lists, and update your content regularly. This isn’t as hard as it sounds, here are a few tips.

Pay Per Click Campaigns

There are Pay per Click campaigns that you can sign up for with the various search engines. They cost you monthly and can get quite expensive depending on the keywords you choose and how many times they are clicked on. It gets your website listed on those top ads in search engines and along the right hand side but there are other ways which are more cost effective. With my search engine optimization I include your descriptions and keywords into your website pages and I even submit your website to the top search engines once it is complete. With a little work sometimes that is all you need.

Link Exchange

Link popularity has been said to be going the way of the dodo bird but I disagree. If you’ve worked on adding your favorite links on your website and have asked those websites to reciprocate you’ve made a huge step towards link popularity. You see, those other websites may be larger and more well-known online than you but they will have your company name on their website. If someone types your company name into a search engine and you are not at the top of the list, but your favorite website is they will still be able to find your website and each click you get will help to move your website up the charts.

Forums, Blogs and Networking

Join a forum, write a blog, begin networking. Promote your site in online forums and discussion lists. This is time consuming and not very fun sometimes as you will have usernames and logins for every forum, blog or other networking site but imagine: You log into a forum, write a post or add your two cents to a post and sign it with a link to your website, that post will pull up every time someone types a relevant keyword into a search bar. You could begin to dominate the charts if you play your cards right. This also works with FaceBook, MySpace and Twitter just keep the pages relevant to the website or business you are trying to promote.

Local Listings

Now this isn’t just advertising with local newspapers and publications or the yellow pages of your area, this is also online! Local listings can be found with most major search engines and although a bit of time is required to create an account and fill in all of the details it is well worth t. If someone is looking for something specific and they type in their city and state are area a local listings result will pull up and if you are listed you will be clicked on. You can input your company information, website and even images and videos if you have them. Google even has the ability to create online coupons to continue to draw people towards you.

Bookmark your website

It’s small but by asking visitors to bookmark your website (add it to their favorites list) it’ll help you not get lost next time they try to find you. You can accomplish this with a little button on your web pages

Offer FREE stuff

You’re out to make a living obviously, and offering free stuff isn’t going to pay the bills but it brings in customers. Giving away samples in the grocery store helps a walker turn into a buyer, so is offering a little something to entice a potential clicker to become a viewer. If you’re selling exercise equipment offer a free weight or calories calculator. The word free id the most widely typed and used word in the search engine world. Free shipping, free quotes, free trinket with your order, and viewers will be finding your website and attempting to learn more.

There are literally hundreds of things you can do and a million companies out there willing to help you do it. Your website’s success is mostly dependent on you and how much you want to do to promote it. Hopefully some of these topics will help you get started. Thanks for reading.