Effective Marketing For The Webmaster
Effective Marketing For The Webmaster (Free Advertising Methods)
Throughout my experience in Marketing, I have found that simply
placing ads in free classified sites, FFA (free for all), and
participating in safelists does not work anymore. It used to,
but that is not the case any longer. I also have found out that
you do not have to pay for any advertising for it to be
effective.
The key to "Effective Marketing" is creativity. If you start
really thinking about how you might go about promoting your
business/website, then you might be surprised at what you come
up with. Here are some free methods to get you started. You need
to make Google/Yahoo/MSN or any favorite search engine a good
friend. Use these to your advantage for finding the following
places below.
1) Work At Home/Business Forums or Message Boards: Find and
create accounts at various work at home or business message
forums. After creating your account then proceed to create your
signature. A signature is a block of text at the end of a
message that states your name and your
business/website/affiliate program. Please read the posting
rules at all forums. Some do not allow signatures...and some do
not allow posting your business ad. Always be careful of these
rules...you could be banned. Signature advertising in
forums/message boards has found to be very effective.
2) Directories: Find and sign up with various business
directories. Add your business/website to them. There are tons
of these that do not require a reciprocal link back. You will
find the occasional ones that require a fee...just pass those up
and go on to the next one, as there are several. For the ones
that do require a link back, it is advisable to choose the ones
with a high page rank.
3) Link and Banner Exchanging: There are many, many webmasters
that are willing to exchange links/banners with you. This method
of advertising is called networking and is really a great free
way to promote your business. You can let webmasters know that
you would like to exchange links with them through various
forums, OR...you can look up websites (that relate to your
business), and simply email the webmaster (site owner) and
propose that you would like to exchange links or banners. Always
keep up with your emails and follow up with a polite reply. You
will be pleasantly surprised at the responses you will get.
4) Ezines and Newsletters: Ezines and newsletters are basically
online magazines. You can subscribe to them and enter your ad
and affiliate program or website URL. Most of these are free to
subscribe to, and also free to enter your ad. These
ezines/newsletters have a large membership base. By using this
method of advertising, your business/website would reach a large
audience.
5) Offline Advertising: This is where you will use your
creativity. There are literally endless offline advertising
ideas that you can use. You can make up flyers, business cards,
letters, and give them out to friends and relatives. You can
post them at grocery stores, laundry mats, department stores,
libraries, theatres, schools...basically anywhere where it is
allowed. One example of an idea: If you are at a theatre...leave
some of your business cards in the restroom. You might be
surprised at who will look and pick them up. Just use your
imagination...have fun and be creative.
6) Articles: You might try writing some articles that relate to
your business or website. Many ezines and newsletters that you
subscribe to let you post your written articles. And again, this
method would be free of charge. At the end of your article,
mention the URL of your business or website.
Article written by Tammy Embrich Owner of: (Work At Home
Opportunities) http://www.onestopwebemployment.com/
Reprints are allowed only if you include the author's name and
information.