How To Promote A Website Offline

December 4, 2011 by Peter Lawlor  
Filed under Online Promotion

With all the talk in marketing circles about driving traffic to a business website on the Internet, offline methods to promote a website are often neglected.

The fact is you can promote pretty much any kind of website offline. So, how do you promote a website offline?

18 Ways to promote a website offline

1. Tradeshows, seminars, conferences, and other gatherings

You can be a speaker, set up a booth, or get featured by a speaker or a booth. The aim is to get your website URL in front of eyeballs or mentioned to the large group of people.

2. Print ads

Print advertising can be an excellent way to drive traffic to a website. In my view print advertising will thrive in the future because of the terrific way it can integrate with promoting web properties.

3. Radio ads

It’s a lot easier to remember a simple web address than a phone number. What could be a better mix than driving traffic from a great radio ad to a website? Just be sure to have a very easy to remember web address. Register a new domain if necessary. Make it stand out.

4. TV commercials

Same approach as radio ads. Instead of promoting a phone number, or in addition to promoting a phone number, promote an easy to remember web address.

5. Direct mail

Create attention grabbing coupons, flyers, envelopes that get people’s attention so they go to their computer and visit the prescribed web address.

6. Stationary etc.

If you don’t plaster your website URL on all your printed materials, you’re missing out. Think business cards, letterhead, envelopes, fax cover sheets, brochures, etc.

7. Mention your Website on after-hours voice mail messages

If you’re not a 24/7 business, instead of simply letting people leave a message, tell them on the message quickly your web address for more information. This is a free way to promote your website offline.

8. On stuff

Give away stuff like pens, mugs, T-shirts, binders, folders, key-chains, etc. Just don’t forget to have your website on those items.

9. Press releases in print

Sure, press releases online are huge and effective. But, people still read the printed word. If you invest in printed press releases, be sure to include your website.

10. Classified ads in print

Classifieds are cheap – whether online or offline. They still get eyeballs, even the print version. Try classifieds for specific purposes to drive traffic and promote your website.

11. Become an expert

Speak at conferences, seminars, etc. and blatantly promote your website. If you produce materials for your talk, include your website.

12. Become a journalist

Why not write articles for particular journals, newspapers, magazines etc. and get your website mentioned. Remember, publications need content. If you have something valuable to say, then try saying it in the printed word.

13. Billboards

Millions of people drive cars. The billboard is not going away. Come up with an easy-to-remember web address and great billboard ad to drive traffic, web traffic that is, to your website.

14. Vehicles

Does your business lease or own vehicles? I constantly see vehicles with ads. Semi trucks have promoted their companies for years. Why not do the same with your business.

15. Grocery store checkout lines

Consider for a moment how many people pick up and look at those grocery check out separator bars every day. That’s a lot of eyeballs. I’ve noticed grocery stores offering ad placement. You could create a great ad with your website to promote your website offline.

16. Store receipts and bags

Is there a store near you that attracts your prospective customers that isn’t a direct competitor. Offer to pay to advertise on their bags and receipts. Again, you get your website in front of many eyeballs to promote your website offline.

17. Joint ventures

Exercise leverage with related, non-competitors to help each other out. You advertise in their newsletter and they in yours.

18. Get creative with public spaces

Think bus benches, buses, sides of buildings … anywhere there’s a surface that people see. It’s an opportunity to promote your website offline.

You can’t possibly still be wondering how to promote your website offline after this list. However, don’t blindly promote your site – think about whether the promotion gets the attention of your prospective customers.

Also, don’t neglect to test your ads and create ads that actually do promote your website offline. You’d hate to spend the money only to see no results.

Next, discover 36 ways to increase website traffic at B2Web’s Website Template Reviews.

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Local Business Owners – How To Evaluate Your Social Media Campaign

October 1, 2011 by Trudy Lawler  
Filed under Online Promotion

As an advisor for many local business owners, a word that comes up most often is: “Frustration” – to describe companies new to social media and those who have been involved in social media but have yet to enjoy a return.

As a person who has advised thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs on their social media marketing plan, the issue is actually two-fold. The first issue is that social media marketing takes time and needs to be done consistently. There are no immediate returns on investment. The second issue is that your social media messages need to make sense with the type of business you have.

To evaluate your own social media efforts, just ask yourself these questions:

- What platform are you using? Is it the right one for you? Most people are familiar now with Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. And there are even more variations within each main platform. Each one has different tools to use, and different ways to use them. In Facebook for example, you have “Pages”, “Groups”, and “Communities”. How do you know which to use, and which platform? Well, let’s say you have a fitness club. You might use a Facebook Community to put up photos, classes, and events, and then YouTube to publish informative videos and tapings of classes to entice new members.

- Have you scrapped past attempts? However, you also need to remember that whatever you take on has to be maintained and updated regularly. This can take up valuable time and people resources. While it can certainly be worth it in the long run, remember that consistency is key. If you do not think you will be able to maintain various platforms (or you have already started and stopped using a platform) be sure to erase or delete those accounts. Otherwise, you stand the risk of eroding your brand value when a customer (current or potential) stumbles across your forgotten Bebo account. Instead, make sure that what you have is the best it can be and do away with anything that you are not actively using.

- Are you providing the type of information and interaction that your audience wants? Ask yourself what it is that your audience would want to read, not what you want to tell them. Providing discounts or having giveaways can be useful, but you have to have more substance than that. Consider posting facts about your company, the brand, or its products. Think of the tidbits of information you encounter everyday that make you stop and say, “Really?” Examples include fun facts about how long you have been in business, what happens “behind the scenes”, why your business operates as it does (e.g. why Yoga class was cancelled on Tuesdays, why you do not serve poppyseed bagels, why you buy local, why legal documents are presented in blue card stock), etc.

- Do you pay attention to what your audience has to say? Do you respond to them when they post or comment? Don’t forget – you don’t just want to broadcast a message – with social media, you want to interact.

- Does your audience have a voice on your profile? Remember, you want interaction – so you want to facilitate this by asking questions, surveying, polling, and anything else that people will respond to. If they feel they can respond, they will feel valued – and what’s better than feeling valued? If you’re missing this interaction, you’re missing out on social media’s rewards.

Learn more about b2b social media marketing services. Stop by Eric Henderson’s site where you can find out all about social media marketing packages and what they can do for you right now.

The Best Way to Dominate your Competition with Local Internet Marketing

September 29, 2011 by Martin Russell  
Filed under Online Promotion

If you’re a small business operator that isn’t ruling your local internet marketing, well then, you’re merely leaving cash on the table that your rivals are getting.

What’s great with regards to local markets is really because are certainly not very aggressive, in fact it is achievable to quickly progress the search engine rankings and acquire a ton of free highly targeted traffic visiting your web site. The next tips just might be what you must do to produce an incredible traffic surge for your site, which will hopefully, will enormously enhance your net income.

Suggestion – Decide on a URL with the Principle Buying Keywords in it that your chosen Site really should be Targeting – Many small businesses put the title of their business in their websites name. Nobody aside from your mom is ever going to do an online try to find the name of your company.

We are going to use an example to explain to you how to pick the correct URL. In case your business is situated in Sydney, and you’re simply in the real estate industry, your URL should look something such as the examples below, (Sydneyhomesforsale.com).

If you are thinking why we used the above mentioned terms in our URL, the subsequent short details will explain it to you. Initially, individuals executing a search will usually put in the location, which in such a case is Sydney. Next, they will put in the term they may be most interested in, which in this instance is, (Homes for sale).

Third, we want to use (.com or .com.au) being an extension because the search engines including Google, Yahoo, or Bing will rank them above all other extensions, when anything else is equivalent. Next, (Homes for sale) is a buying keyword, that could produce more income for your company rather than a generic one like (Real Estate Agency).

Fifth, and even more importantly of all, the various search engines put a substantial amount of credence in the URL as soon as they rank it for a search term. And so, by employing this term, it will be extremely hard for you to not ever rank on the first page of the searches for the term (Sydney Homes for Sale).

For more information on Local Internet Marketing, try to visit Real Results Media and request your Free Local Internet Marketing Strategy Session at Local Search Engine Marketing.

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