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100 ways to promote – Part 6
Networking
AdSwaps
Creativity
Freebie Promotions
Web Rings
An Email Course

100 ways to promote – Number 17 Networking

Networking is important for your business not only online, but offline as well. Many contacts that you make offline can help your business to grow.

An easy way to start networking offline is to visit a meeting of your Chambers of Commerce. Many of these meetings are open (i.e. you don’t have to be a member to attend).

Make sure that you take plenty of business cards (we’ll discuss business cards in a future issue) and an open mind. There are also other clubs and groups that you can join – check out your yellow pages for more information.

100 ways to promote – Number 18–Ad Swaps

It is a simple concept. You include other webmasters advertising (business card, brochure, catalog) information in mailings (thank you notes, packages, etc) to your clients and they do the same thing.

You can start doing this by looking at your link lists and joint venture ideas that we talked about earlier. There are also services on the net that do this for you.

One of them is MomPack. http://www.mompack.com/

100 ways to promote – Number 19– Offline Creativity

Promoting and marketing your site is really only limited by your imagination. Make sure to:
Target your market.
Use it to boost sales, new subscribers.

Here is an example which might help to get you thinking. Let’s say that I sell roller blades. Our target audience is mostly teens and early 20’s. I gather up some friends and hold a free car wash in an area that is frequented by our target audience. The car washers are all on our blades and before we start washing the car, we hand them our latest catalog, along with a coupon for our latest style. We have samples of our product line with us and if possible (regarding zoning, laws, etc.) we have some of our products that folks can purchase. We also ask them for their email address so that we can send them our newsletter.

Again this is only an example – let your imagination loose.

100 ways to promote – Number 20– Giving it Away

Everyone loves free stuff. One of the ways you can promote your business and website is to give it away. You can do this in several ways, the main things to remember are.

Make the freebie related to your business.
This may seem like a no-brainer but some people make this mistake. It can be a sample of one of your products. If you offer services it can be a free consultation or trial period of your services. The more closely related it is to the products and services that you normally offer, the better.

Don’t forget to follow up.
First on your freebie page make it easy for them to bookmark it. Also if possible (and you explain it in your offer) add them to your subscription list. A couple of months (or weeks) after sending them the freebie, ask if they liked it, give them a discount on the products or services they can buy.

An example.
We offer a free chapter of our book – the web page planner. http://www.webpageplanner.com It also has a contest involved (see the prior lesson). After we send them the link to download the chapter. We place their original email in a follow-up file. Once a month we pick the winner and email all the contest / freebie folks with a discount coupon for product.

-Promoting your Freebie
Make sure to optimize your free page so that it ranks well within the search engines. You can use lots of ways to promote the page / freebie. Some of the ways that come quickly to mind include the email signature and message boards. One of the best ways to promote your item or service is through freebie directories. This helps not only to announce your item to their audience, but also helps in getting your link count up.

Some free places to submit your freebie listing (Instructions – some sites you have to email your submission, others you will need to be in the correct category to submit, others have an add a freebie link, some sites require a link back).

http://www.freecenter.com/
http://www.1freestuffsite.com/
http://www.4freestuff.net/
http://www.itsfree4u.com/
http://www.allforfree.co.uk/
http://www.freechannel.net/
http://www.prospector.cz/
http://www.freewell.com/
http://www.thefreeland.com/

Need more? Search this directory- http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet/WWW/Free_Stuff/Link_Pages/

100 ways to promote – Number 21– Web Rings

o THE CONCEPT
Linking sites with similar content (or interests) with a script of some sort. Usually it works by each site being a link within the ring (i.e. A – B – C – D – A – etc.).

o THE GOOD
This allows some targeting of your audience so that as visitors click through the web ring they will see websites that contain information that they are seeking.

o THE BAD
As I mentioned before most web rings flow from site A – B – etc. So what happens if the site before yours in the ring gets little or no hits, then your site will get little or no traffic from the ring. Some improvements have been made, people now can click to find the entire listings of sites in the web ring. Many times rings ‘require’ that you put the graphic / script on the front page of your site. Some folks think rings are ‘tacky’ and when they see one they’ll just click away from your site.

o THE UGLY
If the site before yours in the ring is down, then no one will find you from clicking through the ring. Making sure there is a good ringmaster behind the scenes is essential to making this work.

o OPTIONS AND LINKS The big winner in rings is whoever created the ring – they get a link on everyone’s page. So if you’re thinking of using Web Rings to promote your site, then why not start your own. Some details about this can be found below.

++ Web Ring Systems 10+ Web Ring systems can be found BY Clicking Here:

100 ways to promote – Number 22– An Email Course

Millions of people love the Internet because it offers them so much free information. People used to grab the phone book, pick up a newspaper, or call the library when they had a question. Now vast numbers log on and find the information online.

You can harness this massive and powerful demand for free information. Use it to build your base of customers and prospects. Use your ability to provide free information to build image, customer confidence, brand recognition, and sales. Get and use your own email course.

This is an all-time favorite with Internet users. Courses can be nothing more than a few successive email messages that give readers information on a particular topic.

Most courses are seven messages long, although some are as short as three messages and many have ten or more. Use a multiple autoresponder to send your messages automatically. I find it is best to have a lesson arrive every day or every other day. If your messages show up every other day, you keep your name and information in front of customers for a full two weeks. That gives prospects the time they need to carefully consider your offer and decide to buy.

You makes sales in many cases where customers would have forgotten your name, your site, and your offer. If you don't have a newsletter, offer an email course to keep your information in front of people until it has time to make an impact.

Your email course makes an excellent free bonus for people who subscribe to your newsletter or request your sales information. When the page comes up that says "thanks for subscribing," include a box where people can type their email address to get your free course. How can you get your own email course? The easiest way is to offer a course someone else has written. Many course authors don't mind if you use their course as long as you keep their contact and promotional information in tact. Ask permission.

Chris McClean has created a service that connects web site owners with free courses.
http://7LessonCourses.com

lets you choose the course you want to offer, insert your ad in the course, then gives you a simple sign-up form to put on your site. In case you want to create your own course, here are the mechanics:

1. Pick a problem that lots of your customers struggle with.

In my business the big stumpers are getting a site that sells, finding a way to handle email, figuring out search engines, and finding low-cost ways to advertise effectively. A course on any of these is guaranteed to bring lots of interested prospects and customers (and you can bet I’m plugging my ads here and there during the course). Your course could be on how to complete a basement, how to avoid an IRS audit, how to give your kids straight teeth, or anything else that customers often ask about.

2. If you don’t write or have time to pen your own articles, look for others who have written on the topic.

It is perfectly legal to put their ideas in your own words (always proper to give them credit). You can also quote the article. It is best to ask in advance, if your course is for commercial purposes.

Start your article, then say expert Jane Doe has some valuable information. Include a few paragraphs of what Jane wrote. Be careful not to use so much you give away her entire article and spoil her ability to sell the information. Email is by far the most popular feature of the Internet.

Use your own email course to build an audience and promote yourself as someone who knows their field.

Kevin Nunley provides marketing advice, promotion packages, and copy writing. Get his series of free email courses at http://DrNunley.com/freecourses.htm
Reach Kevin at mailto:kevin@drnunley.com or 801-328-9006.