Low-Cost Advertising Alternatives
| Category: Online Promotion | Date: 2001-03-14 |
There have been many articles written on the subject of web site advertising. My intention here is not to rehash those topics, (although many are very good), but rather offer some low-cost alternatives on many overlooked opportunities both on and off the Internet. All of these suggestions may not be applicable to your situation, but they are viable methods that I or my colleagues have used with success.
To begin with, I must say I feel many of us forget that an Internet business is a real business whose prospects or customers are real people who live in the real world. My point is many of the methods used to promote an off-line business should not be forgotten online. I would first like to discuss some off-line advertising ideas, then give some online suggestions.
Off-line Advertising To Promote On-line Presence
Below are some often overlooked methods to promote your website when you are not online:
1. Promotional Items - Many inexpensive items such as pens, key rings, refrigerator magnets, bookmarks, cups etc. can be bought for as little as $.10-$.25 each. They can be imprinted with your company name and URL and make great giveaways in many situations. For companies producing these types of items, look in your local yellow pages under "Advertising Specialties" or "Promotional Products".
2. Shirts - T-shirts can be custom printed for about $5-$7 each, Golf Shirts probably around $10-$12 each in minimum quantities. Although too expensive to give out to everyone, they can be worn by yourself or used as a contest prize. Make sure you have an attractive logo or catchy slogan that people will want to wear. Think of how many Nike, Reebok, or Coca-Cola shirts you've seen. For companies producing these types of items, look in your local yellow pages under "Screen Printing".
3. Magnetic Car Signs - If you spend a lot of time in traffic, this is a great item. If you don't like the large type that go on the side of your vehicle, consider a smaller type that would go on the back of your vehicle. Ask a few of your friends if they would display them on their vehicle as well. Look in your local yellow pages under "Screen Printing" or "Signs" for companies producing these types of items.
4. Radio Talk Shows - Even if you're not a public speaker you can still take advantage of this option. Often times local talk radio stations are looking for guest speakers on business topics. This can be a great way to get some good local exposure. Contact the Station Manager or Program Director for more information.
5. Press Releases - Many print publications, especially the smaller ones are always looking for newsworthy announcements. A personal letter to the editor is your best route. Make the release a single page, formatted as a news article rather than a sales letter. Unless you are a good copywriter, spend $50-$75 to have it done professionally.
6. Computer Clubs - Many towns have local computer clubs that can be very beneficial to join. It can be a good place to learn about computers plus network for business contacts.
7. Business Cards - The printed business card will never go out of style. Have them printed with your name, company name, e-mail address, and of course your URL. Leave them everywhere - with your tip at the restaurant, posted on (physical) bulletin boards, stapled to all the bills you send out, plus everyone you meet. You never know who has a need for your product or service.
There are many other examples of off-line advertising if you get creative. Since the majority of Internet based businesses advertise exclusively online, you will really stand out if you use some of the above suggestions in conjunction with your online advertising. For example, I once received a "Thank You" pen in the mail from an Internet company I had ordered from. It was simply printed with their name and URL. The pen was a cheapie, but the impact was significant.
Now, I would like to offer some alternatives to mainstream online advertising. First of all, you will most likely find that your own in-house list of customers/prospects will produce the most sales. Given that fact, it should be the goal of every webmaster to legitimately capture the e-mail address and preferably the name as well, of all those who visit your website. Of course you will never attain 100% of that goal, but here are some tips to improve your odds:
1. Get Your Site Referred - I read a recent survey that stated 82% of the web surfers polled said they would gladly recommend a site to their friends if they liked it. Of course, you should make that process easy and worthwhile for them to do. Two free services I use do just that.
The first is Recommend It at http://www.recommend-it.com/. After you sign up, they provide you with a link to a personalized web page on their server. It is there that your visitors can refer your website to a friend and at the same time be enrolled in a drawing for a FREE Palm III electronic organizer. A personalized e-mail is then sent to the friend with the referrer's name in the subject so it has a good chance of being read. The number of hits can be viewed on-line from a control panel.
The second service is called Let Em Know and can be found at http://LetEmKnow.com . This one is my preference because the form is hosted on your site with a link back to their CGI script. This allows you to customize the look to match your site. Their stats page also displays not only the number of hits, but also the names and e-mail addresses which is great for follow-up. In this case, it would be the webmaster's responsibility to offer an incentive to refer someone. A free report or free e-book is a good choice here, but do offer something of real value.
Both services are very well run and allow a brief description of your site to be included with the referral message. Either one of these also make a great part of your signature line.
2. Survey/Opinion Forms - Here is another good way to capture an e-mail address and get some valuable feed back at the same time. Most people like to voice their opinion if you make it easy for them to do so. You may ask questions like "What did you like best about this site?", "What did you like least?", "How would you improve it?" or "How did you find it?". It's a good idea to offer them some type of freebie for taking the time to fill out the form.
Most ISP's or Web hosts offer CGI access with form scripts. If you need a good form script, go to Matt's Script Archive and download Formmail" at http://worldwidemart.com/scripts/. If you do not have CGI access, go to http://www.freedback.com/. They offer a good free service that will accomplish the same.
3. Get Testimonials - Make it a practice to send a brief follow- up message a few days after each sale. Thank them for the order and ask for a testimonial if they liked the product/service. You can offer a freebie for their time if you wish. Many people will respond favorably. If you get some comments that you wish to use in your advertising, simply ask the customer to sign a release form giving you permission to quote their comments in your promotional material.
4. PostMaster What's New List - Here is a FREE service that many people do not utilize. This list of 13,000 subscribers is 100% opt-in which means the readers want to receive news of your latest web page. The list is not targeted but it is good for some quick free exposure. You can also submit your URL to the major search engines at the same time which is very convenient.
http://www.netcreations.com/postmaster/registration/try.html.
5. Mailing Lists - This option requires a bit more finesse, but if done properly will produce good results at no cost. The lists I refer to are very specific discussion groups set up by the list owner for exchange of ideas and news on a particular topic. They are usually moderated and permit no advertising, however most will allow you to add a signature line along with your relevant post. There are over 90,000 different topics available. A searchable directory can be found at http://liszt.com/.
6. Discussion Forums - These are similar to mailing lists except the subscribers view the posts on a website rather than an e-mail message. Again, no ads but sig lines are usually OK. You can check out some of the better ones are at:
http://bizweb2000.com/wwwboard/
http://ablake.net/forum/index.cgi
http://www.virtualpromote.com/
http://www.profitlines.com/ipub/index.html
Regardless of which methods you choose, the most important point
is to do it consistently. Most people need to see your message several times before taking action. Track your results accurately and keep testing even if you are not seeing a great response.
Just remember, a slight modification to an ad campaign or just one more posting can often mean the difference between breaking even or making a huge profit, which is what you really deserve.
About the author:
Barry Craft has helped thousands of entrepreneurs develop more income from their online businesses. He publishes "Cyber Marketing News" which provides the latest Internet marketing tips.
barry@profitmatters.com.
http://www.profitmatters.com/
To begin with, I must say I feel many of us forget that an Internet business is a real business whose prospects or customers are real people who live in the real world. My point is many of the methods used to promote an off-line business should not be forgotten online. I would first like to discuss some off-line advertising ideas, then give some online suggestions.
Off-line Advertising To Promote On-line Presence
Below are some often overlooked methods to promote your website when you are not online:
1. Promotional Items - Many inexpensive items such as pens, key rings, refrigerator magnets, bookmarks, cups etc. can be bought for as little as $.10-$.25 each. They can be imprinted with your company name and URL and make great giveaways in many situations. For companies producing these types of items, look in your local yellow pages under "Advertising Specialties" or "Promotional Products".
2. Shirts - T-shirts can be custom printed for about $5-$7 each, Golf Shirts probably around $10-$12 each in minimum quantities. Although too expensive to give out to everyone, they can be worn by yourself or used as a contest prize. Make sure you have an attractive logo or catchy slogan that people will want to wear. Think of how many Nike, Reebok, or Coca-Cola shirts you've seen. For companies producing these types of items, look in your local yellow pages under "Screen Printing".
3. Magnetic Car Signs - If you spend a lot of time in traffic, this is a great item. If you don't like the large type that go on the side of your vehicle, consider a smaller type that would go on the back of your vehicle. Ask a few of your friends if they would display them on their vehicle as well. Look in your local yellow pages under "Screen Printing" or "Signs" for companies producing these types of items.
4. Radio Talk Shows - Even if you're not a public speaker you can still take advantage of this option. Often times local talk radio stations are looking for guest speakers on business topics. This can be a great way to get some good local exposure. Contact the Station Manager or Program Director for more information.
5. Press Releases - Many print publications, especially the smaller ones are always looking for newsworthy announcements. A personal letter to the editor is your best route. Make the release a single page, formatted as a news article rather than a sales letter. Unless you are a good copywriter, spend $50-$75 to have it done professionally.
6. Computer Clubs - Many towns have local computer clubs that can be very beneficial to join. It can be a good place to learn about computers plus network for business contacts.
7. Business Cards - The printed business card will never go out of style. Have them printed with your name, company name, e-mail address, and of course your URL. Leave them everywhere - with your tip at the restaurant, posted on (physical) bulletin boards, stapled to all the bills you send out, plus everyone you meet. You never know who has a need for your product or service.
There are many other examples of off-line advertising if you get creative. Since the majority of Internet based businesses advertise exclusively online, you will really stand out if you use some of the above suggestions in conjunction with your online advertising. For example, I once received a "Thank You" pen in the mail from an Internet company I had ordered from. It was simply printed with their name and URL. The pen was a cheapie, but the impact was significant.
Now, I would like to offer some alternatives to mainstream online advertising. First of all, you will most likely find that your own in-house list of customers/prospects will produce the most sales. Given that fact, it should be the goal of every webmaster to legitimately capture the e-mail address and preferably the name as well, of all those who visit your website. Of course you will never attain 100% of that goal, but here are some tips to improve your odds:
1. Get Your Site Referred - I read a recent survey that stated 82% of the web surfers polled said they would gladly recommend a site to their friends if they liked it. Of course, you should make that process easy and worthwhile for them to do. Two free services I use do just that.
The first is Recommend It at http://www.recommend-it.com/. After you sign up, they provide you with a link to a personalized web page on their server. It is there that your visitors can refer your website to a friend and at the same time be enrolled in a drawing for a FREE Palm III electronic organizer. A personalized e-mail is then sent to the friend with the referrer's name in the subject so it has a good chance of being read. The number of hits can be viewed on-line from a control panel.
The second service is called Let Em Know and can be found at http://LetEmKnow.com . This one is my preference because the form is hosted on your site with a link back to their CGI script. This allows you to customize the look to match your site. Their stats page also displays not only the number of hits, but also the names and e-mail addresses which is great for follow-up. In this case, it would be the webmaster's responsibility to offer an incentive to refer someone. A free report or free e-book is a good choice here, but do offer something of real value.
Both services are very well run and allow a brief description of your site to be included with the referral message. Either one of these also make a great part of your signature line.
2. Survey/Opinion Forms - Here is another good way to capture an e-mail address and get some valuable feed back at the same time. Most people like to voice their opinion if you make it easy for them to do so. You may ask questions like "What did you like best about this site?", "What did you like least?", "How would you improve it?" or "How did you find it?". It's a good idea to offer them some type of freebie for taking the time to fill out the form.
Most ISP's or Web hosts offer CGI access with form scripts. If you need a good form script, go to Matt's Script Archive and download Formmail" at http://worldwidemart.com/scripts/. If you do not have CGI access, go to http://www.freedback.com/. They offer a good free service that will accomplish the same.
3. Get Testimonials - Make it a practice to send a brief follow- up message a few days after each sale. Thank them for the order and ask for a testimonial if they liked the product/service. You can offer a freebie for their time if you wish. Many people will respond favorably. If you get some comments that you wish to use in your advertising, simply ask the customer to sign a release form giving you permission to quote their comments in your promotional material.
4. PostMaster What's New List - Here is a FREE service that many people do not utilize. This list of 13,000 subscribers is 100% opt-in which means the readers want to receive news of your latest web page. The list is not targeted but it is good for some quick free exposure. You can also submit your URL to the major search engines at the same time which is very convenient.
http://www.netcreations.com/postmaster/registration/try.html.
5. Mailing Lists - This option requires a bit more finesse, but if done properly will produce good results at no cost. The lists I refer to are very specific discussion groups set up by the list owner for exchange of ideas and news on a particular topic. They are usually moderated and permit no advertising, however most will allow you to add a signature line along with your relevant post. There are over 90,000 different topics available. A searchable directory can be found at http://liszt.com/.
6. Discussion Forums - These are similar to mailing lists except the subscribers view the posts on a website rather than an e-mail message. Again, no ads but sig lines are usually OK. You can check out some of the better ones are at:
http://bizweb2000.com/wwwboard/
http://ablake.net/forum/index.cgi
http://www.virtualpromote.com/
http://www.profitlines.com/ipub/index.html
Regardless of which methods you choose, the most important point
is to do it consistently. Most people need to see your message several times before taking action. Track your results accurately and keep testing even if you are not seeing a great response.
Just remember, a slight modification to an ad campaign or just one more posting can often mean the difference between breaking even or making a huge profit, which is what you really deserve.
About the author:
Barry Craft has helped thousands of entrepreneurs develop more income from their online businesses. He publishes "Cyber Marketing News" which provides the latest Internet marketing tips.
barry@profitmatters.com.
http://www.profitmatters.com/
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