50 Easy Ways to Promote Your Website Online and Off

By Merle
Posted Thursday, July 15, 2004

1) Make sure if you have an on-hold messaging system or an answering machine that it includes your URL and email address.

2) If your company has voice mail have your employees' list your URL in their individual messages.

3) UPS advertises on their trucks, why don't you? URL plates can be ordered with your web address and put on the back of your car or company vehicles. Take a look at (http://www.mcpromotions.com/adURL/default.htm)

4) If you give out promotional gifts to your clients like cups, pens, t-shirts, get your URL printed on them. Order URL t-shirts here (http://www.mcpromotions.com/adURLshirts/)

5) Your web address should be on all printed material that leaves your office including: brochures, business cards, fax sheets, flyers, mailing labels, letterhead, invoices, checks, envelopes. I mean everything. To order these products online see (http://adyourlogo1.clickprint.com)(http://www.iprint.com)

6) All outgoing mail should include a good signature line with your URL. For how to see: (http://www.1stsitefree.com/signature_file.htm) or (http://www.smithfam.com/news/n8.html)

7) Your URL should be listed in the yellow pages.

8) When you send out Christmas Cards make sure your URL is printed somewhere inside the card. (http://www.Iprint.com)

9) Create some money saving coupons on your PC for a discount on any online purchase made and pass them out or do a direct mailing and also list them at (http://www.CoolSavings.com)

10) Give away free "how to" guides on subjects you are knowledgeable in and include your URL. (An example of this would be this article your reading right now)

11) Send out Web postcards to your existing customer base to announce your new website, or buy a mailing list and do a direct mailing with them.Go to Digital Work (http://www.digitalwork.com) and sign up as a member (which is free) and you'll receive money saving marketing services at great savings in your e-mail box about twice a month.

12) If need be get a rubber stamp made up with your URL and stamp everything that leaves your office. (http://adyourlogo1.clickprint.com)

13) Run ads in newspapers, magazines, or trade journals that hit your target market and include your URL. Buy an ad in 1 million nationwide papers at (http://st6.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?classifieds+Dgc6vb+index.html)

14) Utilize press releases. Send them through snail mail and through e-mail. Use them for grand openings, and any other important company event.You can buy the software and send them out easily with your own software. (http://www.mediamagnetpro.com/cgi-bin/aff/clickthru.cgi?id=msmerle )or Send a free one here... (http://www.comitatusgroup.com/pr/index.htm)

15) If your company or organization produces an offline newsletter make sure you include your website address in it for further information.

16) Advertise on the radio. Check out (http://www.medialtd.com/) or (http://www.brevardmarketing.com/)

17) Cable TV advertising is very reasonable. If you live in Ohio check here (http://www.adelphiamediaservices.com/)(http://www.4hb.com/0131wwiobiz64adcable.html)

18) Don't forget about billboard ads. Check out (http://www.forsign.com/) or (http://www.billboards.com/)

19) Do Direct Marketing (bulk mail). (http://www.usps.com/directmail/)

20) Write and publish your own online newsletter also called an ezine. To learn how go to Ezine University (http://www.ezineuniversity.com) or (http://ezine-tips.com/)

To set one up easily use (http://www.egroups.com) To promote your new ezine list it in as many directories as possible. You'll find a list of them here (http://www.interniche.net/partner/sales/ezinedirectories.htm)

If you want to build your subscriber base up in a hurry try (http://www.worldwidelists.com/cgi-bin/ref.cgi?00230) or this one is also excellent

Opt-In List Builder: (http://profitinfo.com/cgi-bin/lb.cgi?PI859)

21) Make sure you advertise in ezines/newsletters that cater to your target market. To find ezines to place ads in go to Ezine Ad Auction (http://www.ezineadauction.com) or Lifestyles Publishing at (http://www.lifestylespub.com/mcp/)

22) Find other related sites and swap text or banners with them. Try (http://www.linkme.com/) and use (http://www.link-spy.com/) to track them.

23) Swap ads with other ezine owners. (http://www.ezine-swap.com/) or (http://www.advantageemailcoop.com/) Use this free program to keep track of them (http://www.HomeBasedProfit.com/east/)

24) Write short articles, no more than 700 words attach your signature line at the bottom and submit them to ezine publishers who may be interested in publishing your work in their newsletters. You can also set up a free account with Idea Marketers (http://www.ideamarketers.com) and create an archive of your articles. Also, use this program and you can syndicate your content across the Internet (http://hop.clickbank.net/?dakota6969/mastersyn)

25) Submit to search engines and directories on a regular basis about every 6 to 8 weeks. Submit each page of your site not just the default page. To learn more about search engines and how they tick go to (http://www.searchenginebase.com) or the absolute authority (http://www.searchenginewatch.com/)

If you're interested in hiring a top notch search engine positioning firm that will get you in the top of the search engines go to...

(http://www.searchking.com/bin/jump/index/1000024964-104)

26) Find specialized directories to list your site in that cater to your exact type of business. (http://www.the1000.com/)

27) Make doorway pages and upload them to your server into a specific folder. Then make another page and list all of the URL's to those doorway pages on that one page. Place an invisible gif on your main page and link it to the HTML page that contains the links to your doorway pages. Go and submit your site to the major search engines. They'll find the gif and follow it to the link page and index all of your doorway pages automatically. This works better then submitting them to the search engines directly. If you want to invest in software to help you with your search engine rankings get Web Position Gold, it's the (http://www.webposition.com/d2.pl?r=BWW-5569)

28) Newsgroups are a great way to get the word out on your website if done properly. Find Newsgroups where your target market hangs out and get involved. Do not post blatant ads, but make intelligent helpful posts using a good signature line. There is software that will help you with this (http://postagent.com/default.asp?fromAgentID=2873) Please use it responsibly.

29) Do direct e-mail mailings using a reputable opt-in service such as:

PostMaster Direct (http://www.postmasterdirect.com) Yes Mail (http://www.yesmail.com) MeMail (http://www.memail.com)

30) Bid on Keywords at one of the "pay per click" search engines. Most of them will allow you to open an account for only 25.00. You only pay the bid amount when someone clicks through to your website. Try one of these. Try to get listed in the top 3 positions as many times these results will be displayed on the more popular search engines results pages.

Goto (http://www.goto.com/) Find What(http://www.findwhat.com RocketLinks) (http://www.rocketlinks.com/ E-Pilot)(http://www.epilot.com/) Kanoodle (http://www.kanoodle.com/)

31) Post to online discussion boards using a good signature line. Some of the best can be found here: (http://www.mcpromotions.com/discussi.htm) or try (http://www.discussmarketing.com) for a ton of boards you can post to.

32) Join a webring.(http://www.webring.org) and link your site up with other related websites.

33) Make your site "sticky" by adding discussion boards, freebies, software downloads, free original content. Read more about how at (http://ehits.com/AskVicki/081000/) and (http://www.freesticky.com/stickyweb/)

34) Add a "recommend this site to a friend" service to your website, it's free. (viral marketing) (http://www.recomendit.com/)

35) Buy banner ads on the major search engines like Yahoo or Alta Vista. For current pricing go to (http://www.bcentral.com) or try one of these banner advertisement networks.

PennyWeb (http://www.pennyweb.com/) FlyCast(http://www.flycast.com/)

If you need a few banners for advertising make some really nice free ones at this site. (http://www.addesigner.com/)

36) Write a few short classified ads to use in your online advertising campaign. Standard size is usually 5 to 6 lines, 65 characters per line. Create a sense of urgency and offer something free. (http://www.drnunley.com/ARTCL25.htm)(http://www.road-2-riches.com/ABCsofads.htm)

37) Hold a free contest or sweepstakes on your website. (http://subportal.iboost.com/new/contestpitch.html)

38) Write and give away your own e-book.For more on this and specific compiler software go to (http://www.ebookcompilers.com/) or(http://www.ebookpaper.com/c.cgi/msmerle_ad) and (http://www.ebooks.com) or

If you don't want to make one yourself you can have a cool Flash e-book made at (http://webtron.net/Flash/ebooks.htm) Pricing starts at 50.00

Download Professional Ebook Covers at(http://hop.clickbank.net/?dakota6969/wsnet)

For an excellent "How To" guide on creating and promoting your own ebooks you'll want to download this e-book (http://hop.clickbank.net/?dakota6969/boogie)

39) When paying your bills every month or just in your everyday mail that leaves your office or house include your business card with your URL. Your bills arrive with "stuffers", who says two can't play that game.

40) If you have an actual brick and mortar store put a sign with your URL in the front window.

41) If you sell products or services online why not allow others to sell for you by starting your very own "associate program". For more on how to start one go to....(http://www.associateprograms.com/) or (http://www.clicktrade.com) or.... (http://www.hypertracker.com/go/msmerle/article/)

42) Buy newsletter ads for only 2.00 here (http://hop.clickbank.net/?dakota6969/dollarday) also try (http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?dakota6969/paaads) or go to (http://www.EzineAdAuction.com) and bid on ads or post your own ad space for auction.

43) Autoresponders work sort of like fax on demand. When someone sends an email to a predetermined address they'll receive back pre-determined information. Set up your own price lists, services offered or FAQ's on them to make your customer service life a bit easier (http://www.getresponse.com/?36047)

44) Buy the Book "Website and Ezine Promotion Made Easy" (http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?dakota6969/sidder)

45) Buy multiple domains especially ones containing your most important keywords and point them to your existing site or use them as doorways to your site. Buy for only 30.00 a year at (http://www.linkcounter.com/go.php?linkid=190273) or Unclaimed Domains at (http://www.unclaimeddomains.com/?hop=dakota6969/unclaimed)

46) For even more promotional tips on a monthly basis you'll want to subscribe to "Trafficology". (http://www.linkcounter.com/go.php?linkid=190276)

47) Choosing the right keywords for your website is so important. For help in choosing use Word Tracker (http://www.linkcounter.com/go.php?linkid=190278)

48) Post to Classified Sites. Join the Classified Club for the latest in classified ad resources. (http://www.linkcounter.com/go.php?linkid=190279)

49) Want to go to the top of the search engines? Learn how with this book "Insider Internet Marketer" (http://www.bizweb2000.com/d5003.htm)

50) To succeed online you need to offer as many different payment options as possible. If you don't have a merchant account and want to be able to accept credit cards try CickBank (http://www.linkcounter.com/go.php?linkid=190282)

If you want to know the "secret" behind website marketing there isn't one. It's a combination of all of the above that makes for a successful site that people actually visit.

So what are you waiting for? Get Busy.....

About the Author
Merle is an internet marketer, promotion consultant and ezine publisher. Visit her sites at (http://www.mcpromotions.com/), (http://www.merlesworld.com/) and (http://www.ezineadauction.com/)