by: Terri Seymour
There are many ways to creatively and affordably promote your online business. I have tried all of the following and they worked very well for me.
Joint Ventures - Participating in joint ventures with fellow publishers can be a very profitable experience. This could be anything from a group pop under window to advertising each other's ezines in your welcome letter. I also know a lot of people have had some results with signature buddies, where you would swap ads, so to speak, in each other's email sigtag.
Writing Articles - Extremely effective method of building your reputation and your business. Writing articles is not hard, just stick with what you know and do not think you have to use big words to impress anyone. People are just looking for understandable articles with helpful info and useful resources. Write as if you were talking to a friend.
Submit your articles here:
Ad Swaps - Swapping ads, or running another publisher's ad in exchange for him/her running yours, is a very popular method of promotion. There are hundreds of thousands of ezines on the net and most of the publishers are willing to swap ads. When writing to a fellow publisher, be sure to include a link to a sample issue of your ezine. Introduce yourself and let them know how you know about their ezine. Tell them about your ezine and suggest a possible swap. There are publishers who will even swap solo ads which is a great opportunity!
Discussion Lists - Participating in discussion groups can get you established as an expert in your field as well as build your reputation as one who is there when needed. This can bring you subscribers, customers and clients. Always follow each group's guidelines for posting and treat everyone with respect and courtesy.
Message Boards - Similar to discussion groups. Find a few quality boards and visit regularly. Participate and help whenever possible by offering your experience, advice, expertise or support. Always follow the rules.
Fr~e Ecourses - Compile a series of articles and turn them into a mini ecourse. Give step by step info and provide helpful resources to compliment said info. Always provide links to your website, ezine and any products that are applicable. You also want to have your email on every page so it is very easy to contact you. Assemble your course on a fr~e autoresponder and start offering it to your subs, visitors and submit it to fellow webmasters for distribution. Example: mailto:moe-mini-course@getresponse.com
Fr~e Ebooks - Creating an ebook is not hard. You can simply compile several articles that you or other people have written. Provide tips, resources and information. Offer your ebook to webmasters, ebook directories and ezine publishers for distribution.
Fr~e Directories - There are hundreds of fr~e ezine, business, and website directories all over the net. Take some time each day or week and submit your heart out! The more places you get listed, the more exposure you get.
Link Exchanges - Similar to ad swaps only you are listing other links on your website in exchange for your link being listed on their website. Set up a special set of pages with different categories for link exchanges.
AutoResponders - Autoresponders are used to mail out follow-ups to ezine subscribers, requests for more information, orders, article requests, etc. Effective follow-ups can raise your sales substantially.
If you consistently use some or all of these methods, your business is sure to grow. They have been very productive for me and can be for you as well. If you have any questions about the methods I have talked about, please feel fr~e to contact me. ;-)