With theBusinessShop.ie we have two main objectives in gathering publicity/exposure for the website. It is always important to sit down before starting a campaign (even before deciding on a budget, if any) to figure out just what you are aiming to achieve and what are the best locations for the types of visitors your website demands. For example, we require exposure to obtain business opportunity listings and we also require exposure in the correct targeted areas that will allow our clients to receive the best possible responses for their opportunity.
And because of our low fee base structure, we correspondingly must keep the marketing budget at even keel. So how do you get the most relevant exposure for relatively little outlay?
You can go down the avenue of being controversial in every ad you do which garners reams of media headlines as complaints and comments roll in, such as Ryanair’s marketing model. But that doesn’t guarantee your website the appropriate audience. Or you can also go viral relying “on word of mouth”, where you launch something that can be almost addictive and that is subsequently emailed or viewed by unspecified numbers of people. But that can almost always take a marketing agency to handle correctly.
From setting up theBusinessShop.ie’s brand awareness, we have found the following methods extremely useful in achieving inexpensive but effective coverage:
1) Website Exchange
Website Exchange. Such as banner advertisement swaps or reciprocal links. We use a feature we call Partner Search- set-up a search engine to your listings from appropriate websites that will allow their visitors to search your opportunities in exchange for their banner ad being placed on your website. There should be no cost incurred for both parties.
2) Efficient Cost-Per-Click Advertising
Google Ad Sense and Google Web Placements are an extremely cost-efficient method of driving targeted traffic- once set-up correctly. If incorrectly configured- such as incorrect use of keywords, location, ad text itself you can simply waste money. Other types of cost per ratio advertising would be the likes website recommendation websites such as StumbleUpon, where you currently pay about 5 cents a click (as of Feb 2008).
3) Press Releases
Press Releases do not have to be expensive. In fact if done correctly, a press release can garner you a lot of free publicity. First of all, we found that the best press releases we received coverage from were the ones we kept concise, informative and interesting. There are many press release websites that allow you submit your release for free, these then syndicate (using likes of RSS) the PR to the likes of Yahoo News, Google News etc. These are also often picked up by blogs etc.
For media print it is a little different. You know the area you are working in, so find journalists within that area and email them, if it is of interest to their readership then they will ring you with questions to confirm your information/release. You can find these journalists in many ways such as simply researching newspapers that target your customer profile and see what journalists write about the area you operate in and another means is to purchase & reference an established media directory, such as one we have in Ireland call MediaContact.ie.
If you blanket email a newspaper such as you see an email address and send to it, the only thing you may gain out of that approach is a call looking for advertising. You need to be specific in whom you target and where you target, there is no point sending your release to just about anybody. Never ever spam. You can also do a quid-pro-quo by being mentioned on a publication if you mention them on your website.
On news aggregate websites you will see email addresses for news alerts or submit press releases, simply send your PR to those. Inform the websites most suitable to your business, for example here in Ireland you would contact the likes of Enn.ie, SiliconRepublic.com etc. if you were an IT related business.
Alternatively, if you want exposure for your PR in extremes, you can have it wrapped in an editorial, provided you pay for an advertising placement as well.
4) Forums
Forums- do not spam these, become a member, and contribute usefully to discussions. Your reputation will be enhanced and your business name will get out there. These are perfect places to attract the specific type of customers you require.
5) SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
SEO- you know it has being drummed into you by a million pdfs and websites, but all the commentary is absolutely true. It is far better to be on the 1st or 2nd page of listings with a visitor to your website costing nothing than having a paid for targeted search ad. There are many online expert portals out there who provide plenty of advice on how to get your website up the rankings. One of the first and easiest things you can do though is to submit a sitemap to Google or register your link on dmoz.org.
6) Contribute to Websites
Write articles for appropriate websites that prove interesting to their website visitors. You could also do this via blogging, or responding to blogging entries.
7) Establish Subscription Based Service
Set up a subscription based ezine from your website, and then every 2 or 4 weeks email a newsletter about your website, this will reinforce your brand and encourage people to revisit your website. You can also set up subscription based SMS text alerts to achieve the same thing. For SMS, there are companies here in Ireland that specialise in setting up SMS related services, such as Go2mobile. Another effective type of subscription is RSS - for example you can use RSS subscription to allow people be informed of new business opportunity listings.
StartUp ECommerce Businesses Enhancing the Value of Your Website by Obtaining Exposure With Minimum Expense - To learn more about this author, visit John Ryan's Website.
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