Online Methods
1. Ebay Ebooks : Write up a short ebook or report related to your business and include links to your website within the ebook. Then list the ebook on Ebay with full “Master Resell Rights”. This means who ever buys your ebook has rights to sell it too – this way you start a viral chain of getting your ebook to as many people as possible. You’ll be surprised how much traffic you can get this way. If you don’t want to write or don’t have the time, simply get ready made articles that you can simply copy and put together an ebook within minutes. As Ebay doesn’t allow dowloadable product anymore, you need to put your ebook on a CD and ship it like a real product.
2. Use YouTube Videos : the idea is to set up a page on your website (or a different website completely) and add some popular videos from YouTube.com . For example you can add a FUNNY VIDEO to a web page on your site. To do this simply go to YouTube, find a funny video that you think a lot of people would like, copy the HTML code that YouTube provides, and then add the video to your web page. Next to the video, you can have links to products, specials, articles or anything else you want to advertise. Once you’ve done that send an email to your closest friends and family with a link to this video…in the email be sure to mention to pass the email along. This can set off a viral chain that can bring tons of visitors to your website. For a good example of this see http://www.funnyvideooftheweek.com
3. Craigslist : With Craigslist, you have a chance to advertise on some of the biggest classified pages in the world. Millions of readers in more than 20 countries visit Craigslist to find apartments, look for jobs and buy products and services. Best of all, Craigslist is a free service. Make sure you place your ad in the appropriate section otherwise users may flag down your ad for removal. See www.CraigsList.org
4. Articles On Ezinearticles.com : write up an article about something related to your product. For example, if you sell golf equipment you can write an article such as Top 10 Ways To Hit Longer Drives. At the end of the article include a resource box with a link to your website ( very important) Then post the article on www.EzineArticles.com . This is a great way to get targeted traffic to your website.
5. Online Communities & Forums This only requires your time and nothing else. You can share your knowledge and expertise with many online communities as well as your website. You can get free advertising when you go to forums that have the same subject or niche with your site. Share your two cents and let them see how knowledgeable you are with the subject. As you build your reputation, you also build the reputation of your site, making it a reputable and honest business that could be frequented and trusted by many people.
6. Add Links On Blogs : When search engines rank a website, one of the most important things they look for is how many inbound links your website has. This means how many external websites have your website name on them. Since Blogs are ultra popular, both with consumers & search engines, having your website URL on as many targeted blogs as possible can significantly increase traffic to your website. You can place your website name on relevant blogs by manually finding blogs and adding your signature to the comments section of the blog or to make things easier, use an automated software to do it for you.
7. Add Tell A Friend : Having a tell-a-friend feature on your website can allow your site visitors to recommend your website to their friends and family. This is one of the best internet marketing techniques yet so few websites actually utilize it. I remember a client that once added this feature to her website and increased sales by almost 32% instantly.
8. Buy Text Links: Once again, by having inbound links coming to your website you not only improve your search engine rankings but you can also get traffic from other websites. As you may probably know it is very difficult to get FREE links on popular websites. So another good option is to buy links on other popular websites or websites related to your business. You can do this by using services such as those offered by http://www.buytextlinkad.com
9. Yahoo Answers : did you know there is a section on Yahoo called Yahoo Answers. This is a place where people post questions for other people to answer. Search and find questions related to your product or service and then provide a good answer. In the answer you can include a link back to your website. Be creative – make it look like a recommendation and not simply a sales pitch.
10. EmaiResults.com : if you want to send out email ads to thousands or even millions of people this is a good website for you to buy targeted opt-in email lists. The good thing about this site is that you can fill out one single form and have many mailing list providers contact you with their pricing and methods. Just make sure you choose a reputable company that uses good email practices as you do not want to be accused of spam. The best company to choose is one that sends the emails out for you on your behalf and also provides tracking statistics so you can see how well you campaign is doing. See : http://www.emailresults.com
11. Pay Per Click : Pay Per Click (PPC) still remains the quickest way to get targeted traffic to your website but it is becoming a very costly method and therefore we put it last on our list. However, you can still use this method by bidding on keywords that are not very competitive. This method really works great if you are in a unique niche type of business. An example is say “Vector Art”. When we did a search for this keyword phrase we found little competition on Yahoo/Overture. However, if you were to bid on a common and popular keyword phrase such as “Internet Marketing” you can expect to pay out large sums of money and it may not be worth your investment. So choose keywords wisely.
Offline Methods
12. Zip Baggies :Take a small zip close baggie (snack sizes work well) and include the following in it: Your Business Card, a Piece of Candy such as hard candy or a lollipop, mini flyer of current specials, discount coupon (optional) etc. Hand these out to the bank tellers, retail cashiers, at your kids sport events, every where you go!
13. Hotels & Motels : When I stay at hotels & motels I leave a mini flyer, my business card and a mini coin canister for the maid! I put her tip inside the mini coin canister! Be creative when you leave tips for Hotel Maids, Waitresses, Waiters, Hair Dressers, etc. Don’t just hand them your business card, make it memorable! You can also buy cute little beaded change purses at your local dollar discount store!
14. Housing Marketing : Print out flyers with your contact info (not your personal address), your website address & email address along with any current specials you are offering. Then contact local area mobile home park offices, apartment complex rental offices, housing developments etc and ask them if you can leave fliers in their office or hang on their tenants doors. Give the office employees a free gift or discount on their personal orders.
15. Church Fests : A lot of churches hold a Spring and Fall Fest! Contact them about getting a table or a booth. A lot of times this will cost you under $15.00 for a space! Make sure you take products with you along with fliers, plenty of catalogs, business cards etc. Do a contest drawing at these types of events. Make up entry blanks that gather the customers info so that you can initiate contact with them again!
16. Car Decals : Put your website address on your car. There are many local companies that provide decal services. Just check your yellow pages. Or you can even find online suppliers such as http://www.stickergiant.com . If your website address is difficult to remember use a vanity domain name that redirects to your main website. For example, let’s say you are in the credit repair business and your company name is CrediTronix with your domain being CrediTronix.com. A more memorable domain name would be FixMyCreditToday.com . This way when people see it on your car it would be easier for them to remember when they get home.
17. College Campuses : Dorms & Housing Students are always looking to spend money! Drop off fliers and business cards to the College Student Center! They usually have bulletin boards, tables and other things where you can leave your information at for FREE!
18. Hospitals : Contact your local area hospitals and ask for Human Resources Dept. The Majority of hospitals hand out New Mommy Diaper Bags filled with products, samples and other stuff for New Moms who just had a baby! It’s FREE for you to add in your information! You can get several customers by participating in these types of programs. You can also do this with local medical offices, clinics, dental practices etc.
19. Donate a Product : to your local area Radio Station, they have numerous contests and they are always looking for sponsors! Your donation can be written off as a tax deduction plus you will get FREE Advertising & Business Exposure for your donation! You can also use the same method at local area Bingo Halls! They are always looking for sponsors of their Bingo Prizes! Bingo is BIG in a lot of areas!
20. Contact Companies in your area to see if you can come in and set up a table in the employee lounge or cafeteria for a employee shopping break! These days a lot of companies will allow you to do this if you ask them!
21. Local Area TV : Does your local area TV cable company have a local information channel? Inquire about advertising! These ads will reach thousands of potential buyers for you! I recommend you only use your website address for these types of advertising and not your personal at home address.
22. Outdoor banners : Get a low cost outdoor banner printed up with your business information on it ( or just your website address). You can usually get them done for $55 or less depending on who makes it. You can have these outdoor banners displayed at outdoor music/concert events, outdoor children’s sporting events, outdoor adult sport events, outdoor neighborhood block parties, outdoor community events, carnivals, fairs, etc. You can even have someone dress up in a costume (such as a chicken suit) and have them hold your ad banner in peak traffic areas. Rarely do you see businesses using this system to generate traffic to their website.
So there you have it ! Hopefully, you will employ some or all of these techniques in your marketing campaigns and boost your profits in return.
Wish you all the success !