Four Low-Cost or Free Ways to Market Your Site

Jan 10, 2003 -- Simply establishing a presence on the Internet does not guarantee that your business will succeed. You must get people to visit your site — not just once, but repeatedly.

Here are four low-cost or free methods to market your site: bookmarks, affiliate programs, e-mail signatures and e-mail or discussion groups. (Just so we're clear on this upfront: Free means you won't invest dollars, but you will invest your valuable time.)

Ask Visitors to Bookmark Your Site
Use a graphic or a line of text that asks visitors to bookmark your site. Place the graphic or text on any page updated frequently.

Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate programs can be a highly effective way to market your services. Here's how they work: You receive a commission for every visitor or sale sent to the referred site. Find out these things before signing up for an affiliate program:

* How satisfied are other affiliates with the program?
* How does the site track referrals?
* Do you receive a commission on the sale of products you list or on what the customer buys after entering the referred site through your site?
* Are you paid for repeat business that enters directly through the referred site or only on business that stops to visit your site then clicks to the referred site?
* Can you have more than one affiliate on your site?
* How often will you be paid?

Affiliate programs can boost your penetration, provide an additional sales channel or generate revenue. But they can also make your site serve as an unpaid publicity agent for another business. Do your homework before you sign up.

Use An E-mail Signature
Put a strong selling message into every e-mail message you or your employees send by using e-mail signatures. E-mail signatures direct people to your site for further information or emphasize upcoming events, contests — whatever you need to advertise.

You can use your e-mail program to generate your signature automatically, or cut and paste it from your word processing program. Use a number of different signatures, but they all should motivate the reader to do something: visit your Web site, call or send an e-mail. Here is a sample e-mail signature:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your First and Last Name
Your Company Name
Phone number
Web Address

Your slogan or a sales message that includes a call to action: call or e-mail today.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mailing Lists and Discussion Groups
Perhaps one of the most underestimated areas of Internet marketing is marketing in mailing lists and discussion groups. By participating in the discussion regularly, you put your name and company information in front of the list. This may help you find prospects and customers.

The Internet offers thousands of targeted mailing lists and newsgroups. Use Google groups to find them.

The key to promoting your business via mailing lists and discussion groups is to not promote it. Subscribers aren't there to read ads: they are there to learn. Add to the discussion and let the signature at the end of your e-mail message do your marketing for you.

If a list member is interested in what you said in your post, they'll e-mail you. Make sure you end your initial e-mail back to that individual with a question. Doing so continues the conversation. Don't be offended if someone you send e-mail to does not write back. They simply may not be interested in your product or service.

What if you are not an expert in your industry or don't feel comfortable participating? Find someone who is. You cannot afford not to.

If you don't have time to monitor lists each day, contact your local college or university's advertising or marketing department and hire a student intern to assist you. Or if there's a class on Internet marketing, contact the professor and ask him or her to announce the opening to students.

Have the intern monitor several lists. They should then notify you of opportunities to participate. You may be able to have the intern compose posts for you. Just have the intern run the posts by you for approval.

Questions or comments? feedback@i-genuity.com

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About The Author

Mary A. Sicard is president of i-Genuity, the Click-Here Strategy and Services firm in Augusta, Georgia.

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