21 Free or Low-cost ways to Promote your On-line business

After developing my product, having not much in my cookie jar to
spend on promotion, I researched and found a lot of very
effective promotional ideas that brought me success with my
personalized cartoon business.

1) In the beginning...

Create your website. If you don’t know how, there are many free
templates offered on the Internet. Search on "free website
templates" to find one that appeals to you.

If you’d like to learn how to design your own website using HTML
there are several tutorials out there:

Boogie Jack’s Dennis Gaskill has an excellent website with
tutorials to get you started, along with many "tricks of the
trade". An excellent resource!
www.boogiejack.com/html_tutorials.html

Also, Joe Burns has a very informative and helpful website for
all new and seasoned website designers; with HTML tutorials,
primers and loads of "goodies" to add to your web pages
www.htmlgoodies.com

2) 1000-Calorie Content

Fill your website with keyword-rich content. Write a description
of your product or service and create your keywords to match the
content in your description. For example, if you sell stuffed
animals the keywords by which you’d want to be found in the
search engines could be "stuffed toys, stuffed animals, plush
animals, stuffed dogs, plush pets", etc.

3) Search Engine Buffet

Submit your site to search engines and directories, whether
manually submitting through each or using a free multiple
submission service that will submit your site automatically to
search engines and directories of your choosing or theirs,
depending upon the submission site you use. One such site is
www.submitexpress.com

4) Chain Links

Exchange links with similar and complementary websites, but not
your competitors - I don’t think you’ll hear from them! Email the
site’s owner and ask for a reciprocal link. If they agree to add
your link, return the favor and add their link on your site. You
can create a special page for your favorite links or if you have
only a few, simply add them to your main page or any other page
on your site.

5) Snappy Sig-File

Create an interesting signature file to be automatically included
at the end of your emails. A small, descriptive "blurb" about
what you do along with your website address will do it!

6) Newsworthy

Write an ezine, or online newsletter. You can find interesting
articles on any subject on the Internet that you can publish in
your ezine (search on "free content") or even write some of your
own (see #12). Decide whether your ezine will be produced
monthly, biweekly, weekly or even daily if you have enough time
and info to share! Always be sure to give the author proper
credit! Include his byline at the end of his article and email
him a copy of your ezine when it’s ready.

This site has a good article on how to write an ezine:
www.thewritemarket.com/ezine.shtml

7) Extra! Extra!

Offer a gift for new subscribers. It can be a report that you
wrote on a subject of interest that the new reader can download;
or a small sample of your product, or even a coupon for 10% off
your products or service.

8) What’s Behind Door #2?

Run a contest to name your ezine. Create a special page with a
subscription form on your site. Explain the details and prizes.
List your contest on as many contest announcement sites that you
can find or publish your contest on discussion groups and forums
(see #10 and #11) and other newsletters.

Some contest announcement sites are:

www.theprizefinder.com/asp/addacompetition.asp
www.loquax.co.uk

The prizes you offer should be related to your business. You
should have a deadline, say a month or so, and be sure to
indicate the date on your contest page.

Example ad for contest:

** We need you! **
Get creative...Win prizes!
Our newsletter needs a name;
If we use yours, you win!
www.whimsies-online.com/ezineform.htm

Publish the winners on your website and in your next ezine -
newly-named, of course!

9) All in the Family

Submit your ezine to ezine lists such as www.list-a-day.com. They
may even feature your ezine as their daily pick!

Other lists are:

www.cumuli.com/ezines/submit.html
ezine-universe.com/search/getlisted.html

10) Group Therapy

Join Yahoo groups and other similar newsgroups/discussion lists.
Subscribe to similar ezines and then exchange ads with ezine
owners. List your contest with group owners. Submit your articles
too!

groups.yahoo.com
www.topica.com

11) The Gift of Gab

Participate in discussions on various online forums and message
boards, of course using your signature file! (search Online
Forums) One such forum is www.ivillage.com/boards

12) Bank on this!

Write articles and submit them to article banks such as
www.goarticles.com (search on Free Content) and groups (see #10).
You can basically write about anything you know, write short
stories about experiences you’ve had, helpful articles, your view
on a subject you’re comfortable with, for example. Make sure you
include your byline or writer’s resource box at the end of your
article or story. This can be a short description of your
business, a link to your website and a link to your subscription
page.

How to write an article:
www.freesticky.com/stickyweb/articles/write_article_profit_strate
gy.asp
And: www.accordmarketing.com id/archive/write.html

13) Please release me!

Write a press release about your business, your contest, an
organization you’re sponsoring or anything you think is
newsworthy. Send it to your local newspapers, to magazines and
online press release services (see www.whimsies-
online.com/newsrelease2.htm for an example.

Here’s an excellent article on how to write a press release:
www.lunareclipse.net/pressrelease.htm

You can post your press release at
www.prweb.com/

14) The Paper chase

If you get featured in your local paper or in a magazine, mention
the story in ALL of your promotional materials. Scan it and add
to your website or link to the original article if it’s available
online.

15) Pick a card - any card!

Distribute your business cards EVERYWHERE. Print a money-saving
coupon on the back. Voila! A double-duty card!

16) Fashion Plate

Wear your ads! No, put away that spray paint - it’ll clog your
pores! I have t-shirts that I printed on using my color printer
and t-shirt transfer paper. Print your logo and/or business name
and website address, and wear your creation everywhere (but I’d
rethink that black tie event, if I were you!)

For a low-cost logo, visit these guys: www.GotLogos.com. They
designed my logo for their flat rate of $25 and it is top-notch.
I’d recommend them to anyone. Check out the logo they designed
for me here:

www.whimsies-online.com - it’s at the very top of the page.

17) Nifty Gifty

Send an inexpensive but useful gift with each order. Helps your
customer remember you and they might re-order from you at a later
date. It can even be a coupon for 10% off their next purchase.
One of my gifts is a laminated bookmark personalized with the
customer’s name. It also shows a miniature edition of the cartoon
they just ordered! Everyone loves personalized items. Another
idea would be a personalized coaster using CD’s you no longer
need, or the freebies you get in your mailbox (the metal mailbox
outside your house, not the virtual kind!). See how to here:
www.whimsies-online.com/cdcoasters.htm

Mention "gift with purchase" on your website and include the
approximate value if they were to purchase it separately.

18) Mug Shot

Another idea would be to use your logo or a catchy phrase and
your website address to print on mugs, mouse pads, and other
items. Cafe Press prints the design you upload onto any articles
you choose from their vast selection. They do the production,
shipping, collecting the funds, and will send you your commission
cheque. When you create your online store with them (they have a
free version as well as an upgrade to a Premium Shop) be sure to
include a link to your own website. Here’s an example:
www.cafeshops.com/animal_house which links to www.whimsies-
online.com/whimsieswear.htm

The Cafe Press website is www.cafepress.com

19) Happy Campers

Always ask for testimonials. Ask your customers and subscribers
for a word or two about your product. If a customer has emailed
you to thank you for the handy widget hing-a-
magig/whatchamacallit you sent them, ask if you can use their
comments in your next ezine and your "testimonials" web page

20) Analyze this!

Send samples of your product to influential people for a
testimonial or for a small write-up in their publication or
website.

21) Ad-Vantage

There are many ezines and online companies that offer free ad
submissions. Check out Bob Osgoodby’s website. He offers a free
ad service (he also has three very informative ezines!). You can
check out his site at www.adv-marketing.com/business/

These are just a bunch of creative ways to promote your online
presence. Try some or all, and when you get the hang of it you’ll
probably dream up some more. Have fun with them and see what
works for you!