Launching a new site (or microsite) for your business or organization? Need some quick ideas for promoting this new site? Here are some ideas for getting the word out - just pick the ones that are relevant to your type of business: 1.
Use your house email list and snail mail list to announce the launch of the site.
If anyone on the list is a current customer, give them a coupon for 10% the first purchase (if your site has an ecommerce component).
2.
Current customers should get an announcement card along with their next invoice or bill.
If you have a retail store, print the announcement directly on the receipt.
3.
Create articles with titles like "10 things you should know about X.
" Make sure the title and keywords in the article relate to your new site.
Also, include several links to your new site.
Submit these articles to ezines, partner sites, and other places that will get attention.
4.
The same articles can be turned into landing pages that are targets for search engine marketing campaigns.
5.
Reuse the same material as press/news releases and submit them to PRWeb.
com and other online press release sites.
6.
Create a series of simple 125x125 ads and run them on small business blogs.
CPM for these run anywhere from $1 to $5, and give you access to a great deal of traffic, and your competition is NOT using these places.
There are several really good ad networks (like federatedmedia.
com) that can place your ads on numerous blogs with one-stop shopping convenience.
7.
Once you get the ball rolling with customers, send any customer who has spent X amount in Y time an email with an affiliate ID in it.
Tell them that if they refer their friends and colleagues to you, and if their friends/colleagues enter the affiliate ID when they register, that any purchases made will result in credits for them.
It doesn't have to be much, just pennies on the dollar.
With just a little bit of programming, you could set up a multi-generational thing, where person X brings in persons A, B, and C, getting credit for their purchases, and when person A invites persons F, G, H, that person X also gets a piece of this action (reduced, obviously).
8.
Put up huge posters at your physical locale announcing your new site.
9.
Mention your new web site on your office voice mail and in email signature files.
10.
Send flyers and other print materials to your target market announcing the site.
11.
Run a promotion on the radio ahead of a big holiday event appropriate to your business.
Use your 30-second spot to promote the power of your service or product.
12.
Make it painfully obvious on your web site how to sign up and get started.
Also make it obvious that signing up is FREE (if that's true), they don't have to buy anything now.
Then make it really painfully obvious they can invite their friends to join too.
13.
Send out a monthly e-newsletter to current customers with web site promotions and informational tips for making their dollars stretch.
14.
Lead nurturing: identify, over time, all the folks who have signed up at your site and spent under a certain amount (say $0 to $100 over 90 day period) and contact them via email or phone.
Find out how they like the site, what would make things better overall, or if they have specific issues with the pricing, etc.
15.
As soon as a new customer orders something, send them a special promotional code with their email invoice.
The promotional code is good for $10 off the next purchase in the next 45 days.
This can get new buyers in the door for the second time, which could be critical to your success.
16.
Send company representatives to networking events (such as BNI, AMA, PRSA, Ad Fed, Chamber of Commerce, etc) to talk about your new site.
17.
Create a workshop or seminar that teaches folks how to use and order from your site.
Make the workshops free and send out the first invitations to your existing customers-make it a training class + unveiling/launch.
18.
Create a screencast to show how easy it is to order stuff from your site and put a link to this how-to material on your home page.
19.
Use in-store kiosks to generate awareness about the site.
20.
Set up a booth at trade shows in your area to promote your new site.
21.
Sponsor a charity event in your local area and make sure that your banners and signs are prominent throughout.
This might get you lots of local media coverage if you pick the right event.
22.
Don't forget to imprint your URL on pens, coffee mugs, t-shirts, and other promotional giveaways and then...
give them away!