Need Promotion Help Please:-)

[Shelle_7]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone would be able to advise me with regards to advertising my website.

I have set up a website, which I would class as non-profit, but would like to go about promoting the website to increase more traffic and awareness of the site overall.

I would generally like to spread awareness of my site across the internet mainly for UK surfers, but would like to know how I could do this and ensure good results. J

Other than that, I would like to know what other options are available and wouldn’t mind if anyone gave me any suggestions and advice with regards to other ways of advertising, for instance, by post, email (if possible), pop ups, newspaper advertising or just general leaflet distribution.

I have heard that email is not a good way of promotion, but is there a way you can set up a facility where people can subscribe to (I believe it is called) a “mailing list”?

As is everyone’s concern J , I would like to find the most cost effective and cheapest way of doing this, as I am just starting up.

If there is anyone with any suggestions, I would be so grateful for your help! Thank you.

Shelle

[Commerce Brian]

Hi there, Shelle 7, and welcome to business-talk.
 
I certainly appreciate your predicament, having been there myself, as I run some entirely non-commerical information sites myself.
 
However, although a marketing budget is almost certainly required in online promotions, here are some tips you can implement for free to help market your site:
 
1/ Submit your site to lots of free online directories. There are plenty around - in fact, there's a good list of free directories here. These present a good path for human users and search engines to find your website. A DMOZ link is particularly desirable - and you can even submit to multiple areas, if your content justifies it. Just make sure you always submit to the correct sections.
 
2/ If you are a member of any online communities, make a post stating what you are doing, and invite others over to view the site. However, do not join online communities simply to post your website URL, as that's spamming, and people will despise you for it.
 
Also, if you are allowed a signature link, then place that in your profile so that everytime you post people will be able to see the link to your website.
 
3/ Word of mouth - tell people in real-life about your site. And don't forget to e-mail friends to tell them about your site as well.
 
4/ If relevant, write articles for other sites on the theme of your own website, and ensure you have a link to your site from your article.
 
5/ Content SEO. Basically, be very aware of how to use things such as titles, folder paths, <h> tags, alt="" attributes, bold text and general keyword use on your page copy (text) to emphasis words key to describing your site. What that means is that it can help people find your site more easily through search engines, such as Google. There are no guaranteed results, though, and if you are faced with commercial competition you will have a tough time of it.
 
 
Hm...anyway, it's Sunday and I have a business presentation to make - so see how those points help as starters.

[Suzanne]

Here's what you need, sweetie. http://www.business-talk.co.uk/showthread.php?t=66
 
 Grease them up with that.