Continued from page 1
Incorporate your website into face-to-face conversations and telephone calls. Your customer may be looking for a specific product or service which may be outlined on your website. Guide your customer to that page and let them read
information over, being prepared to answer and ask any questions that may arise from said information.
Press releases. If you have a new product or service, create a "media" section for your website that outlines its details and promote hyperlink via press release to various mass media.
PR Web is an great resource for mass-broadcasting a press release to thousands of newspaper, magazine, radio, TV, and similar media managers---and it's free!
Promotional clothing. If your business has "uniforms" or "staff shirts", then including your website hyperlink on these items is a great way to promote your business at no extra charge.
Microsoft takes this concept one step further; every time a user successfully completes their OEM System Builder exam, they ship user a free Microsoft t-shirt via UPS with nothing except for Microsoft OEM website URL on back.
Another creative use of this concept is provided by ADAM Web Design client Regional Shows, who used their online logo on jersey of a kids' baseball team as a form of sponsorship.
Other promotional items. Pens, mouse pads, coffee mugs, baseball caps, and other such promotional items are great places to include a company website hyperlink.
Outdoor signage/signboards. Catch attention of people who are driving by your place of business with your website URL along with your company name, phone, fax, and common email (if any). They may be driving by and not have time to stop in and visit your business, but they may visit your website when they have time to do so to gather more information.
Note: be sure to check with your local municipality to ensure that outdoor signage is in compliance with its by-laws. Some cities and towns do not allow exterior property signage.
A Tattoo. A tattoo? As strange as this may seem, this is something that can be very effective. Body modifications have unique property of being able to attract human eye to them, and a website URL tends to stick in one's mind as being a rather unique idea for a tattoo. A friend of mine, when she ran a small personal site, used to promote it in exactly this manner.
These ideas should give you a starting point for future offline advertising creativity, as well as give you some ways to see a return on your website investment with very little time, effort or money. Good luck!
Adam Senour is the owner of ADAM Web Design, a leading web design and development company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
