Website Promotion: Tips On How To Generate Free Leads Using Social Networking Sites

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Tips On How To Generate Free Leads Using Social Networking Sites

Free lead generation is a very cost effective way to promote any online business. Social networking sites are some of the best ways to generate free leads. Some of the ways I personally use them to promote my online business is by using Social networking sites and making multiple profiles on them. Then when you have your profile accounts set up you need to pimp them to make them look professional and do not try to sell your products directly on your profiles. Instead make yourself interesting and someone who arouses curiosity so when you start sending friend request people will come to your profile and take a look. This is where you can start to get them to your website because these social networking sites allow you to have links on your profiles.

Continue reading Tips On How To Generate Free Leads Using Social Networking Sites

For more information about running a small business and website promotion, visit www.web4business.com.au

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » A Twits Guide to Twitter Promotion… 10 Top Tips

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » A Twits Guide to Twitter Promotion… 10 Top Tips

If you are not using Twitter effectively, you are missing out on a serious opportunity for promoting your business. For those that do not already know, Twitter is an online service, designed to let family, friends and workers chat and stay in touch. Twitter famously asks the question; “what are you doing?”

As well as being a great place to socialise, twitter can be an amazing tool for promoting your business, but only if you know how to work it… here is a mini guide to working with Twitter. The first few tips are about how to get started on Twitter, and then we move on to how to get followers. Finally, we look at what to do with the followers when you have them. We assume you guys and gals are capable of actually registering for an account at twitter.com yourselves. ...

Continue reading A Twits Guide to Twitter Promotion… 10 Top Tips

For more information about running a small business and website design & promotion, visit, www.web4business.com.au

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Social Media Mistakes

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Social Media Mistakes

With so much talk about social media these days, everyone is jumping on board and trying it out. We are seeing some common mistakes out there and I thought it was important to address these mistakes to help eradicate them in the future.

Don’t get me wrong, there will be a learning curve - we all went through it (and I met some great people that helped me, and that I helped along the way) but the key is to learn up front to minimize errors!
So, here we go…

Mistake One: Completely Ignoring Social Media

Believe it or not there are still some people out there that are ignoring social media. They may be unsure of how to participate or maybe they just don’t have time to get involved. No matter what the reason, this is a big mistake. Social media continues to grow in popularity and in importance to internet users - the exact users you are trying to reach.

Continue reading Social Media Mistakes

For more information about website design and website promotion, visit http://www.web4business.com.au/

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

Website Design - A Pretty Face is Not Enough (When It Comes to Your Website)

SiteProNews: A Pretty Face is Not Enough (When It Comes to Your Website)

Imagine meeting someone new ... they have a beautiful face, lovely hair, stunning smile, drop dead gorgeous body and are dressed in designer clothes. Naturally you are attracted to their striking appearance, so you start talking to them. After a few minutes you realize this person has no personality, only talks about himself/herself and has no interest in finding out about you. Any attempt on your part to speak gets shut down and if you do manage to ask a question their answer is usually 'Yes, but ... let's get back to me'.

How long do you think you would stay and chat to this person? Do you think you would want to become friends? Probably not.

Continue reading SiteProNews: A Pretty Face is Not Enough (When It Comes to Your Website)

For more information about running a small business and website design, visit www.web4business.com.au

Website Design - Does Your Website Need an Extreme Makeover?

Articles - Does Your Website Need an Extreme Makeover?

It was Friday night and I was enjoying a quiet dinner at home, when suddenly CRACK! – part of my tooth broke off!!!!! “Damn” I thought, “Now what?” I immediately went online to see if I could find a dentist that is open on Saturday morning. So I searched and searched.

The good news was there were plenty of dentists in my area … the bad news was that I couldn’t find whether they were open on Saturdays. After looking through various websites for about an hour, I narrowed it down to three dentists, who were open on the weekend. But in the end there was no competition as only one of the dentists had a professional looking website! ...

Read more on Does Your Website Need an Extreme Makeover?

For more information about website design, go to
http://www.web4business.com.au/

Website Marketing - Using Blogs as a Free Marketing Tool For Your Business

Articles - Using Blogs as a Free Marketing Tool For Your Business

I admit I stuck my head in the sand when I first heard about Blogs. It was just too hard (so I thought) - another new technology to master and I wasn’t even sure of the benefits, so I ignored them for a while.

Then I attended a marketing seminar where a whole session was devoted to Blogs - how simple they were to set up and use and what unbelievable benefits they provided for a business. And the best part – most of them are free!!!!

So what exactly is a blog?

A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily or weekly using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog.

Read more about Using Blogs as a Free Marketing Tool For Your Business

For information about creating a website for your small business, go to:
http://www.web4business.com.au/

30 Ways to promote your business on a shoestring budget - Tip 30

30. Joint Ventures

A joint venture is an agreement in which two or more businesses work on a project for a set period of time. Joint ventures can be long-term or short-term. With joint venture you can:

(a) Build long lasting business relationships.
(b) Increase your credibility by teaming up with other reputable, branded businesses.
(c) Get free or discounted products and services.
(d) Set up most joint venture deals with little or no money.
(e) Gain new leads and customers.
(f) Offer your customers new products and services.
(g) Get rid of your extra inventory.
(h) Find and create new distribution channels for your products.

To learn more about Joint Ventures, visit:

www.howtowritehypnoticjointventureproposals.com

There are many excellent ebooks on internet marketing. I would strongly recommend you pick up at least one or two and start reading. For a list of some great electronic books and tools, which are available for instant download, visit:

http://www.web4business.com.au/BusinessTools.htm

Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 29

29. Viral marketing

On the Internet, viral marketing is any marketing technique that induces Web sites or users to pass on a marketing message to other sites or users, creating a potentially exponential growth in the message's visibility and effect. One example of successful viral marketing is Hotmail, a company, now owned by Microsoft. Their strategy is simple:

(a) Give away free e-mail addresses and services,

(b) Attach a simple tag at the bottom of every free message sent out: "Get your private, free email at http://www.hotmail.com" and,

(c) Then stand back while people e-mail to their own network of friends and associates,

(d) Who see the message,

(e) Sign up for their own free e-mail service, and then

(f) Propel the message still wider to their own ever-increasing circles of friends and associates.

Some viral marketing strategies work better than others. Below are basic elements you should try to include in your strategy.

(a) Give away products or servicesMost viral marketing programs give away valuable products or services to attract attention. Free e-mail services, free information, free "cool" buttons, free software programs etc

(b) Provide for effortless transfer to othersThe medium that carries your marketing message must be easy to transfer and replicate: e-mail, website, graphic, software download. From a marketing standpoint, you must simplify your marketing message so it can be transmitted easily and without degradation. Short is better.

(c) Scale easily from small to very largeTo spread like wildfire the transmission method must be rapidly scalable from small to very large. Ensure you have enough resources, such as mail servers and staff that will be able to handle the increase in business.

(d) Exploit common motivations and behaviorsClever viral marketing plans take advantage of common human motivations such as greed, the desire to be cool, hunger to be popular, loved, and understood.

(e) Utilize existing communication networksEach person has a network of 8 to 12 people in their close network of friends, family, and associates. A person's broader network may consist of hundreds or thousands of people. People on the Internet develop networks of relationships, too. They collect e-mail addresses and favourite website URLs. Affiliate programs exploit such networks, as do permission e-mail lists. Learn to place your message into existing communications between people, and you rapidly multiply its dispersion.

(f) Take advantage of others' resourcesThe most creative viral marketing plans use others' resources to get the word out. For example, affiliate programs place text or graphic links on others' websites, authors give away free articles, news release can be picked up by a large number of publications as they form the basis of articles seen by hundreds of thousands of readers.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 28

28. eBay

If you sell products (as opposed to services) in your business, one of the best marketing tools you can use is eBay. eBay is a community where individuals and businesses can buy and sell a vast range of new and used items at fair market prices.

The main reasons why you should sell on eBay include:
- You can sell little or lot of practically anything from antiques to cars.
- Gain access to the millions of eBay buyers worldwide.
- Feel safe with policies and protections of the Community.
- Sell as an individual, small business, enterprise, and more!

For more information visit: www.ebay.com for selling globally or www.ebay.com.au for selling within Australia.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 25

25. Print advertising

Writing the Copy

When it comes to print advertising, you have to get to the point—fast. Your headlines should motivate readers to want to read on to learn more about your product, price and offer. Effective headlines address a pressing customer need or desire. The reality is that people care more about themselves—and what you can do for them—than about your business. You'll get a much higher response rate when your headline quickly answers the question, "What's in it for me?"
In the body of your copy, offer an incentive for the reader to call you or come to your store. You may want to offer a discount or a free giveaway

Placing the Ad

Newspaper ads are very effective for businesses that market their products and services locally. Not only can you reach a large number of people in a specific metropolitan location, but you can also target prospects via their interests (in the sports, lifestyle and business sections, for example).
Advertising costs depend on a number of factors, including the size of the ad, where it's placed, the day it runs and so on. Call and request a media kit from the newspaper or magazine so you can determine what advertising steps you can take that will fit with your marketing budget.
Consider placing print advertisements in local publications, national publications, industry publications, target market specific publications, yellow pages, local directories, special catalogues

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 24

24. Radio advertising

You may have shied away from radio advertising, thinking the cost would be well over your budget and it may very well be if you were to advertise on commercial radio stations. But have you considered community radio stations? There are hundreds of them around and the great thing is that they will reach your local market. For community radio stations in your area, visit your local yellow pages or search on the internet.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 23

23. Media Releases

Having a story written about you and your business will not only bring you lots of new customers (at no cost to you), but will also provide you massive credibility. Stories about you in the media are far more believable, powerful and attractive than any ads you could possibly run. People will trust and respect you instantly.

A media release (also called press or news releases) should provide enough details to be informative, but it should leave out just enough information to be tantalizing that the media person calls you to find out more.

Your media release should feature the following:

(a) The Headline This is 90% of your release. Your headline will do almost all of the work in attracting attention to you.

(b) The Summary This is the first part of the media release and should tell your story briefly.

(c) Credentials & Quotations Insert quotes from other people and include the person’s credentials

(d) Call to Action What do you want the person reading this release to do? You want them to call you for an interview. So provide your contact details and write a very brief outline of why you would be an interesting person to interview.

For more information about writing media releases visit:
PRWeb - Tell your company story to thousands!
Press Release - www.pressrelease.com.au
Elance - www.elance.com
PRNewswire - www.prnewswire.com
NewsBureau - www.newsbureau.com

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

Airing Dirty Laundry ...

There's an elephant in the room that nobody is talking about. And it's beginning to stink so badly that someone has finally spoken up about it.

Yes, Nitro Marketing is airing out the "dirty laundry" of Internet Marketing in a controversial & revealing new report called:

"The Internet Marketing Dirty Laundry Report"

Why are hundreds of thousands of people who are trying to start, launch, and grow an online business - with all of the information available showing you how to do that - still frustrated,
confused, overwhelmed, and no closer to the success you desire than when you started?

(And even worse - further in debt and totally discouraged from continuing after your dream.)

Well, they are exposing exactly what the problems are and it's all revealed this special report that was just published for you which will give you some real answers, expose the real truth to
what is going on, and more importantly give you some real help you can depend on in:

"The Internet Marketing Dirty Laundry Report"

Why Following 'The Gurus' Is Leaving You Frustrated, Overwhelmed, Confused, Struggling And Broke:

http://www.NitroBlueprint.com/dl.o/Web4Business

Chapter 1:
Why People are Frustrated, Overwhelmed, Confused Struggling and Broke... Despite the Glamorous Promises Being Made to You.

Chapter 2:
The Get Rich Quick Myth – BUSTED!

Chapter 3:
The Bamboozler In Hiding

Chapter 4:
The "House Of Cards" Are Not Playing With A Full Deck

Chapter 5:
What To Look For In A True System To Follow? (And what not to touch with a ten-foot pole)

Chapter 6:
Real Value, Real Results – Given To You For Free

Chapter 7:
Does It Really Work?

Download "The Internet Marketing Dirty Laundry Report" and get the truth at:
http://www.NitroBlueprint.com/dl.o/Web4Business

To your success,
Ivana Katz
http://www.web4business.com.au/

PS: Watch out for the Bamboozler in hiding. Nitro exposes him for what he is in this report.
Some people will find what is revealed to be shocking, others will nod their head and say that makes sense...and most will do both!
http://www.NitroBlueprint.com/dl.o/Web4Business

PPS: You'll also see an explanation of life of a typical product in this marketplace. Warning: you may be seriously disgusted.

http://www.NitroBlueprint.com/dl.o/Web4Business

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 20

20. Webrings

One of the more interesting ways to add some targeted traffic to your site is to join webrings. A webring allows visitors to surf through sites that are related in one way or another. They are free of charge to the owners, members and visitors.

Webrings deliver targeted traffic day after day and once they are set up they tend to stay set up with little further maintenance

Each webring is created and maintained by a person known as a ringmaster. This person accepts site submissions and validates that the site meets the topic of the webring. For more information visit: www.webring.org

Till next time ...
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

Recommended Reading

If you would like to learn more about promoting your business, check out the following books:

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 18

18. Visitor Exchanges

There are many websites popping up on the net that are known as Traffic Exchange, Click Exchange, Visitor Exchange or Surf For Hits programs. People become members of these sites with the goal of generating free traffic to their site.

The way it works is quite clever.

You visit another member's website and in exchange someone visits the website of your choice. Most of these programs work on a 2:1 ratio. This means that for every two sites that you visit, someone else in that same Start Page program will visit your site.

Simple concept, isn't it?The great thing about these programs is that you will receive all of this traffic to your website, without having to spend a dime!

One of the biggest benefits from these programs is the ability to develop a downline of people that will generate 1,000's upon 1,000's of click thru visits to your site over time! In other words, you receive credits for the credits they chalk up for themselves!

For more information go to:
http://www.web4business.com.au/FreeVisitors.htm

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 17

17. Pay per click (PPC)

Pay per click advertising is when an advertiser (you) pays for each qualified click that sends a search engine user to the advertiser’s web page. PPC requires you to bid on keywords or phrases that relate to your business. The best known pay per click services are Google AdWords and Overture.

Generally you can bid from as little as a few cents per visitor. However, the more you bid the higher up in the search engine your advertisement will appear. Pay per click is a great way to deliver targeted and qualified visitors to your website at a very reasonable price.

It is a good idea to experiment with different PPC search engines to find the one that works best for you. In addition, you will need spend time testing your keywords and ads.
For more information check out:

Google Adwords - https://adwords.google.com
Overture – www.overture.com

If this is all too hard, you can employ the services of a company such as Sponsored Linx www.sponsoredlinx.com.au and they will organise the campaign for you. In fact, they promise that they can get you on the 1st page of Google when someone searches for your company's keywords within 24hrs.

If you mention the following promotional code, you will receive a 5% discount.web4business868

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 16

16. Office Stationery & Merchandising Materials

It is extremely important that your website is included on ALL your office stationery so that customers can see it over and over again. That way they are more likely to remember it. If you’ve just had your letterheads printed, you can always add your website address on your wordprocessor, when printing your correspondence. For brochures, business cards etc, consider having small labels printed up. Your office stationery should include not only your website address, but also your email. Consider adding your details to:

- Letterheads
- Business Cards
- Flyers
- Brochures
- Labels
- Packaging
- Merchandise bags
- Catalogs
- Invoices
- Fax headers
- Display units


Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 14

14. Bonuses

We all love freebies and your customers are no exception. Ideally you should pile on the bonuses to get people excited. Sometimes they will buy the main product only to get the bonuses.


The easiest and least expensive are informational products – reports, articles, ebooks. You can find literally thousands of these on the internet. Simply go to your search engine and find one that would appeal to your target audience. For example, if you sell wedding cakes, you may wish to give away ebooks or reports on planning a wedding. If you sell children’s clothing, you may wish to give away tips on parenting or ebook which features activities to do with your children.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Tip 8

8. Giveaways

Offering free giveaways to prospects and clients is a powerful business building strategy that can result in a flood of new and repeat customers. If your business is service orientated, you can “give away” a free consultation. Your prospects will get to test your business risk-free. Hopefully they will get “hooked” on your service and won’t be able to live without it.

By providing someone with a “favour”, people generally feel a natural obligation to return the favour by giving you repeat business.

For product based businesses, you may consider a “buy 1 get 1 free” or “buy one and get second one at a discount” or give something totally unrelated, for example ”Buy a pair of children’s shoes and receive a colouring book for free”.

Think about what you can offer free-of-charge that your prospects would consider valuable and that you can give at a low cost to you.


Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au