Low cost advertising/marketing ideas (repost - feel free to add to this thread)

[Chicken]

This was originally posted by Deb (http://www.hosthideout.com/member.php?s=&action=getinfo&userid=270) elsewhere, and permission was requested (and granted) to repost it here. Feel free to add your own low cost advertising/marketing ideas to this thread and eventually I'll replace this post...



We often tell people to search the forums for things that have been repeatedly discussed. Lately I've actually tried to do some of these searches and quite frankly they were just not helpful. The forums are terribly busy and trying to zone in one some things can be rough. One such 'problem search' was in the area of advertising/marketing ideas. So I thought this may help a bit.

Excluding the absolute best form of advertising any company can have, positive word of mouth, here's a compilation of some other low cost advertising/marketing ideas compiled into one thread... feel free (encouraged...begged...pleaded with) to tack on to it... Often times the 'obvious ideas' trigger even better ideas for the reader to take advantage of ;)

Guaranteed hits to your web site at a low cost.

Often in the form of untargetted popunder ads that simply get closed by the visitor as soon as it pups up so usually considered a useless waste of money however the cost for such hits is low and it has been a recommend way to guarantee your site will waste some bandwidth and your stats will go up...
Suggestions for this type of service include:
http://www.boxlotto.com/pages/10000/sponsor.shtml

Google AdWords

https://adwords.google.com/select/?hl=en
Some love them...some hate them. To truly target and get good results can be rather expensive, or quite economical depending on how much you study the service and target outside of the norm.

Banner Ads / Paid Online Advertising

- Rather than feeling discouraged about the high cost of a placing an ad on an extremely busy web site, zone in on MANY of the smaller sites that target your market. They are usually quite thrilled to accept a small payment for placing your ad on their site and this allows you to have a longer run time with a larger number of various web sites targeting different people for the same cost of a single ad on a busy web site that may only run one day to a week instead of the month or two (or more) the smaller sites will run it.

Free Hosting & Sponsorships & Advertising Trades & Other Such Barters

- Offering free hosting is another way to get your ads out there. Target web sites that will not only benefit from your free offer but also ensure that the web sites you freely host in trade for advertising target the type of visitors that are prime for your type of marketing and services.

- Offering sponsorships (free hosting) to churches, non-profit organizations, special interest groups, etc in return for them including not only a link to you on their web site (as a sponsor) but also a blurb about you in their printed newsletters, etc...

- Sponsorships (cash) to local baseball teams, 4H clubs, and other groups that may need $300 to $1,000 for their uniforms, trips, and other events. With these you often receive printed advertising blurbs (positively written in the form of thank yous and encouraging their groups to support you in return) as well as having your name on their uniforms (in the case of baseball team types) etc... The other beauty of these types is if you yourself can get involved. Go to the games and be friendly with the group to help put a positive face with the positive ad and really get your company name in the people's heads with a positive light.

Directories

Get your name into every directory that will allow you to do so for no cost. Carefully consider those that charge to determine if their fees are also worth it. A good place to begin finding targeted directories is at:
http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Business_to_Business/Communications_and_Networking/Internet_and_World_Wide_Web/Network_Service_Providers/Hosting/Web_Site_Hosting/Directories/

Signatures

- Include your company name (and link and description where allowed) with everything you write. Whether it be hardcopy, forums, emails, or any other communication ALWAYS try to ensure your company name (and info) are included.

- Consider gaining a good online reputation in areas that are NOT geared toward webhosting. Think about what interests you outside of webhosting. Cars, pets, crafts, tools, whatever... Get involved in public communities that discuss these things -- remain polite and helpful always within the community! -- Drop your URL in your sig with everything you say, and they'll get to know you, you'll enjoy yourself, and when they too need hosting, you'll be on their mind It can also help if you have a "Discount for members" to offer those within these special communities.

- Sincerely sign the guest books of sites you visit that still have them. Do NOT sign the book with an advertisement but rather with something typical of a sincere signature..."Great site...Thanks for the info!" type thing and just be sure to include your URL (which there is usually a field for doing so). The click back rate on a guest book signature is usually 100% since the Site Owner tends to really get a kick out of the sigs they also tend to click the link to see who it came from.

Local Print Advertising

- If you can make a sign and staple a stick to it, feel free to drop it in the ground where allowed (just like the ones you see everywhere in the U.S. during elections). Just MAKE SURE IT IS ALLOWED TO BE THERE FIRST! Some stick them in their own yard and the yard of family members.

- Keep a small stack of various sized ads that can be stuck on bulletin boards at the grocery store, bank, light posts (like garage sale signs..again where permitted), parks, and other local markets. These would be in the form of business card sizes, 3X5 cards, and full 8X10 sheets of papers. When you see a board that allows the public to pin things up...follow through. These boards are commonly used for "Lost Pet" notices and "Things for Sale" but by all means usually permit "Hosting Coupons & Specials" just the same.

- Business Cards - Always have a stack of business cards handy. Places such as the Chamber of Commerce usually have a table that allows their members to leave a stack of cards there. They can also be pinned up to bulletin boards, left with your tip at the restaurant, dropped in free-lunch buckets, left on counters, handed to people you find yourself talking to in lines etc etc etc. I recommend having two different types of cards printed up. One for your more personal communications (these will include your private number and be of a professional design) and another for the public drop-offs (cards that may contain coupons on the back, a bit of advertising w/ more descriptions of what you offer and public contact numbers/email addresses)

- Local coupon books, magazines, periodicals, newspapers et al
Most cities have low-cost advertising circulations such as a penny saver, coupon card packs, value-paks etc. Take the time to look through them and find the number to call to include your ad. For those that think no one reads them, reconsider who your target market is! ALL of the businesses that placed their ads in that circulation are going to take the time to read through it to, at minimum, admire their own ad and see who else advertised next to them. It IS those businesses that could likely benefit from your services! If the cost is low enough, try to get your ad on as many pages throughout the booklet as possible. "You placed your ad here...did you include your web site address? Let us help you..."

- Your own targeted mailing list - Pop open the phone book, church directory, etc and pick out the addresses of those individuals or business that you think may benefit from your services. Open up your favorite text editor and start writing a letter. Keep it short, clean, descriptive, personal, clear, etc and start printing. Fold, Stuff, Lick, Stamp and send. You just never know ;) You can also get lists from other organizations (such as the CoC) that will include 'all new businesses in the area' or "all new residents" etc..

Affiliate Programs

There are a number of different options available in this area, from free scripts to high cost targeted third party full-featured marketing plans. Check your budget and then do your best to stay within it. Offering an incentive for 'word of mouth' marketing helps encourage those with the ability to communicate to think about talking about you just a bit more than usual ;)

Give Back

- If you have the skills, put out some open source software for the net at large to use. Include your blurb in the program's headers and your link on the html side of it where applicable. Even if you're not a programmer, possibly you can write helpful articles, assist someone with graphics, even give free graphics...whatever your skill base allows for. Just as much as you would like your link on 'other people's web sites' don't forget to build a useful website of your own that gives something back to the internet and include your link on it ;)

Put your attitude away and swallow your pride

- Remember that you are the face of your company. Sure there is Internet slang and 'freedom in forums' but at what cost? The Internet is full of archives and once you say it online it's hard, if not impossible, to 'take it back'. Try to double check yourself before you say anything on the Internet and ask yourself "Is this what I want people to think of when they think of my company?" If you can avoid a flame, argument, political confrontation, poor communication skills or anything else of that nature...it's probably best to do so. Once you decide to open your own company you become the company and your actions directly dictate how others will see the business you are standing behind.

YOU are the freest form of marketing your company has from the day it's conceived. Don't blow it :cool:

[ANVANA]

The focus of most marketing ideas I read seem to weigh heavily on search engines and Internet advertising. It's perfectly natural for us to take this advertising path because we're all global businesses. But, let's not loose track of the fact that we can also effectively market locally - especially if you're just starting out or you are a small company.

I have had very good success getting local and out-of-town customers by using the cable access channel. My local community is unique, though, as it is an area that depends heavily on the travel and tourism industry for the local economy. Our local cable access channel provides vacationers and other visitors to my area with local news and events as well as detailed information about local business.

I run simple stationary ads, using little more than our company logo, tagline, and URL. They are very easy and inexpensive to create. The ads cost a total of $15 per week ($60/mo) and run throughout the day. They are shown 7 days a week, all year long.

I have found that this does two things for my business: First, it simply gets my company name in front of local business eyeballs. The consistency of the ads drill our company name and logo into their heads. Second, it brings visitors to my web site where they can learn all about my company and what I offer.

During the summer and vacation season, our local population explodes by a factor of 100 with thousands of new people spending 1 week or more in our community. And, the population changes every week. Visitors often tune to the cable access channel where they learn about local attractions and events, shopping, dining, and other activities. By running my ad here, I get tons of exposure to prospects outside of my immediate area.

I've also made agreements with local real estate and property rental firms. These are often the first contact visitors have when they arrive for their weekly stay. Some of the rental firms present the visitors with a free "welcome package" containing, among other useful things, small gifts and messages from local businesses. My arrangement allows me to include a small gift with my company logo and URL on it. Last year I gave away a cheap Frisbee. It was a hit! Throughout the summer I observed a good number of visitors playing with it on the beach. And, I imagine some of them took it home.

I do not place ads in our local weekly rag. For some reason, the publisher imagines his newspaper as something more valuable than it really is. I can invest in gold (or these days, oil) for less money and probably get better results.

Granted, these aren't the only methods I use to advertise my business. And, they won't work for everyone. But, in the last 3 years they have proven to be two inexpensive ways for me to help get my company name out into the local market and beyond. I think consistency is the secret.

I work hard at making my local customers happy. Most of them are "technically challenged" and will sometimes require lots of hand holding when they first decide to make the jump to the 21st century. The result is that I've got a good base of local customers and they recommend me to their colleagues. My company has a reputation of being dependable and supportive and one that my local clients feel good about doing business with. You can't buy that kind of advertising for all the money in the world.

One more thing. If you're looking to do more business locally, become a member of your local Chamber of Commerce. Get away from in front of your computer and attend Chamber meetings and events. Always carry "professionally-made" business cards to get into the hands of local business owners at every opportunity.
__________________
Joe
ANVANA, LLC
www.anvana.com

[Chicken]

Feel free to add your own low cost advertising/marketing ideas to this thread...
Took over a month and a new member (Hey Joe! Welcome!) to do it, but better late than never...

[ANVANA]

Need More? I have a whole list of free/inexpensive ways to get your message to your local market.

[Chicken]

Absolutely. The secret objective of this site is to provide a place where these types of ideas can be shared to help providers. Shhhhh, don't tell anyone. Plus, local marketing ideas are good as there's less competition in the local market (meaning you aren't giving potential customers away to someone else, what's local to you isn't local to someone else).

Ohhh, and don't take "Shhhhh, don't tell anyone" literally. Too many people around here seem to. We'll provide the megaphone and pay $5/hr. if you'd like to drive around your city screaming "Visit HostHideout.com!" plus there might be an extra bonus of small snack items to eat while you drive around. We used to also give people a 12 pack of beer but apparently there's some legality issues involving drinking beer and driving, plus near the end of the shift, no one could figure out what the heck "Vibbit HsssthHeeethopt" meant.

[ANVANA]

When we get a new client, and he is ready to launch his new site, our company sends a variation of this to them to help them get started. I'll post it here in the hopes that it will help some of you with your marketing and promotion. Not everything will apply to everyone. But, it might spark a new and novel idea, or maybe a variation that can be applied to your business.

---------------------
SIMPLE, EFFECTIVE, AND AFFORDABLE WAYS
TO GET VISITORS TO YOUR NEW WEB SITE

You've poured a bunch of money, time, and research developing your Web site. Whether you had a professional build your site, or you made it yourself, you need to get prospects to look at your site, browse your offerings, and read about your qualifications.

Being involved in Web site hosting and development, I have seen numerous small businesses fail to leverage their traditional marketing strengths when it comes to the Web. They treat the Internet as a completely separate entity, when they should learning to integrate the Web into their overall marketing strategy.

For some, this is because they are not confident in what their Web site has to offer while others are just unsure how the integration should take place. Some still, even in this day of dot-coms all over the place, don't think of the Internet as a serious source of business.

Whatever the reasoning may be, businesses not utilizing the web as a marketing tool are missing out on golden opportunities.

Below I have outlined many simple ways small business owners can get visitors to their Web site. These suggestions cost little or nothing at all to implement. Most are just common sense ideas. All of them are easy, inexpensive, and effective.

WEB SITE PROMOTION TIPS
Here are some simple, easy methods you can start using today to promote your web site. Even after your site is indexed by the various search engines, you should still think about using some or all of these ideas. Remember that advertising is a way to get your name and your Web address out there and familiar with your customers. The more times a prospect sees your Web address, the easier it will be for them to remember.

Start Simple! Put your Web address on your stationery, business cards, brochures, space ads, card decks, yellow pages, flyers, envelops, and invoices. Print your Web site on any printed company or personal business materials no matter how benign it appears. Somebody might hang on to it and visit. Every piece of printed marketing material should clearly display your web address. While this seems like a no-brainer, trust me when I say it is often disregarded.

Add To Ads! Any time you place an ad in a newspaper, trade journal, or magazine, make sure your Web Site address is included prominently in it. Print it large enough so readers can find it easily. I see many small business ads where the Web address is difficult to find – like it was added on as an afterthought. Today, people just don’t have the time to play games. They want to find what they are looking for quickly. Camouflaging your Web address in your printed ads will only cause you to miss more opportunities.

If you're on the radio or TV commercials, tell them your Web site address. Your customers are everywhere and that's where you should be too! By not placing your web address where people will see or hear of it, you are simply not optimizing your advertising efforts.

A simple press release can give you a number of hits virtually overnight, for just being seen in the news! Have you launched a new site? Redesigned your site? Included a feature your competition doesn’t have? Blast the news off to all the local media editors. If you have good newsworthy information, the editor might just dispatch a reporter to write an article about your business. Having an article written about you adds considerable credibility to your professional image and makes you an expert in your field. This will translate to more traffic and more business! Press releases are 100% free publicity, and they work.

Local TV access channels are another often-overlooked resource for site visitors. These usually printed ads give you an opportunity to get your Web site address in front of eyeballs at a relatively low cost. Simply have your site address prominently included in the ad. While you can’t give a lot of information in these ads, including your Web address will show viewers where to get the good stuff.

Even simple placards on your desk with nothing but your Web address will get people to visit. I have one client who had inexpensive business cards printed with nothing but her name and her Web site address. She keeps the cards on her desk, in plain view of everyone who enters her office. She has to refill her supply several times each month, but you can bet that prospects use the card to visit her site. They may even give a card to a friend or relative in the market for your products or services.

Your corporate brochures are an excellent marketing tool but they can’t come close to providing the flexibility that your Web site has to offer. By listing your Web site on the brochure, you can direct prospects there to get more details about you and your business. It will only increase awareness of your Web site.

Give something away for free, and keep giving. This can be in the form of a report, information relating to your product or service, or special tips, tricks, and information. Use your imagination. While it is your business to know about these details, sharing it to potential buyers will help them make intelligent buying decisions. Your prospects will thank you and recommend your products/services to others when asked. Your information doesn't have to be expensive, it only has to have value to your prospects.

Your business address, phone and fax numbers are on your fax cover sheet, why isn’t your Web site and email address?

Do you have a recording when customers are on hold? Why don't you tell them about your Web site and its features while they're waiting? (Just don’t make them wait to long!) You can even tie this in with the giveaway ideas mentioned above. Let them know they can get something special if they’ll just visit your site.

Any type of advertising specialty, whether it's a pen, magnet, clock, cap, T-shirt, etc., needs your Web address on it. Any giveaway, whether used by an employee, agent, or by a customer, instantly becomes a walking billboard for your business Web site. A simple pen that was printed "Stolen from www.mycompanyname.com" was an incredible hit with one of our clients.

Email is quickly becoming the preferred way of communicating with many prospects. Any time you send email include your Web address. This is very simple to set up with most modern email clients. Look for a feature called a "Signature". The signature is a block of text that can be added automatically at the end of each and every email that goes out of your computer. Make sure it includes your site address.

And, why are you using your AOL and Earthlink email address for your business contact information? Use your domain name for all your business email. Your business will look more professional, and you'll have another opportunity to get your domain name in front of your customer's eyeballs. Nothing screems "amateur" more than using your personal email address in your business advertising.

Don't Let It Rot! I don't know about you but I just hate TV reruns. The same thing applies to Web sites. Visitors find that looking at the same thing over and over gets old real fast. They won't return after seeing that nothing has changed for months on end. Keep your Web site fresh with new content. Make some simple changes now and then like adding a new photo, change the wording, add a new page or two, post some news about your business, change the color or typeface, etc. People will return to your site and notice that you keep it updated. If they see that you're serious about your site, they'll return to see what is new.

CONCLUSION
There you have it – a list of simple, inexpensive ideas to get visitors to your site. Remember that after you get them there, your job is to keep them interested in your products and your services. Make your site interesting and tailor it to your potential clients.

Promote your Web site at every opportunity, online and offline. Obviously this includes search engines, business cards, letterheads, etc. But also subtly include mention of your site in your conversations with your hairdresser, mechanic, doctor, bank manager, etc. as the opportunity arises. And have cards prepared with the Web site URL on them to hand out. You'd be surprised how much business comes from word of mouth.

Although the Internet is global, people locally will be impressed to find out what you are doing, and if not connected, (who isn't these days?) they will be keen to check your site out next time they are online.

[usawebhosting]

The focus of most marketing ideas I read... <snip>

very good idea thanks as i just got off the phone with are cable provider and its very low cost and runs 24/7 12 bucks a week. this never even crossed my mind lol.

[jnmhorn]

what cable provider?

[snowstar]

yes, Directories are one of the best options
:band:

[Q151]

Something else that I don't seem to have seen mentioned...

We have used free classified ads with much success. In fact, our very first client came from a free classified ad that we placed, and he has referred folks to us.

So make sure you use every method available! It will all pay off one day! :)

[rackslash]

Tried Local Adertising, but did not work.

Google Adword worked best for us.

[Q151]

Another idea...SEO. You can do it yourself (although it does require a sizable investment of time) for no cost. And if you stick with it, you can actually drop all of your paid advertising, as the results you receive from your SEO efforts would be spectacular.

[GRToni]

Tried Local Adertising, but did not work.

Google Adword worked best for us.

i though of local adv too, adwords can be really disappointing sometimes, the prices are very high...

[5star]

:flagus: thanks for all the tips
very very useful

[Eddie Roberts]

hey guys....... best way of marketting and advertising is to ur product is media it is the best way to provide the knowledge of ur product to gernal public... As the media is the best way to present your products in fron tof people

[xan]

Hi Everyone, :kitty2:

I find all of these tips very useful. I have used free classifieds and google ad words. Thognh adwords send traffice the classifieds work best for me.

One Question though, has anyone considered putting your web address on your resume? I know that when i went on a few interveiws, pepole click the link because I put my web address and a suitable blurb on the very top where my name and contact information is. I also put it on my reference document as well as my fax cover.

Note: I only do this depending on the company that I have an interview with.

Will VistaPrint do a great job on your business cards?
______
Alex Hosting
http://alexhosting.biz

[Q151]

That is a good idea about including your Web address on your resume. I use my domain for my personal address, and that gets alot of attention as well.

As for VistaPrint, yes! They do a superb job! :) We use them for all of our business cards, postcards, etc. - and we couldn't be more pleased. I highly recommend them.

[Cubic]

Google AdWords didn't really work for us. I never thought of classisfied ads, but that might just work. I'm thinking we will give that a try soon.

[usbhosting]

Thanks for the tip, very useful.

[pressadvance]

I'm surprised there hasn't been discussion in this thread about press releases.

Press releases represent one of the most cost effective form of promotion and branding that a web hosting company can do. In fact, they can even be the key to getting your company published in local print newspapers, in online news outlets, etc.

And they don't necessarily have to cost much. Many web hosts choose to write them internally, and many choose to outsource production. Either way, it's almost always going to be cheaper than any form of traditional advertising.

[cyberhostuk]

Nice thread, lots of useful information. :)

[TJR Networks]

Press releases represent one of the most cost effective form of promotion and branding that a web hosting company can do. In fact, they can even be the key to getting your company published in local print newspapers, in online news outlets, etc. Yes, I agree. Don't underestimate the power of a good press release. :)

[rebelnetworks]

I am wondering if anyone tried direct mail?? -- target small business with a direct mail piece --??

[Darkstarx]

This thread has some excellent content, perhaps it should be sticky'ed? :)

[Chicken]

...perhaps it should be sticky'ed? :)
Perhaps it already is ;) :D :dchick:

[Zafar Ahmed]

I had someone offered a Mass Email Marketing to me , I have no idea what he meant by this? Does anyone know what does EMAIL MARKETING means?

is it like SENDING EMAILS TO EVERYONE? isn't it called SPAMMING?

[Chicken]

It could be "opt-in" though one would think that hundreds of thousands or millions of people (what you often see listed in mass marketing email ads) wouldn't (knowingly) agree to get spam. I'm sure there are legit lists of opt-in addresses though (of people who don't know better, heh).

[AlwaysHosted]

Great thread, I will definately be trying out some of the tips when I target my local market, excellent suggestions, thank you.

[homeofgoodies]

I have an e-commerce site geared towards General Merchandise. I have been reading around, and have found many good ideas, and many bad ones. NEVER EVER EVER, fall for the companies that claim they can get you traffic overnight!! That's IMPOSSIBLE!!! Many companies providing CPC campaigns are FRAUDS!! They sit there behind there desks and click on your site all day! They have 500 computers so IP addresses will always be different. Companies like SiteBlaster, etc... are never any good! You just have to design relative keywords that will suit your site! I have yet to accomplish this. Here is why: One of the catagories I sell in is Apparel. How general is that? You can certainly use apparel as a keyword, as lots of people use that to search, but you can not use specific items as keywords because you can not have tons of keywords in your meta tags either! So, in the apparel catagory, what keywords will I use to make my site stand out? Do you see where I am going with this? Apparel is WAY to general, and "2-Pc. Flannel Polka Dot PJs" is way to specific. Any ideas? I would be greatful for any input on how you have had success with tags. I know there are a lot of people out there who have had no luck and simply do not believe in tags, but I still have one big philosophy on tags....The internet is one HUGE database, and your tags are database query tools. On a POS system, if you type in the last name "DOE" to search for a customer, and "DOE" is not in the system, it will not find it, same thing with the internet. You have to have a "DOE" entry in your meta tags in order for the internet to find you.

I would like to see much more help and suggestions on Meta Tags, creating Super Meta Tags, etc.. Because as I was reading around, you must have a "unique" product now days to succeed, but who can do that? We have come up with a few ideas, which NO ONE HAS!! and I think it will help.

I think that paid advertising is good, but not as effective as just doing your meta tags correctly. I have read that SEO can be done on your own, but like everyone else, I want to know HOW? If you're going to tell us something, tell us HOW!

[mirage001]

maybe can try low cost advertising programme at http://reseller.bbcnn.us/adbrite.html

[TargetedClix]

Cold call every local web designer in your area.

[jwitte]

I orginally wrote the following information for veterinarians and versions for other animal care professionals, as a way to inexpensively market their company and themselves. But the following information could work for anyone! The key is that while "free ezine article" distribution sites do work by spreading your original content, this may not be the most effective way to get content out there (articles are usually picked up only by the smaller, very limited reach websites, for best results pick one or two large (broad reach, high traffic) websites and regularly submit content.

Cost Effective Online Marketing Strategies for Veterinarians

Standard advertising practices are so important; having an ad in the yellow pages of your phone book or newspaper does a tremendous amount to bring in new business. However, what do you do to differentiate yourself from all the other veterinarians listed in the same yellow pages? A pretty ad does not tell potential clients that you are better then the next guy with a DVM after his name.

These days more pet owners are researching their pet’s health information online. Internet marketing should be a part of your overall marketing campaign, and can be done successfully for little or no money. Make the most of this medium by following a few easy steps:


Your Website
You do have a website don’t you? If you don’t, you should. A website can tell potential clients about your practice, your staff, your standards of care, and so much more. This is where the potential client can really get to know your veterinary practice in a way the ad in the yellow pages just can’t do. You don’t have to spend a great deal of money to build your website. If you don’t want to hire a website development firm, talk to your staff members – chances are one of them has some web developing skills and can produce quite a nice and effective website for you. There are also many website templates online that have beautiful animal and veterinary themes, which allow you to simply add your content, without a bunch of coding.

Become An Expert
Yes, you are already a professional, and by all means, an expert in veterinary medicine, but so is that next guy with the DVM. Therefore, you need to show potential clients that you are more of an expert then that next guy. How do you do that? It’s quite easy actually, and costs nothing, you simply write articles. Writing articles and submitting them to online animal health websites is the best way to become an “expert” at any subject and it costs nothing but your time. Many of the “expert” veterinarians got that way by writing for the journals and the trade publications but potential clients do not read these veterinary trade publications and journals. You need to become an “expert” to the pet owners by writing articles for the consumer.

Take Dr. Alice Villalobos for example, writing an oncology column for one specific veterinary trade magazine. Dr Villalobos is well known in the veterinary community, but what you may not know is she is very well known in the pet owner population also. She has taken many of her articles and adapted them for pet owners, and has authorized these articles for reprint on consumer websites such as [removed]. Pet owners from around the United States contact [removed] requesting her contact information because they are willing to cross country for a chance for her to treat their pet’s cancer.

While you may not be looking for cross-country clients, your local clientele will grow considerably when you become well known as a veterinary “expert”. Whether you practice in a small town or a big city, the local pet owners are undoubtedly online and researching you, your practice, and your competitors. When they find well-written veterinary medical articles by you on one of the large national animal health websites, your reputation will grow, you can ethically attract the cases you want by narrowing your article subjects to specific topics, you will become an “expert” in the eyes of your current and potential clients, and you will have differentiated yourself from that next guy with the DVM.

Tying It All Together
Now you have a website and are writing articles for electronic publication on your favorite animal health website. You will want to make sure your author’s bio includes a link to your website and your practice contact information. When your article is published on the animal health website, this direct link will increase your website’s search engine listing rank. Your name will also get higher rankings in the search engines. When you “Google” yourself, how many results are returned? Are they the results you want? Having multiple articles published on a leading animal health website will result in relevant, quality results from the search engines. Add a link from your website to each of your articles published on the consumer animal health website. This directs your potential clients to your articles and let’s them see your “expertise” at work.

For little to no money, you have just established yourself as an “expert” and - even better, more of an “expert” then that next guy with the DVM. Your reputation, your practice, and your clientele will grow, and you didn’t have to take out a loan to do it!

[web helper]

i have to agree that SEO is probably the best form advertising. IN your SEO, you will end up covering free online classifieds, directories, forums, emails etc.

I think that with web hosting for instance, more people will be inclined to search for providers online rather than in the print media. Products that are really online products will sell better online.

[HostsForTheCause]

Anyone care to elaborate on SEO a little more? Like what tools to use or maybe a brief tutorial?

[cdanik]

thanks for the great list.

[AFerrier]

this is a lot of info... but thanks, will make it a point to read it over to see if i get any fresh ideas :)

[NetStandard]

SEO is in Short (Search Engine Optimization) and their is really no short tutorial to doing this task because their is many steps involved and it does require a ton of time. Something to keep in mind when looking into this is each search engine has a terms of service agreement and you must live by those rules or you will pay the penalty and most of the time that penalty.

Other things to consider are things like Duplicate Content Issues as well Over Optimization Filters, yes they do exist.

[kyledylanconner]

:flagus: thanks for all the tips
very very useful

Very useful, indeed.

[MDDHosting]

This thread is a great resource but I would like a little clarification. I've never handled an ad campaign before and I honestly can't afford to hire somebody else to do it at this time.

I've been focusing most of my efforts online on directories and search engines - and I know that it takes time to generate traffic from these routes. I'm patient but I would like to do my best to give my web site a kick start.

I was reading about press releases and free classifieds, are you guys referring to local print versions, online, or both? Which has worked the best for you in the past? I actually enjoy spending time trying to get the name out so I don't mind going all routes, but I'm particularly curious which way was most helpful for you.

Thank you for all of your insights,

[BigHosts]

If your website fits one of the categories at Stumbleupon.com, you can purchase visits for 5 cents each -- a nice way to generate awareness.

Also visit TDNAM.com and search for expiring domains with traffic that are related to your website. They can be purchased for as little as $10 plus domain renewal fees -- then re-direct it to your site.

[godzsite]

I think we need more advertising for this site so it can be bigger?

[Snee]

dismiss google ads lol

[Empire Consulta]

outside focusing on getting new clients, I also recommend building relationship with your already existing clients and introduce new products which are useful to them. Honestly you can't go wrong if you approach it with a helpful hand

[dkargbo]

In order for your outside audience to start paying closer attention to your company, you should look into 1-800 numbers. When I was in desperate need for more traffic I bought myself a 1-800 number from Primary Wave Media. Primary Wave Media has helped more than 1000 companies increase their advertising response rates and ultimately their revenue by providing them with unforgettable, Shared-use Toll-free Vanity Numbers for their advertising. Their company has the highest quality vanity toll-free numbers licensing numbers such as 1-800-CABLE-TV, 1-800-GREEN-CARD, 1-800-ROLL-OVER. At vanitytollfreenumbes.com they have the best selection of toll-free numbers for your companies marketing needs. They go above and beyond just licensing a vanity number. They help their customers market their toll-free number to get the best possible results for their business. They work with every industry and they are the premier provider of vanity toll free numbers online.

[sujancsecuet]

Thanks you everybody for nice tips.

[AirSpaceHosting]

Just implemented a couple of these today. Thanks :P