Oct 19 2007
Thinking Outside The Box - Part 3 - Rarely Used Methods
After reading about the frequently used methods, and somewhat used methods, of course a post about the rarely used methods was in order. The thing to remember when advertising and growing your business or website, is that what works for others will not necessarily work for you. You need to broaden your horizons and present your ideas to a variety of potential customers. How many people are interested in making money online, but do not have the time or are unsure of where to find ideas?
Rarely Used Methods
Word of Mouth
This one may be obvious, but many people do not advertise their business using word of mouth. Unfortunately, many “advertisers” who use this method come off too strong and leave a bad image for their company or website, which leaves their potential customers with a bad taste. You need to be casual and less forward than a salesmen when you are using this method.
Although it is done incorrectly very often, sometimes telling your friends, co-workers, or family members about your idea can definitely help it grow. As always, think about the exponential effect. You tell two friends and two family members. If each one of them tells two people as well, and you take the chain down until you reach level 5, that’s well over 100 people that heard about your idea because you told 4. Of course, as I tend to do, these are assumed statistics, but you might have a friend who tells their whole class about it. Either way, it can be an extremely effective way to advertise if you market towards the right crowd.
Although this is becoming increasingly more popular, still, many people fail to utilize Facebook. Like yesterday when I wrote about Myspace, Facebook is an extremely popular website. Now that anyone can join, it is very easy to build a network and market yourself. Likewise, you can mix this method with word of mouth, especially if you have or build a network of friends and family members on Facebook. When doing that, it becomes extremely easy to market your idea(s) to friends and family, and beyond that, there are many ways to advertise at no cost as well.
Forums
Many people shy away from this method as well. When I explain forums, I do not mean you need to purchase advertising, or plaster your advertisements and spam the users. I simply mean make a few posts a day until you become well known (which is not difficult if you write well and are kind to people), and put a few links in your signature. You can also ask for help analyzing or reviewing your layout or content. You never know, somebody who reviews your website may be interested in the content as well. If you are unsure of what forums to use, I would suggest Digital Point as a great place to start. Otherwise, simply Google “your_niche forums” and you will find a variety of different places to use.
Print Media (Business cards, Newspaper, etc.)
In the online business, it may not be shocking to many why this is rarely used. Similar to the other methods, this can be extremely beneficial as well. I got 250 free business cards, and I set a stack of 5-10 out randomly in various public places (restaurants, classrooms, computer labs, libraries) and if I am sitting around I will notice at least one person each time pick a card up. If you can attract someone to pick up your business card, that is half the battle. The rest is up to them. Especially if you are not advertising directly (trying to sell something to them), but instead informing them about potential ideas and, in my case, what my blog is about.
My Thoughts
I would recommend taking advantage of some of these lesser used methods, as in the end, they can play a large role in increasing your traffic. Aside from that, posting in forums, using Facebook, and talking to people are all 100% free, aside from your time. I think you need to pay shipping on the business cards, but still, that is a great way to do it as well. I even decided to throw in a stack of magnets as well, and those are pretty cool to stick on doors or garbage cans. You would be surprised how well a business card that looks like money would attract someone’s attention. 
[…] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerpt to use, I would suggest Digital Point as a great place to start. Otherwise, simply Google your_niche […]
Another community widget which can bring in a lot of traffic will be MyBlogLog. It is one of my highest traffic referral. I don’t use word of mouth in my real life simply because I don’t like to explain something without the Internet as you can see, I am writing about guides on blogging.
Anyway, will you mind explaining how we can market our blogs through Facebook?
There are many different ways to promote using Facebook. I was thinking about writing an in depth post about utilizing it to its fullest ability, but I can give you an overview as well.
I’m not sure how familiar you are with it, but you can submit your RSS reader to it so Facebook automatically inputs your posts as if it were a “Note” on Facebook. That is a great way to generate some additional traffic and inflate your subscriber numbers as well.
Also, there are fliers that you can use to advertise (very cost effective), especially if you are marketing towards 20ish year old people.
Similarly, you can post these things called listings in the Marketplace. If you are running a promotion of some sort, it is a great way to generate a few extra hits (contests, free giveaways, etc).
Also, depending on your network, if you put a few links up about it within your profile, you can generate some extra traffic from that. Likewise, if you have a large network, making a Group to help promote your website or idea can be a great way to start as well.
Otherwise, writing posts on people’s walls, sending them messages, or listing them in your Jobs and website area can also let people know what you are doing.
Hope that helped, I will probably make a little more detailed post about this in the coming weeks.
Thanks for stopping by!