offline marketing
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Even if you think your business is an entirely on-line thing it can still benefit from some offline marketing. You can of course put up conventional advertizing in newspapers, magazines, shop windows and the like. This can range from cheap to horrendously expensive. There are also strategies, such as article writing, which are free, or for which you could even get paid! Now they have got to be worth a thought. news and press releases
If your business is new, has developed something new or noteworthy, or has some local interest value then press releases can be worth trying. It is best to phone the appropriate editor (find out his or her name first). Especially for local papers a photographer may wish to come and take a photo to accompany the article written. Press releases are a great way of getting advertising and reputation for nothing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- personal recomendation
Don't forget to spread the word about. Niche sites with information,stories and general interest articles are especially easy to talk about. Tell your friends, relatives and visitors, and get them to tell theirs. Talk about your website at parties and meetings. It's surprising but you will get extra visitors this way. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- article writing
A good way of earning a bit of extra cash, and getting some advertising at the same time! Using off-line article writing, for magazines or newspapers, can be a way of getting yourself and your company known, and you can get paid for the privilege too! You have to have the right sort of articles and be able to write well enough. Magazine articles often come with a short biography about the author, and sometimes a photo. So use this to your best advantage, include a link to your website if they will allow it and it is appropriate. Article writing is a good technique for niche marketing, but effective article writing for off-line markets isn't as easy as article writing for some of the online article publishers. The standard required is usually a good deal higher than for your average online article - but then so is the payment. I advise you not to use free article writing software for this if you actually want to be published. I have a couple of horse related websites and have just started writing for horse magazines. It is better to talk to editors first, rather than send articles off "on spec". It saves everyone time. Approach editors by phone or email. Offer to write articles and give them ideas of the sort of things you can write about. Tell them of any experience you already have of writing, especially of any conventionally published work. I wrote a few unpaid articles for society magazines first, and sent these off to prove I could do it, but I also have had a lot of other experience, including writing a book, so I'm not finding it too hard to break into the magazine article world. If you don't have such experience, but know you can write, then approach several magazines at once to see if you can get anyone interested. Sometimes editors don't respond quickly. Give them a bit of leeway, leave them alone for a couple of weeks or so, and then try again. I guess they are very busy people who are always being approached by new writers. I will be adding an article writing tutorial to this site in due course, with writing tips for article writing. You do not write an article in the same way you write a website page, one definite advantage is not having to do any keyword optimization! On the other hand you really do have to polish your work, and you have to be able to work to word-limits (accurately!), and fulfill requested titles and layouts. Your opening paragraphs have to be compelling, capturing the readers imagination - editors seem to be hot on this! If you write about technical subjects for a non technical audience, as I sometimes do, you also have to be able to see the general overviews and present them without blinding your reader with science! It can be tricky if you are used to presenting yourself to those who already have some knowledge in the area. Like everything else it can take a bit of practice to get there, but if you like writing about your subject it is fun too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- newsletters and club magazine articles
Article writing for societies and clubs may not be paid, but can provide valuable "free" offline advertising opportunities. You do at least know your article will by seen by enthusiasts in your niche market area. You don't have to spend quite so much time on the polishing as you do if you are writing a magazine article, but keep it well written and tidy and your contributions will likely be welcome on an on-going basis! This kind of writing is also good if you want to break into the paid market. You can use published articles as samples, to show editors that you are able to write. Choose one or two of your very best, don't flood editors with lots of articles! And when you are writing your unpaid articles make your very best effort if you have this idea in mind. These kind of articles often come with a short biography about the author, and sometimes a photo. Use this to your best advantage, include a link to your website if they will allow it and it is appropriate. If you are not being paid for article writing you can say to editors that you will write for them in return for a short biography and a website link. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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