Promoting a Small Business - Getting the word out

Today, I answered a question by Jen at MySpace. Here is my answer on how to get word out for a new web site.

Hello Jen,
Track50 seems like a great idea. My best wishes are with you.

Now to answer your question:

There are quite a few ways for you to spread the word about your new web site. The best one is going to be through press releases and blogging.

Write up a press release (message me if you need some good resources on how to write a press release and what to avoid in PR). Once the press release is ready, submit it to a news distribution company. For e.g., I tell many of new clients to use PRWeb.com. You can submit a press release for free. For a $10 contribution to PRWeb.com you can get listed in their syndicated RSS feed. For every $40 you donate, they will add a star to your release and give it better coverage.

Business Wire is another press release distribution company but be prepared to pay $$$$ for each release.

Then there are affiliate programs. You can start your own affiliate program for as low as $75 with ShareASale.com. You can choose to pay affiliates as low as $0.01 (I think) per click or a pre determined amount per sale. PM me if you would like more assistance. You can also call me at 706.356.0282 and have me guide you through.

One thing I noticed on your site (or may be I couldn't find it) is that you don't have RSS feeds. You need syndication capabilities on your site to help your audience stay in touch and informed about your site.

You may also want to host a forum on your site to add stickiness.

Sign up with your local chamber of commerce and have them give you their list of journalists (works great for local publicity).

These are just right off the top of my head.

Add your URL to del.icio.us, http://openencyclopaedia.com (mine), http://de.lirio.us,
http://digg.com, http://furl.com and related sites and photos (or screenshots) to http://flickr.com.

Just be careful out there.

Good Luck :)

Frank
------------
If this post has helped you, feel free to add me as a friend and ask questions either here or by making a comment on my profile / blog. I will try to answer them as I get time. You can also email me at ebusinessconsultingus at yahoo dot com.

---