Are you an eBay seller who wants to gain recognition for your business Perhaps you are a casino affiliate looking to gain the attention of new customers Or, maybe you are just starting out with a dropshipping company and are hoping to get your new business off the ground Well, theres no better time to start anew like a brand new year. Anything is possible, but you have to make it happen.
Promoting a new business can be a daunting, and expensive, task. But, its not impossible with a successful marketing approach. If you are an eBay seller who also has a website, offer a contest or promotion by giving away a product from your inventory. Allow new visitors to enter your contest and draw one winner at a specified time. Announce this competition anywhere and everywhere possible, including newspapers, your websites mailing list, co-workers, friends, etc. You can promote your website with internet search engines and free-for-all link pages, along with link exchanges among other websites. The contest concept will work with either stocked inventory or dropshipping. Just have the winners product sent directly to them.
If you operate as a casino affiliate, promote your new website among search engines, newsletters and through the original casino owner. Affiliate websites, as part of the price package, often receive promotion for their new business. Basically, its free advertising so enjoy it. An affiliate website is often listed in a directory on the main homepage of the company, which is a terrific way to draw attention to a new start-up business.
If your business, product or approach are unique, write up a one-page press release and send it to every magazine, newspaper and television network that you can find. The worst that will happen is the information will not be used, but imagine the benefits if it is used. Having a press release published in any publication is basically free advertising. Anyone who picks up the newspaper, or magazine, is going to read through it looking for a story that grabs their attention. Therefore, make your press release interesting and give it a title that will draw the reader in. Everyone likes to hear success stories of budding entrepreneurs and, with the popularity of the world wide web, thats just another reason to promote your enthusiasm. If you have a sample product, send it with your press release. Of course, if you dont want to spend the money to mail the press release, theres always e-mail. This is a terrific way to provide news to a variety of media outlets at no cost and immediate delivery. If your story is unique, it will grab the editors attention.
In conclusion, consider these top 10 ways to ensure a successful marketing campaign:
1. Contests & Giveaways
2. Discounts to first-time or repeat customers
3. Referral rewards
4. Link exchanges
5. Press release submission
6. Free product samples
7. Conduct interviews with the press about your new online business
8. Distribute a electronic newsletter to website viewers who sign up to receive your latest news
9. Write a daily article and post on your website relating to your company, product or news
10. Place a permanent signature in your e-mail, which identifies the URL of your website, to be sent with each outgoing letter.
Mark Kenny is an eBay expert who specialises in launching eBay related online businesses. You can see his selection of Turnkey websites at: or read his blog via
One of the most effective ways of getting people to discover and try your products or services is by offering a Pink Spoon - a taste of what it is that you offer. Pink Spoons come in many forms: an ezine, an ecourse, an audio program, a special report, etc., and they are usually free. Its a tried and true marketing strategy that if you offer someone a free taste of what it is that you do, they are much more likely to become a paying client or customer down the road.
Once youve created your Pink Spoon, the next step is to market it to encourage people to sign up for your list. The following are 15 proven ways to promote your Pink Spoon:
__1. Your email signature. In your email signature (your name and contact info that you put at the bottom of every email you send out), include a link that goes directly to the sign-up page for your Pink Spoon or to its respective autoresponder. Entice people to click through with a compelling question, followed by the link.
For example, one of my email signatures says:
Are you exhausted from working 1:1 with clients, only to be just getting by financially
Dont give up on your dream of having a profitable business AND time for a great life. Learn the secrets to leveraging your time
and talent by getting your FREE ecourse 5 Keys to Wild Abundance in Your Business.
Simply send a blank email to clientabundance@aweber.com or visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com
__2. Your website Make sure your sign-up form for your Pink Spoon is prominently placed on the home page of your website, as well as on every other page of your site. This way, no matter what page your visitor lands on, youre giving them an opportunity to opt-in to receive your Pink Spoon.
__3. Other peoples ezines Ask to be mentioned and recommended in other peoples ezines within your niche. Offer to do the same in return.
__4. Other peoples websites Offer your Pink Spoon as a bonus to colleagues in complementary niches to offer to their lists.
__5. Testimonials you write Write results-oriented testimonials for products or services you use and love. Give permission to the owner to post your testimonial to their website. Include a photo and/or audio for better results.
__6. Articles Write and submit articles within your niche. In the authors resource box at the end, promote your Pink Spoon by including the URL to your sign-up page or the email link to your autoresponder.
__7. Discussion lists Participate in discussion lists where your target market hangs out and offer your Pink Spoon, following the lists guidelines for promotions.
__8. Thank you pages On your thank you pages for purchases, offer your Pink Spoon. Your customer may not have signed up before buying your product or service and you want to give them an opportunity to do so before they leave your website.
__9. Your sales copy Peppered throughout your sales copy, give the opt-in form to sign up for your Pink Spoon. Most people dont buy on the first pass, but they will likely sign up for your free offering.
__10. Your business card On the back of your business card, tell people where to go to sign-up for your Pink Spoon.
__11. Teleseminars Offer content-rich free teleseminars and make it clear that your desired outcome is to have the registered guests sign up for your Pink Spoon, not to sell them anything.
__12. Directories List your Pink Spoon in the directories that are available to you via your membership in associations or organizations, and any directories specific to the packaging of your Pink Spoon. For example, if you offer an ezine, consider listing it with The Directory of Ezines at http://www.directoryofezines.com/
__13. Swap ads with others Offer to promote a colleagues Pink Spoon in return for promoting yours as ads within each others ezines. Run your ad for a minimum of three consecutive issues for the best results.
__14. Tell everyone Dont forget to tell everyone on your contact list about your Pink Spoon. Send them the link to your sign-up page, and ask that if they cannot benefit from it themselves to please pass it along to someone who would.
__15. Offer a free bonus. Offer a bonus or gift as an added incentive to sign-up for your Pink Spoon. A special report, an audio program, or something similar that is in a different form than your Pink Spoon. For example, I offer my ezine as a bonus for signing up for my free 5-day ecourse.
Remember: Never add anyone to your list without their permission.
These 15 tactics will help you promote your Pink Spoon and add significantly to your list numbers. Just implement them consistently, and you will grow an audience quickly and easily.
Copyright 2005 Alicia Forest
Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & Coach, & Founder of , teaches coaches, consultants, online entrepreneurs and solo professionals to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve.For FREE tips on how to create abundance in your business, visit