My Buy Essay

Posts Tagged ‘forums’

The internet is a fantastic place to promote your skills and accomplishments. You can pay a large sum of money by coming up with banner ad or pay per click plans to “get the word out” or you can go the budget way and market yourself smartly without spending nary a dime. I’ll leave the money plans for another article, instead let’s take a look at smart ways for you to promote you or your product online for little or no money!

Who said you have to have a marketing budget to promote yourself? Well, many companies do, but they are in the business to sell you something [namely, their marketing plan]. If you have the money to spend on marketing then go for it. If not, then you must examine cost effective ways to get your name out there. Here are some of my personal favorites:

Write Articles &ndash Yes, just as I am writing this article in hope that you are reading it, you can do the same and submit your missives to leading article directories. A well written article of medium length [500-750 words] can go a long way in attracting interest by others. If you are new to the game, write the article and give it to a friend for their review and critique. Once you make your changes, find article directories you can join and start submitting. Make sure your resource box &ndash the information at the end of the article &ndash effectively pitches your product or you personally. Enjoy the resultant [and free!] links back to your site. Submit on a regular basis and you will reap the added traffic to your site resulting in more business for you.

Join Forums — I run several message board communities and with my two largest ones — the Corporate Flight Attendant Community and the Aviation Employment Board — I permit members to add a link within their signature to their personal or business website. Many of my threads are indexed by Google and picked up by people all over the world. Thus, the right person at the right time can click on a thread and see valuable links to other sites of interest. Not every forum manager permits this practice, however. I guess I am just a nick guy! [wink]

Post on Craig’s List — Craig Newmark started his “list” more than a decade ago to serve the San Francisco community. Years later his site is still going strong with well over one hundred cities across the globe featured. People from Atlanta to Auckland and from Zurich to Zimbabwe now have access to a site that allows them to pitch their products, display their resumes, or sell their very souls. The site is still free unless you are posting a job opportunity or real estate information under a few, select cities.

Your Website — You do have a website, right? Oddly in this day and age I am meeting people who do not. I hear all kinds of excuses: it is too expensive, too time consuming, too difficult, etc. Heck, if you are going to “play” the internet you must be properly equipped to participate. Quit making excuses…find a way to get online and do it today! At the very least your DSL account probably provides a page or two where you can design your personal page and upload it to the internet. Oh, you are still using dial up? Yikes!

As with any marketing campaign you must stay on top of it at all times. What I mean is this: however you choose to proceed, you must continually monitor and adjust your plan to maximize its effectiveness. No going on auto-pilot here: you must take charge of what you are doing to reap the rewards. If you do, you can gain a lot of exposure &ndash and work &ndash without expending a huge amount of money.

Selling an item or service through the internet can be a grueling task, without question. And most internet marketing techniques either don’t work, or have been overused. Marketing through self-promotion is a new, innovative way to sell your products, while at the same time advertising your skills. Providing your customers with information about yourself and your background can put them at ease with their impending purchase, and assure them that you care about their best interest. This fresh internet marketing technique may just be one of the best sources currently available.

One way to utilize internet marketing through promoting yourself, is to regularly participate in online communities. These can involve discussion groups, chat rooms, or message boards. Any forum where you can interact with the public is a great form of internet marketing. As you regularly visit these online areas, you will get acquainted with your peers, as they familiarize themselves with you and your business.

Another great internet marketing technique is composing informational articles on subjects that you are interested or skilled in. The end of the article should include a byline, and short bio about you. Adding your web site address is also a helpful marketing tool. Submit the articles to numerous e-zines and article directories for even more internet marketing power.

Have you ever wanted to be a teacher or professor? Why not teach an online class devoted to your area of expertise? Chat room classes have become a favorite on the web, and now an outstanding marketing source. A chat room can easily be installed on your web site. Before each class begins, be sure to tell your students about your education, background, and business. This method of internet marketing is exceptional, because it allows for continuous interaction and a commitment to learn more about the subject at hand. The more that you promote and market yourself, the more others will want to know about your business and goals!