This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
5 proven ways to promote your website in budget
Find 5 simple (and proven) ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget
Wednesday October 31, 2018 , 6 min Read
This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
You got a killer business idea and you built a website that has an awe-inspiring design and SEO elements along with a great user interface. Launching your own website is an exciting time in your entrepreneurship journey.
You spend a fine amount of money on your website design and development and believing “build it and they’ll come.”
BIG MISTAKE!
Don’t forget that web contains a billion of web pages. There are over 1.8 billion websites on the world wide web the day I’m writing this article. It means that there’s a huge competition to stand out.
No matter how good your website is, it never guarantees success. Remember a website is nothing without visitors. You need visitors to turn it into a marketing machine. Let people know about your new website. A website can be a great medium to generate leads for you. According to MarketingSherpa, 77% of marketers use a website to build their email lists.
The key is: Don’t spend all your budget on developing a website and keep some budget for promoting it. In this article, you’ll find 5 simple (and proven) ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget.
The best part?
These ways don’t take your much time so you can focus on other important tasks. Take a look:
1. Publish Press Releases
Do you know there’s one trend that will never go out?
Press Release. Because it spreads your voice to the people out there. The best thing? It’s one of the cost-effective mediums of marketing. It helps you to improve the visibility of your website and business in the market.
How can you use this form of marketing? There are some free and paid press release platforms that you can use to get your words out. You can also approach a big media journalist to share your story.
Now the most important part is: Writing a press release. Don’t write it in a boring and robotic way. Remember it’s your job to tell people what you do and why you do it and how it can help them (People care most about this). Use storytelling to convey your message because it can easily grab reader’s attention. Include some figures and social proofs.
64% of journalists use Google or Yahoo! to follow the news. And your press release can pique a journalist’s attention.
Start building a long-term press release strategy and let the traffic flow on your website.
2. Start using Medium to get noticed
Creating and publishing engaging and informative content on your website can help you to attract new visitors.
But as you’re new in the market, you may not get a great amount of audience on your evergreen article. If you want to get a fair amount of traffic on your website, you need to put your best content in front of this right audience.
Medium is an AMAZING publication platform that can find new audience and traffic for your website. The good news? You don’t need to create new content, you can easily republish and repurpose your evergreen content here. Super easy!
Medium grows 140% to 60 million monthly visitors, according to VentureBeat. Medium can be a great channel to connect with your targeted audience and build a community.
“Does Google punish my website for duplicating the content on Medium?” I hear you ask. The straight answer is, NO. Don’t believe me, here’s what Medium is saying:
“Medium’s publication and cross-posting pathways automatically add canonical links to protect your original content posted offsite. This means that Medium can only boost — not cannibalize — your SEO.”
-> Get on medium now and set your profile.
-> Write a great headline.
-> Post your story with clear formatting.
-> Add high quality pictures.
-> And don’t forget to add relevant tags.
You can also join some popular publications of Medium. These publications will help you to increase your reach.
3. Be Consistent on Social Media
No doubt, social media is the best place to connect and talk with your audience. I recommend you to set up your social media pages before launching your website. You can run a contest or an activity around the launch of your website. Use the relevant tags and let people talk about you.
Create and publish content regularly on your social media pages because this helps drive traffic to your website. Post text, images, infographics, videos, links, and some other forms of content. LinkedIn posts with images receive 200% more engagement than text-only posts.
Organic growth doesn’t require money on social media, but it needs your efforts and patience.
Don’t rush, it takes time to build relationship with a person just like our real world. Be consistent with your content. Your content should encourage your followers to hit the share button that will help you to get unique visitors to your website.
4. Host/Attend events and seminars
Have you ever thought attending an event, seminar, conference or meetup what can do for you?
Never doubt the power of events and conferences. Attending or hosting an event or seminar can open a way to great opportunities. Talk to influencers and your competitors. It’s a great way to let people know your website and what you do without sounding pushy.
Attending or hosting an event is an investment, not an expense. You’ll get some quality business leads that can generate a great ROI for you. According to Bizzabo, events are the single most effective marketing channel (31%) over digital advertising, email marketing and content marketing.
5. Send email campaign
An email list has a great power. It’s an asset for a business. I recommend you to build an email list before launching your website. How?
Enter Coming Soon Page.
A ‘coming soon’ page can help you to give a sneak peek of your business, showcase your brand and get the email sign-ups. The page should have a ‘wow’ factor that appeals people to join your list. Explain the purpose of your website clearly and create curiosity. You can also mention the website launch date.
Take a look at this page:
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Now you’re all set to launch your website. Post-launch, create a beautiful and informative email shouting that your website is live and running. Try to add attractive image and engaging text. Don’t make it lengthy, be short and sweet.
Send this personalized email campaign to your email list and existing clients. It’s a great way to drive a good amount of traffic to your website. Sending regular email campaigns help you to build a strong relationship with your subscribers.
I recommend you to adding social sharing buttons at the bottom of your email. Let your subscribers share your gorgeous email with their network.
I hope you find these ways helpful for you. Do you want to share any idea? Please share your thoughts here.