Offline website promotion?
Did you know that small businesses used to advertise without the Internet? Yes, it's true! I remember flyers on the bulletin board at my local cafe advertising craigslist - I had never heard of it. Now that site is now worth an estimated $2 billion.
The good news is that today's focus on Internet marketing has left lots of untapped potential for inexpensive offline website promotion. On these pages I share with you my favorite strategies.
Website promotion with your vehicle
Put your website URL on your car (or another vehicle), and you've got a free mobile billboard. I once bought a huge white moving van on eBay for $1000, added $200 of vinyl lettering to it, and parked it on a freeway overpass for half a year -- in a location where a comparably sized billboard would have cost $6,000+ per month. I've also done similar with a mini van -- bought it on craigslist for $600, added vinyl lettering to all sides, and parked it on various busy street corners for several months. Getting the same number of impressions by renting billboards would have cost thousands. And I later resold both of these vehicles for the original purchase price.
If you don't want to buy a junker or put vinyl lettering on your own car for website promotion, take a look at this removable sign that I created. It's easy to take off anytime.
To make the above sign, you basically just get a piece of polycarbonate plastic from your local plastic supply store, add vinyl lettering, and then super-glue suction cups to the back.
Also, have you ever seen those lighted signs on top of taxis? Think it's crazy to put one on your own car? I've done it -- and have spent many mornings/evenings driving up and down freeways during commute hour. I've never loved traffic so much! Buy one pre-made (search "taxi top signs" or "car roof signs"), or build a larger one yourself for less.
For all of these ideas, if your website URL doesn't clearly tell people your line of business, then buy a short domain name that does, and forward it to your main site. Since many people will be driving by quickly, having a short and revealing domain name is important.
