Marketing my website

[Rockhound]

In the past I relied on word of mouth to market my business which worked well because I was a large member of our community knew almost all of the business owners in the area, wrote for the local newspaper and campaigned for government...

Unfortunately I moved to a new location, where I know no one, have a full-time job but no need for web design, and the area is much much bigger...

So my question is this, in your experience what is the best marketing a small website design business can do. Is it worth it to put an ad in the newspaper, write a press release, focus solely on the web advertising, join the chamber and hope that people will notice you, phonebook, etc.

I just need a bit of advice as to what worked for you... my business is not doing bad but I could use a few new jobs...

Thanks in advance.

J

[winged1]

As with most product/service offerings, much of it comes down to how you segment your prospect base. By carefull segmentation you will learn; how to communicate with them, how profitable they are, what their core needs are. As you identify a unique group of consumers (prospects) you will learn their language, and what media they use. Your most effective efforts will be found through careful segmentation.

[Reli4nt]

I find that advertising is okay, and a web site is important. But most important of all is to put yourself out there and meet people. Every job you do, get references. I have done a recent series of jewelry stores ecommerce sites making it easy for me to market to them, not just because I have learned what they are looking for, but because I can show them that I understand their needs.

If you do a site for a bank, the first group for you to approach is that clients competitions (preferably not any direct competitors) and show them your work.

I recommend that you avoid the lazy routes that a lot of people take, and avoid sending out impersonal form emails. One of my recent clients posted on craigs list and told me he had gotten almost 40 replies but not one of them actually bothhered to take a look at his site and offer personalized recommendations.

Good luck

[Rockhound]

Thanks for your help... I have been redesigning my sites with standards.. hopefully the accessibility crowd will have some opportunities for me in the future.

Has anyone tried the local newspaper? running ads or doing a press release?

[Snitchcat]

You could always ask your old network to see if they have any contacts in your new area that they'd be willing to put you in touch with. What about previous companies you've done jobs for -- can they help you?

Are there any chambers of commerce nearby? What about organisations that help local, small businesses? How about small business forums? Maybe local business seminars?

Have you tried the local yellow / white pages? Business links?

Used in conjunction with other forms of adverstising, networking / word-of-mouth can be extremely powerful.

[snowstar]

It is not too difficult to find some free advertisement web-sites via search engines~
Why not do some free advertisement at the same time~