Advertise Your Website

Use your website to promote your brand - your company and your product. If you manufacture thingamajigs, then your company is Thingamajig Inc., and your product are the aforesaid thingamajigs. If you're a writer, then your company is you (your writing career), and your product is your writing whether that's books or whatever form of writing you do with the thought of making a profit.

Websites, if done correctly, are a low-cost way to advertise - to gain publicity and promote your brand. However, you have to drive traffic to your site, meaning you get people to visit your site so they can see what a wonderful writer you are with a great career.

There's an entire industry out there who are more than willing to charge you big bucks to help you do this. Most writers I know don't have big bucks so they stumble along trying to make it happen through their own efforts.

Here are 10 quick ways to get your website known.

1. Print materials.

Make up business cards and other paper items i.e. promotional postcards, bookmarks, brochures, etc. with your website URL along with a short tagline or blurb about what visitors will find on your site. Give the cards out freely. Drop them in the "win a lunch" fishbowls.

Print up adhesive labels to use as envelope seals. Design with the same info mentioned above. If you have a book coming out, put the title, your name, and release date. Slap one on every piece of correspondence you mail. This helps mostly when communicating with friends, family, organizations to which you belong, etc.

2. Comment on other blogs and your link shows up.

3. Exchange links with anyone who exchanges. Of course, use good judgment. I mean, you wouldn't want a porn site link on your website, would you? When starting out, you don't have to be so concerned with the quality of other links so everyone from Aunt Felcie to her cat is fair game.

4. Subscribe to websites that review other websites. Give good, honest, not hurtful though, reviews, and you'll get some in return. You'll start getting more traffic.

5. Have a bumper sticker made with your website URL and the tagline or a window cling sticker or a magnetic sign. It all depends on your chutzpah.

6. Order a license plate frame with your URL.

7. Frequent bulletin boards and forums and have your URL in your sig file.

8. Create a signature with your URL that automatically is added to every email you send.

9. Letterhead should have your URL.

10. Write articles for print or online newsletters and have the URL as part of your bio notes.

Takeaway Truth

Using your website to promote your brand isn't going to happen overnight. It takes time to build momentum so be patient.