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 – 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 – the information
at the end of the article
– 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 – and
work – without expending a
huge amount of money.
Copyright 2005 -- Matthew
Keegan is The Article Writer
who writes on a variety
of topics including: advocacy,
automobiles, aviation, business,
Christian themes, family,
news, product reviews, travel,
writing, and more. Samples
from his portfolio are available
right online.
