MIND YOUR BUSINESS
Survey the market conditions before negotiating a new lease
Ilana DeBare
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Q:I help run a set of online sports discussion forums where people can
register and post comments for free. What are some good ways to
advertise our forums without spending a ton of money? We have more
than 2,000 active members, but we want more.
-- Sports fan from San Fran
A:The two most basic ways to promote a Web site are pay-per-click advertising
and search-engine optimization.
But these get written about a lot, including in this column. So let's assume you're
already doing pay-per-click and optimization, and look at other less-well-known
online marketing tactics:
-- Turn your users into recruiters, suggests Lael Sturm, founder of LPS
Solutions, an online marketing firm in San Francisco.
This is called viral marketing. And unlike other kinds of viruses, it's a
good thing.
For instance, you could include a box with each forum topic that allows
users to "e-mail this page to a friend." Create a contest where users get
one entry into a drawing for free sports tickets for every friend they refer.
"Empower your users to brag about your service," Sturm said.
-- Publish articles on other Web sites, suggests Celeste Bishop of Bishop Market
Resources in San Rafael.
You can do this easily through numerous "article banks" such as
www.ezinearticles.com that provide material by self-styled experts to
content-hungry Web sites.
Your forums give you a unique view of the latest hot-button issues among sports
lovers. Write articles on those issues. Keep in mind that these articles need to be
genuinely interesting and provocative. They can't just be a promotion for your
business.
Then use the "bio box" at the bottom of each article to mention your site.
"Experiment with different teasers in the bio box, where one article might mention
the forums and another might offer a quiz to test your sports IQ," said Bishop.
The key to success with this -- or any promotion -- is tracking your outcomes.
Does offering a sports IQ test bring more visitors than mentioning your discussion
forums? Does writing articles work better than exchanging links with other sports
Web sites? How do any of these strategies compare with pay-per-click ads or with
coverage in old-fashioned print media?
Check out Google Analytics, a free program offered by Google that allows you to
analyze traffic to your site and where it came from. Then you can focus your time
and money on the kind of outreach that works best for your business.
This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle on 4/4/7
Survey the market conditions before negotiating a new lease
Ilana DeBare
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Q:I help run a set of online sports discussion forums where people can
register and post comments for free. What are some good ways to
advertise our forums without spending a ton of money? We have more
than 2,000 active members, but we want more.
-- Sports fan from San Fran
A:The two most basic ways to promote a Web site are pay-per-click advertising
and search-engine optimization.
But these get written about a lot, including in this column. So let's assume you're
already doing pay-per-click and optimization, and look at other less-well-known
online marketing tactics:
-- Turn your users into recruiters, suggests Lael Sturm, founder of LPS
Solutions, an online marketing firm in San Francisco.
This is called viral marketing. And unlike other kinds of viruses, it's a
good thing.
For instance, you could include a box with each forum topic that allows
users to "e-mail this page to a friend." Create a contest where users get
one entry into a drawing for free sports tickets for every friend they refer.
"Empower your users to brag about your service," Sturm said.
-- Publish articles on other Web sites, suggests Celeste Bishop of Bishop Market
Resources in San Rafael.
You can do this easily through numerous "article banks" such as
www.ezinearticles.com that provide material by self-styled experts to
content-hungry Web sites.
Your forums give you a unique view of the latest hot-button issues among sports
lovers. Write articles on those issues. Keep in mind that these articles need to be
genuinely interesting and provocative. They can't just be a promotion for your
business.
Then use the "bio box" at the bottom of each article to mention your site.
"Experiment with different teasers in the bio box, where one article might mention
the forums and another might offer a quiz to test your sports IQ," said Bishop.
The key to success with this -- or any promotion -- is tracking your outcomes.
Does offering a sports IQ test bring more visitors than mentioning your discussion
forums? Does writing articles work better than exchanging links with other sports
Web sites? How do any of these strategies compare with pay-per-click ads or with
coverage in old-fashioned print media?
Check out Google Analytics, a free program offered by Google that allows you to
analyze traffic to your site and where it came from. Then you can focus your time
and money on the kind of outreach that works best for your business.
This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle on 4/4/7
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