Ways,Promote,Your,Local,Busine business, insurance 7 Ways to Promote Your Local Business Online

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Savvy business owners are catching on to the fact that thelocal online market is booming. it’s predicted to be a $50billion market by 2006. There is no doubt that the future ofthe Internet is local - and if you don’t get your localbusiness into the act now, it may be too late. Look at how the big boys are reaching out to consumers, drivingtraffic to their local stores. Staples, Office Depot, Wal-Mart- these guys are all going after the local market in a big way.Why? Because they know that people spend 80% of their incomewithin 20 miles of home, and that consumers are turning to theInternet to research products and services before they buy. Now, maybe you can’t compete with those deep pocketsfinancially, but it doesn’t take a million dollars to have asuccessful web presence. Here are 7 easy ways to promote yourlocal business online, and they don’t cost a lot of money. YOUR URL EVERYWHERE (you do have a website, don’t you?) Any and every thing that may come in contact with a customershould have your URL on it. Business cards, bags, flyers,newspaper ads, your store window, free giveaways --as you re-order your stationery and promotional items, just add your URL.Simple and painless. NETWORK WITH OTHER LOCAL BUSINESSES One of the most powerful strategies for promoting your businessis to team up other business owners, especially those whoalready have websites. You probably can learn a lot from theirexperiences, and there are all sorts of ways you can worktogether to benefit all. For example: Link Exchange - each website can have a special page just forlinks to other (non-competing) businesses, giving each businessa chance to pick up new customers at no cost. These linksshould NOT be on your main page, unless you want your visitorsto click away the minute they hit your site. Coupon Exchange - every week or two, each business owner cansend a special mailing to their list with coupons from all ofthe businesses. Each business has a chance to get some newbusiness without spending a cent. Local Guide - if there’s no local business guide in your area,why not team up with some other business owners and create yourown? You may be able to find a web designer that will go in onit with your group, just for the exposure and the chance tosell his services to individual business owners later. He couldhelp promote the website in exchange for referrals or the rightto sell ads on the site later. LOCAL BUSINESS GUIDES Whether you’re selling a product or a service, local businessguides can be one of your best traffic generators. People areincreasingly turning to these local directories to look forgoods and services. Get your site listed in as many localguides and directories as you can find. Some charge for alisting, but many are free because they’re just starting outand need to get listings. So get listed for free while youstill can. Many businesses are still not taking advantage ofthis great source of traffic, so you could easily be the onlylisting in your category. I’ve heard more than once aboutconsumers who patronized a business because it was the ONLYlisting in its category. ONLINE NETWORKING You’ve heard that "It’s not what you know but who you know."Nowhere is this more true than on the Net. Whatever yourbusiness or interests, there are others out there just likeyou, networking and exchanging information. You might even beable to find a local message board where you can meet otherbusiness owners and prospects. Join in and share, and you’llfind yourself getting customers and referrals without reallytrying. ASK FOR REFERRALS Here is an easy, but often overlooked source of new business --ask existing customers to tell their family and friends aboutyour excellent products and services. If they’re happy withyou, they’ll be glad to make referrals. But don’t expect themto think of it - remind them. And make it easy for them - put atell-a-friend script on your website, so they can do it whilethey’re thinking about it. You may even want to offer some sortof reward - one local business offers $25 worth of free drycleaning when customers refer 3 people who open an account. E-MAIL This is a real no-brainer. Almost everyone has an emailaddress, and once you get it, the cost of staying in touch withthem is minimal. There are so many ways you can use emailmarketing that a slew of books, software and businesses havebeen developed to help you. But it all boils down to persuadingyour customers and prospects to give you their email address,then building trust through repeated contact. FREE PUBLICITY What could be better than free publicity for your business? Ifyou can find a public interest or news angle to tie into yourbusiness, you should write a press release, including websiteand email address so people can get more information. Or yourbusiness can sponsor a local event or volunteer resources tocharity, giving your business (and your website) valuableexposure while you give back to the community. There are lotsof free resources for creating press releases, and entirewebsites devoted to helping you get free publicity. These are only a few of the many ways you can promote yourbusiness locally. You never know how someone is going to searchfor a business like yours, so you should use a variety ofmethods to get your name out there where they can see it! Remember, the consumer is just a mouse click away from yourstore - but only if you’re online. And with today’stechnology, the targeting capabilities and options areunlimited....even if your bank balance isn’t.