How to promote a website

By Jessica Albon

The most gorgeous professional website design in the world won’t do you much good if no one ever visits it. But website promotion can seem really complicated and frustrating. Here are 21 easy ways to promote your website.

Most likely, there will be some ideas on the list below that will be a great fit for you and others that won’t be as relevant. But, on the off chance that you love all 21 ideas, here’s my request: make a commitment to try out just two or three of the ideas here. This list isn’t here to overwhelm you or to encourage you to do tons of things in a half-hearted way. Rather, the reason the list is so long is so that you’re sure to find something you’re willing to try that you’ll get great results from.

So, take a look at these 21 ideas and decide which one (or ones) you’ll put to work to start promoting your website.

Promote your website with social media

    1. Get on Twitter. If you don’t already have a Twitter account, sign up and start interacting. People who want to get to know you better will visit your website straight from your bio, and Twitter’s a great place to share your latest blog posts and articles as well.
    2. Start a Facebook page. If you’re going to create a Facebook page, make sure it’s relevant and interactive. You don’t need a “brochure-style” page–it won’t help promote your website. But a site where you answer people’s questions, interact with your clients, and offer useful media (like photos, videos, or articles) will help bring more people to your website.
    3. Write a manifesto. Taking a stand lets people know exactly who you are. Manifestos are fun to write, and assuming they’re done right, tend to be very viral-friendly (that’s not to say all you have to do is write a manifesto and watch it go viral, of course!) Your current clients will likely enjoy getting this glimpse into what you believe, and they’re likely to pass it along to friends and colleagues.
    4. Post blog comments. Boring advice, yes. Effective, also yes. Remember all the typical advice: be relevant, be insightful, be friendly, and leave something of value. (The only way people will visit your site if you’re leaving links is if you say something interesting–if you just say, “Loved this post. You should write more,” no one’s going to click your link.)

Promote your website off line

    1. Meet people off line. Social media’s all well and good, but make sure you’re promoting your website in the real world, too. Meet-Ups can be a great place to meet new people with similar interests, and you’ll likely find people there who are interested in visiting your website.
    2. Host something. Have a small workshop and invite all your clients. Get a group of local business owners together for lunch. Invite a couple clients on an adventure. By inviting each person on the guest list to bring along a friend, hosting something can be a great way to meet new people.
    3. Celebrate even small successes. Most of us compare ourselves to people who are waaaay ahead of us and it’s easy to think that the baby steps we take are insignificant in light of where we want to be. Break that habit–when your site has 10% more visitors today than yesterday that’s a sign you’re on the right track and deserves to be celebrated. (You can use any indicator you’d like that you’re growing.)
    4. Sponsor something. You can sponsor a local team, a table at a conference, or a local club’s breakfast. This isn’t just about getting your name out there, nor is it just about giving back. It’s also about giving you something to talk about. Plus, when you’re a sponsor, you often get included in press about the event you’re sponsoring.
    5. Do something extraordinary. Go skydiving for charity. Road trip through South America. Doing something big that people will enjoy talking about will bring you more attention, more exposure, and more people seeking you out–hence, more website visitors.

Involve others in website promotion

    1. Write guest articles. Whether these are guest blog posts or articles for other people’s newsletters/ezines, you can get a lot of exposure for your website by writing for other people.
    2. Get published in a “real” magazine. Yes, I know, it’s easier and faster to get published online. But, stepping off line is powerful for two reasons: one, it still bestows a lot of credibility; and two, it introduces you to people you otherwise wouldn’t meet. Plus, getting a digital byline pales in comparison with seeing your byline in a glossy national magazine (take my word for it!).
    3. Challenge someone to something. Nothing’s quite so much fun as an evenly-matched competition. So, find someone and issue a challenge. (Then, obviously, post regular status updates in both of your newsletters or blogs.) If you’re a landscape designer, challenge another designer to a weekend backyard makeover with a voting round to determine the winner. If you’re a professional organizer, challenge a peer to each find and organize the “messiest home in the state.” What’s great about a challenge like this is that you can get your current clients and audience in on the action–ask them to nominate deserving families for that backyard makeover, or to expose their messiest room–so you promote your website both with the initial contest and all throughout the process of the challenge. In the end, you’ll both be winners.

Stand out to get more website traffic

    1. Make an unusual offer. Go downtown and offer free hugs. Call all your current clients and offer them an annual supply of chocolate to anyone who sends you three new clients. It doesn’t have to relate to your business (though it can), it just needs to make people smile to participate.
    2. Promote your website obnoxiously. That’s right, challenge yourself to promote your website in at least one obnoxious way this week. Maybe you’ll hand the guy in line at the post office your business card even though it has no relevance to him. Perhaps you’ll paint your car with your URL. It matters less what you do and more that *you* deem it obnoxious. Here’s the thing: everything you do to promote your website is likely to upset someone, no matter how innocuous it is, and no matter how sincere you are. So, by going out of your way to be obnoxious, you win even if your approach doesn’t increase your website traffic.

Use email to promote your website

    1. Email from your domain name. A time-worn tip, no doubt, but it bears mentioning here. Sending email from the website you want to promote keeps that website url in front of the people you’re in contact with.
    2. Add an awesome email signature. What does your email say in the footer? (“Sent from my iPhone”?) Write up (and change from time to time) something enticing that draws people to your site. You could use your latest blog post’s title and a link, if it’s intriguing, or you could link people to a popular page on your site.
    3. Send email to people. Now that you’re sending email from your domain name and have an awesome signature, use email to reach out to people. Yes, people get a ton of email, and yes, people don’t have time for more. But, if you’re interesting, kind, and friendly, they’ll make time for you. You can reach out to people you’ve fallen out of touch with, or send a brief note of thanks to someone you haven’t yet met. (Whatever you do, don’t let your first email contact with someone be a favor request.)

Using Your Ezine/Blog to Promote Your Website

    1. Talk about other people. Link to blog posts you’ve enjoyed, link to craftspeople you admire, just generally talk about what you admire about other people. Don’t do this with an eye towards reciprocation, but rather out of a genuine enjoyment of the sharing. Yes, this often will result in people talking about *you* either because you talked about them first, or they want you to talk about them, but it’s absolutely crucial this (and all of them, actually) activity be undertaken with absolute sincerity.
    2. Add a blogroll/link list. If you don’t already have a selection of recommended sites linked from your blog (or recommended ezines linked in your ezine), add one. Stay away from the “safe” links like to industry leaders, and focus instead on linking to people you genuinely like who are *also* likely to be unknown to your readers.
    3. Link interestingly to your website. Most blogs have a “home” link, and most ezines do as well. But that’s boring! Instead, treat these links like you did in your email signature. Give people a *reason* to click from your ezine or from your blog onto the website you’re promoting.

Last but not least…

  1. Remember what it’s all about. Of course, bringing new people onto your site is rewarding in and of itself. It’s rewarding knowing you’re reaching more people; it’s gratifying knowing you aren’t writing articles and blog posts for your mom and your best friend. But, at the end of the day, if all you see is a number, you’re missing the point. Promoting your website can be fun in and of itself, but knowing that you’re serving more people and showing up in the way you were meant to… That actually means something.

So, there you have it, 21 ways you can promote a website right now. Remember, don’t try to do them all at once. In fact, don’t try to do them all *at all*. Start with one that was both appealing *and* looked simple as you read this list. Then, once you have that first element in place, come back to the list and choose something else.

As you complete each task to promote your website, you’ll see that you’re getting more visitors to your site, and that you’re able to help more people. What’s more, you’re building a sustainable “flywheel” for your business that will bring in more website traffic with each task you create.

And, once you’ve tried a task or two, I’d love to hear how it’s working for you!

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