Market the Online Business Reef
WHAT TO DO BEFORE FOR YOUR SITE IS READY TO LAUNCH
Before you get your site ready to launch there are a few things you can do to prepare your marketing campaign and have it ready to go once you do launch your website.
- Make a list of the top 100 places you want to submit a product or website launch notice to. These should be blogs, magazines, websites, e-zines, publishers, and other news and industry related media sites you want your product, service, or website featured in.The list should have the main contact, the email address, and any other information needed. This should be ready to use in an email program to merge the contact information with your email template so a personalized email will be sent out to each media outlet describing your new venture.You can also send an introductory email along with a press release, but a personal email with a specific introduction, noting how your business or service will fit in with their publication is a much better idea.
- Prepare a press release of your new business. Focus on the industries in your niche. Make sure you use the correct format in writing a press release, spelling and grammar are perfect, and your submit them to credible PR sites. For a list of free press release sites check our article on Traffic Ideas. There are free and paid sites, and paid sites will get your message in front of the heavy hitters quickly and may be worth the investment. With the free sites you are relegated to the very end of the press release pile and your release may get lost in the thousands of others they get.
- If you setup a pre-launch email collection for your site prepare a newsletter discussing the launch of your site. It is easy to add a free email signup on your launch page. There are several free email programs that can do this, and collect emails until you official launch your site.Make sure your offer is sound, and that you are giving them something good for giving up their email. Some things may include a discount on your upcoming products, a free sneak preview before the general public, or a free item.
- Make a social media blast of your site once you launch, hopefully simultaneously with the emails you will be sending out to the media outlets. Just concentrate on the major social outlets and especially the ones you will be using with your business.Some businesses care about Facebook or Twitter. While others are heavy users of Pinterest and Instagram. Pick the ones you will use and concentrate your launch marketing blitz on those.
- Tell everyone you know about your site and ask them to go visit it, recommend to their friends, and share with others. There is power in social sharing, get your family and friends involved to spread the word. Believe me when I say in the beginning you will want all the visitors you can get going to your website.
