The dot com era proved that just building it isn't enough. The chicken and the egg issue exists -you need customers to get customers... and attempting to launch a web site, is that issue on steroids. So, how to get traction?
Here are Ten FREE Traction building Ideas we are trying:
1) Email Your Friends:
Find everyone you know
that relates to your target market and introduce them to your website via
email... as you know them, leverage every piece of emotional capital you have
with them to encourage them to take a look at your new site and join.
2) Ask Your Friends to
Refer Others:
If you send an email to
people who are your target market, clearly articulate why it is valuable to
'THEM' (not just you) to join your site... and then ask and make it easy for
them to refer people they know. Here's an example of an email I wrote that asks
for a referral –
"Please forward to
anyone that may be interested... entrepreneurs, advisors, people with Blogs,
press contacts etc! Even forwarding to four or five contacts will make a big
difference for us!
Happy New Year and
thanks!
++
I've just discovered a new web service bringing potential business advisors
together with entrepreneurs and early stage businesses. For Advisors - It's a
great way to discover new deal flow and get involved in a hot new company. For
Entrepreneurs - a great way to take your business to the next level in 2007!
The site is called
Advisor Garage - http://www.AdvisorGarage.com and was recently featured in
Business Week!
Please sign up and
forward this email to great advisors and entrepreneurs.
++
After three or four weeks of steps 1 & 2 we found that we had begun to get
a few people onboard... So now what?
3) Write a Press Release
and get it OUT there...
I can almost hear a few folks swallowing and already considering looking for
the next blog... it really isn't that tough and it isn't expensive. In fact,
its FREE! Don't believe me? Consider signing up to PR Leap
(http://www.prleap.com/learn_more). Not only do they have some good articles
which explain for dummies (like me!) how to write a press release but they also
offer a free submission service to multiple channels such as Google News,
Google Search, Yahoo! Search, Topix.net, Technorati, MSN, Ask News, Moreover,
NewsNow and others. According to their website - PR Leap is the best way to
send your news release(s) to all major search engines, newswires, and websites.
And basic accounts are free!
So what happened with
us? Well we signed up, created a one page press release (took about 30
minutes), submitted it and it was approved earlier today. It will appear
tomorrow. If you are interested, the link to the press release is: http://www.prleap.com/pr/61185/
The basic plan (read...
Free) comes with stats, so I'll let you know in a few days if the press release
was actually read by anyone and if it was picked up by any sites, bloggers,
press etc. Let's see how good PR Leap and our press release writing skills are!
4) A Personalized
Toolbar:
A great startup called
Conduit (http://www.Conduit.com) offers people the opportunity to create their
own, personalized toolbar for FREE. Conduit has a wizard embedded within their
website which takes you through the setup process step-by-step. It took about
twenty minutes and once you're done, they create a link to your toolbar
download site which you can then share through an email signature or through a
click through download on your new networking site. There are a number of cool
ways to tailor the toolbar... your branded search, create links to particular
pages on your own site, add weather, a radio and so on to make sure its a value
download for your customers.
5) Design Your Site with the Customer In Mind and Make Inviting Others Easy
If, like us, your
marketing budget is measured by the quarters rattling around in your pocket,
then do your site a favor and design it so the 'Invite Others' button is never
far away. No matter what page the users happen to be on. Bold it, make it big,
underline it if you have to but referrals from happy customers are always
easier to get than attracting new customers.
6) Friends & Contacts Revisisted:
Do any of your friends
know anyone in the press or people who have blogs ? Well you won't know until
you ask... ASK!
7) Join Linked In (http://www.linkedin.com)
If you haven't already,
consider joining linked in. Yes, its another networking site, and you could
consider them the competition (In your dreams!)... but after joining you can
search through the directory and find people that may either a) be interested
in joining your site or b) encouraging others to do so. If you aren't a member
already, take a look
8) Groups & Forums:
Are there Yahoo
(http://groups.yahoo.com) or Google Groups (http://groups.google.com) or other
online forums that include the types of people you want to attract to your new
networking site? If so, join them but beware... most groups want members to
contribute to the discussions and no groups appreciate spam. So find the best
forums for your target customers, join and spend some time getting to know what
subjects are being discussed. Give it a week or two then jump in and add some
value... and make sure that your post includes your email and perhaps the web
address. If it is valuable, then members may check out your new site...
One last thing, if there aren't any good groups with your target customers...
consider creating your own... and make it so that it feeds your new networking
site. Here's one I started and yes... I know it only has a few members... but
its more links in the internet for your website which appears in your google or
Alexa results:
http://groups.google.com/group/Harvard_Entrepreneurs_Startups?lnk=oa&hl=en
9) Write to your Existing Members:
Do you have a few
members? If so, email them occasionally (Not every day!) and remind them of the
value of your site... perhaps highlight a particularly useful tool or feature
of your website. Maybe reach out to some of the individual members and ask them
if you can write about them joining the site, a person feature if you will. At
the bottom of each of these emails... give them a few sentences (above for
example) to send on to others they know. Stress how much you would appreciate
their help and how important they are to you and your young business.
10) Drum roll... .badda
badda badda... .Create a Blog!
Here's hoping that a blog is the tenth and most valuable means of getting the
message out there about a new networking site. (Wordpress.com is FREE)
Good Luck!
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