I'll tell you a secret that you can use within ten minutes that could substantially benefit your business. And it's strange because, unless you happen to live within ten minutes of me, there's no way you can compete with me or steal this almost zero cost, local traffic (and if you do live nearby, stay off my turf or I'll break your legs). You can however do exactly the same in your local area without fear of me coming round your place with hired goons and a baseball bat.
Recently, I've been getting my house renovated (if ever you wish to go grey with alarming speed, this is the way to do it). It means I've had to go to a very popular hardware store near my house countless times. This hardware store gets tens of thousands of customers every week. That's what I like to call offline traffic (there's loads of it about and pretty soon, you're going to learn how to harvest it). A while ago I noticed that this hardware store had an advertising podium on a very prolific spot near the tills. I had seen loads of people buzzing around it before, checking out the various advertisers displayed. It costs £20 to place an ad there for a whole week.
Did I place an advert? Most certainly - but I put it with a very specific SPIN. You see, you have a lot of builders, plumbers, decorators (etc) visiting this store frequently. This is a group that is always looking for new business. A group that is not particularly tech-savvy. A group that are increasingly looking to set-up a web presence. In short, a group that would benefit greatly from my site design & promotion services. As you might imagine, I placed the ad for website design services targeted to this group. The response? Far more than my design team (currently one person) could handle. And a bunch of leads pestering me to let them know the minute I had availability to service their order. Now I don't know about you, but that's the kind of result I like from twenty bucks of advertising.
Now this method is one very small strategy you can employ to get big gains for your online business using offline advertising. I could literally think up HUNDREDS of variances to this theme. You see, many physical stores that get tonnes of customers offer these advert spaces and you can benefit from them in a pretty big way:
- Place an advert in the popular health store and drive traffic to your highly related health food website. Immediately you have targeted traffic that will click away at your Adsense displays, affiliate links & purchase your health eBooks.
- Put an advert around local gyms and get traffic to your fitness website with the same results.
- Place your "make m.oney" type adverts around smaller newsagents (one ad I place costs me £2 [about $4] a month) and watch the steady flow of traffic come in.
You get the idea. And this is just ONE offline strategy. There are countless other ways to drive traffic & sales to your online business. Here are a few additional ones for you to consider:
- Classified adverts placed in local papers & magazines.
- Radio & TV ads - contrary to popular belief, there are affordable radio & tv adverts available to suit your product.
- Flyers - very inexpensive to get out, yet can be incredibly responsive depending on the type of niche you're in.
- Coupons - issue coupons that can be redeemed at your site
And believe it or not there are even more. Hopefully, this article has taught you that just because you have an online business doesn't mean you should turn your back to offline advertising. In fact, these rather ignored strategies can account for the bulk of your traffic, subscribers and customers once you put them into place.
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I set up my own PHYSICAL DNS??
By: Reloaded | 20-07-2008
How do I set up my own PHYSICAL DNS??
I want a physical one, as in Modem, Firewall and Server, not a virtual one.
Ending of Dr. Horrible
By: triciamcdent | 20-07-2008
What did you think of the ending of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog?
[SPOILER ALERT! Avert your eyes, if you haven't seen Act III.]
Did Penny have to die? Does Dr. Horrible belong in the Evil League of Evil? Is Joss Whedon messing with our minds?
Are there any entirely IM or VoIP -based p2p ...
By: drabsv | 18-07-2008
Are there any entirely IM or VoIP -based p2p support services? That is services like Yedda, only that the communication happens in real time, on chat or via Skype?
I know of IRC software support rooms and http://qunu.com but I am looking for something more advanced, for instance a database where you can tag yor question (without writing it, tags alone), leave your IM details, take advantage of a tag-matching system like here on Yedda and wait to be contacted on your personal IM client.
Since you have Internet, you write less or more?
By: qzmaster591 | 09-07-2008
Since you got internet, the number of postcards and letters increased, decreased or stayed the same?
Child Pornography on Craiglist
By: Marcie | 02-07-2008
Child pornography is arguably one of the worst things that enjoy the internet and the web 2.0 rage. If Craiglist insist on having a pornography section, are they in part at least responsible for perpetrating the porn trade? Are they doing enough to redeem themselves?
What the top 3 contextual ad platforms?
By: Nolan Bayliss | 30-06-2008
What the top 3 contextual ad platforms?
Q&A Powered by:
Latest Internet Articles
Do You Want to Optimize Your Own Web Site?
By: Jennifer Horowitz | 25/07/2008
Think of the engines like teachers handing out gold stars for everything that you do well. Google currently has about 200 factors in their algorithms that determine how your site will rank. Imagine your teacher with a clipboard and checklist with 200 items on it and she assigns you gold stars for each of the things you do well.
Multi-level Marketing and Potential Income Stream
By: Dock J Murphy | 25/07/2008
MLM is the kind of business that works best for self-starters and those with dedication and initiative. Traditionally good employees might not make the best MLM team members as they might not have the go-to to get the job done without prodding.
Three Steps for a Successful Business Making Money Online
By: Stephen Meyer | 25/07/2008
Many people search for a work at home opportunity because they want a business making money online. With finances up in the air and an unstable economy making money from home seems to be the key. The good news is there are many ways you can have a business at home and make money online. This article will discuss three steps to making money from home in affiliate marketing.
How to Start a Website
By: Paul Guzman | 25/07/2008
How do you start a successful website.
Here is the information you need to get started on making your own professional or hobby website.
1. You need a Domain Name: Gotta have a domain name like...whatismywebsiteabout.com
If you know about real estate in New York City...Maybe "newyork-city-realestate.com."
It's easy and only cost about 10...
How Much Traffic Do You Need to Make Money With Your Online Home Business?
By: Matt Helphrey | 25/07/2008
How much money you make online relies ultimately on the amount of traffic you get to your site. Just how much traffic are we talking about?
Creating a Profitable Blog Starts With a Good Plan
By: Edward Lomax | 25/07/2008
If you want to make money from your blog (and who doesn't?) you need to plan for your success. You are not popular enough to write about whatever you like and think people will read your posts. You need a plan.
Is Domain Name Registering Good For Company Branding?
By: Doug Milton | 25/07/2008
Domain registering, when done wisely, can do wonders for company branding. A well-named domain will bring visitors to your site and make selling your products that much easier. There are a few simple rules to follow when registering domain names, though, and they are essential points to remember.
Before you begin...
3 Super Powered Ways to Drive Traffic to Any Website in Any Niche
By: Mal Keenan | 25/07/2008
The top 3 internet marketing strategies to send traffic to any web business. The methods are basic but powerful and can be applied to any niche market...
More from Tuks Engineer
How To Create A Residual Income With A Simple Credit Card Information Website
By: Tuks Engineer | 19/04/2007 | Internet
There are over 8 million searches online every month, Adsense per click values get close to double figures and there are a mass of big-name affiliate programs to promote. But there's something even bigger.
The reason I believe it just HAS to form part of your product portfolio is the shocking...
How To Make Money With A Simple Website About Land Investment
By: Tuks Engineer | 19/04/2007 | Internet
As Mark Twain himself said..."Buy land - they've stopped making it".
Here are some powerful reasons why you should set-up your own land investment website:
· In the United Kingdom alone there is a MAJOR shortage of affordable housing and land. It's become such a desperate situation that the British government have...
How To Build Powerful Residual Income With A Simple Real Estate Website
By: Tuks Engineer | 19/04/2007 | Internet
Did you know that several countries have been enjoying a property investment boom in recent times? Have you seen the amount of money that people invest in real estate - some say that it's the ultimate form of investment, returning not only a rental yield but (on historical average) a...
How To Set Up A Business Selling Your Own Shopping Cart Solutions
By: Tuks Engineer | 18/04/2007 | Internet
As we speak, an endless number of small, medium & large companies in all types of niches are planning to build their web presence. It doesn't matter what they sell - some may be import/export companies, others might sell DVDs and others still may deal solely in digital products. Some...
Why Thousands Of Individual Content Publishers Are Set To Join The Millionaires Club
By: Tuks Engineer | 18/04/2007 | Internet
In the next few years, some of the wealthiest people in the world will be created - and do you know what they'll have in common? They'll all be content publishers.
In this article, we discuss the potential in this industry, whether you really can be a one-man publisher, which niches...
How To Outsource Your Online Business - Increase Your Profits By Doing Less Work
By: Tuks Engineer | 17/01/2007 | Internet
You're better than me at Adwords. I'm better than you at list-building. Harry Potter's better than both of us at magic. The point is, no-one can be perfect at everything and if your business is to grow beyond a mere "mom & pop store" then at some point you'll need...
How To Earn $65 Per Lead And $8 Per Adsense Click With A Simple Site Or Blog In The Multi Billion Dollar Credit Card Niche
By: Tuks Engineer | 16/01/2007 | Internet
There are some niche markets that you really have to participate in as a content publisher because of their pure potential for digital profits. I've been going on about markets such as investment, real estate and travel for a while because all of them have cash-rich prospects and offer multiple...
Writing Up Sizzling Sales Copy That Converts Even The Fussiest Prospects Into Customers
By: Tuks Engineer | 11/01/2007 | Internet
In this article we outline the key points that you MUST incorporate into every sales letter you wield. These four factors really will make or break your sales page. Then we'll discuss some hard-hitting sales letter tactics that I've used myself with explosive results. Unlike other scams these tactics actually...
Internet 
