Whether you have a home based business, a small business, or an online business - you need to learn how to effectively promote yourself. The web is so crowded with websites, this isn't a situation where "if you build it, they will come" can apply as a marketing strategy. In this article, I'll go through some of the ways I promote the internet based portion of my business, and share some tools so you can promote your business, too!

Search Engine Submission Software

Web CEO has free & paid versions of their Search Engine Optimization software. The free version works well enough for me. If you have a larger business, you might want to opt for the paid version - it comes with more features and is a tax-deductible business expense, in many cases. *Consult your financial advisers.

I could, and probably will do a full review of Web CEO, but for now, here's an overview of why I use it & recommend it to you for promotion purposes.

I write a lot and maintain quite a few websites. Once a week, I want to let the search engines know that I've updated my sites and have new content for indexing. With this software, I can select which pages I want to submit, choose which search engines, in which countries, listing which languages will get the submission. I then click one button, and it's done for me. I tend to update more than 200 search engines at once.

Signatures

When you have your website or blog looking like you want it to look and are ready to make that crucial first impression, it's time to add it to your signature.

Your signature consists of a few lines of text, that appear at the bottom of every email, or forum post that you generate. This let's people know what you're representing, in a non-invasive way. Some people think they're tacky, btw, but for the most part, as long as it's not obnoxious, it's considered pretty standard practice.

This allows someone who likes what you've got to say in the medium they're used to communicating with you in - such as email conversations, or forum conversations - click through when they're curious about what else you are up to.

Wednesday's Shameless Self Promotion Thread

Every Wednesday, I unlock this thread and allow you to give a short pitch about something you created. Because it's only open for submission once a week, there's no spamming. And those that read the post during the week can click through to your project. If you have something that you're proud to share, show it off, every Wednesday & get better with your pitch!

I'm considering doing one for Affiliate Marketers, too, but my concern for spam outweighs the desire, there. If many of you readers ask for it, and participate in quality posts at other times, I'll go ahead and do a thread for you, too.

Press Releases

If you have something exciting going on with your business, such as a new product launch, a milestone, or anniversary - these are good reasons to submit a press release to services like PRWeb.

PRWeb has free registration and free to submit your basic releases. You can bump up your place in the stack by contributing funds & earn Friends of PRWeb points for referring your friends. (So, if you decide you'd like to join, contact me & I'll set you up!)

Of course, if you have your own press contacts too, don't forget to include them, when you send out your releases!


You work hard to grow your business into something that not only makes you happy, fills a need, but also generates a profit that you can live on! Make sure you take the extra few steps to let potential customers know you exist!

Questions? Comments? Contact me or post on the forum!

************************

Work from home or have a home based business? Here are two resources to help you look more professional while working from your home!

1. Keep your home number private, and get a professional 800 number, fax and voicemail at very affordable prices! A total business presence for less than the cost of a delivered pizza - Cool! Visit RingCentral.com for details.

2. Home Based Businesses need to have a professional representation online. Get your domain name registered for free & hosted for less than $7 per month with a money back guarantee! My clients swear by this hosting company!