12 Offline Ways To Get People To Your Website (That Actually Work)
Here’s the deal-offline marketing isn’t exactly dead.
BUT that doesn’t mean you should sell your website domain and invest in Yellow Pages instead. It doesn’t mean offline marketing should be your main campaign focus either. It just means your marketing needs to be a mixture of different mediums in order to reach different customers. And that offline marketing can be used to improve your online marketing and web presence.
So how do you sift through the duds? There are some offline methods that probably should never be used by anyone. But there are also offline methods that are being overlooked (and with just a little updating & creativity) could be extremely effective.Not sure which offline marketing methods are winners and which are a waste? Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Business Cards
Okay this one may be a little obvious. But I can’t stress enough how important it is. It’s come to the point that having a website, Twitter handle and Facebook vanity URL are just as important as having a business phone number.
Tradeshows
Whether you’re an exhibitor, speaker or spectator, tradeshows are a great way to meet a lot of people in a short amount of time. And everyone is looking to mingle and learn new things.
Receipts
Let your customers know how they can keep in touch with you by modifying receipt print outs to include your website and social media URLs.
Packaging
Just throwing your URL on product packaging isn’t going to do a lot for website traffic. You have to give people a reason to make the jump. Let them know what type of interesting information you share on your website, and why it’s important to them.
Networking
Even if networking functions aren’t your favorite thing in the world, they are great places to find potential partners and highly qualified leads.
Direct Mail
Not all direct mail has to be junk mail. Junk mail is merely boring or lazy advertising. Make direct mailers (like postcards) more creative or interesting—such as directing potential clients online or to social media for secret deals, events, or other web specials.
Print Articles
Reach out to local magazines or newspapers for interview opportunities. And don’t overlook niche publications.
Speaking Engagements
Whether you’re doing a freebie presentation for a handful of people or 100,000 people, always let viewers know how they can learn more and get in contact with you.
Professional Directories
Reluctant to join an association or professional network because of the costs? Consider how many new customers you’ll bring in as a result of the professional listing.
Client Referrals
Incentivize happy customers to share your business card with their like-minded friends. Direct them to a specific landing page or create other tracking strategies to ensure the original customer gets credit for their referral (even if it’s just a thank you call).
Point Of Sale Marketing
What do your clients see while they’re waiting to check out? The back of a cash register or your website URL?
Merchandising
Space may be limited on mugs, magnets, pens or any other promotional giveaway items, but there’s always room for your website.
Long Story Short
The most important thing to remember when marketing offline is to get creative & fun! Sprinkle in elements of social media and interactivity to make your marketing look less like marketing, and more like entertainment.
Pingback: 9 Simple Marketing Ideas For Pet Service Businesses
These are all great ideas – offline marketing might require you to put some pants on and sometimes spend some money, but, getting out there and getting connected in person is so important.
Hello from beautiful Montana,
Mike, thanks again for caring and sharing. Often I will already know something on a list, but seeing it gives me a kick in the seat of the pants to start doing it again.
It is exciting to build a pet business and meet like-minded people who are animal advocates.
Fondly,
Judy HelmWright http://www.AnimalHumanConnection.com