...about writing for publication, motorcycling, and faith.
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...about writing for publication, motorcycling, and faith. |
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15 Ways to Get Your Web Site Noticed by Dianne E. Butts
Once you’ve built your web site, the next challenge is to attract visitors to view it. Here are fifteen ideas to get you started: 1. Add an automatic tag, called a “signature” to your e-mails. Check your e-mail program for information on creating signatures. I change my signature periodically to keep it fresh and to attract new attention. 2. Add your site address to your business cards. I hand wrote mine on my remaining cards since I didn’t have many left before I needed to re-order. You may wish to print your site address on labels, cut to size, and stick on a blank line or the back of your card for a more professional appearance. 3. Adding your web site address to your letterhead is easy if yours is designed on your computer. For pre-printed letterhead, use labels as described above or type it out to print onto your letterhead with your letter. 4. Send an e-mail newsletter to inform all your e-mailing acquaintances of your site. Also send a newsletter when you change information on your site or add a new feature. 5. Create a slip of paper, small pamphlet, or brochure to hand to people with information about your site and its address. 6. Send out a newsletter by regular mail to inform family, friends, and business associates of your site. 7. Put your web site address with your contact information on manuscripts you submit. An editor can view your site to learn more about you and see additional writing samples. Furthermore, a web site can show you’re serious about your writing career and can portray you as a professional. 8. When a publication asks you to provide a bio to accompany your published piece, be sure to include your web site address. In online magazines, this can become a link to your web site. 9. When your writing is published on the internet, create a link on your web site to your article. Let friends and associates know they can read your material online and can link to it from your web site. 10. Organizations you belong to, whether for writing or other interests, may allow you to give your web site address in their publications or on their web site. 11. Writers conference workshop leaders will sometimes offer a link on their web sites to class participants. That=s how I got a link on Carmen Leal=s web site at www.WriterSpeaker.com. Be sure to return the favor by putting a link to that writer on your site. 12. Offer help to your site visitors by providing information and links to sites they might want to visit. When I couldn’t find the site for “Act One: Writing for Hollywood,” I visited Carmen=s www.WriterSpeaker.com and found a link there. 13. When you purchase an ad to advertise your products or services, include your site address. 14. Offer something free to site visitors. I’ve created a free list of my favorite “Resources for Writers.” 15. Offer something that changes periodically, like a monthly devotion, weekly humor, daily fact, or seasonal contest, to keep visitors coming back.
This article with sidebars appeared in the June 2003 issue of The Christian Communicator. Please note Microsoft discontinued FrontPage as of March 2007, replacing it with Expressions Web. (An update is available for owners of any previous version of FrontPage.) Also, I have found companies who register domains and provide hosting for far less than I quoted in this article. Please see the Resources page on the “For Writers” section of my web site for more information about where to find Expressions Web and my recommendations for your domain registration and hosting at www.DianneEButts.com
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copyright 2003--2010 Dianne E. Butts |
