small business advertising and general help please

NaomiJane_2

Hello

I have recently stared up a small business with my sister making and selling knitwear, jewellery, gifts and homeware. my business is based online as I live in oxfordshire and the craft community around here is not very supportive.
I was wondering if anyone knew of any ways of advertising my business online at a budget cost (or even better free) that does not include having banners all over the website ( I find those highly irritating one other peoples websites so I do not desire to have them on mine).

attemps to advertise in my local area have led to my cards being thrown into bins and costs of £1.50/£300 a week for bill boards in shops or newspapers which I think is a ridicules amount.

any help or advise woud be greatly appreciated.

thank you

NaomiJane

PS
can I put a link to my site here or is that a huge no no

artfulBuyer

Off the top of my head:

Google Adwords - you can pay for keywords, so your ad appears on google when those keywords are entered. It's best to use phrases not single words, which are more expensive. For example, you could try "Handmade Knitwear" etc.

Feeds - a feed is a document that you create and can use to promote your site by providing relevant updates. Think of it as an alternative to a newsletter. I used feedburner to promote my site feeds, but there are lots of other feed engines. You may be able to tempt new customers to your site if they find your content interesting / useful.

Online communities: Without spamming, you can always join online commities and provide helpful posts. If the site doesn't have a non-advertising policy, why not add your sitename as your signature? Or if they do, one way around this is to create a username that is the same as your site name excluding the .com or .co.uk.

Magazine & other media: Getting published is a great way to promote your site. Provide relevant, well-written articles to magazines in return for publication of your site name.

Let us know how you get on!

barginboyrob

I got a few hits from advertising on gumtree...

Also, could look for some online directories..:-)

the_optimist

NaomiJane wrote: »

PS
can I put a link to my site here or is that a huge no no

That's a huge no no, but you can put it in your profile. Go to User CP, then click on edit profile. You can then add your address.

Also try these: www.businessitonline.com and http://www.bttradespace.com/ You can have a small freebie website with them with links to your own. There are quite a few internet directories who offer free basic listings. I've got my details on several, but it would take me quite a while to find them again.

Ah, here is one: https://www.touchtarget.com/product/home

If I have time, more later

artfulBuyer

the_optimist wrote: »

That's a huge no no, but you can put it in your profile. Go to User CP, then click on edit profile. You can then add your address.

I'm afraid you can't do this either - only non-commercial sites are allowed in the profile. Eventually, you will get a message from site admins asking you to remove it.

artfulBuyer

Another thought - you could try a tradefair, my friend who makes cards visited a wedding fayre and got a lot of business from that venue.

And speaking of weddings, how about one of those specialist TV channels. I know there is a weddingstV on satellite & cable - maybe there is one for crafts?

the_optimist

artfulBuyer wrote: »

I'm afraid you can't do this either - only non-commercial sites are allowed in the profile. Eventually, you will get a message from site admins asking you to remove it.

Oops, thanks for pointing that out - have removed mine now.

Anyway, here are a few more directories where you can advertise for free (not all will show your website though)

http://www.scoot.co.uk/
http://www.askalix.com/uk/
http://www.thomsonlocal.com/
http://www.mylocalservices.co.uk/
http://www.uksmallbusinessdirectory.co.uk/
http://www.justoneuk.com/
http://www.dmoz.org/
http://www.startupcommunity.co.uk/

COOLTRIKERCHICK

farmers markets... sometimes have local handmade craft stalls..... might be worth a go especially leading up to christmas....

also maybe your village/local area.. has an internet site which promotes and has links to local businesses.. so maybe you could have a link to your website....

also..... one of our local hospitals.. rents out space in the canteen/resturant area..... on a daily basis.... so one day they might have someone selling handmade cards.. the next day you might have someone selling knickers...

another thought...is why dont you do something on the lines of party plan.....your knitwear and gifts would go down well in nursing homes....etc......

you could also see if you have a shop in your area.. where the items you are making would suit... and approch them to sell your items for you.. on a sale or return basis....with them either taking a % or adding a bit on top of your asking price....

my friend has a website and thought as soon as it was up and running that she would get loads of sales..... she was there twiddling her thumbs for months and months...before anything any decent amount of sales started coming in...

good luck......and dont forget... make the most of the pre-christmas ..selling oppertunities

edit... oopps sorry now i seen you were asking about on-line advertising sales etc....