What are some clever ways to promote your website without social media?
My social media presence is lackluster to say the least, so posting links to my professional website on Facebook feels a lot like screaming into the void. Aside from paying for adspace, 99.9% of all self-promotional advice I've seen relies heavily on social media. In 2021, is it really all about the likes?
Answers ( 1 )
Interesting question Jo. Take a moment and replce "website" with "store" and "social media" with "word of mouth." You've opened a store in a strip mall somewhere. You want people to come to your store - how do you let them know your store exists? This is the same question you are asking. You don't want "likes" you want "foot traffic."
How would you approach this problem if your site was a store? Right now, your approach is the equivalent of you standing in your store, waiting for people to walk in.
I can't tell you how you should handle this, but I can tll you how I did. 20 years ago, I starrted a site on an extremely obscure topic. Then I looked around for everywhere that topic was being discussed and talked to people about the topic. My site was linked in my signature and I referenced relevant content on my site as I spoke with people. I did that on mailing lists and forums. Then I created my own communities around the topic - these have changed as technology has changed, My first community was a mailing list, now I have a group on Facebook and Discord... and now, Youtube. I went to events and made a reputation for myself. I engaged with folks on this topic. I published articles about it on other sites. After a decade of this, I was recognized as an expert on the topic. Now I publish articles online, in print, do presentations online and in video.I talk to people about the topic, know who my peers and mentors are. I have a book on the topic coming out next summer and will be promoting it with a Kickstarter.
In other words, if I'm selling bike parts, I contact the local cycling groups and helped them recruit for and sponsor them in a rally; help fix local kid's bikes for free as a promotion, hand out fliers, participate at events and every once in a while take an add out in a local paper with a coupon for "spring tune up!"
You can't wait for people to come to you, you have to go find them. How does that look online? Well...go find out where people are talking about your topics. Is there an established Facebook community. Go there. Talk with people. Follow experts on Twitter and Retweet them, and add value those retweets. Stand outside your store and greet the people who walk buy to get to the Quikie Mart at the end of the mall.
Good luck!