*Note: This is a guest post written by one of our readers, Jim Estill. For more information on how to submit a guest post, please send an email to Janelle [at] unlimitedwebsolutions [dot] com or see our guidelines for guest posting.

Why do you use a certain brand of detergent, perfume or toothpaste? Is it the ad you saw on the TV, the billboard, the coupons, the store flyer, the sample, the attractive packaging, the magazine ad or the radio ad? You likely buy it for a variety of reasons. Promotion and advertising all adds together to make an impression that ultimately causes a purchase.

Of course, in the end, you will not use a product that does not work (or add value). And the most powerful selling tool is having a friend tell you to try something. And like all products, once you get a customer to go to your site, you need to add value. Perhaps humor, be interesting, help them make or save money or help them learn. Add value to their life. So make sure your site delivers, or no amount of marketing will work.

We can learn from experienced marketers and apply the same holistic approach to marketing our blogs and websites. Here are my 10 low cost ways to promote your web business:

1. Market to customers at any appropriate opportunity. This is a balance. If you buy spam lists and interrupt people with telemarketing when they are sitting down to dinner, this will fail. But always “softly market”.
2. Offer a bonus. For example, I have offered people a free whitepaper on “22 powerful time tips” if they sign up to receive my time management blog by email.
3. Put your web address in your email signature file. For example, my email sig file is: Jim Estill, CEO| SYNNEX Canada Ltd. (NYSE: SNX) |Tel: (519) 780-6213; Private Fax: (519)837-1479 | 107 Woodlawn Rd. W, Guelph ON N1H 1B4| Check out my blog http://www.jimestill.com/ or simply reply with “subscribe” in the subject line and you will be subscribed.
4. Make sure your web address is on your cards, letterhead, checks, flyers, boxes, envelopes, etc. Never go to the printer without making sure your web address is printed. It costs nothing more to add it.
5. Offer an email newsletter. This can add value and keep in touch with people.
6. Write articles or guest blog on other peoples’ web sites or use some of the free article sites like iSnare and Articlesbase to submit articles.
7. Add your website to any signage on your trucks, cars, building, etc.
8. Add your site to your phone music on hold, your voicemails and your reception answering.
9. Do contests and promotions on your site. Prizes can be a great way to draw crowds.
10. Most important: add value. If you do, people will tell other people which is the most powerful marketing of all.

Take an integrated approach to marketing. Follow the professionals. They know what works.

About Jim Estill: Jim started a computer distribution company, EMJ Data from the trunk of his car in 1979. With a great team, he built the company up to $350,000,000 in sales and sold it to SYNNEX in September of 2004. Now, he is the CEO of SYNNEX Canada, selling approximately $2 billion in computer products.

For more information about Internet marketing or to submit a guest post, contact CBG today!

[photo credit: llawliet]

Rounding up this week are the following sites, which are more than worthy of your mouse click!

1. PR Squared- written by Todd Defren, PR Squared has been around since 2004ish and currently has over 2,000 subscribed readers.  This blog deals with anything and everything social media related and is really well-written. Check it out and subscribe.
2. PR 2.0-written and managed by Brian Solis, PR 2.0 deals with everything Web 2.0 related.  Another well-written and insightful blog, it offers much in the way of blogging, social networking, visibility, marketing and more.
3. Melanie McBride Online- Melanie McBride is an educational new media consultant and her blog reflects that with coverage of such issues pertaining to technology, social media, education, culture and more.  I’ve personally enjoyed reading through it and definitely think it’s worth your time!
4. Social Media Today- Headed by Robin Carey, Social Media Today  caters to bloggers, marketers, media professionals as well as global organizations, helping them along with maximizing their Web 2.0/social media potential- it’s a great networking site for social media enthusiasts as well.
5. Delightful Work-written by Tom Volkar, Delighful Work is meant to encourage people to work towards success both in a professional as well as a personal sense.  It is the pursuit of happiness as well as the pursuit of “work life freedom” that Tom’s after.  Definitely check it out.

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Easy reading is damn hard writing. -Nathaniel Hawthorne-

As hard as some of us try, we simply cannot please every person who reads our blog posts. Some writers try harder than others and see some positive results in terms of traffic and people genuinely reading and enjoying their content while for others, writing comes a lot easier. But regardless of whether you spend three minutes or three days writing what you think is a fantastic blog post, someone will always be ready and willing to cut you down the first chance they get. Sad, isn’t it?

Part of what makes blogging fun is all of the interaction that we get to experience with other people in our niche who share similar interests or others who are curious and want to learn more about what we’re discussing. Of all the things that can go wrong with a blog (and believe me, there’s a list!), one of the major issues that often gets hard-working bloggers down is when someone leaves a negative comment on their blog post.

Walking the Line

If people didn’t think differently, then the world would be an awfully boring place. Part of what makes the World Wide Web so unique and interesting are all of the different opinions, ideas and experiences that each of us brings to the table. Having said that, it’s ok to offer constructive criticism to someone else- or even to disagree with them and say so. However, many bloggers would argue that it is NOT ok to leave disparaging comments on blog posts just for the sake of doing so.

What to do About Negative Comments

Web strategist, Jeremiah Owyang, discussed several ways of handling negative comments. To further supplement what he says, here are some words of advice I’ve come up with with regards to negative comments:

1. Get to Know the Person: Before you jump to any conclusions, take the time to look the person up. Do they have a blog of their own? Have they commented on other blogs besides yours before; and if so, do they have a history or pattern of leaving negative comments? Are they a competitor of yours?
2. To Delete it or Not to Delete it? Don’t rush to delete a negative comment right away. If you’ve determined that the person isn’t spamming you and that their comment has some validity, you may want to leave it up. Many bloggers are against leaving negative comments on their blog because they feel that it somehow damages their credibility. However, leaving the negative comment up there might provoke some discussion or reactions from other bloggers, thus helping you to drive traffic. Keep in mind that this isn’t something you want to do all of the time though.
3. Face the Facts: While some people are shiftless and are out to do more harm than good, you must face the fact that not every single person is going to like what you’ve written. The best blogs are those that have diverse comments. Reading through comments or even receiving comments that fall along the lines of “great post-it really helped me with…” or “I really agree here…” tend to be boring and somewhat unbelievable. Surely, there had to have been someone who saw things differently!
4. Build a Relationship: If the person leaving the negative comment has an email address, you may want to consider emailing him/her to simply discuss why they felt the way they did to see if perhaps it was due to something you left out of the blog post, etc.
5. Don’t Ignore the Problem! Ignoring a problem will never solve it. By reaching out to the person leaving the negative comment, you are acknowledging that there is a problem as well as demonstrating to your readers that you have an open mind as well as confidence- both of which will serve you very well in the blogging world!

For more information about Internet Marketing or to submit a guest post, contact CBG today!

[photo credit]