How are you promoting your website this Christmas?

[raspberrybloom]

Hi guys and gals!

I know it has been a while!

With Christmas nearly upon us, how are you promoting your website/business this season?

Well, we have redsesigned the website and launched the new collection.

We have been attending craft fairs nearly everyone weekend - but I have to say people hadn't been spending until last weekend!

We have a brochure which has just been printed so we am going to send it out to my database.

We have been emailing our database with new products and offers.

We have also got a shop and a mail order catalogue which stocks our products.

I am sure there is more we could do - just not sure what.

I know parties would be fantastic - I just don't have the confidence to host one as yet!

Be great to hear what everyone else is doing?

Lou

[craftyfox]

I have to confess I'm not doing very well on promotion this year - I really need to get on the ball while there's still some time left. One thing I plan to do is post to a couple good blogs I know.

I'd really like to email all my previous customers, but it goes against my privacy policy. How much business do you get from emailing out to your database?

Haven't been able to find a local craft fair yet...

craftyfox

[Jane_Russell]

I think the important thing is to make sure your website is as high profile -all year round - as you can make it. In my experience you need to make sure the search engines are picking you up. You don't need to pay anyone anything for this. Web design alone is enough. My websites return page one listings on google and msn and also yahoo etc for the most common searches in the ballpark in which I operate. For specific searches, like colours and patterns, my sites are usually in the top five sites returned.

Shove your web address on all your printed literature and in email sig files but make the most of the free search engine results

Jane

[carolinemhannon]

I'm a member of British Lampwork which is an advertising co-oprative for Lampwork bead makers, basically we each pay an amout each month and this pays for adverts in magazines

the adverts appear in a number of bead and craft related publications and they have the british lampwork web address on them and we all have our own banner on the site as well as gallery's and a forum

i also sell on ebay and include my bussiness cards in envelope with the beads

i've only been selling my beads since July so i'm still trying to think of idea's and living up here dosen't help as there's no bead fairs up here

[Jane_Russell]

How do you get on with ebay? I found that the things that sell are great but the things that don't end up eating the profit in listing fees.

The best way round it I found was to use a few auction listings to promote the beads and drive traffic to my ebay shop where the prices were cheaper than the auction start prices.

You can list more for longer periods of time in the shop format and the auctions advertised the ebay shop.

I think they may have changed the price structure now though as it's a while since I ebayed!

Jane

[carolinemhannon]

ebay can be a bit hit and miss, some weeks are good, some are bad, not everything sell

i keep an eye on my sellers account which tells me how much i've spent on listing and while it dose eat into some of the profit it provides me with regular sales allowing me to buy some new materials

[0103media]

You don't need to pay anyone anything for this. Web design alone is enough.

Shove your web address on all your printed literature and in email sig files but make the most of the free search engine results

Jane

I agree with some of it but hey i'm a web site promoter / seo / webmaster..
And people do pay me to rank.. Web design doesn't not = ranking... Most designers haven't got a clue..

I a bit like saying if you make cards then all you need to card, no skill, no nothing and people will buy a blank piece of card and your make money..

Sorry I not having a go just defending more business and industary!


Back to the topic.. In regards to natural search results (those are the ones you don't pay for) its to late .. Pay per click Now would be a great time to create a promotion ad!!

[Jane_Russell]

I agree that natural search is too late to sort out for this year. My point was that a good design means you don't have to pay to promote because the design does the promotion for you.

Jane

[0103media]

I agree that natural search is too late to sort out for this year. My point was that a good design means you don't have to pay to promote because the design does the promotion for you.

Jane

Ahh.. miss understanding.. Thought you ment design= ranking..

No I so agree..

raspberrybloom I've always like the design of your site

Maybe worth trying to ppc...

Web promoting is all about testing and researching your market..

Never look at advertising a waste of money until you have tried..

Its all about ROI .. ( return on investment )

[Jane_Russell]

hehe no! Design doesn't = ranking! Lots of highly designed sites that do lots of pretty things are impossible to find on google etc. I expect they cost a fortune too

I have no idea what my page rankings are on google. I might check that out this afternoon.

Jane

[craftyfox]

I've worked really hard on the SEO side of things, but it's a real struggle to get to the top of the search results - there's simply too much competition (in my field).

So, I've reverted to AdWords for Christmas, paying as little as I possibly get away with...

craftyfox.

[chris_shawn100]

I have visited your website,it is very good.
I also have try lots of way to promote my website.
Anyway,in order to make a high rank in search engine,can we make a link exchange?

[manwanis]

the adverts appear in a number of bead and craft related publications and they have the british lampwork web address on them and we all have our own banner on the site as well as gallery's and a forum

i also sell on ebay and include my bussiness cards in envelope with the beads

[Peter]

the adverts appear in a number of bead and craft related publications and they have the british lampwork web address on them and we all have our own banner on the site as well as gallery's and a forum

i also sell on ebay and include my bussiness cards in envelope with the beads

....................am I missing something here?