Best Method For Getting Offline Business Submissions To Directory

I have a niche directory (gardening) and am interested in finding the best method for getting offline garden related businesses to add to the directory. Any ideas on how best to market to an offline audience? The directory contains street address, phone, web, etc. so there IS value for businesses that may not have an online presence as yet.

 

Gardening is a great niche millions to target why not try traditional marketing as well as the net, such as mags, newspapers, local bill boards etc

Should be very successful if marketed right
Good Luck

 

I FULLY appreciate that and agree. The reason I started my gardening site to begin with was the niche is wide enough to allow for all sorts of content while it appeals to my own love for gardening. The directory is within my gardening content site and so the site gets targeted traffic to begin with. The directory is meant to offer my visitors resources both on and off line - question is where to go to attract these. I have considered targeted email but have never done this and am unsure how to get a list of - for example - 1000's or 100's of gardening supply retails store owners. If anyone has an idea of how to find these folks or how best to attract that traffic to the site I'm all ears. The site traffic I get now is folks looking for information on gardening. The traffic I would need to attract is folks who have information or services to offer. EZine and email marketing seem the best routes to go. Perhaps trade groups? Bust most of these require membership for exposure to contact information of other members. Magazine advertising is prohibitively expensive on my limited budget.

 

Gardening, landscape,tree services and a few others...

i would contact them by some mass means of email, mail,TV,radio,contests,billboards,marketing companys.... but NOT spam and
see what happens.

thx
malcolm

 

If they don't have a webpage, probably don’t understand the concept of web directory, so probably a better bet to go after the ones that are already online.

 

A directory probably not many here have heard of is ufindus, they make millions of pounds a year by targeting small business owners offline.
Why not try calling the gardening companies in the business pages, most small businesses do have a website but wont get much traffic you just gotta convince them its worthwhile.

 

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