Hey guys. I fairly recently created a site for reproductions of autographed photos (www.fivestarpics.net). I am curious as to some successful methods others have used to promote their online stores. It seems more difficult to promote stores than blogs and other websites. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I think you should promote through celebrity sites and relevant forums, blogs and social networking sites.
Suggestions for generating traffic Here is a comprehensive list of possible tactics you can try to generate traffic to your site. Not all these will be suitable for everyone some will depend on your budget and business plan. You need to pick and choose the right options for your store from this list. * Pay per click * Article marketing * Newsletter * Auto responders * Word of mouth * Joint ventures / strategic partnerships * Talks to groups * Participation in online forums / discussion groups * SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) * Free for all link pages? * Pay per click advertising * Banner advertising and banner exchange programs * Reciprocal linking * Shopping comparison sites * Bundled products * Free gift with purchase * Regular newsletter * Helpful content on your website * Companion blog for your website * Offline advertising and promotion ________________________________________________ Hope it helps! Greens are appreciated
Nice list by blackwizard... props... Personally I think PPC can get you the most targeted of traffic... though its expensive, it brings the best results from what I've seen; that is, if you play your cards right. Also, you could give away a lot of stuff periodically and have people signup to your opt-in list if they want to download all the free stuff. And as in blackwizard's list of suggestions, article marketing is a great way to increase your PR and SERP placement... Good luck!
Glad about the fact you like that list...... Basically, Most online stores these days find themselves in a competitive market. What you need to do is concentrate on marketing your unique selling point (not necessarily price) and promote from there. You don't need to just concentrate on online marketing, offline marketing is just as important. Hope that helps!