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Free Advertising

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Ways to get free advertising for your POD webstore

This site is a posting of some of the great free advertising listed in the Cafepress & Zazzle forums - if you have something great to add to this let me know I will add it to this lens!!!!!

Previously I was devoted to Cafepress but have since moved to Zazzle, This great advice will help you also if you are selling though other POD's such as spreadshirt, printfection, redbubble, skreened....or well any POD. It is also useful advice for any web-store you have no matter what type of products you are offering. If you want to get traffic to your online busniess then you need to look into some of these great suggestions for free advertising on and offline

PS - if you love this lens rank it using the stars at the top and tell others how great it is!!

Free Advertising Online

Check out these great sites and how they can help you get free advertising

Squidoo!! 2 thumbs up!: Make a lens....or 50....

I think i need to point out that the biggest draw for a squidoo lens is the topic and no one wants to search for a site about your shop or they would just go to your shop....HOWEVER if your shop offers designs about dogs, make a lens about dogs write a few text modules about your dogs tell a funny story about a dog you know then include links to your dog designs. Then make a lens about another section in your shop and do the same...Squidoo is very popular and well indexed in search engines because of it's informational pages about topics. Write a how to lens about cleaning your oven if it is something you love to do or have a special trick to getting it done right....then include links to your BBQ aprons and framed tiles as hot plates and cooking aprons....or just add a "support this lens" with a link module or a cafepress/zazzle module if you use one of those services and let everyone know that more great tips will follow and the more support the more tips you will be able to offer!!
Twitter - 2 Thumbs Up: Twitter is basically a micro blog. it is very similar to blogger but most twits are sent from cell phones or mobile devices and are short because of text limitations. on twitter you collect followers and when you send a twit it shoots a message to them. So try not to abuse twitter but sending useless twits or you will begin to lose your followers!

If you are on zazzle you can tweet new products straight from zazzle - just remember followers don't need to see every product if you add 100 today - and they don't care if you are taking a bathroom break - ew
Facebook - 1 thumb up: Make a facebook account for YOURSELF - then make a fan page about your shop....invite all your friends to join your fan club!

Be careful not to make your personal page about your shop or facebook will delete it. they also will delete accounts that do not appear to use your real name (although i know many people who use a middle name as last name or a family name instead of their real last name but be careful when doing this).

You can also collect friends by joining different applications/games.

do NOT spam everyone's walls by placing ad's on their walls...your account will be deleted

do regularly update what you are doing on your own profile and include a link - since others will be able to see what you are up to that way!
Blogger / Blogspot (or any other free blog site) 2 thumbs up: create a blog - chronicle your adventure in shop owning - or life - or fun - or what ever you want to post - the more you put the more people will want to read - the more who read the more who come!!

No matter what your blog is about in the or footer place a note that says "help support this blog" with a link to your shop....or when posting about the fun family BBQ include a link to BBQ aprons on your shop and say how much you love the apron you got....
T-shirt Forum 1 1/2 thumbs up: this site is great to chat with other t-shirt shops - and posting here with your link in your signature (which is allowed if done within the rules) will get you search engine hits!! This site is found repeatedly by yahoo searches sending people shopping on my store!!

This site is also a great place to learn more about Tshirt shops on and offline as well as rules, laws and the reality of selling shirts.
Bebo - 1 Thumb up: Bebo is a profile service....so make a profile...make it about you with links to your websites and info about what you do....as a designer!! They are search-able by people and web-spiders! Once it is done you dont have to worry about it!
Yahoo Profiles: Just like Bebo...yahoo profiles are search-able...so make one!
Write articles: There are many online article banks were you can write articles and place your link in your about me. websites and blog swill pick up these articles for publishing around the web and include your bio information with the article. Write about topics you know and love whether they relate to y our store or not and if you are good they will be picked up for publication around the web!

There are many such sites around the web this includes a link to just one of them - google article banks for more info
Craigs List 1 thumb down: online classifieds & forums - be careful if you post your link in the forum you might get yelled at for spamming!!! and if you post a classified ad make sure you use pictures and include lots of information!! Each location you put an ad in your have to type it differently - you cannot place to same ad in multiple markets - also don't be upset if they pull your ads - some markets are picky and like to have your classified removed - technically since you do not physically have possession of the product without a business account you are not allowed to post...so if your posts are pulled don;t say i didn't warn you.

Many people have difficulty with craigslist because on average you will have 50% of all posts removed...it can be time consuming but can work. your best bet is stick with the forums - when someone is looking for a small business opportunity offer them your advice on what you do and include a link to y our site as an example of what can be done with a little work
Myspace - 1 thumb up: Myspace is a personal profile site where you can add links and banners to your shop. Many people use myspace to collect friends leave links on their comments section and blog.

Myspace links left on peoples comment walls can be picked up by search engines, however myspace overrides the links and converts them into their own weird format which tends to override any help with search engine results. Also over commenting with links may get you banned from myspace.

*One final note beware of ads and adbanners appearing on their site they are known for being infected with viruses that attack your computer just for closing the popup ad....I got caught by one and i know several other people who have also!
Froogle / google base 2 thumbs sideways: froogle is googles shopping center - if you are with a POD who currently submits your items to them - you are no longer allowed to submit on your own - however if your items are not submitted by feed from the POD you can upload your own in a spreadsheet as a feed or one at a time

once you create the feed you can easily log into froogle/googlebase and upload your whole feed & within 24 hours all of your items - not each design but each design on each product individually - will appear in froogle/googlebase!!

listings last 30 days so once it is up for a month you can forget about it - then you just have to make a new feed once a month - or if you dont add new product just resubmit this feed as long as it does not have an expire date attached.

PS - Zazzle and Cafepress (if opted in on cafepress) send feeds to froogle so you cannot submit yourself any longer to these sites
Pingler: Pingler will ping your website and send the info to a variety of sites - do this often but only if you have new content.
Pinterest 1 thumb up: Pinterest allows you to pin a picture to their site like a tack board - you can type a description and add an image....however they have been exposed as using skimlinks to put their own referrals on links so beware...
AIM/AOL: make a profile!!! why not - it is indexed and cannot hurt...link to your shops....

Use twitterfeed to help feed new products to twitter and facebook as you make them!! www.twitterfeed.com

twitterfeed.avi: by thebichywitch | video info

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More Free Advertising Online

Other great ideas for getting free advertising online.

Join related forums - by that i mean forums related to your designs. if allowable place your link in your signature....if not place it on your forum profile. Then chat with the regulars on the forum, do NOT just join to talk about your shop though...you need to actually follow the rules of the forums!
Comment on other people's blogs - when related - and include a link to a RELEVANT design....do not just spam everyone's blogs with links to your site this will get you banned from the blog sites and hated by everyone as a spammer
there are other social networking sites like windows live & friendster...join up and make a profile! They are similar to yahoo profiles or facebook - there are some in other languages also and specific to certain countries - join as many as you can keep up with - but rememebr don't overdo it on the advertising these are personal profiles not store profiles
Try chat rooms, do NOT just post your link and leave...that will get you hated not loved & most people will think your selling porn. Instead join into the chat, chat for a few minutes with the people then say "hey i have to get back to working on my webstore" normally someone will ask what you sell and that when you can interject your link! there are chat rooms on myspace, yahoo, facebook (inside some of the applications) - make sure you stick around for a few more minutes a lot of times people will ask about custom work after seeing your page - i have sold MANY custom items this way including for some corporate accounts!

Free Advertising Offline

Great ways to get free advertising offline.

Tell everyone you know or meet!!!! Then hand out business cards to anyone you tell. You can buy your cards from Zazzle, from a local printer, from vistaprint, or just make them yourself! Either way hand them to everyone. Talk to receptionists in the doctors office, the lady behind you in a long line, sales people, cashiers, the guy next to you on the bus...then work into the conversation that you design and sell t-shirts or posters what ever the occasion calls for and offer a business card!
Leave business cards where allowed. Many businesses have bulletin boards where you can leave cards (but carry your own thumb tacks) places to try include: libraries, pizza parlors, chinese take away, colleges, bus stations, coffee shops, book stores, car repair shops....basically anywhere someone may have to hang out for a while and wait

Also try the exit of grocery stores where they ave those little tear off cards, you can usually turn your business cards on end and slide them right in there!
leave a card tucked in a library book when returning it - 90% of the time the cards are shaken out of the books, but there is still a chance someone may see it ont he librarian's desk. You can also tuck it in a library book on the shelf, although it could be 6 years before someone checks that book out again!
Give your products as gifts for birthdays, weddings, baby showers, Christmas and any other gift giving holiday. Include your card in the gift, you can make it pretty by using a hole punch to the corner of your card running a ribbon thru it and then tie the ribbon into a little bow & safety pin it to the tag inside the garment!

If you are giving a book as a gift leave a card in the book for use as a bookmark!
Trade your skills! contact small local non-profits like independent animal shelters, local home-town museums or historical societies, veteran associations or other small town groups. Offer an exchange, they may need someone to help them set up their website, create a logo or help with fund-raising. You can offer to build them a store (in their name and TaxID/social security number) in exchange for them keeping a link on their store/website linking to your site/store..set up the shop and place a small handful of designs up for them (maybe create a quick create template for them), and then teach someone there how to check for sales, and add new designs if they want to. Make sure they know the URL for their new online store and get it linked to their website if they have one.
I have heard of people dropping them in envelopes with bills, this could be beneficial but be careful many bill envelopes say explicitly not to do this, and it culd delay processing your payment if the employee is in a bad mood and the card gets in the way of their doing their job, or if the machine to open envelopes is automated it could jam the machine and cause more problems then help!!
Place a bumper sticker on your car with your URL.

How to pin zazzle products quickly in pinterest

How to Pin Zazzle Products in Pinterest: by thebichywitch | video info

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Submit your content to search engines

These are some links to well known and lesser known search engines. Most search engines do take approximatly 4-8 weeks before you will show up, so make sure you submit early.

send an email to - url@askjeeves.com to submit yourself to Ask Jeeves

Google: This link allows you to submit your url to google.
Submit to Yahoo: You can use site explorer to submit a website or page (or a site feed from your off zazzle website)
Submit to MSN/bing: Fill int he form to submit to bing - formerly MSN
ISE.com: this is an index of directories. I have not used it yet personally - however it was highly recommended by another shopkeeper.
Add Me: addme.com has a selection of free sites you can be added to in exchange for a link to thier site so you must know HTML - it can help to bring some in - thier full list of submission has a fee but there is a group they will submit for free - it may or may not be worth adding the link back on your site

Don't forget to add your shops to your lenses!!!

how to blog from zazzle to blogger fast and easy

zazzle to blogger fast and easy.avi: by thebichywitch | video info

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Reader suggestions

Reader suggestions on how to get free advertising

DO you have a great way to get free advertising? please post your ideas for free advertising here and i will consider them for adding to the lens!

All comments will be sent to me for review, and only those with actual tips on how to get free advertising will be published

Reply

Aug 17, 2011 @ 9:48 am | delete

Offering freebies like stickers with orders is supposed to work pretty well and would probably generate word of mouth advertising, especially among teens. Plus everyone likes freebies. I'm not sure if this can really be considered free advertising since it requires a minimal initial investment, but on the other hand is no different buying some of your own products to generate advertising.

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DanSuciu Aug 23, 2010 @ 10:27 am | delete

Buy a totebag with your business infortmation on the side and carry it as a purse. People do look at them. I did that with a photo bag ones and had my information on both sides. I had several people ask me about it, so I gave them a business card after I told them about it.

SEO Pricing

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Scorpios Attic Aug 14, 2010 @ 8:17 pm | delete

Ever notice how a lot of people (teens mostly) Will stick nearly ANY, usually branded, sticker they come in contact with on their binder, car, etc as long as it looks cool? Order or print out your own branded stickers and hand them around, chances are that they are going to end up stuck to something!!

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bendoodlyn Jul 17, 2010 @ 8:00 am | delete

Car decals are great for advertising, but at Zazzle, you can make your own bumper stickers that actually display your art designs and your url. Though you pay for this one time, over the lifetime of exposure, your costs come out to be next to nothing...a great investment to be sure! My favorite product on Zazzle are the the sneakers, which you can add your logo, art and url to and trust me, they will be asking...a truly unique advertising format!

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Cherrybomb2009 Mar 23, 2010 @ 7:48 pm | delete

You can also make t-shirts and/or hoodies with your business logo, description of what you sell, and website URL on them. Use them along with the bags/totes & business cards that rainbow suggested. With your logo all over the place, you're bound to be asked about it. (o:
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