People are so focused on promoting their websites on the web these days that many are overlooking the original marketing medium -- the offline world! Many tried and true methods of advertising exist for brick and mortar businesses that could just as easily be applied to online businesses. These methods have been developed over hundreds if not thousands of years -- what cavemen used to sell I have no idea -- but the point is still valid. Business promotion existed long before the internet. So what methods of marketing in the "real" world can an online business owner apply to the cyber world?

One extremely effective method is brand marketing through merchandise. Think about it...before the web existed, how did businesses like real estate companies market their brands? One way they did it was to give stuff away -- a marketing trick that is still being applied effectively today. How many pens, pencils, and magnets do you have lying around the house, stuck to the refrigerator, placed behind your ear -- wherever -- that bear some company's logo or name? If you have ever worked in an office environment doubtless you would have noticed several different slogans on a hodgepodge collection of pens (some that might even still work) and pencils collected over time from seminars, informational fairs, trade events, etc. Brick and mortar businesses are doing it, so why aren't you?

If you don't want to market your website on writing utensils or magnets you have several alternatives. Other products that work well

Copyright © 2005 Jon Castle

Resource box: We are each a single drop of rain strafed by the wind to merge with other droplets and thereby form an ocean. For unconventional home business wisdom, home business opportunities, and more please visit Jon Castle's website http://www.AmericanHouseDad.com