OKCOOL

My father runs a textile art and needlecraft shop in Cwmbran, South Wales, called Threads of Imagination and has recently setup an online store to sell his products online, thanks to Ozum.

To help my father market his new arrival, I compiled a very quick and concise list of tips for him to work through…and realised it was quite a useful starting point for when you’re about to embark on the sometimes overwhelming and mysterious task of online marketing.

So, in no particular order…

1. Participate in any online communities surrounding your industry
2. Ensure your website is valid, accessible, well-built, and well-structured
3. Submit your website to local and national listings and directory websites (e.g. yell.com or thisisbristol.co.uk)
4. Submit an online press release (e.g. via prweb.com)
5. Write keyword-focused content (Google Trends and wordtracker.com can come in useful here)
6. Use adwords to generate click-throughs to your website and expose your company name online
7. Setup a company blog on a different domain and publish regularly (and stay on-topic!)
8. Create a mailing list and post a copy of each newsletter on your blog
9. Make use of 3rd party web services to increase your presence on the web (e.g. Flickr or Twitter)
10. Build relationships and request incoming links from partners, clients, suppliers, professional bodies and academic establishments - where applicable and relevant (e.g. if you provide goods or services to the students at a University)
11. Make sure you have an informative but concise email signature which includes your company name, your strapline or what you do, and any relevant contact/address details (this is easy but often overlooked and undervalued!)
12. Attempt to become an authority in your industry by imparting knowledge and expertise via resources such as tutorial videos and articles
13. Try and get a story published about you on a local or national news website

You should aim to inject a small amount of time each day in to marketing your website (perhaps 20 mins or so) as it can be a hefty, on-going process which can easily overwhelm.

It’s also important to ensure you have web stats in place to measure the progress and success of your efforts. By comparing your activities with the stats on your website, you can start to identify what’s working and what’s not, and where to refocus your time.

Good luck - I’ll let you know how my father’s site does! (And, yes, I am aware I’ve helped his site by writing this article - I’m just practicing what I preach!)