20 Proven Ways to Generate Publicity for Your Online Business

April 21st, 2013

A common misconception among online business owners is that they must spend lots of money on advertising to grow their businesses. But if you’re willing to put a little time into promoting your business, you can generate publicity that will be far more effective than paid advertising.

Here are 20 ways you can create publicity at little or no cost:

Submit press releases to press release distribution sites. Sites such as I-Newswire.com will distribute your release to major news sites and search engines, greatly increasing the chances that it will be picked up.
Put press releases on your website. A carefully crafted press release is one of the most basic yet powerful publicity tools. Simply adding press releases to your website will attract traffic, and they could be picked up by media outlets.
Submit press releases directly to media outlets. This is what business owners did before the internet existed, and it’s still effective. Simply find online publications that might be interested in your release, search for the appropriate contact, and email it to him or her.
Build a social media presence. Building a presence for your business on popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+ creates ongoing opportunities for publicity. Make frequent, relevant and interesting posts, and bloggers and members of the media will take notice. An active Facebook group that is relevant to your niche can generate lots of publicity.
Make use of LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a wonderful site for online business networking and making contact with members of the press.
Maintain a blog. A good business blog is a great for publicity. Keep it updated with relevant and engaging posts, and be sure to offer an RSS feed so that readers can subscribe and site owners can add your updates to their own sites.
Most linkworthy content on your blog. “Top 5” or “Top 10” lists tend to attract links nicely, as do product reviews and tutorials.
Comment on other blogs. Keep your comments on-topic and useful, and only include a link to your site in the URL field. As long as you’re adding to the conversation and not blatantly promoting your business, this is a quick and easy way to gain links and exposure.
Write guest posts for other blogs. Many bloggers welcome guest authors as long as they have something worthwhile to say. Instead of shamelessly plugging your business, write a post that their readers will be interested in and save the promotion for your byline.
Invite other bloggers to write guest posts for your blog. They will pass the link on to their readers, giving your blog greater exposure.
Post interviews with fellow online business owners on your blog or website. Again, they will let their customers know where to find the interview, giving you traffic and publicity.
Submit articles to article directories. When bloggers and site owners post your articles on their sites, you’ll gain exposure and links to your own site.
Give them something free. Freebies are great for generating publicity. You can create reports and other information products and give them away without losing money.
Give something away in a drawing. Whether you host a giveaway on your site or donate something for someone else to give away, it’s sure to attract attention.
Have a contest. Whether you have an essay contest, a design contest or a name our new product contest, you’ll get people actively involved and generate lots of interest.
Have a sale. The bigger the savings, the more publicity you can expect.
Exchange promos with other online businesses. Ask other online business owners if they would be interested in offering their customers an exclusive discount from your business if you do the same for them. This will result in good publicity for both parties.
Do a webcast. You could do a product demonstration, a question and answer session, or even an interactive workshop. These types of events are sure to generate buzz.
Donate money to a worthy cause. Charitable organizations are usually happy to share the news when a business makes a donation. A donation is also a good topic for a press release of your own.
Donate goods or services. A good alternative to a monetary donation is a donation of supplies or services.