LOCAL WEB ADVERTISING
Keeping It Simple - Online Coupons.

For small and private business, local advertising and local marketing are often a squeeze play when it comes to the budget. You know that getting word out about your products and services is essential to staying in the mainstream of existing customers, and that there is no better way to attract the attention of new customers. If you haven't tried offering online coupons directly from your website, it is something that is probably worth investigating.

The real question many website owners have is, "How can I make this work for me?"

Although having a website is a giant step - it is not always the ultimate answer in and of itself. Keep in mind that taking full advantage of owning a website is crucial for it to become an important (and profitable) part of your business advertising and promotion. One of the most basic and productive elements that you can include in your local website are online coupons. Whether you decide on limited time or ongoing offers - an online coupon is something that creates word-of-mouth. It creates traffic to your site. It creates walk-in and inquiry. It creates sales and cash flow.

Adding a coupon to your site is relatively inexpensive. Aside the layout expenses, there really is not much to it. We create a printable coupon - usually a PDF file - that is printer-friendly and set it up so that it's a download. Your site-visitor simply prints the coupon on their home printer. Life simply doesn't get much easier than that!

Online coupons work for a variety of service and merchandise oriented businesses.

When preparing your coupon, be sure to consider your end-user. Too often online coupons involve many stipulations, pay-for-click fees, or other set-up charges. I have always believed that coupons should be simple, uncomplicated and very straight-forward. Don't complicate things. Keep it simple. Make the offer "worthwhile." Even if it's a break-even offer - the increase in exposure tends to make it all worthwhile.

Site coupons can be limited to very specific timeframes, lasting from a month down to one particular day. It can be exciting to experiment with an ongoing coupon campaign - comparing different offers and the results they attain.

Whether it's a giveaway, a discount on a specific item or service, or an added value offer - once your site coupons are anticipated by site visitors it can have very long-reaching influences on how you do business. For example, a restaurant that has a traditional "slow evening" during the week could offer a $10 discount exclusively on that night. An ice cream shop could offer a 2-4-1 deal during specific days or hours. Whatever your business - the range of what you can offer is almost limitless.

Avoid "non-value" coupon offers. Having a coupon for a "Free Initial Consultation" when you normally offer free consultations can red flag when it comes to self-marketing. Adding stipulations to an offer only complicates things. Keep the actual offer (coupon) simple to understand and eliminate any of the "tie-ins" that you may be tempted to include. If it's a limited-time or limited-quantity offer - simply state what it is.

Above all, enjoy playing with coupon marketing. It should be a source of your own business-entertainment as well as business-building. Make your offers interesting and exciting for your buyers. When someone comes in with one of your coupons, talk to them about it - find out if someone told them about it, did they find in it on a Google search, do they visit your site on a regular basis?

Sometimes you'll come up with coupons that simply blow the charts off the wall. Other times, it can be a bust. In either case, website coupons are a wonderful, inexpensive way to promote your business, create sales and grow your website. If you would like more information on how to begin adding coupons to your site, contact New Milford Web Design by email or phone.

BYWA (Because You Will Ask) It generally costs about $25 to add a coupon page + downloadable, printable (PDF) coupon to a site.

(rev 12.2010)

New Milford Web Design
newmilfordwebdesign.com

James Slupatchuk
New Milford CT 06776
860.354.0761 [evenings: 6pm- 9pm EST]

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If you have a Google Places Account, you can create FREE ONLINE COUPONS to include with your business listing. It's a simple and no-fee way to gain some exposure for your site and experiment with the types of coupon marketing you may want to get involved with.