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allan46 · July 11th, 2008

I am in mucn the same situation myself. I have been online for about eight months and the sales are slow. My money is really tapped out.

I had some terrible experiences with suppliers and it cost me some money. The inexperience factor and a bit too trusting.

I have tried the word of mouth, given away dozens of shirts to all kinds of people, got a newspaper story done,tried an ad on another website, and just tried adwords.

I was on the radio re my business.

It is frustrating.

I have read guerrilia marketing book which gave some good ideas.

I am very creative and have lots of ideas but I need to sell some stock to get off the ground.

I haven't tried flyers, my next try.

I started writing a blog directed at my target market. The blog is good but no sales from it.

TripleT · July 12th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by allan46


	I am in mucn the same situation myself. I have been online for about eight months and the sales are slow. My money is really tapped out. I had some terrible experiences with suppliers and it cost me some money. The inexperience factor and a bit too trusting. I have tried the word of mouth, given away dozens of shirts to all kinds of people, got a newspaper story done,tried an ad on another website, and just tried adwords. I was on the radio re my business. It is frustrating. I have read guerrilia marketing book which gave some good ideas. I am very creative and have lots of ideas but I need to sell some stock to get off the ground. I haven't tried flyers, my next try. I started writing a blog directed at my target market. The blog is good but no sales from it.

What about SEO? Maybe not enough people see your site.

esentuals · July 14th, 2008

Yup sounds like your site isnt getting enough traffic SEOs. you may want to traffic your site to local areas where your from when you do your SEOs.

Here is a little tip that has worked for me. Depends how you want to use this tip but get yourself some business cards that are printed on both sides.

Go to craigslist and place an ad "free business cards"

The catch is they get their cards for free if you can put your business card on the reverse side.

Or you can charge a small fee to them. Either way its a good way to viral market without having to do the work.

I normally do this with photographers or graphic designers.

Ps. im not trying to promote but there is a site i visit called webmaster radio. google it. it has a whole bunch of pod cast on seos and tips. really cool site.

PSS by the way if your going to give your shirts to a club tell them you will give your shirt for free if you can put your website on the shirt. You see it a lot on NASCAR so why not their shirts especially since your forking the shirt and your labor.

I personally make my own shirts with my company name and give them to friends. It has gotten me a few contacts especially when they ask my friends if they know me.
Live testimonal+ advertising = lead.

By the way what product is it that your marketing?

Remember don't give up.

Rodney · July 15th, 2008

Quote:


	I started writing a blog directed at my target market. The blog is good but no sales from it.

How long ago did you start it.

Quote:


	given away dozens of shirts to all kinds of people

Giving away t-shirts doesn't really have a good ROI. It might help create an overall good feeling about your company, but it won't make people want to pull out their wallets.

Quote:


	tried an ad on another website

If one website didn't work, that doesn't mean that alll website ads won't work. You just have to take your time and test different markets where your customers are. If one doesn't work, try the next.

Quote:


	and just tried adwords

Make sure you do a LOT of research before you start spending. Adwords isn't as easy as just "buy some keywords and get traffic".

There's a lot of research and testing that needs to be done to do adwords "correctly" so that you consistently have a positive return on your investment in traffic.

EnMartian · July 15th, 2008

It sounds like what you're doing is scattershot marketing. Try a bit of everything and hope something works.

Before you do any kind of marketing you need to know who your target market is and where they are. Then figure out what media they listen to, read and visit on the web and make sure you're there. You can have the best blog in the world but it needs to be read by your target market to be effective. If your ads aren't reaching the people who will want to buy your product then it doesn't matter how much money you spend.

Just my two cents, but I know this is a common mistake that a lot of people make. It is as much about who your market to as how you market.

DREAMGLASS · July 15th, 2008

Hi. Being online doesn't guarantee that your products will automatically sell. Your success will depend significantly on the range of products you have and how desirable they are to would be purchasers.

You perhaps need to do some market research first. You need to ask folks what they think of your products. Ask which products they like and which ones they don't. Ask them what's missing from your range and what they'd like to see.

Get the product wrong and your marketing will always be an uphill struggle.

SoloStampede · July 15th, 2008

if I may add my 2cents. Before you do any marketing, U should make a list of all your marketing avenues, and list out how they will benefit your business. There are severally marketing avenues for our industry, just be creative, and use google to find them

AaronM · July 24th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by allan46


	I am in mucn the same situation myself. I have been online for about eight months and the sales are slow. My money is really tapped out. I had some terrible experiences with suppliers and it cost me some money. The inexperience factor and a bit too trusting. I have tried the word of mouth, given away dozens of shirts to all kinds of people, got a newspaper story done,tried an ad on another website, and just tried adwords. I was on the radio re my business. It is frustrating. I have read guerrilia marketing book which gave some good ideas. I am very creative and have lots of ideas but I need to sell some stock to get off the ground. I haven't tried flyers, my next try. I started writing a blog directed at my target market. The blog is good but no sales from it.

What I'm wondering is, are you at least getting hits on your site? Do you have stats you can review and see if your marketing is working? Maybe your marketing is working to get people to the site, but they are finding it hard to buy or that they don't want your products? Just a thought.

Also I do agree with some of the other posts that it is good to get a road map for your marketing so you are not spinning your wheels and wasting time and money. A marketing plan is a good way to get your road map laid out.

DREAMGLASS · August 2nd, 2008

The aim of marketing (ideally) is to put your product under the noses of the people that are most likely to purchase it. To do that, you have to identify WHO buys your product and WHY they buy your product.

the funk · August 2nd, 2008

You really haven't said what your selling. For example, I market my contract printing site differently than I market my online stores. You mentioned flyers, which (in my case) would be good for my printing business, but not that effective for my online stores...see what I mean?

BigSexyJohn · August 3rd, 2008

Hi Allan, have you tried Google Adwords? You can start a campaign for not a lot of money. Yahoo have a similar thing. Both will see your click throughs increase and that will help your SEO plan. Links, have you got a lot of links? SE spiders love links. Just make sure the link is reciprecated otherwise it isn't much help.

Commission Junction, go and read thru the site info. It does work. Don't blow it off.

Use your business name in your your sig in posts on forums and social bookmarking sites.

And stop giving away free T's.