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February 5, 2001

The Fundamentals of Professional Web Sites

This Week’s:

Features

Step-by-Step: Choosing a Hosting Service

Joy to the URL! Promoting Your Web Address

Reviews

"Smart Choices" is a Smart Idea

The Quest for the Best in Web Hosting - FutureQuest

Techniques

Font-asttic Instant Graphics!

Features

He can smile because he put his URL on his company stationary

Joy to the URL!
Promoting Your Web Address

by Carolyn Cooper

Your site's URL (web address) should be on everything that leaves your business. Make a list of every place where you can place your URL. Have employees, family and friends make a list. Be creative! You can't promote your URL too much. If you do it correctly, you should be sick of seeing it.

To help you get started, here's a starter list.

Corporate Identity Materials:

Business Cards
Letterhead/Stationary including envelopes
Shipping labels
Invoices
Fax cover sheets
Brochures & flyers
Mailers
Inserts
Trade show booths
Specialty Advertising Promotions (e.g., mugs, T-shirts, key chains, golf balls, and so on)
Company uniforms

Advertising & Promotions:

Ads - print, TV, newspaper, radio, coupon books, inserters, mobile
Direct mail pieces
Billboards
Awnings
Company vehicles

Products & Product Marketing:

The product itself
Product packaging (e.g., labels, boxes, wrappers, tags, envelopes and so on)
Product literature, manuals, instructions, warranty cards

Be certain your URL appears on any cross-promotion you do with another company or web site. Make URL promotion, including location, method (e.g., banner ad or text link) and duration, part of the contract.

Sponsor a softball team? Put the URL on the shirts and caps! Doesn't have to be offensively large, but as long as the URL is present it's building identity. But be creative. If you've built a web site that you're proud of — and why would you build one that your weren't proud of? — tell people about it!

Find out how to arrange an independent consultation or a workshop for your conference or organization on this or any other Internet-related topic.