A novel idea that has been successfully used offline is now becoming more
and more prevalent to promote web sites and online resources. It is used to
quickly generate notoriety, and for some web sites, is the key to phenomenal
growth. The idea is simple, employ young people to become product promotions
representatives. Before you balk at the idea, remember back to your youth.
What type of T-shirts did you wear? How about the stickers that decorated
your notebook and locker? Stickers, logos, and shirts are a very effective
promotional tool, and in certain instances become a fashion necessity for
young people. These tools can be used effectively to brand your web site,
and attract thousands of off-line visitors.
To give you an example of the strategy, consider pimpit.com. Upon
arriving at this site, you will first be asked if you would like to become a
product representative. The representative kit costs approximately $24.00,
and consists of a T-shirt and a variety of stickers. You can also purchase
banners, car stickers, and various decals depending on your level of
interest. Visitors purchase the kits because of the attractive logo and the
rebellious nature of the site name. However, all of these rep kits are
promotional tools that further market the web page to the world, and they
generate massive amounts of traffic.
Perhaps this idea does not apply and make sense for web sites that are
more conservative. However, there are variations on the theme that can
result in both massive traffic and growth. For my site, www.freetrainer.com,
independent sales representatives are recruited to distribute Real Estate
Software to various private and public investors. By asking visitors
up-front if they would like to become a distributor, and by providing them
with the tools necessary to promote the www.freetrainer.com web site, I am
steadily growing our sales and daily traffic.
By using and recruiting representatives to market your product, you
increase your off-line exposure and grow the brand awareness of your
product. Regardless if a representative actively sells your product,
of just wears the T-shirt occasionally, more people will be exposed to
your logo and more people will visit your site.
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