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On a positive note...

18 years ago

Hello, I usually post on Garden and Old House forums, however I need some advice from the parents out there. Many of the posts here are very serious so this is on a lighter note...

I am an at-home mom who recently started a business painting art for children's rooms. I built a very simple website, but have no idea how to drive traffic there. Can anyone suggest a place to advertise (not to costly) or post (and not get kicked off) or any other idea??

Thanks so much in advance...all advice is welcome.

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Comments (13)

imaginny
18 years ago
Hi jennamae,

You should list your site with the Open Directory Project (DMOZ). I am providing a link below to the site where you can find the link to submit your url. The link is titled "suggest url" at the top right of the main page of the DMOZ. Read and follow the instructions carefully on the Submission page so that your submission will be accepted.

Then another way to get traffic is to have a blog on which you write posts regularly about your business. Submit your blog to blogher (at blogher.com). If you update your blog regularly and put a post on blogher along with getting your website listed in the DMOZ, you will increase the traffic. Another thing you can do is create some free pages on squidoo. If you go to squidoo and read about it, you will see what it is that they offer. It's free and another way to promote yourself.

You are probably looking for local customers. There is Craigs List. I haven't tried that myself but I've heard good things about it. I think that it is either free or very cheap. Not sure which.

Good luck in your new business!

Ginny

Here is a link that might be useful: Open Directory Project
popi_gw
18 years ago
Sounds like a wonderful idea for a small business. Good luck with it all.

I, too, work at home and have a ws.

I think we need a "work at home" forum...I have suggested this to gardenweb.
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jennamae
Original Author
18 years ago
Wow...Thank you for all the good ideas...smart people...
I will take all of your suggestions, and a Home Business Forum would be great for those of us to share information.
imaginny
18 years ago
Jennamae,

About blogs, there are lots of places where you can set up a free blog. Or one that is quite reasonable. You can set up free blogs on Wordpress or blogger (which is different from blogher). Both have a lot of options and it seems they keep increasing what they offer for free which is quite nice! Wordpress does have a lot of very attractive templates but blogger might be a little easier to set up. There is Typepad also which is excellent. There is a fee but it is reasonable and they have many great templates and options. After you set up a blog, you can then set up a feed with feedburner. People can subscribe to your blog. This may sound overwhelming. But once you get into this, it will make more sense as you go along. In fact, I'll warn you that it is probably addicting! :-)

You can even have your domain name that you use for your current website be used as the domain name for your blog if you want. You might like the options that you see for blogs so much that you may prefer to use a blog as your main website. The different blogging sites give instructions on what to do to have traffic to your domain name go to your blog just as though it was set up with your domain name originally.

Then there are the social networking sites like Facebook. I haven't done much with those but people sure are using them! So you might take a look and see if they'd fit in with the other things that you do to promote yourself.

Promoting yourself can keep you very busy for quite a while! But what is nice is that there is so much that is either free or cheap online! Unlike newspaper ads which are very expensive.

Ginny
jennamae
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks Ginny...seems like the blog is a good move~

Popi...what is your business?
popi_gw
18 years ago
I sell on ebay and ws - cosmetics and clothing. I also have a family, so always busy, busy,busy ! It grows, the more you investigate things, the more you find out, and you implement ideas, as well. Amazing how you have to become knowledgeable about things you never thought about before !

Ginny, you have some good ideas.

I also go to a business forum, to get ideas, and to see what others are doing.
imaginny
18 years ago
popi,

I sell on ebay too. I've been self employed together with my husband for many years.
popi_gw
18 years ago
Imaginny, what do you think of my idea for a "working at home" forum ? If you think its a good one, perhaps you could send an email to gweb. I have..but no response, as yet.
imaginny
18 years ago
I think that's a great idea. So many people do work at home now.

I have sent a message to Gweb making that suggestion.

If that interests you, jennamae, you might send a suggestion to Gweb too. Numbers probably count in whether they do something or not.
imaginny
18 years ago
Popi and jennamae,

I got a response from Gardenweb to my suggestion to set up a Working from Home forum. They said that they had a forum on that topic on their sister site iVillage and they sent me a link which I am pasting in below. I took a quick look and they have lots of threads on the topic. They don't have plans to put one on GardenWeb currently but they do have an area on iVillage where one exists.

Here is a link that might be useful: Working from home: How do I start?
popi_gw
18 years ago
Well that's terrific news, Imaginny ! I will have a look, might see you there !

Thanks for letting me know.

P
jennamae
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks for the information...sorry I have been busy Blogging and submitting the site.
I will have to check out the I-Village forum.
Best of luck to all.
popi_gw
18 years ago
Here is another forum I go to. You might find some useful tips here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wholesale forum

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