In one of my audio downloads “How to Market Your Website Offline“, I talked about why it’s always a good idea to have your website address on your material and where you should display it prominently. But there are some cases where it’s better not to have your website address readily apparent.
If, for example, you’re doing craft shows it’s not a good idea to have your website address on your trade show signs or anywhere in your booth. Why? Because craft shows are a sales venue. You’re there strictly to sell, and you don’t want to give people any kind of excuse not to buy from you right that second. Some customers upon seeing your website address on your trade show sign or perhaps on your business cards might think, “Well, I don’t have to buy this now, I’ll just go to the website and buy it later.” , which is what you don’t want.
Instead, if people ask you if you have a website direct them to sign up for your mailing list. Incidentally, I’ve also made a practice of not having my business cards or postcards readily accessible for the same reason. When someone asks if I have a business card, I’ll tell them to join my mailing list so I can send them updates. I reserve my business cards and postcards for those customers who buy something so they can have an easy way to contact me if they have any questions.
It’s way too easy for a potential customer to lose or throw away your business card or postcard. And it’s also way to easy for them to forget your website address. If you make a practice of gathering their information, you’re more likely to keep in contact and will have the oppportunity of making them your customer in the future.
Do people object to signing up for my mailing list instead of getting a business card? Very few…I could probably count on one hand the number of people who refused to sign up on my list because they were afraid of getting spammed. On the whole, anyone who’s really interested in your work won’t have a problem with signing up for your mailing list.
PS- Make sure that your mailing list sign up sheet has a space for people to add their email address!
PSS- If you haven’t listened to my free audio download, “How to Market Your Website Offline“, you can listen to a small excerpt here:
[display_podcast]
To listen to the full audio, click here to subscribe my free newsletter.
