Could you imagine building an entire house with just one tool like a hammer? Yes, Im serious, no other tools, just a hammer. How long would it take you to build a house with just a hammer? What would this house look like?

Now imagine your website is a hammer. Would you build your entire business using just this one tool? Many people put up a website and expect the world to come clamoring to their door to buy products or services. Major disappointment sets in when results are not immediate. A website is an extension of your business and takes time to evolve and get discovered by your ideal clients. Your website is one of many tools in your marketing tool box. Here are a few affordable, do-it-now marketing tools to get you excited about promoting your website.

AUTO ID PLATES
How often are you stuck in traffic and end up staring at the license plate in front of you? This is the perfect place to discreetly display your web site address. If you have a short slogan or tagline, it can be placed on top with your web site address on the bottom. This is a more random marketing approach and similar to the magnetic car signs. Have you ever searched for a pen and paper while trying to memorize the magnetic sign on the truck for handyman services, plumbing or hardwood flooring? The person in the vehicle behind you could be your next customer.

CD BUSINESS CARDS
Some of the best and most unique marketing tools for business are CD Business Cards. These are the size of a credit card and look like a miniature CD. The first thing I thought was, Do I put this in my CD/ROM drive and does it work? Sure enough! It fits neatly into the inside circle of a CD/ROM drive. It can hold about 50 Megs of multimedia information about your company or products and plays in less than three minutes. If the customer is online when viewing the CD, they can click on links and be taken to your web site. Its unlikely that anyone would toss this business card into the trash. They come in all shapes and sizes for less than $1.00 each.

LABELS
Use labels with your web site address and catchy slogan to seal your correspondence. This is one more way to flash your web site address in front of a potential customer. I recently purchased some artwork at a craft fair. Luckily the artist had placed a label on the back of the picture so I could go to the website and order more artwork for friends. Without that label she would have missed out on some sales after the craft fair was over. Create your own labels for wine bottles to give as gifts. Lots of fun ideas at online websites to spark your creativity.

WEB POSTCARDS
Did you know that a large percentage of new business comes from referrals? How often do you stay in touch with your clients? At a minimum, quarterly correspondence will keep you fresh in their minds. Several online companies offer full color postcards, business cards, bookmarks and note cards of your business web site. They take a picture of your Home page and you can insert your text message. A proof is emailed to you to edit or accept. Web PostCards are great for direct mail campaigns or to hand out at trade shows. Got a new web site? Tell everyone about it with Web PostCards. Bigger than a business card, your prospect is more likely to place the card by the computer and look up your web site. Web PostCards are rarely discarded and frequently passed on to other potential clients. Free samples are mailed to you by request by most companies.

Have fun with these and will you please send me an email about your other creative marketing ideas? Remember, if youre not promoting your site who is?