May 2008

Dina Aronson, MS, RD
President, Welltech Solutions

With millions of wellness web sites out there, how can yours stand out above the rest? Many marketing strategies cost thousands. But five of the most effective business boosters are absolutely free.

Freebie #1: Blogger (Blogspot)

Blogs (that are updated frequently) help you grow your business in many ways. First, they ensure that your web site has regularly changing content; this ranks you higher on search engines. Second, they help you build a fan base, leading to referrals. Third, they increase traffic at your site, which is the most powerful way to optimize your site for search engines.

You can hire a designer or consultant to set up a blog for you, or you can do it absolutely free using Google’s service. Simply go to blogger.com and sign up. Then click through the Wizard, and presto, you have a blog. With a little tech knowledge (FTP information and filenames), you can have the blog live at your own web site (www.mywebsite/blog.com) rather than at the blogger site (www.myblog.blogspot.com). There are other free blogging services as well, but the popularity, ease of use, and flexibility of Blogger makes it a winning choice.

Freebie #2: LinkedIn

LinkedIn (linkedin.com) is one of the many social networking web sites that have become a hallmark of Web 2.0. Compared to other well-known sites (Facebook, MySpace), LinkedIn has a more professional purpose and feel. It operates by the theory that relationships matter: networking is a key to professional success.

By invitation of colleagues, LinkedIn members build up a professional network which can be used for business referrals, job hunts, service provider listings, and forming business relationships. You can view others’ and post your own profile, with work history and job description, education, goals, volunteer activities, and more (what is publicly displayed is up to you). Others happy with your work can recommend you (like a public testimonial), and you can recommend others.

As your network grows, so do opportunities to find new customers, service providers, consultants, and colleagues, which of course all impact your bottom line.

LinkedIn is not the only professional networking site (you might prefer Plaxo, Ryze or Ecademy), but it seems to have the most registered users, and it has a good reputation. Of course, you can always register for several to see what works best for you.

Freebie #3: Webinars and Webcasts

You have a message, and you have a lot of people to reach, many of whom may be scattered hundreds of miles away from you. Until recently, doing a presentation or lecture to a diverse group over a large geographic area was next to impossible. Today, with services such as WebEx (webex.com), Yugma (yugma.com), Instant Conference (instantconference.com), and Free Conference (freeconference.com), you can bring everyone together with a web-based conference that is free (for limited attendees and basic service) or fee-based (a cost you can absorb or charge your attendees, if providing valuable information).

Giving presentations keeps your business in the spotlight and remembered. As an added benefit, they have the potential to increase the perceived value of your products and services. You can build monthly or quarterly web seminars into your marketing strategy (for example, provide information that gets people excited about your products or services), or use invite potential customers, clients, and business associates to experience a more personalized overview of your business.

Freebie #4: Article Directories

This is the perfect way for writers in the wellness industries to generate leads to their web sites. Ezinearticles.com, ladypens.com (you must be female to submit), and goarticles.com are the most popular. Here’s how it works: You submit well-written, targeted articles on wellness topics to one or more of these sites, and your articles (if they’re relevant and well-written) get picked up by publishers of ezines, email newsletters, and content-heavy web sites. What’s in it for you? The article is credited with your name and web site.

Having your (or your business’s) written work scattered around boosts your credibility, builds your brand, increases web site traffic, and finds you relevant leads. After the articles are submitted, it’s marketing power that needs no nurturing: your articles (which are a form of advertisement for you) can remain on other web sites indefinitely. It is a great way to find customers that were otherwise unreachable.

If you don’t write, you could always hire a writer (or an intern) to write articles of interest relating to your business goals, and have them submitted to one or all of these article directory services.

Freebie #5: Webby Widgets

For the more tech savvy among us, Widgets are little programs or snippets of code that you place onto your web site. They beautify, add interest, and, most importantly, keep folks coming back to your site. After all, what good is a web site if people visit and never return? Well-chosen widgets provide information that keep people coming back to your site again and again boosting your search engine ranking and credibility. The key is to install widgets that provide continuously changing information or promote interactivity on your web site. There are thousands of free widgets out there, but really only some that have the potential to truly increase site hits.

RSS feeds are catching on; get involved by installing a feed on your site. RSS, or Real Simple Streaming, is a way to aggregate categories of information in one place. The most common use of RSS is for news. So you can install an RSS feed on your site that gets its news from a service (Yahoo! or Google News, for example), blogs, or journals, and displays it for your visitors. Best part, it will display the only the news that is relevant to your business, and it will update all by itself. And it’s free! To learn more and get started, visit http://rssfeedreader.com.

Want a way for your visitors to keep track of their calorie intake on your web site? Install a free calorie count widget. Trying to keep it interesting for your fitness business? Display an Exercise of the Day on your homepage. Want to empower your customers to keep up their exercise? Allow them to log their activity on your site. All of these tools and more can be found at widgetbox.com (you have to register for free first). Springwidgets.com, bravenet.com, and conduit.com are some other free widget providers.

Invest a little time and creativity, and you'll significantly improve your web presence – without spending a penny!

Dina Aronson, MS, RD, is president of Welltech Solutions, an online consulting business committed to bridging the gap between technology and wellness.

Related articles on strengthening your web presence:
Nine Tips: Local Wellness Businesses & The Web
Wellness Websites That Work: Do's & Don'ts
Website Collecting Dust? Five Spring-Cleaning Tips