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For my latest minisite CarvedLanterns.com I was thinking about having some stickers made up to promote the site, then going around to the local grocery stores and tagging the pumpkin displays. I'm curious if anyone has tried using stickers or a similar method to drive traffic to their minisites. If so, Did it pay off?
if you did that then all your traffic would be from one tiny region, which is also the place you live, i dont think that would be a favorable thing to your ad provider but thats just my guess
Stickers in my opinion are not very effective. Because they are small (hard to read) and unless very attractive or well placed at eye level people will pass them by.
Try finding out where you can place banners on the side of roads or certain areas legally. Also car stickers like big text of your domain name on the back of a car window can be effective.
I wrote an article about advertising domain names through stickers on cars awhile back...
The reason for the stickers is that the site gives away free pumpkin stencils. Putting the sticker on all the jack-o-lantern pumpkins seemed to me people buying a pumpkin might natually check out the website. I'm just not sure the cost of the stickers would be recovered by the sites income. I may do it anyway to build awareness. A roadsign would be good if I wanted to target everyone for a generic site, but i'm looking to grab up people who are already interested in pumpkin carving.
As far as advertisers go, for this year the site is full of adsense and amazon ads. The site just launched. I don't see them having a problem with a group of people visiting my site who are genuinely interested in pumpkin carving. It shouldn't matter that they're all from the same area. The conversion rate should be good enough they would be happy to get my traffic. Its not a parked domain so theres no parking company to complain about me advertising.
My goal is to build backlinks and site awareness over the next year. By halloween time next year I want the site to have some decent traffic. At that point I'm going to ditch adsense and amazon for my own adverts. Instead of getting ten cents from someone selling a pumpkin carving kit, I plan to put a three dollar profit in my own pocket. I just need to see if it will work before I make an investment in having pumpkin carving kits produced. (hows that for an alternative revenue idea?)
The factors that are in question are whether I can really bring enough traffic to make the carving kit production cost worthwhile and whether I can convert that traffic. I'd also like to know just how much traffic I really can generate so I know how many carving kits to have made.
My question is if having a few hundred bucks worth of flashy stickers will really do anything to build the sites reputation and traffic.
I was thinking in terms of google seeing all your traffic from the same place you live they might think you where telling friends and family to go to one your sites and click. I am just paranoid that way as i would never want to lose my adsense account. Might even be a reason to smart price you, but who knows. Also there could be a grocery manager that doesnt like being "stickered" at their store and go click crazy lol you never know
I see why you want to do it since its a one month out of the year site and this is the month, goodluck
I know of two cycling websites that have put stickers on the various bicycle locking posts. It can drive traffic but how much I don't know. The cost would be low but the amount of time would be high. Depends on the niche I think it could work.
I completely understand the mentality here. My first thought was to just get a roll of stickers and tag away. My second thought is what would happen if I did. An upset manager could remove all my stickers or even sue me. Its strange how our minds wander twards doing things the underhanded way first before doing it the right way comes to mind. Its just human nature to think that way, but still its an odd way to go about things.
I wouldnt sticker anyones pumpkins who didn't want me to. Instead of heading for the pumpkin display I would head for the manager and show them my sticker. I would then show them the website if they want to see it. A good solid handshake and asking nicely for permission goes a long way. There has got to be a thousand grocery stores within an hours drive and each one of them has to have between 200 and 500 pumpkins. Even if I get told no most of the time I shouldn't have a problem using up a few thousand stickers.
My brother is using stickers to drive traffic to his website. He's a tattoo artist and gets stickers out to shows nationally. This only works if you are able to cover a lot of ground and your ticket price will cover distribution.
In your case you might want to instead write to craft and home magazines offering a free pumpkin stencil to every visitor (who requests your newsletter of pumpkin decorating ideas.) You might also partner with the store for a promotion, but don't do it without their permission.
What you are asking is basic SEO stuff here. How do you get people to your site? First, forget earning money with adsense and amazon. That's pennies in the beginning. Before you start to invest money with outside advertising, you must work on your site night and day. A nice site is key to earning money in the long run. You want your site to rock. After it is built, then it makes sense to advertise.
The problem with stickers for digital concepts...
In the sticker scheme, first you have to go out and put stickers on pumpkins (if the stores don't throw you out), then people have to buy the pumpkin, see the sticker, read the sticker, remember the sticker and then visit your site. Chances are, they are going to buy a pumpkin, throw it in the trunk, get home, stick it on the porch and leave it there a few days until they get around to carving it. Stickers on pumpkins might get a few visitors, but I am doubtful the work you invest (and money) is going to pay off.
ROI is important. Did the amount of time you invested x the amount of visitors = a good return.
My bet is no.
The best way to get new people on a new site that offers digital products (downloadable stencils) is to buy Google AdWords. People get into moods. When they are in the mood to search for stencils, chances are they are online already and will search in Google. That's faster than going downstairs and out onto the porch to find your web address. Google adwords = Instant visitor. We used adWords extensively in the beginning. Later, we stopped, but in the beginning months it was the main form of traffic for us.
Back to the first paragraph. A nice site is what you need. Content is still King. If your site is nice, visitors might bookmark you. That's a good ROI for your $0.05 click. All the time you invested into design (instead of driving around with stickers) will payoff. All people need is one good site in any category. If yours is the best pumpkin stencil site, they'll come back.
So my vote is, no stickers in your case.
Where stickers work wonders is when you have a store and customers come to you. Then you can give stickers away by the dozen. That's a good return, especially if you have a product that people like and relate to. Give them a sticker is giving them something for free. People like free things. Then they advertise for you. Word of mouth still is the best advertising of all.
That's my opinion. I built a successful website starting from zero, one page at a time. It took many months (and years), but it is worth it.
I just wanted to post back to say "Thanks for all the responses." I've decided to nix the stickers idea based on my gut feeling that they just won't stick. (pun intended) I've come to the conclusion that even though I "might" be able to recoup and even make some money above and beyond the cost of the stickers I don't think it will lead to any repeat traffic.
I've been quite surprised that for the last couple of days google has been showing carvedlanterns.com some love. Not tons of traffic, but usually when I start a new site it is months before I see anything more than one or two visitors coming from google. Even after that, its rare that I get much. Right now, its looking like I may have the renewal fee earned before halloween. The kicker here is that I haven't really done any seo. Backlinks in my sig here and a in like two blogs is all I did to get it out there. The site's pages don't even have meta keyword and description tags. I can't quite figure out why google is even visiting. It goes against everything I've read?
From analyzing the longtail searches I have a pretty good idea for how to expand the site. (I wouldn't have expected people to search for what they are to find my site.) From the searches I am seeing, I have a clear path for what I need to do next.
P.S. To throw a bit of conspiracy theory out there, concider this: I have all but two of my websites listed in my google webmaster tools account. The two I don't have listed there have picked up more traffic from google, and faster. Its probably coincidence, but it seems the more I do to promote a site the worse I rank...
just to add, you're already on the internet use all the free tools available on the internet to promote your site and shop not old tools.
if you're in the sticker business i understand doing this plus combining with internet promotion.
when going to grocery stores i think you need to carry some of those lanterns of yours as a sample to be displayed in stores or much better give it as freebie to grocery store owners and they will use it preferably to light up the stores and stick a sticker displaying your url on the lantern themselves, just an idea.
If you are dead set on urban gorilla marketing you have to think interstate....
Semi Riggs ..... Hit your local "Truck Stop". Hell half those guys will let you place them if you buy them a beer.
The Tractor is separate form the trailer in a drivers mind. The trailer will be routed and rerouted all over the country or at least in regions. You can look for the "far coast" plates and hopes they are heading back across country.
Good luck and be ready for a few phone calls. And threats of citations if you've "mugged" hundreds of Riggs with out permission.
namenut
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From Me and Mine ..... To You and Your's Happy Safe Holidays .... ♠ And a Happy New Year 2009 ♠
It is cool to see someone thinking about promoting their minisite in a creative way. However, I think the time and money spent on stickers would be better spent turning the mini site into a "maxi" site. In the end, unique content is going to get more traffic than stickers in your hometown.
The kicker here is that I haven't really done any seo. Backlinks in my sig here and a in like two blogs is all I did to get it out there. The site's pages don't even have meta keyword and description tags. I can't quite figure out why google is even visiting. It goes against everything I've read?
DNKitchen.com and Chef Patrick ---> 
