How to Promote Your New Site
Rachel Rischall, founder of Three PR, shares how to spread the word on a new site.
You have a brand-new, beautifully designed website that's ready for clicks, scrolls, subscribers and shares — as soon as the world learns all about it. So how do you get your online presence the most traction and drive visitors to your fabulous new site?
Digital marketing strategies and paid media can be extremely helpful, but this post is all about the power of PR. If you're acting as your own publicist, here are a few ways to boost awareness of your business and ideally spur traffic.
Let's start simple and work our way towards the more challenging approaches. As with many things in life, the more risks you take, the more rewarding the outcome.
Easy approach:
Tout that site across all of the “media” you own. Anywhere you have the power to manually add your web address, let that link shine.
*Business cards
*Email signature
*Social media channels — in the bio of each account and in any posts officially announcing your new site.
*Google business page (if applicable)
*Yelp account (if applicable)
Don’t forget to send an announcement email or a newsletter to your network, sharing relevant business updates — like your new site.
Middle-of-the-road approach:
Make your website a destination. Pull people in by creating content on the site, or push them toward the site through external avenues.
*A blog might feel very 2005, but a good one still creates value. Whether it’s a weekly CEO letter, a collection of monthly insights, a thoughtful essay series or a space to share your latest news, a blog can be worthwhile as long as it serves a valid purpose. Look at companies you admire and see how they use the blog/news section of their site. Emulate what inspires you, and pinpoint a voice/cadence that works for you.
(Don’t forget to promote your blog via your company’s network!)
*Leverage your LinkedIn presence by posting "teasers" of company news and then linking back to your website for the full story. Keep an eye on your analytics and consider investing a nominal amount in boosting your posts.
Challenging approach:
Pitch your business to local and national media outlets and try to secure a story on your product, company or thought leadership, with the aim of including an active link to your website to drive traffic.
*Identify which media outlets would be most impactful based on your desired customers. Are they reading food industry trades? Beauty websites? Business news sites?
*Once you've determined where you want to be, start researching who is writing the stories that seem most pertinent to your business. Do your homework to ensure you're laser-focused on the right journalists. If they heard from you, would you feel relevant?
*Start making new media friends. Follow them on Twitter, add on LinkedIn, and then send a friendly introductory note that shows you're paying attention to their coverage — then offer yourself as a resource. Keep it fairly brief, but make a case for how you could be helpful to them. While this is typically where a PR rep takes the wheel, it can be worth a shot if you don't have the resources for outside support.
The best-case scenario is that the writer responds and expresses interest. If not, give it one more follow-up about a week later, just to ensure your note wasn't overlooked. PR is about playing the long game, and even if your outreach doesn't immediately translate into a story, it's very possible you've made a valuable connection for later.
A professional, smartly designed website is a powerful cue for your business identity and a critical hub for your company. Be proactive about your promotion and start spreading the word!
Rachel Rischall is the founder of Three PR, a Chicago-based lifestyle PR firm. In this role, she manages relationships with clients across industries, including hospitality, packaged foods, beauty, marketing and the nonprofit sector. She leads PR programs, drives strategic media relations, manages events and provides internal communications counsel.
An industry vet, Rischall is a proficient local and national media relations expert — with extensive freelance writing experience — and is well-versed in collaborating with journalists and driving press coverage.
Learn more about Rachel at Three-pr.com.
