Follow the Arrow

If you're not yet in the habit of getting at least some of your news, entertainment and educational information from independent, professional writers and videographers working from their own websites, I encourage you to start. You're missing out on some great material that's usually free. 

If you're a business owner and your business has a website, you're also missing out on free advertising as well as getting acquainted with potential customers. If you don't have a business of your own, maybe you know someone who does and this can apply to them, too.

Personal advertising is still the most effective in my own circles. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, but in either direction it's effective. Lots and lots of new customers and fans are made over coffee with friends. Same goes for guests that frequent and interact with their fav websites. 

It's that last one that a colleague brought to my attention about important opportunities being missed in free business advertising. Most bloggers websites have areas where their guests can leave comments. And within that area is usually a place to include their website address. 

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Effect example

Another capacity I work in is as a freelance editor for other writers. (I said that to let you know I'm awful at editing my own content.) One of my clients emailed me a few months ago with questions about a publishing company they're considering to work with. They learned of the publisher through a blog post here on flashPress even though I have never written anything about them. 

Confused? 

Hang on. It's simple. A flashPress reader left a comment on a blog post here. Preceding the comment was their name and next to their name was a curved arrow pointing away from the page. 

My client read the same post, then also read the comments. When they read the comment by the guest with the arrow next to their name, they clicked the arrow and it took them to that commenter’s website. 

While browsing through the website they discovered a blog post about a publishing company the site owner (who is also the author of multiple books) had written. It was presented in a very positive light and impressed the flashPress reader enough to investigate further and consider approaching the publisher to represent their own work. 

This particular example doesn't represent a potential transaction of a few $10s or $20s or even $100s but one of potential $1000s. 

That's a sizable chunk of potential earnings from an interested potential client. An excellent setup, developed for free via a simple comment on a blog post where the commenter took the time to include their website address. 

How easy is that? 

Where can't you advertise?

Many posts written on content farms will not give you a field to enter your website address in that auto-hyperlinks for readers. However, on independent platforms that have a blog(s) on them, as long as the comment option is active you can include your website address (and in most cases it will be automatically hyperlinked) with your comment. 

Below are a few screen shots I took of comments left on a recent edition of mar's Desk at marcoujor's musings (links are embedded for you).

By clicking any of the pics in the slideshow, a page will open to the post on mar's Desk, where I took the screen shots.

​marcoujor's musings is a website hosted by Weebly. A website hosted by Blogger, TypePad, WordPress or whatever else is likely to look different but if comments are allowed, any of them should still offer you an area to fill in your website address.

​Not just for writers

This opportunity to advertise is there for anyone with a reputable business website they're willing to share the address of with other readers. 

Doesn't matter if your business is landscaping, auto mechanics, graphic design or funeral home owner, leaving a link to your biz site with your comment is appreciated and encouraged. It's how readers network to get new clients for their own business and even become new clients of other businesses offering products and services they're in need of or know someone else who might want or need them. 

Networking works, so next time you're willing to leave a comment on a blog post please do yourself, your host and your fellow readers a favor by leaving your business’ website link with your comment. Such a small bit of effort can yield grand results.

ShoutOuts!

• Just a few words via Rita Hicks Davis 
• ​Puppy Love via marcoujor's musings
• Going bananas ☺ via WarnerWords

Finish line!

That's it for this one!

God bless you, thanks for the read and see you next Tuesday.

femmeflashpoint