Advertising for an online store

[Rogelito's Mommy]

I make and sell organic baby products and so far I have been selling to stores locally. Recently I launched my website to try to expand and sell online. I am wondering, for those of you with online stores, what have you found to be the best way to advertise?

Thanks!

[barose]

My store hasn’t officially launched yet (though my site is up) and so far I have gotten good feedback and a small following though social networking (web 2.0 stuff): posting to related blogs, having a blog and writing regularly using sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Squidoo, blog catalogues, etc. I haven’t used paid advertising yet because the eCommerce part isn’t up yet but I’m curious about that too once I get it going. So far, I have looked into certain on and offline sources, obtained media kits etc to get an idea.

I’m curious as to what others have to say.

[Night Owl]

If you're just starting and have the time, then social/business networking is definitely a way to go. This takes time -- and you're not going to have much of it when business picks up.

I'd also make sure your site is SE friendly and work on your backlinks with sites that rank well and are trustworthy in your industry.

Those are just some very basic ideas.

[CawMama]

Also, contact blog owners (who write about your niche) and see if they might be interested in doing a post about your grand opening...maybe even a giveaway (bloggers love those).

[barose]

I know of a blog owner that will do a writeup for me when I open. PM me if you want the URL to the blog.

[Mali]

I agree with Carrin about the blogs. i just recently started sending our site to various WAHM/small business blogs and have gotten a bunch of interviews/features up really fast. Its a pretty easy way to get a new name out and reach an already built in audience.
I'm also trying to get into a routine of writing regularly on own blog. This summer is my big marketing/promotional time so I'd also love to hear suggestions of things you all have had luck with.

[Rogelito's Mommy]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will get to it and keep you posted as to what seems to work.

[kerikadi]

Originally Posted by Carrin

Also, contact blog owners (who write about your niche) and see if they might be interested in doing a post about your grand opening...maybe even a giveaway (bloggers love those).

Sorry to hyjack but how does one do this????
How do I find blogs???

[barose]

Originally Posted by kerikadi

Sorry to hyjack but how does one do this????
How do I find blogs???

http://wordpress.com/ you can do tag and keyword searches for relevant blogs.

http://www.technorati.com

http://www.blogcatalog.com/

http://www.blogger.com/

[velcromom]

Join http://theswitchboards.com/ for lots of advertising tips! It's a good resource for a small business owner.