4.03 Promoting your site offline

You can't just put a web site online and then expect it to be found by all your existing clients. You need to tell them that it is there, tell them how to find it and tell them what wonders they will find.

Use that url
Use your web address wherever you can. On stationery, vaccination reminders, admission paperwork, in advertising, on the waiting room noticeboard. If you are going to put the necessary work into maintaining your web site then do your best to maximise the number of clients who visit.

Promise and deliver
Make your site address more memorable by associating it with a tagline about your site - “Read the latest practice news at www.uursite.co.uk” - but if you promise the latest news, make sure that it gets online.

Promote and share
You can promote your web site and share its content with clients that don't have internet access at the same time. As you add new material to your site then put a large format printed version on your notice board – clearly labeled as coming from your web site. Have a folder in the waiting room kept up to date with copies of all the interesting pages from your web site.

Active harvesting
Have forms available in your waiting room for people to sign up for your electronic newsletter or for an e-mail notifying them when you put new material online on your web site.

Promote local events
If you are happy to put a notice up in your waiting room promoting some local event – then add a label that the details are also available on the practice web site and put the information online as well.

Copy your noticeboard
Anything that goes on your waiting room noticeboard can be repeated on your web site – from kittens needing homes to cat sitting services.

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