The idea of using your personal activities online to promote your business is sometimes overlooked by business owners. This can be an extremely simple way to get extra attention and in places where people already know or recognize you, it can lead to extra clicks through to your website out of curiosity. This then often leads straight into sales.

One of the easiest ways to do this is to have a link included everywhere you're able to have a signature. Most online forums provide the ability for all users to carry a signature with quotes or information about them over a few lines that is published underneath every post the user makes. Check with each website about their regulations for adding links - perhaps you can add a message to ask people to contact you if they are interested in your area of business instead when links are not allowed.

You should always have a link and signature attached to your email. Using your personal email account you can include a signature of any information you like - and being able to mention your business every time you send an email to friends, family or even people you don't know means that the name will get out there. Sales can eventuate from the strangest places sometimes, and this is a good way to capitalize on that prospect.

You will probably want to make sure that your behavior in any forums that have links in your signature is appropriate and will not lead to any false contacts or harassment problems, so only use this when you're unlikely to have an unpopular point of view or where you may make inappropriate comments that other users react poorly to. If you treat the internet just like you would leaving your home and being in public anywhere else, then you can successfully use alternative advertising methods such as linking in signatures to encourage more business.