How to market a new website: social media, ads, bookings and shops

A live website that nobody visits earns nothing. In part one we got a name, a domain, an inbox and a site online. This part is about getting people to it, and turning visits into bookings or sales.

My view: pick one or two channels and do them properly, set a hard cap on ad spend, and build the right kind of site for what you sell. Services need bookings and a sharp view of competitors. Physical products need a shop that never lets a customer down.

Step 1: Get found on social media

A live site that nobody visits earns nothing. Pick one or two social platforms where your audience already spends time: Instagram or TikTok for visual and consumer businesses, LinkedIn for business customers, Facebook for local communities. Doing two well beats being on six.

• Claim the same name (handle) on each platform, matching your domain where you can.
• Use business accounts, with the same logo, one-line description and a link to your site.
• If you serve a local area, set up a free Google Business Profile so you appear on Google Maps and in local search.
• Post a little, often, on a schedule you can keep up. Three posts a week for a year beats thirty in a week.

Step 2: Set an ad allowance before you spend a penny

Decide a fixed monthly cap in advance, and set it as a spending limit in the ad account so it can’t run away. Once you have sales, a common rule of thumb is 5% to 10% of revenue. Before you have sales, percentages don’t work, so I’d start with a test of about £150 to £300 ($200 to $400) over a month, spread across two weeks of small daily spends.

Meta’s platforms (Facebook and Instagram) let you start at a very low daily budget, but most guides suggest $20 or more a day to learn much. Only increase spend once you know what an enquiry or a sale costs you. If an ad costs more than the sale makes, stop it.

Step 3: What you sell changes the site

If you offer services: bookings and competitors

Add a booking system so customers can pick a time without messaging you. Calendly and Cal.com both have free plans for a single person, and paid plans from around $10 to $15 a user a month. Put a clear “Book now” button on every page, and take a deposit through Stripe if no-shows are a problem.

Before you set prices, analyse three to five competitors: what they charge, how they present their offer, how people book, and what their reviews complain about. Those complaints are your opportunity.

If you sell physical products: build a robust shop

A shop has to be reliable, because every failure costs a sale: stock that’s out of date, wrong shipping rates, a checkout that breaks on a phone. For a first shop I’d use a platform such as Shopify, at £25 ($39) a month, or £19 ($29) on an annual plan, rather than building one from scratch. Build a custom shop only when you have needs a platform can’t meet.

Put your delivery times and returns policy where customers can see them before they pay. UK online buyers generally have a right to cancel within 14 days, and US rules vary by state, so check what applies to you.

Both routes take payments through Stripe, and both may need a company and an accountant sooner than you’d like. That’s covered in part one.

What it costs, in pounds and dollars

Prices were checked in November 2026, and the exchange rate is rounded. Confirm on each company’s page before you pay.

Your next steps

1. Pick one or two platforms and set up business accounts.
2. Agree an ad cap, and set the spending limit in the ad account.
3. Services: add a booking button and analyse three to five competitors.
4. Products: use a prompt-led checklist to build your shop, and check delivery and returns pages.
5. Review what each enquiry or sale costs you after a month.

If you’d like help with any of this, that’s what I do. Tell me what you’re selling and I’ll tell you what I’d build and what I’d leave out. See my services, or get in touch for a free 20-minute call.