You might have an attractive web site with great products, but
your site will sit untouched in cyberspace without one key
factor.
Website traffic.
Traffic to your website is what you turn into sales, so check
out the following promotional strategies and start sending
visitors to your site in droves.
Strategy # 1 - Publish your own newsletter
Publishing your own newsletter is one of the greatest ways to
keep in touch with your visitors. The basic idea is that once
you have taken the time and/or money to direct a person to your
website, you want to get their name and email address so that
you can keep in contact with them.
In my newsletter, the RLB Marketing Essentials Newsletter, I
send out an informative, valuable article twice a month. That is
what the subscriber gets out of the deal. In return I have part
of the newsletter to recommend products or place advertisements.
More on newsletter publishing at:
www.redlionbooks.com/1emailmark/nwsltrpublish21.htm
Strategy # 2 - Write articles
Most people browse the Internet for information first, and to
shop second. Writing articles can satisfy their need for
information and help you out in two ways.
First, putting articles full of information on your website is
great content for your website. It gives a reason for people to
come to your website and also builds a relationship with your
visitors.
Second, you can get traffic from other sites by letting them use
your articles. Let anyone use your article on their site, in
return they have to place a resource box at the end that directs
readers to your website.
More on writing articles at:
www.redlionbooks.com/1promo/promoarticles51.htm
Strategy # 3 - TrafficSwarm
This idea is great because it really does bring in some targeted
traffic. It's also free, easy to setup, and requires little work
after words.
More on TrafficSwarm at: www.redlionbooks.com/zlinks
rafficswarm.htm
Strategy # 4 - Offer a GREAT affiliate program
An affiliate program is like having your own sales force working
for you. Affiliate programs have become a big trend on the web
lately, but good affiliate programs are still few and far
between. If you have your own product, don't just start an
affiliate program, start a good one.
You should recognize that an affiliate that sends you a sale is
your partner. Without them, you probably would have never
received that sale, so treat them right. Offer a high percentage
of the sale to affiliates (around 20%-30%) if you can, or some
type of monthly commission if it suits your product. Paying your
affiliates well will pay off in the long run.
More on starting an affiliate program at:
www.redlionbooks.com/1affiliatemark/startyourown01htm
Strategy # 5 - Search engines
Search engines and directories are a great way to get free
traffic, but you have to get a decent ranking to really see the
benefits.
I believe that getting a great ranking in search engines starts
with the way your web site is made. First, all of your pages
should be properly meta-tagged. Although not a magic solution,
meta tags will help your ranking if done properly. See this
in-depth meta tag guide at searchenginewatch.com:
www.searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/meta.html
Next, you should have keyword rich pages and page titles. Your
writing should reflect what your site is about. You'll notice
that if you scan this page you'll see words like "promotion" and
"traffic." Those are the words that I would want this article
to come up under in a search. I also put the most important
words in my page title.
Also, be sure to submit to search engines the correct way. There
are services that will submit your site to hundreds of search
engines every month, for a fee. That can be great for the
hundreds of smaller search engines, but be careful when
submitting to the more important search engines. Submitting too
often can get you banned with the major search engines, so
submit to them manually.
The really important search engines can be responsible for
thousands of visitors every month. Although it won't make or
break your business, having a good rank in many of the major
search engines and directories can be enormously beneficial.
Search engine tips at:
www.redlionbooks.com/1searcheng/sitesoltips61.htm
Strategy # 6 - Viral Marketing
Viral marketing has become a fairly important subject lately.
For those of you new to viral strategies, viral marketing allows
you to multiply your marketing efforts without actually doing
more work. Here are the basics.
First off, we'll start with the (probably overused) example of
Hotmail. When Hotmail started out with its free email services,
it attached a footer to every email message sent out. That
footer said something like "Sign up for your own free Hotmail
account now and send free email." Every time any user of Hotmail
sent a message, that footer was at the end. A lot of people who
received those emails signed up and sent more emails which
signed up more people. It is similar to tipping over the first
domino and watching the rest fall over.
The best viral tools are products that are valuable so that
people will want to spread the word. For example, a free ebook
that is packed with great information and points to your site
can spread as people refer the ebook to others, who visit your
site, download the book, and the process continues.
The key here though, is that the product really has to be
desirable, a great deal. My free ebooks have a retail value of
$34.94 but I give them away in exchange for subscribing to my
free newsletter. That is a great deal and many people wouldn't
hesitate to tell their friends about it.
Strategy # 7 - Giving away value
This is similar to my viral strategy involving free ebooks. But
besides the viral aspect, I also have another reason for giving
away two valuable ebooks.
I want to sign people up for my newsletter, and they are a lot
more likely to do that if I am giving them something valuable.
It's all about what's in it for the customer. I want their
contact information, so I have to put something of value up for
the customer. If your site has something valuable, the visitor
will show their appreciation.
Best of luck to you,
JC Anderl www.Redlionbooks.com, JC@Redlionbooks.com
Visit my site or email me if you have any questions about
marketing or website promotion.
About the author:
JC's website, Redlionbooks.com, specializes in advice about
Internet marketing and web site promotion. Free access to
articles and ebooks, learn how to market your product or service
online at Redlionbooks.com
