In this world you only have two types of assets: Money and Time.
The easiest way to drive traffic to your site is to buy it. But
if you are an Internet marketing beginner you probably don't have
much money to invest in traffic building. In that case, you will
need to invest your time.
The following traffic techniques are time consuming, but they are
100% free and will get you a fair amount of targeted traffic. If
your site is properly optimized for monetization, you will soon
be earning enough money to invest in buying traffic, and save
your precious time to build new money making websites.
So here are 11 surefire free traffic techniques:
This tip is so obvious it will not even be counted, but it is
often overlooked: submit your site to the major search engines
(Google, Yahoo, MSN) and to as many other search engines as you
can.
1. Use this proven Bum Marketing technique, write 5 to 10
articles and submit them to the free article directories. Of
course you must include a link to your site in the article itself
or in your bio box. The articles should be optimized for a
keyword your site is targeting.
2. Find blogs related to your topic and leave useful comments
with a backlink to your site. In the same way you could go to
answers.yahoo.com, and answer questions related to your site’s
topic. Off course put a link to your site in each of your
answers. Another thing you should consider is joining the most
popular forums that deal with your site's topic and becoming an
active poster. Include a link to your site in your signature.
3. This one can be very powerful. Write a press release about
your site and submit it to press release sites such as prweb.com.
If you are not familiar with press releases, take some time to do
a little research: a press release is not written like an
article.
4. If you are happy with a product or service you have used,
write an unbiased testimonial and trade it for a backlink to your
site.
5. Start a blog on blogger.com and a blog on wordpress.com, link
them to your site and submit them to the hundreds of free blog
directories. This will get you plenty of quality traffic as long
as you keep your blogs updated.
6. Try posting ads with a link to your site on all the free
classified ad sites you can find (such as craigslist.com). The
best ones will allow you to post a live link. But don’t neglect
the other ones. If your ad is well written, people will go out of
their way and type your url in their browser. Off course you must
post in the appropriate category.
7. An easy way to get extra free traffic is to add a link to your
site in your email signature.
8. Start a page on myspace.com and on any other high page rank
social bookmarking site you can find. In the same way, go to
Squidoo.com, open a few accounts, create a few lenses and link
them to your site.
9. Submit a viral video to youtube.com. You don’t really need any
video producing know-how as a simple PowerPoint slideshow with
some background music will do the job perfectly.
10. Search your main keywords on Google and see if you can
exchange reciprocal links with related websites that come up in
the top results.
11. You could write an ebook or a short report (say 10 to 20
pages), or find a product with giveaway rights that you can brand
with a link to your site. Then submit it to all the free ebook
directories you can find online.
This last tip is not free, but is worth the extra buck. Check out
the misspellings or variations of your domain name, or those of
your competitors. If you find a good available domain, grab it
and redirect the traffic to your site.
Now all this looks like a full time job! These techniques work,
but you don’t have to use them all at once. Just pick the one you
feel the best with and act now. Invest 30 minutes to an hour
daily in building your free traffic. Then step to your next
favorite technique and within a few weeks you should be earning
enough money to afford to buy traffic and concentrate your time
and efforts on building your online business.
A Free Advertising Service
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Lead Generation For A Profitable Business
Lead Generation is generally regarded as necessary to run a
business. Whether you have a Fortune 500 company or a small
home-based operation, people who are interested in what you have
to offer are essential if that business is to be viable and you
are to make a profit.
Of course, word of mouth benefits all sorts or businesses - and
there are ways of stimulating this - but getting started in a
small business, or growing an already existing operation,
requires more proactive steps.
A common approach is to buy leads. However, very often buyers
will simply lose their money doing this, especially if you buy
generic leads or those who've shown only a marginal interest in
your business.
One of the worst strategies would be buying a list of email
addresses for generic leads, especially those sold to multiple
users. When someone receives an email and doesn't know who you
are, forget about selling to that person. You can send out many
thousands of emails and the response will be negligible - except
for hostile, abusive replies!
Safer, and more profitable, is developing an automatic lead
generation system that is either free or else costs very little
to set up and maintain. In particular, you require the exact
steps that will put your lead generation on auto-pilot -
techniques that come with step-by-step instructions. The yellow
brick road will then be paved with gold.
If your business requires phone numbers, this can be taken into
account when you set up your free lead generation system. Design
it so that your leads are not only pre-qualified but you are able
to obtain telephone numbers at this time.
Postal leads are another solution - meaning the snail-mail
variety. This is also risky, as well as being expensive. For
instance, a common mistake is to mail a full package to
unqualified leads. A better, and cheaper, approach is to first
send a post card so that you aren't incurring costs on people who
simply aren't interested or who may have already joined your
program.
However, it isn't easy to even recover costs with postcards. Many
find it really hard.
It isn't all just doom and gloom, though. You still need leads
and there are methods which enable you to set up an automatic
lead generation system, put them into an autoresponder for a
series of emails, and send them a postcard later! However, to
just buy leads and mail postcards has been a huge money loser for
thousands of people.
The secret is to pre-qualify. The essential ingredient in
building a lead generation system is to be sure you pre-qualify
them for your offer! Fortunately, there are free and low-cost
methods for doing this. Some of them will be mentioned briefly
here. You should follow-up with a fuller, in-depth study of
each.
Method 1. Viral List Builders. Techniques that encourage users
to pass the product onto others, such as ebooks, jokes, cartoons,
pictures, and important information.
Method 2. Ad Co-Op Publishing. Co-operative ventures with others
who agree to place your advertising on their web pages in
exchange for you doing the same with their ads.
Method 3. Forum Tricks. There are thousands of forums covering
just about every topic. These provide opportunities to become
known and to introduce readers to your informal advertising, as
with your forum signature.
Method 4. Article Marketing Strategies. Articles are valuable as
sources of content and information, as well as providing back
links to your web site and pages.
Method 5. Special Bonuses. There are many ways incentives can be
used to join your email list and to convert visitors to buyers.
Method 6. Reverse Marketing. Join every offer you can find that
is related to your market and contact the person making that
offer. They have already demonstrated an interest in your
particular niche and are likely to require more quality
information.
Method 7. Joint Ventures. Contact others who have shown a
similar interest and invite them to JV with you. They provide
leads and you just close the sales, offering a discount to their
list.
Many of the costly lead generation approaches are costly failures
for internet marketers wanting a profitable online business.
However, it is possible to set up a successful low cost system
that will automatically capture leads and build a long-term,
profitable relationship with them.
A Free Advertising Service
business. Whether you have a Fortune 500 company or a small
home-based operation, people who are interested in what you have
to offer are essential if that business is to be viable and you
are to make a profit.
Of course, word of mouth benefits all sorts or businesses - and
there are ways of stimulating this - but getting started in a
small business, or growing an already existing operation,
requires more proactive steps.
A common approach is to buy leads. However, very often buyers
will simply lose their money doing this, especially if you buy
generic leads or those who've shown only a marginal interest in
your business.
One of the worst strategies would be buying a list of email
addresses for generic leads, especially those sold to multiple
users. When someone receives an email and doesn't know who you
are, forget about selling to that person. You can send out many
thousands of emails and the response will be negligible - except
for hostile, abusive replies!
Safer, and more profitable, is developing an automatic lead
generation system that is either free or else costs very little
to set up and maintain. In particular, you require the exact
steps that will put your lead generation on auto-pilot -
techniques that come with step-by-step instructions. The yellow
brick road will then be paved with gold.
If your business requires phone numbers, this can be taken into
account when you set up your free lead generation system. Design
it so that your leads are not only pre-qualified but you are able
to obtain telephone numbers at this time.
Postal leads are another solution - meaning the snail-mail
variety. This is also risky, as well as being expensive. For
instance, a common mistake is to mail a full package to
unqualified leads. A better, and cheaper, approach is to first
send a post card so that you aren't incurring costs on people who
simply aren't interested or who may have already joined your
program.
However, it isn't easy to even recover costs with postcards. Many
find it really hard.
It isn't all just doom and gloom, though. You still need leads
and there are methods which enable you to set up an automatic
lead generation system, put them into an autoresponder for a
series of emails, and send them a postcard later! However, to
just buy leads and mail postcards has been a huge money loser for
thousands of people.
The secret is to pre-qualify. The essential ingredient in
building a lead generation system is to be sure you pre-qualify
them for your offer! Fortunately, there are free and low-cost
methods for doing this. Some of them will be mentioned briefly
here. You should follow-up with a fuller, in-depth study of
each.
Method 1. Viral List Builders. Techniques that encourage users
to pass the product onto others, such as ebooks, jokes, cartoons,
pictures, and important information.
Method 2. Ad Co-Op Publishing. Co-operative ventures with others
who agree to place your advertising on their web pages in
exchange for you doing the same with their ads.
Method 3. Forum Tricks. There are thousands of forums covering
just about every topic. These provide opportunities to become
known and to introduce readers to your informal advertising, as
with your forum signature.
Method 4. Article Marketing Strategies. Articles are valuable as
sources of content and information, as well as providing back
links to your web site and pages.
Method 5. Special Bonuses. There are many ways incentives can be
used to join your email list and to convert visitors to buyers.
Method 6. Reverse Marketing. Join every offer you can find that
is related to your market and contact the person making that
offer. They have already demonstrated an interest in your
particular niche and are likely to require more quality
information.
Method 7. Joint Ventures. Contact others who have shown a
similar interest and invite them to JV with you. They provide
leads and you just close the sales, offering a discount to their
list.
Many of the costly lead generation approaches are costly failures
for internet marketers wanting a profitable online business.
However, it is possible to set up a successful low cost system
that will automatically capture leads and build a long-term,
profitable relationship with them.
A Free Advertising Service
Smart Ways To Use The Internet
The internet is an extremely over-hyped area of opportunity but
here are several tested, proven, practical and almost universally
valuable uses.
To begin, you need to create a website for your business, not so
much as a means of acquiring customers via cyberspace, but a
customer service, education, and information center. For example,
your website could offer answers to all the commonly asked
questions, diagrams, etc. accessible free, 24 hours a day. You
could even make a portion of your site "access restricted," for
customers, clients, subscribers, or "members" only, adding
mystique to your marketing, and adding perceived value for your
clientele!
This technique would work whether you have a brick and mortar or
internet based business. For example, a restaurant could do this
with "secret recipes" and special VIP offers; a clothing retailer
with etiquette and fashion tips and special offers, and so on. Of
course, you'll also want a promotional area on your website
designed for new customers and you'll then want to add your
website address to video brochures, audio recordings and
infomercials for your advertising and marketing materials.
Second, begin collecting and organizing the email addresses of
your customers and collecting the email address of visitors to
your site.
With the list, you can do virtually free, push button marketing
anytime you like, as often as you like. You can send out an email
newsletter to your customers, or other information like tip
sheets.
Let's say you have a rather ordinary business; kitchen and bath
business, for example. Here are a few of the things you might
transmit by email to your customer list:
1. Resources to upgrade your countertops to granite or marble
2. Cabinet grade tips and suggestions
3. Special offers for new plumbing fixtures
4. Tips on determining the grade of cabinet materials
5. New product information
Keep in mind, regardless of your business or product you can use
the above techniques for creating and marketing your website and
business.
Third, in seeking publicity from the media, being able to fax,
email or mail very brief, provocative news releases that refer
the recipients to your website for more information is very
useful.
Everybody in the media is online. And, some are lazy, so if they
can research a story without leaving their chair, believe me,
that's the way they're going to do it. If you go the route of
writing articles for publication in your industry journals or
article forums, you can even post a whole collection of them on
your site, and invite any publication to download and use
whatever they like.
In summary of my advice to most business owners about the
internet: do Not be seduced, do Not buy into the hype and expect
miracles or invest inordinate amounts of time or money. Do Not
let the internet take away from your commitment to more reliable,
predictable, results-measurable advertising and marketing media.
But DO get involved. At whatever pace is comfortable for you,
begin learning about the internet, getting your business on the
Net, and experimenting with practical applications like those
just described. Proceed calmly, deliberately, strategically.
Above all else, Just Do It!
A Free Advertising Service
Why Not Join My Free World Wide Web?
here are several tested, proven, practical and almost universally
valuable uses.
To begin, you need to create a website for your business, not so
much as a means of acquiring customers via cyberspace, but a
customer service, education, and information center. For example,
your website could offer answers to all the commonly asked
questions, diagrams, etc. accessible free, 24 hours a day. You
could even make a portion of your site "access restricted," for
customers, clients, subscribers, or "members" only, adding
mystique to your marketing, and adding perceived value for your
clientele!
This technique would work whether you have a brick and mortar or
internet based business. For example, a restaurant could do this
with "secret recipes" and special VIP offers; a clothing retailer
with etiquette and fashion tips and special offers, and so on. Of
course, you'll also want a promotional area on your website
designed for new customers and you'll then want to add your
website address to video brochures, audio recordings and
infomercials for your advertising and marketing materials.
Second, begin collecting and organizing the email addresses of
your customers and collecting the email address of visitors to
your site.
With the list, you can do virtually free, push button marketing
anytime you like, as often as you like. You can send out an email
newsletter to your customers, or other information like tip
sheets.
Let's say you have a rather ordinary business; kitchen and bath
business, for example. Here are a few of the things you might
transmit by email to your customer list:
1. Resources to upgrade your countertops to granite or marble
2. Cabinet grade tips and suggestions
3. Special offers for new plumbing fixtures
4. Tips on determining the grade of cabinet materials
5. New product information
Keep in mind, regardless of your business or product you can use
the above techniques for creating and marketing your website and
business.
Third, in seeking publicity from the media, being able to fax,
email or mail very brief, provocative news releases that refer
the recipients to your website for more information is very
useful.
Everybody in the media is online. And, some are lazy, so if they
can research a story without leaving their chair, believe me,
that's the way they're going to do it. If you go the route of
writing articles for publication in your industry journals or
article forums, you can even post a whole collection of them on
your site, and invite any publication to download and use
whatever they like.
In summary of my advice to most business owners about the
internet: do Not be seduced, do Not buy into the hype and expect
miracles or invest inordinate amounts of time or money. Do Not
let the internet take away from your commitment to more reliable,
predictable, results-measurable advertising and marketing media.
But DO get involved. At whatever pace is comfortable for you,
begin learning about the internet, getting your business on the
Net, and experimenting with practical applications like those
just described. Proceed calmly, deliberately, strategically.
Above all else, Just Do It!
A Free Advertising Service
Why Not Join My Free World Wide Web?
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