It's so
easy to fall into a 'labor of love' - painstakingly revamping our websites
so that they look absolutely 'perfect' ... or pouring our heart and
soul into creating the best product possible, one that's sure to draw
rave reviews.
The problem
is, no matter how great your product or how gorgeous your website, you
need traffic. If people can't find you, they can't buy from you either.
Consistent, dedicated marketing will help you to draw interested prospects
to your business. Here are a few strategies...
1. Search engines. Optimize your pages and submit your site to
the major SEs. If you're able to rank within the top 10 or 20 sites
for a particular key phrase, you'll be treated to a steady stream of
targeted traffic. A good place to learn more about SE optimization is
http://www.searchenginewatch.com/
.
2. Targeted link exchanges. Find other good sites within your
market and offer to trade links. You and your 'link partner' will both
benefit from each other's traffic ... plus some of the major SEs are
now using 'link popularity' to help determine your ranking. 'Zeus' is
a neat little robot that can help you with your linking efforts. Find
it at http://www.cyber-robotics.com/index.htm
.
3. Build your own opt-in newsletter. Your own newsletter gives
you the opportunity to build your credibility and keep in touch with
your customers. You'll be able to market your own products or services
to them as well - and even earn some extra income from advertising sales.
Find a quick tutorial on starting your own newsletter at http://www.buildyourhomebiz.com/ezine/
.
4. Ezine
advertising. Ezines are a very affordable way to reach thousands
of targeted prospects for just a few dollars. A great place to pick
up deals on advertising is
http://www.ezineadauction.com/ .
5. Network through message boards. Join a forum where potential
customers or partners may congregate. Become a contributing and respected
member by offering help and support. Leave your link at the bottom of
your posts; people who have come to know you will click on your link
for more information about you and your business. Careful, though -
it's easy to spend too much time 'chatting'! Search for appropriate
forums at ForumOne, http://www.forumone.com/index/index.php
.
6. Referral marketing. Encourage your customers to refer others
to you. You may want to give them an incentive to do so - for example,
provide them with a discount on their next order, or offer a quality
free gift.
7. Pay-per-click search engines. These SEs offer you the chance
to literally pay for your ranking - a popular option, especially for
people who don't want to fiddle with search engine optimization. You
simply place a bid per 'click' - that is, everytime someone clicks on
your link, you pay the bid amount. More information
is available at http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com/
.
8. Major indexes. Get listed with the popular large human- reviewed
indexes such as Yahoo! ( http://www.yahoo.com/
)
and Open Directory (http://www.dmoz.org
).
This can result in a significant boost in targeted traffic - up to several
hundreds of unique visitors each day!
9. Article
submissions. Write about what you know and offer your articles to
other editors and webmasters in your market. Offer the article for reprint
in exchange for an author byline. Some sites also run syndication networks,
where your article may appear on dozens or even hundreds of sites! There's
always a demand for fresh, original articles.
Ezine directories such as: http://buildyourhomebiz.com/directory.html
are a good source for finding editors that accept articles.
10.
Create a free eBook. Give it away to your visitors - and to other
editors or webmasters within your market. Encourage them to pass it
on. Your business will profit from the free publicity. Free eBooks are
an excellent viral marketing tool; read more in the article, '10 Quick
Tips on How to Create, Distribute, and Profit from Free eBooks', http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/articles/ebooktips.html
.
11.
Joint ventures. Partner with other editors or webmasters within
your market to help promote each other's businesses. This is one of
the easiest and most profitable marketing methods! Examples of JVs include:
ad swaps, newsletter co-opts, barter agreements, special affiliate commissions,
and offering discounts of your own products/services to each other's
customers.
The key here is *consistency*; writing an occasional article or placing
an ad once in a while isn't enough to give you the targeted traffic
necessary to build a solid, steady online income.
There are
lots of ways to market -- start today! Pick something and just do it.
If you don't feel like writing an article, find some potential link
partners. Don't feel like doing that? Then check your pay-per-click
campaign and make any necessary changes.
Commit
yourself to marketing your business -- and hold yourself to it! After
all, it would be a real shame for a great product to go to waste.
:-)
Angela
is the editor of Online Business Basics, an exclusive newsletter for
eBusiness beginners. She offers a 'no hype, no bull' approach to building
a profitable Internet business. Every issue is packed with helpful tips
and useful tools, specially selected to fit a beginner's shoestring
budget. Visit her online today at http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/article.htm