Here's several ways to maximize your Internet presence and get traffic to your
site:
* Email signature lines
* Websites & Lead Capture Sites -
The question most often asked on the Internet is, "How do I get more traffic to
my site?"
You would think that an answer for this question would be extremely simple, but
it really isn't. It isn't that it is so hard to get traffic to web sites. The
problem is that there are so many different avenues of traffic generation you
can choose from for your site.
Some thing to pay attention to when preparing your site(s) for traffic -
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10 second rule - People generally make their decision as to whether ot not they
will stay and read a site in the first 10 seconds. So you basically have 10
seconds to make a great first impression, or they will move on. So put al your
best ammunition within the first 10 seconds of what they see, so they will
stick around to read the rest.
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Call to action - Your site needs to have a call to action... something that
encourages them to do something now. You should make sure you have payment
buttons ready, and maybe a Step1, Step 2, Step 3 for them to follow.
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Explicit directions - They call it browsing for a reason! They are not really
focusing or studying your site, and it is really easy for them to get
distracted or lost. So give them very specific instrcutions on what you want
them to do when they get to your site. For exmaple, tell them to "Print the
Profile, and then click on the testimonials".
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Permanent domain names - You need to own a domain name. It's important to have
a permanent name you will always have, and you can point that name to wherever
you want. What if the website system changes down the road? You don't want to
have thousands of prospects with a website URL that no longer works.
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Customized Cover page options - You have the option of putting your picture,
your story, special instructions, links, html code, and payment buttons on your
site. Make your site unique. Put things on it that wil help your prospects feel
like they know you and give them the information they need.
Write good sales copy. Your site is
basically one big sales letter. Here's the infamous 'Top 10' checklist - does
your sales letter do the following?
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Does it engage the reader on a personal level?
Write like you're talking to your best friend, your grandmother, whomever your
target market is. If it's not personal, it's useless.
Use the words 'you' and 'your' whenever possible - try to forgo the words 'I'
and 'me.' After all, it's not about you -- it's about them.
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Try to incorporate your target market into your
headline. If you're going after car enthusiasts, say 'Car Enthusiasts Usually
Disagree... Except On This One Thing.' If you're going after dog lovers, it
would be 'Dog Lovers Usually Disagree...Except On This One Thing.'
Do everything possible to make your reader identify with the subject matter, to
hook them into reading more.
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Always use the KISS principle when writing (Keep It
Simple Stupid). Don't get lost in your own words - this is not the time to
impress with your astonishing vocabulary - write for the common man/woman.
Don't bore them into clicking away.
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Do you use stories to illustrate your point? Ever
notice how CEO's and politicians always use stories in their speeches? They're
communicating through mental pictures, to get their ideas across in another
way.
Everyone has a different frame of reference - try using a personal story to
produce that 'yes! they're talking about me!' reaction.
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Break it up with bullets. For those readers who are
into skimming, organizing your most important points in bullet form helps to
communicate the benefits FAST.
Put your most important points at the top, in case the person doesn't make it
to the bottom. And there's no rule that says you're only allowed one bullet
list - put one close to the top of the letter, and perhaps another towards the
bottom.
Test, and keep whatever converts best.
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Use benefits over features. Always. They don't care
that the refrigerator has a big vegetable bin or automatic icemaker. They want
to know that it keeps their vegetables from drying out, and their beer/lemonade
refreshingly cold on a hot summer's day.
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Write in your own voice. We're not talking
'Masterpiece Theatre' here. Formality is out; friendly is in. And I give you
permission to start your sentences with 'And' (note how this sentence started!)
and 'Because.'
When writing for the real world, write like you speak.
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How long are your paragraphs? If longer than 2-4
lines, break them up. And keep sentences short - even 2-4 words are ok. Like
this. Short, quick 'eye bites' communicate faster when you're racing against
the clock.
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Focus on one product/service per sales letter.
Period. No exceptions.
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And, finally, watch the grand, sweeping statements.
Using 'Earn $1 Million In Two Days While You Sleep!' won't help build your
credibility. Or conversion level (click!).
If you incorporate these ideas into your sales letter, you're bound to beat the
clock and begin building a better conversion rate.
* Getting the Clicks and Traffic
Getting traffic to your site is like putting gas in your car. You can have a
great engine, but it won't go anywhere without the gas. Likewise, you can have
a perfect sales letter - but without traffic, it's just pretty to look at.
Set Up 'Multiple Streams of Traffic'
Key words & Meta tags
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Search Engine Submissions
Almost everyone starts right here. They know that search engines bring 84% of
the traffic to most web sites, so they know they have to submit to them.
To achieve the top rankings in the search engines will take some serious work.
You have millions of competitors, but you have an advantage. You are willing to
learn and do what it takes to get to the top.
To achieve the top traffic building positions, you will need to study
everything you can on search engine positioning and meta tags. Then, you will
have to test. Use a tool such as Web Position to check your rankings, examine
your competitors who are beating you, and then edit your pages.
If you are willing to keep going through this process and learning each step
along the rise of your rankings, you too could soon be generating 100s of hits
daily from top search engine positions.
* Pay-per-click
One technique is pay per click advertising, or PPC. You write out and place an
advertisement in a search engine, list yourself under keywords of your
choosing, and bid on the placement of your ads. This narrows your field to the
people who are actively searching for your products and services.
If someone finds the ad and clicks it, that person goes to your website, and
you pay the bid price. As a rule, the higher you bid, the higher your ad goes
in the list of search results for a certain keyword, and the more people will
go to your site.
PPC can be used to widen your reach, but it can be very expensive, especially
if people click your ad only out of curiosity, or if you bid on more keywords
than your budget can handle. However, PPC can get you customers and increase
your profits. If done well, it can earn you money.
Here are 7 tips to get the most out of PPC.
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Get 10 Specific Keywords. You don't want
to pick something general like "home business", because there will be hundreds
of thousands of other bidders waiting to jump on those same keywords. Be
specific. Try "home business mom computer" or "best work at home business mlm
." Select a maximum of ten words or phrases, just to test the waters and see
how your potential customers respond.
If the first ten keyword phrases succeed in getting you clicks, then you can
research additional keyword phrases which are not as specific. However, if your
first try yields less than satisfactory results, then try another set of
keywords. Be prepared to spend money until you find what works.
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Write truthful, meaningful ads . Don't
make outrageous claims or giveaways. If you do this, web users will click on
your ads and storm the site. The customers click, you pay, but the customers
may not buy. So, you lose.
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Write a short, but sweet ad that avoids vague
language. Avoid using words such as "free," "low cost," "extremely
effective," and "cheap." Tailor your ads to fit the keyword, and if you can,
include your prices on the ads. This way, you will get a buyer who is ready and
willing to actually buy a package, instead of curious passer-bys.
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Budget Your Bid. It's tempting to go all
out and set your prices, especially if you think you'll make money. But what if
you don't? Set a monthly budget of about $100 for your bids, and bid just right
– bid too high and you will run out of money, bid too low and your ads won't
show up.
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Avoid getting into bidding wars. This can
be an especially slippery slope... especially with another advertiser who has a
much larger budget than you. Don't waste your time thinking about your bids.
Instead, invest your time in designing what your ad is linked to.
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Know When to Stop. PPC ad campaigns can
lead more buyers to you, but take care to check profit against spending. If you
have already spent double your advertising budget, but have had little or no
sales, consider dropping your campaign. You can also measure your progress in
clicks. A total of 300 clicks is average for any ad. If your ad has reached 300
clicks and you have made no sales yet, then terminate your PPC project.
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Don't give up too easily - Equally as
important as knowing when to stop is knowing that all is not yet lost and you
can still go on. Running a web-based business means investing time, money, and
effort, so keep your PPC up and running as long as you are raking money in.
PPC, after all, may first mean pay-per-click, but, if you're successful, can
soon mean Profiting Perfectly in Cash.
* Emails & Autoresponders
It's a FACT that 81% of website sales occur between the 5th & 7th contact from
the seller.
Who wants to do all that follow-up with hundreds on leads? An Autoresponder
saves you tons of time by following up for you.
An AR is a set of pre-written letters you would want every new prospect to
receive. Let’s say you have a set of 10 favorite letters you like to send your
prospects. Well, instead of sending those same 10 emails over and over, the
system does it for you. It keeps track of exactly what letter they need and
when they need it. It works around the clock.. Even while you sleep.
For example… let’s say you got 10 new leads today. Well, you’d want all 10 of
the to get letter #1 immediately. Well, let’s say tomorrow you get 15 more new
leads. You’d want those 15 to get letter #1, since it’s their first day, and
you’d want the previous 10 leads to get letter #2, since it’s their second day.
Then let’s say the following day you get 20 more new leads. Well, those 20
would get Letter #1, the 15 from yesterday would get letter #2, and the
original 10 would get letter #3. And all that happens automatically, without
one single thought from you. The computer software system does it all. And to
top it off, it inserts the prospects’ names and signs your name and lists your
website and phone number at the bottom so it really looks like you wrote it
yourself just to that one person.
You can get a great auto responder with letters already written at
www.networkercentral.com . The are one of our official lead vendors, and they
will gladly drop any leads you purchase from them directly into their AR system
for you so you don’t have to do anything at all.
Some people will use an AR when they can’t get ahold of people. It's a great
way to reach someone you have not been able to reach by phone to let them know
you have been trying.
Just be careful of the new spam laws… be careful not to import leads from one
place into another place or another autoresponder. You need to use the
autoresponder that is attached to the lead vendor you purchased the lead from,
or use a stand-alone autoresponder like Aweber that will allow you to let
prospects subscribe themselves directly to you. (see link below)
Resources:
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Networker Central Autoresponder & Management system -
www.coastal.networkercentral.com. Get 10 free days to try it out and 10
free leads... just for checking it out!
* Ezines
The biggest bang for your marketing buck will come from classified advertising
in ezines. For $10 - $50 per classified ad, you can reach thousands of
potential customers in your targeted market.
With thousands of different ezines available, you can expand into hundreds of
them once you find a classified ad and follow-up system that works for your
product or service.
By testing your little classified ads and expanding into more and more ezines
every week, you could quickly start reaching millions of people weekly and
earning an income to match.
* Internet Classified Ads
There are tons of places to put up classified ads that will get good exposure,
and thousands of sites that are really cheap or even totally free. You can
check out sites like AOL, Yahoo, Excite, Craig’s List, etc. One way to find a
great place to advertise is to go to wwe.google.com and search for "work at
home classifieds"... or something like that. That will turn up tons of sites
you might want to advertise on.
* Banner Ads & Exchanges
What is a banner ad? It is a picture or image that people see when they go to a
website that advertises your site and they can click on it and go see what you
have to offer.
Banner Ads on Individual Sites
When people think of banner ads they almost always think of the major search
engines or major sites online. Well, I have been advertising lately with
banners, and I can tell you something.
Making money using banner ads on these high traffic high cost sites is
extremely difficult and risky.
These sites will charge you $20 per 1,000 impressions to general audiences and
$50 per 1,000 impressions to targeted markets.
By seeking out individual sites who get high traffic (50,000 hits to 1,000,000
hits a month), you can actually get rates of $1 - $10 per 1,000 impressions of
your banner ads. By finding 10 - 20 of these sites, you can quickly build
yourself an overwhelming river of traffic to your site for a much lower cost
than the major search engines.
Participate in Leveraged Banner Exchanges
Regular banner exchanges don't work that well. Although they can produce a few
extra free hits a month for your site, they never seem to give you the kind of
traffic building leverage you need to grow to hundreds of thousands of hits a
month.
A new wave of banner exchanges is growing though at unprecedented rates. What
they do that separates them apart is that they will give you a 5% to 20% credit
of banner impressions of anyone's site that you refer. If you refer a site
which gets a million hits a month, you would get 200,000 free impressions a
month extra.
(One of the best is Bannerz4Free at http://www.bannerz4free.cjb.net, not only
they are one of the best banner exchanges but they are also giving away
1,000,000 impressions to one lucky member each month.)
* Reciprocal link exchanges / Trade links
If you develop a strong content oriented site you can persuade thousands of
other webmasters to link to you or to trade links with you. There are even a
few consultants online who have developed linking campaigns and have achieved a
million hits a month or more for their customers within 90 days by linking with
the right sites.
You can do this yourself. The key is to develop content people want to link to
and then get out there and make the contacts by visiting people's sites,
sending out personalized emails to webmasters you have visited, and networking
in discussion groups.
Why would you want to do this? Because the more sites that link to you, the
more popular your site looks to the search engines, and the higher score your
site will receive. The higher score it receives, the closer your site will
appear towards the top of the search results. So getting others to link to you
is a great strategy to help you climb the ladder quicker.
* Posting & Message Boards
* Instant Messaging - Autoresponses