How can you get more visitors to your website?
What can you do to stimulate traffic?
Here's the
3rd checklist of 10 items you need to consider.
Many of these you're probably doing already,
others you meant to do and forgot about,
still others you've never heard of. Of course,
a great deal has been written about this.
While we're not breaking any new ground
here, we've tried to summarize some of the
most important techniques.
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Click here for Part 1
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Click here for Part 2
E-Mail
Strategies (cont.)
Don't neglect e-mail as an important way
to bring people to your website. Just don't
spam. That is, don't send bulk unsolicited
e-mails without permission to people with
whom you have no relationship.
21. Publish an E-Mail
Newsletter
While it's a big commitment in time, publishing
a monthly e-mail newsletter ("ezine")
is one of the very best ways to keep in
touch with your prospects, generate trust,
develop brand awareness, and build future
business. It also helps you collect e-mail
addresses from those who visit your site
but aren't yet ready to make a purchase.
Ask for an e-mail address and first name
so you can personalize the newsletter. You
can distribute your newsletter using something
such as: iContact
22. Send Offers to Your
Visitors and Customers
Your own list of customers and site visitors
who have given you permission to contact
them will be your most productive list.
Send offers, coupon specials, product updates,
etc. Personalizing the subject line and
the message may increase the results.
23. Rent targeted e-mail
lists
We abhor "spam," bulk untargeted,
unsolicited e-mail, and you'll pay a very
stiff price in a ruined reputation and cancelled
services if you yield to temptation here.
But the direct marketing industry has developed
targeted e-mail lists you can rent -- lists
consisting of people who have agreed to
receive commercial e-mail messages. These
lists cost £20 to £200 per thousand
or 2p to 20p per name. Do a smaller test
first to determine the quality of the list.
Your best bet is to find an e-mail list
broker to help you with this project --
you'll save money and get experienced help
for no additional cost.
Miscellaneous Strategies
24. Promote Your Site
in Online Forums and Blogs
The Internet offers thousands of very
targeted e-mail based discussion lists,
online forums, blogs, and Usenet news groups
made up of people with very specialized
interests. Use Google Groups to find appropriate
sources (groups.google.com). Don't bother
with news groups consisting of pure "spam."
Instead, find groups where a serious dialog
is taking place. Don't use aggressive marketing
and overtly plug your product or service.
Rather, add to the discussion in a helpful
way and let the "signature" at
the end of your e-mail message do your marketing
for you. People will gradually get to know
and trust you, visit your site, and do business
with you.
25. Announce a Contest
People like getting something free. If
you publicize a contest or drawing available
on your site, you'll generate more traffic
than normal. Make sure your contest rules
are legal. Prizes should be designed to
attract individuals who fit a demographic
profile describing your best customers.
26. Ask Visitors to Bookmark
Your Site
It seems so simple, but make sure you
ask visitors to bookmark your site or save
it in their Favorites list. Why don't you
bookmark the article you're reading right
now? You know you'll want to find it again
soon.
27. Exchange Ads with
Complementary Businesses
Banner exchange programs don't work well
these days. But consider exchanging e-mail
newsletter ads with complementary businesses
to reach new audiences. Just be sure that
your partners are careful where they get
their mailing list or you could be in trouble
with the CAN-SPAM Act.
28. Devise Viral Marketing
Promotion Techniques
So-called viral marketing uses the communication
networks (and preferably the resources)
of your site visitors or customers to spread
the word about your site exponentially.
Word-of-mouth, PR, creating "buzz,"
and network marketing are offline models.
The classic example is the free e-mail service,
hotmail.com, that includes a tagline about
their service at the end of every message
sent out, so friends tell friends, who tell
friends.
Paid Advertising
Strategies
None of the approaches described above is
"free," since each takes time
and energy. But if you want to grow your
business more rapidly, there comes a point
when you need to pay for increased traffic.
Advertising is sold in one of three ways:
(1) traditional CPM (cost per thousand views),
(2) pay per click (PPC), and (3) pay per
action, otherwise known as an affiliate
program or lead generation program. Do some
small tests first to determine response.
Then calculate your return on investment
(ROI) before spending large amounts. Here
are some methods:
29. Buy a Text Ad in an
E-Mail Newsletter
Some of the best buys are small text ads
in e-mail newsletters targeted at audiences
likely to be interested in your products
or services. Many small publishers aren't
sophisticated about advertising and offer
attractive rates. Banner ads get such a
low click-through rate (0.2%) these days
that I don't recommend paying much for them.
Banner ads typically cost about 25p to 50p
per thousand page views.
30. Begin an Affiliate
Program
Essentially, a retailer's affiliate program
pays a commission to other sites whose links
to the retailer result in an actual sale.
The goal is to build a network of affiliates
who have a financial stake in promoting
your site. If you're a merchant you, need
to (1) determine the commission you are
willing to pay (consider it your advertising
cost), (2) select a company to set up the
technical details of your program, and (3)
promote your program to get the right kind
of affiliates who will link to your site.
Consider affiliate management software.
We certainly haven't exhausted ways to
promote your site, but these will get you
started. To effectively market your site,
you need to spend some time adapting these
strategies to your own market and capacity.
Right now, why don't you make an appointment
to go over this checklist with someone in
your organisation, and make it the basis
for your new Internet marketing strategy?
::
Click here for Part 1
::
Click here for Part 2
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