|
|
|
An Affiliate Program that did not work
The saga of an affiliate program that did not work
I came across the idea to *own* a casino in March. I looked at the
various offers, carefully researched, checked for bad references and
finally made a selection.
Readymade casinos, linked...
Become An Instant SEO Forum Expert!
Today I'm going to try something different. For quite some time now I've noticed that the same questions have been asked over and over again in search engine forums. In this article I've tried to pick out the most frequent of those questions and...
Is There A Future For Spam?
Copyright 2005 Niall Roche Will you always be buried underneath a mountain of spam? Is there any light at the end of the tunnel? With the current flood of spam to your inbox and ever more devious practices on the part of spammers you'd be forgiven...
New InSites into the FAST Search Engine . . . an interview with Stephen Baker of Fast, Part 1
New InSites into the FAST Search Engine ...interview with Stephen Baker, Director of Business Development and Marketing by Robin Nobles Of the major engines in the search engine universe, FAST -- aka, alltheweb.com -- is arguably the most unique....
Write A Newsletter To Get Site Visitors To Return (And More)!
________________________________________ Write A Newsletter To Get Site Visitors To Return (And More)! - by Steve Nash (c) Steve Nash - All Rights reserved http://www.howipromotemywebsite.com ________________________________________ [Article...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
If You Build It, Will They Come?
In the world of bricks and mortar retail, we all know that location matters but we also know that we can build a business on a dead end street if enough people know about us. That same principal applies to the web, if you want traffic you must give them a reason to come.
The old adage “If you build it they will come” has no value on the web, truth is that you’re just one of millions of web sites and without proper links, promotion and search engine indexing your site will never get the traffic you need to justify the cost of putting in online.
So how do you promote a new web site? There are tried and true methods that we can use to help build you traffic:
* Targeted banner advertising to help boost your initial site traffic and encourage people to visit your web site.
* Search engine recognition with sites including Google, HotBot, Microsoft, Excite, Infoseek and Lycos.
* Linking from both local and major directory services, is your Chamber listing up-to-date? Have you linked your business from local directories?
* Paid and reciprocal links from industry suppliers, newsletters and resource listings.
* Business cards, letterhead and promotions should always include your web site address.
* Affiliate offers, contests, online articles and expertise will all increase your traffic.
Some of these methods you’ll surely be able to do in house, assign a time and dollar value to each item and determine what part of your overall marketing budget your web site is worth. The web may never be your primary marketing resource but it will always be a primary destination for new prospects and exiting clients.
When your web site has the best content you won’t have to ask people to link to your site, they’ll ask if they can. Remember, if you want people to come to your website give them a reason, and they will.
Giving It Away
One of the best things about being a web surfer is getting stuff for free, whether it’s advice, software, the latest Hollywood blockbuster or a simple set of instructions. You can attract visitors to your web site by giving them something for free, then if your product is good enough, they’ll buy.
I know it works because I’ve seen it work a million times in local stores, put a sign out front of your store and offer free t-shirts or movie passes and you’ll have more walk in traffic than you’d expect. Try the same trick on the Internet and watch people fill out your online forms, people love free stuff but more importantly, they’ll get to you’re your web site and your brand will be bookmarked in their web browser.
The strategy is simple:
* Attract your target audience with free information or cost effective gifts
* Let people know you have what they want at a great price
It works like a charm, provided you’ve build trust, and traffic.
Trust in Us
Lets assume for a minute that your product is something people would want to buy, and we’re going to also assume that your price is competitive, your quality is acceptable and your traffic is reasonable … still no sales? Lets look at why.
The Internet has been labelled the great equalizer but in truth, it’s a huge chaotic mess with thousands of businesses competing for your clients, in that environment an established brand name is going to attract the most clients but why? It’s trust plain and simple.
If people
are going to give you their credit card number over the internet, they want to know that they can trust you, as a business you can build trust with your clients through a few simple practices:
* Make your domain name professional, avoid dashes and numbers
* Include a full mailing address, telephone number and even toll free support if possible
* If your business has a retail location or office, include photographs to help build confidence
* Include a return policy, privacy statement and client testimonials
* When accepting credit cards, use an established payment gateway and make sure client information is secure.
* Take an honest look at your web site, is it in the same league as your major competitors, is it error free, does it look professional?
I hate to break it to you but if your website looks like it was designed in your basement by a kid, people will think you’re the type of business that runs out of the back of a van.
Once your clients trust you, you’ll build not only traffic but sales.
Once They Find You, Give Them What They Want
You have to decide if you want your web site to sit back and wait for clients to come to you, or you want your web site to go get clients. It’s a matter of push vs. pull or in other words, do you want to for them or go to them.
Your site by definition is just sitting there waiting for hits but your internet marketing strategy should include e-mail marketing. Not SPAM, but ‘opt-in’ e-mail programs designed to attract business back to your web site.
Pushing internet content to your clients helps build long term relationships with your clients, after all your business doesn’t want one shot sales, it wants long term clients.
You can optimize your e-mail marketing strategy by getting an invitation to send messages to the client, avoid sending unsolicited e-mail (that’s a sure way to get tossed into the trash) and ensure that your message is formatted clearly.
Building a newsletter mailing list is easy, on both your web site and in your customer locations, create a form for clients to fill out. Be sure to include a checkbox to indicate they want to receive e-mail materials and it’s best to have a privacy policy on hand incase your clients want to know how their data is going to be used.
Now the trick is to create a newsletter, if you don’t have onsite writing talent don’t worry, this is a service your web design or marketing team should be able to provide. Just remember, when a client signs up to your newsletter they’re looking for the most valuable thing you can offer, free expertise.
In your newsletter, include items such as:
* Specials and promotions
* Upcoming sales or special events such as grand openings or anniversaries
* News about new staff, community involvement or contest
* Helpful hints, tutorials or relevant funny stories.
Whatever you do, make sure your newsletter is excellent and regular, nothing less will do.
About the author:
Christopher Ross, UE is the owner of Getaway Graphics, a premier web design and marketing firm, focussing on helping small businesses build web sites that get results. You can contact him at 506-452-1595 or at info@getawaygraphics.com
© Copyright 2005, Christopher Ross. All rights reserved. Please contact author for reprints
|
|
|
|
|
| Mailwasher Anti Spam Software: The Reliable Free Spam Blocker |
| Reliable anti spam and spam blocker software, protect your computer from unwanted email spam. Control spam and stop viruses before you download them. |
| www.mailwasher.net |
|
| EarthLink® spamBlocker - For Windows Users |
| Anytime, anywhere, EarthLink connects people to the power and possibilities of the Internet. Connect to the Internet with High Speed, DSL, Cable, Satellite, ... |
| www.earthlink.net |
|
| FREE Spam Blocker and Email Filter Software to Stop Spam in ... |
| A plugin for Outlook that works for a POP3 account. Available for 2000/XP. |
| www.openfieldsoftware.com |
|
| Spam Blocker - the best spam blocking/filtering software |
| Spam Blocker - the best spam blocking/filtering software. |
| www.adscleaner.com |
|
| Microsoft Outlook SPAM Blocker -- filter spam and junk email with ... |
| Spam Blocker features VBA-enabled filtering technology that integrates tightly with Microsoft Outlook 2000/2002. |
| www.programmingmsaccess.com |
|
| SPAM BLOCKER COALITION – Join the anti-spam fight! |
| The SPAM BLOCKER COALITION is a new grass roots anti spam effort created to fight ... <a href="http://www.killersites.com/antiSpam.php">spam blocker - help ... |
| www.killersites.com |
|
| Free Spam Blocker Download - SpamButcher |
| SpamButcher's spam blocker filter will solve your spam problem. Its advanced spam filtering software can stop spam with up to 98% effectiveness. |
| www.spambutcher.com |
|
| Spam Filter Review 2007 |
| Spam Filter Review - Top Spam Filter Software Reviewed. |
| spam-filter-review.toptenreviews.com |
|
| Cloudmark - Intelligent Messaging Security for Service Providers ... |
| A toolbar for Internet Explorer which blocks sites containing spyware, viruses and worms, and helps protect against identity theft and phishing. |
| www.cloudmark.com |
|
| spamgourmet - free disposable email addresses, spam blocker |
| spamgourmet provides spam protection using on-the-fly self-destructing disposable email addresses. Users can also set up rulesets for trusted or permitted ... |
| www.spamgourmet.com |
|
| Spam Filter for Outlook - Outlook Express and Servers - SPAMfighter |
| Block Spam - Spam Blocker - Anti Spam Software - Block Email Junk - Exchange anti spam - Enterprise Spam Filter - Email Server Spam Filter - Spam and virus ... |
| www.spamfighter.com |
|
| Free Spam Blocker Solutions |
| Free Spam Blocker Solutions: Polesoft Provides You the Safe Solutions: ... Lockspam Outlook is a safe and efficient Free Spam Blocker Solutions which is ... |
| www.polesoft.com |
|
| spamBlocker for Unified Threat Management | WatchGuard ... |
| spamBlocker for Unified Threat Management on WatchGuard Firebox appliances blocks incoming spam. |
| www.watchguard.com |
|
| Msn spamblocker software by MSN Content Plus and others |
| Msn spamblocker. latest reviews ... Reviews newsletter. Free Downloads Msn spamblocker. SpyLOG. catalogue. msn spamblocker at Free Downloads Center ... |
| www.freedownloadscenter.com |
|
| to Give an Answer » WordPress Trackback Spam Solution |
| Enter my new “Mod_Rewrite Trackback Spam Blocker” WordPress plugin (yes, I know, ... Mod Rewrite Trackback Spam Blocker - Gives a line of code to add […] ... |
| blog.mytechaid.com |
|
| Download free applications - WeOnlyDo! Software |
| Click to download SpamBlocker - Challenge-Response anti spam software ... SpamBlocker is a 'proof of concept' application that uses wodPop3 and wodSmtp ... |
| www.weonlydo.com |
|
| SpamBlocker free download Spam Blocker blocks unwanted messages on ... |
| Spam Blocker works with several mailboxes and allows configuring user setting for ... Spam Blocker blocks unwanted advertising messages on the mail server. ... |
| 3d2f.com |
|
| Wired News: Spam Blocker Has Opposite Effect |
| Spam Blocker Has Opposite Effect. [Print story] · [E-mail story] [Rants + Raves]. Page 1 of 1. *. See Also. How and Why the Internet Broke ... |
| www.wired.com |
|
| Home - Spamfo |
| Organized collection of news, reviews and links about unsolicited bulk email (spam). |
| www.spamfo.co.uk |
|
| Open-source spam-blocker gets high marks at Cornell |
| Cornell University's management school is getting ready to deploy an open-source antispam tool that its CIO claims is 99% effective in blocking unwanted ... |
| www.computerworld.com |
|
|