If you are at all interested in building a client base, in creating an atmosphere of trust with prospects, in creating a system that enables you to consistently have a list of prospects that are interested in your services, and want to get to know more about you and what you stand for - there is one thing you HAVE to have on your web site:
A big button or box (that stands for out) that asks visitors if they would like to hear from you again.
Now I know a lot of you reading this have your own web site. You may have a web site that is just there as an online brochure. You may have a web site that is there to give basic information about yourself and that's it.
And that's fine if you want your business to stay exactly where it is. That's fine if you are not interested in building an ongoing relationship with prospects. That's fine if you're not interested in easily attracting clients and repeat purchasers that refer you to others, and give you their permission to keep talking to them.
I know not everyone reading this has a business like mine. I sell products and services from my web site. I have a newsletter I send out every week that has an active and growing subscriber base. I am happy and having fun, and my subscribers are learning and happy. And yes, there is some effort that went into getting this system set up, but it was well worth it.
Now I'd like to share with you a rather embarrassing story.
I have been working as a volunteer for the last two years with a marketing organization and have been slightly involved (but not much) with the redesign and update of their web site. I am now the President of this organization and have been thinking of ways to grow the membership and of how to attract more prospects to the group.
One of the other board members, Joe at TMA Guild, was talking about managing customer relationships, building a prospect database and giving something away for free - stuff I teach every day - and a light bulb went off.
And frankly, as soon as that light bulb went off I was quickly very embarrassed.
I teach and coach entrepreneurs this basic information every day. Creating a funnel and putting marketing systems in place - like getting permission to talk to people electronically - is marketing 101. But because this is in a different environment and serves a different purpose I did not think to apply the same principles to this group.
Shame on me.
Then I started thinking about where else I had probably screwed up. I began to think about what types of organizations the principles I teach would NOT apply to, and I can't think of any. Actually, the only one I can think of is people that do not use the internet or email at all, which is a shrinking number of people.
Do these principles apply to you?
Would your business benefit by capturing email addresses - even if you only contact people twice a year with a simple email?
And my second question which is even more important ----
Are you asking for that information on YOUR web site?
Copyright (c) 2007 A Marketing Connection
Reciprocal Links - Think of reciprocal linking as a mini joint venture. Go to any major search engine and search for sites that are related or similar to yours. The majority of webmasters that exchange links with other web sites have a links or resources page as part of their site. This link/resources page is presented as a helpful resource for visitors to assist them in finding similar sites. It also provides a very valuable back-link to your site.
Look for the links page and see if they offer information and instructions on how you should link to their web site. Get in touch with the webmaster and inform him/her that you have linked to their web site and request that they link to your web site in return. Remember to provide the webmaster with the page that you have placed their link on so that they can verify its existence. Always make sure that you provide the webmaster with your web site address and description, so that he/she can put up a reciprocal link to your web site.
If you keep contacting additional web sites on a regular basis, at least 10% of the webmasters that you contact will exchange links with you. You will obtain traffic from your link partners as well as from the search engines. Link popularity is a key part of the search engines algorithm. Remember to only contact webmasters with relevant content web sites that have a links page. Contacting dissimilar web sites can result in spam complaints.
Writing Articles - This stratagem creates viral traffic from myriad angles. The key here is to present a resource box at the end of your article with a link to your web site. Once you write your article you will need to submit it to the vast number of article lists on the internet. There are companies that will charge you a small fee to submit your articles for you, or you can submit them on your own for free but be aware, it is time consuming. Once you submit your articles, there is a huge potential for thousands of visitors to your site. E-zine publishers can send your article to thousands of readers and other publishers will place your article on their web sites. Track the spread of your article using the search engines. You'll be amazed at how it blossoms.
If you have a good resource biography at the end of your article, thousands of surfers may visit your web site. Your rankings will start to go up on the search engines due to high link popularity, creating another source of traffic.
Affiliate Programs - This is probably the most gratifying strategy to create viral traffic to your web site. The thought here is to recruit a limitless number of affiliates that are willing to sell your products for a commission. You never lose money with this strategy because you only pay your affiliates when they make a sale. This strategy will also increase your link popularity since many of the affiliates will send traffic to your web site by linking directly to it. If you do your research you will find companies that can setup an affiliate program for you. An alternative is to purchase software that allows you to setup and manage your own affiliate program.
Free Services - Everybody wants something for nothing. Internet visitors are no different. Providing free services is a strategy that Yahoo and Microsoft have been using for decades. The idea here is to offer a free version of a service and a paid version. If someone upgrades to the paid version of your service they gain access to exclusive products, discounts and many other extra features. This strategy can easily multiply the traffic to your web site if you provide a useful and valuable service. Prospects will refer others to visit your web site generating a boundless flow of traffic.
Manual traffic exchanges - A traffic exchange allows you to visit other web sites in exchange for visitors to your own web site. Many traffic exchanges have a referral system in place. If you refer someone to join the traffic exchange, you receive a percentage of visits to your web site any time your referrals surf the exchange. The key here is to do your research and look for a traffic exchange that has a good anti-cheating system in place. A good anti-cheating system will guarantee that only real visitors are viewing your web site and not a robot script.
So there are a few strategies that can really boost your web site traffic. Execute some or all of these strategies into your marketing plan and you will generate a never ending stream of viral traffic to your web site.
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Both Kelly Robbins & Don Resh are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Kelly Robbins has sinced written about articles on various topics from Sales and Negotiation, Marketing Tool and Web Development. Author of Healthcare Copywriting Secrets Revealed, Kelly Robbins is an award winning copywriter and marketing coach/consultant. She also publishes The Healthcare Marketing Connection (. Kelly Robbins's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.
Don Resh has sinced written about articles on various topics from Games, Writing and Marketing. Don Resh is CEO of WebForce, Inc. A more detailed bio is available at:. Don Resh's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.