Tips For Small Businesses

There is one hard and fast rule in generating income for your website: A steady flow of website traffic. If no one goes to your site, it hardly bares a chance of generating an income. Many sites have tried and failed in doing so, and these results to the sites demise. It takes money to maintain an income generating site; it also takes money to make money.

BUT, it doesn’t take a whole caboodle of cash to generate website traffic for your site.

Ever wonder how does big hit sites drive traffic top their site? Most of them are spending tons of money to drive the traffic to their sites, investing in many advertising campaigns and different forms of marketing schemes and gimmickries. This is all worthwhile because, well, they are what they are now, high earning, big hitting websites.

You don’t have to do this if you don’t really have their resources. There are many ways to generate low cost website traffic without having to spend what you don’t have or can’t afford. Many people have banked on high cost methods and have ended up losing their shirt over it.

Here I present to you the Top five ways to generate low cost website traffic that could help your site a whole lot. Even if you only get a small percentage of successful visitors in to client ratio it still works especially if you get a high number of website traffic.

Exchange Links
This is a sure and proven method. Rarely would you see a site where there is no link to another site. Many webmasters are willing to exchange links with one another so that they could produce more public awareness about their sites. You’ll soon see and feel the sudden upsurge of the traffic coming in to your site from other sites.

A major prerequisite in exchanging links with other sites is having the same niche or content as the other site. They should share a common subject so that there is continuity in the providing of service and information to what interests your target traffic.

Exchanging links also boosts your chances of getting a high ranking in search engine results. It is common knowledge that search engines ranks high sites that have inbound and outbound theme-related links. With a good ranking position in the search engines, you will generate more traffic in your website without the high costs.

Traffic Exchange
This is like exchanging links but on a different higher level. This may cost a bit more than exchanging or trading links but could be made cheaper because you get to earn credits. You can use those credits when viewing others traffic, while you earn credits when someone views yours.

Traffic exchange services are the viewing of another’s site or page. This is done vice versa where a site can use your sites contents and so can you to his or her site. You both benefit from each others efforts to generate traffic. The other sites visitors can go to your pages and know more about your site as well as theirs. Once again the public awareness of your sites existence is boosted.

Write and Submit Articles
There are many e-zines and online encyclopedias in the internet which provides free space for articles to be submitted. If you want to save costs, you can do the articles yourself. There are many freelance writers who are willing to write for you for a small fee, but to save money, it is wise to do those articles yourself.

Write articles that are themed along with the niche of your site. Write something that you have expertise on so that when they read it, they can feel your knowledge about the subject and will be eager to go to your site. Write articles that produce tips and guidelines to the subject or niche your site has.

Include a resource box at the end of your article that can link them to your site. Write a little about yourself and your site. If you provide a light, information-laden and interesting article, they will go to your site for more.

Make a Newsletter.
This may sound like hard work because of all the articles you may need to use to build a newsletter but on the contrary, this is not so. There are many writers and sites that are willing to provide free articles as long as they can get their name in on your newsletter. This will also provide free advertising for them as well.

As your newsletter gets pass around, you can widen your public awareness and build an opt-in list that can regularly visit your site.

Join Online Communities and Forums
This only requires your time and nothing else. You can share your knowledge and expertise with many online communities as well as your website. You can get free advertising when you go to forums that have the same subject or niche with your site.

Share your two cents and let them see how knowledgeable you are with the subject. As you build your reputation, you also build the reputation of your site, making it a reputable and honest business that could be frequented and trusted by many people.

A study by Sharpe Partners, an interactive marketing agency, revealed that 89% of adult Internet users in America share content with others via e-mail. This is excellent news for those companies who use self-propelling word-of-mouse” e-mail techniques to sell their products.

The study generated some interesting results regarding the type of content that is most often forwarded, as well.  The most popular content is humorous material.

The second most popular category is news, followed by healthcare and medical information, religious and spiritual material, games, business and personal finance information and sports/hobbies… in that order. So it is easy to see that humor is the best content for your viral e-mail campaign.

Cartoons, jokes and funny video clips are among the things that can be added to an e-mail to insure that it will go viral. People will want to pass along something that makes them laugh.

They are a lot more likely to hit the forward button and send your email to their friends and relatives if it is an “advertainment” rather than an advertisement.

Not along ago, about 35 million people got an e-mail containing a picture taken in Disneyland. It took a minute to see it but there was Donald Duck lying prone in front of the famous Cinderella Castle.  The title of the picture was “Bird Flu has hit Disneyland”. It was a viral e-mail advertising Disneyland and used the edgy strategy of making light of what’s serious… and it works.

I’d guess that most people who own a computer have seen that picture… and thus the advertisement for Disneyland.  The bird flu epidemic is newsworthy and has the potential to attract an enormous amount of attention to any brand that might, for whatever reason, associate itself with it.

Remember that people are much more likely to share a joke or a funny picture than anything else so you would be well advised to include humor in your e-mail campaign.

Here are six ideas to help you start your viral marketing campaign:

1.    Purchase the branding rights to a viral E-book. Allow people to give away your free E-book to their visitors. Then, their visitors will also give it away. This will just continue to spread your ad all over the Internet.

2.    If you have the ability to set up a forum or other bulletin board, you really have a great tool. Allow people to use your online discussion board for their own website. Some people don't have one. Just include your banner ad at the top of the board.

3.    Do you have a knack for web design? Create some templates, graphics, etc. and upload them to your site. Then, allow people to give away your free web design graphics, fonts, templates, etc. Just include your ad on them or require people to link directly to your web site. Make sure that you include a link back to your site in the copyright notice and require them to keep your copyright notice in tact.

4.    Write an E-book. Allow people to place an advertisement in your free E-book if, in exchange, they give away the E-book to their web visitors or E-zine subscribers.

5.    Write articles that pertain to your product or service. Allow people to reprint your articles on their website, in their E-zine, newsletter, magazine or E-books. Include your resource box and the option for article reprints at the bottom of each article.

6.    You can easily find products on the Internet that will sell you a license allowing you to distribute the product free of charge to other people. Look for those products that provide "branding rights". That is where you can include your own name, website, and contact information.

Advanced website traffic tactics might sound daunting, but if you make it low cost then you have nothing but a win-win situation. Employ low cost advanced website traffic tactics and you're in for a huge online success.

What are these low cost advanced website traffic tactics anyway? Surprise yourself by finding out that some of these tactics you can practice without having to spend a cent!

1. Write an article.
You write an article, mention your site, submit it to e-zines and garner traffic from curious visitors. It's as simple as that. Don't just stop at one website - post your site anywhere possible! Who knows how many hits this low cost advanced website traffic tactic will bring!

2. Exchange links.
Never underestimate the power of link exchange. This is a low cost advanced website traffic tactic that people tend to overlook. How to find out where to do the link exchange? Easy: type your website's keywords in a major search engine, visit each and every of the top results and ask for the link exchange.

3. Get involved in forums.
Look for forums highly related to your website and make your presence known. Make online friends and let them know about your website. This is an advanced website traffic tactic that advertises subtly but works effectively. Good thing about this is it doesn't cost you anything at all!

4. Advanced website traffic needs advanced tools.
The www world is rich with tools that churn out impressive results. Software to try out are those which take care of links and keywords. Once this is taken care of, the rest of this internet marketing job will be easy!

5. Power up with meta tags.
Meta tags are what search engines are looking for so it can include your site in the top results. Putting up meta tags in your HTML code is an advanced website traffic tactic that must not be missed! Low cost you ask? Oh yeah!

6. Direct to directories.
Keep submitting your site to directories like there's no tomorrow! Just take a look at your website and see if it's directory-worthy. Web directories don't waste their time on poorly-done websites.

7. Conduct a survey.
Visit a site similar to yours and announce that you have a survey they can answer. The site and yours reap results so no one's on the losing end here!

There are sites available that specialize in low cost advanced website traffic tactics. Search for them online and let your site rise to online popularity!

You have finished making your own website. You have introduced your company and presented your products and services. You have added propositions and promos to catch your target audience’s attention. You have achieved the dos and don’ts of building a company web site. But why isn’t your website a major success?

Maybe you’re not planning the key to the best promotion of your web site. Here are some guidelines on how to acquire free web site promotions for your company’s success.

If you have started to promote your web site, keep it constant. If you promote your site with persistence, it will catch your audience’s attention.

Be patient. Try each method in promotion until you acquire the best, free promotion there is. You have to accept trial and error for your web site to reach the top.

There are many ways for your web site to be seen. Here are some free web site promotions you could try until you find the most effective.

*Free promotions such as search engines and directories would give your web site the deserved traffic you always wanted.  Make sure to check your web site’s ranking to know whether or not this type of free promotion is right for you.

*Make a deal with other web sites on trading links which could help both web sites.  Make sure to use words that could easily interest the audience.

*Find free classified ads that could boost the promotion of your web site. These ads could be seen by other people who you are not targeting for, but may as well be interested in your services.

*Free and low-cost internet banners are spread all through out the World Wide Web.  Banners that pop-up at the top of a page or in a separate window would automatically catch your target audience’s attention.

If your web site and its free promotion did not work even after accomplishing these methods, analyze your web site. Track down all visitors, advertisements, and transactions. Then locate errors in your web site. Upload new files to your web site continuously for audience to return for new products and services. Monitor your own web site if it’s up in the market or down.

Then be ready to try the methods again and surely it will work.

It has always been said that the best things in life are free. Yes they are. And as soon as your free web site promotion proves to the audience its worth, then you’ll believe it’s true.

A lot of successful websites depend on returning visitors to account for a major part of their traffic. Returning visitors are easier to convert into paying customers because the more often they return to a site, the more trust they have in that site. The credibility issue just melts away. Hence, keep your visitors coming back to your site with the following methods:

1) Start a forum, chatroom or shoutbox
When you start a forum, chatroom or shoutbox, you are providing your visitors a place to voice their opinions and interact with their peers -- all of them are visitors of your site. As conversations build up, a sense of community will also follow and your visitors will come back to your site almost religiously every day.

2) Start a web log (blog)
Keep an online journal, or more commonly known as a blog, on your site and keep it updated with latest news about yourself. Human beings are curious creatures and they will keep their eyes glued to the monitor if you post fresh news frequently. You will also build up your credibility as you are proving to them that there is also a real life person behind the website.

3) Carry out polls or surveys
Polls and surveys are other forms of interaction that you should definitely consider adding to your site. They provide a quick way for visitors to voice their opinions and to get involved in your website. Be sure to publish polls or surveys that are strongly relevant to the target market of your website to keep them interested to find out about the results.

4) Hold puzzles, quizzes and games
Just imagine how many office workers procrastinate at work every day, and you will be able to gauge how many people will keep visiting your site if you provide a very interesting or addicting way of entertainment. You can also hold competitions to award the high score winner to keep people trying continuously to earn the prize.

5) Update frequently with fresh content
Update your site frequently with fresh content so that every time your visitors come back, they will have something to read on your site. This is the most widely known and most effective method of attracting returning visitors, but this is also the least carried out one because of the laziness of webmasters. No one will want to browse a site that looks the same over ten years, so keep your site updated with fresh bites!

Video marketing for small businesses is currently very 'hot'. And that will soon transform into a necessary afterthought.  Web 3.0 will dictate that for you to survive online, interactive media is a must.

This is a wave that’s been predicted for some time.

Video should be simple and straight to the point. Not too long. Natural.  Casually dressed workers.

Videos are very cost effective.  The expense is minimal.  A hand held camcorder  works well.Upload to YouTube or Google Video, and you're good to go.  I would actually prefer to have the video on your website.

When will YOU produce your first online marketing video?

Advertising 101 For Entrepreneurs

Let’s chat about your “Aspects of Approach” to advertising. These are actually subsections that needed a place to live, but don’t tell anyone.

• Tone & Personality:

You have to make a decision about your ad relating to its tone and personality. What disposition/character/behavior/or attitude is going to be the most effective?

Now tone is the undercurrent of your ad or the mood. Personality is the make-up of the ad’s character. It’s important to think about this because some advertisers ignore it and when they pull the pieces together (picture, copy, etc) the ad doesn’t project anything.

For instance think of the grabber line being, “Big budget delivers big results.” Hmm? Just as money can’t solve all social ills, big budgets don’t automatically create inventive advertising. Many times we’ve seen an enormous budget plus a rotten idea = a huge failure. Yet, there are times when we see a small budget plus a first-rate idea = marvelous success. Be prepared to make do and still make it fantastic.

• Break the Limits.

If you have a small ad, demonstrate that you’re better than the space you’re in. Remember the prospect doesn’t care about the size of the ad, he only cares about what you’re doing for him.

• Turn Adversity Into Advantage.

If your client insists on showing woodchucks in his jewelry ad, turn out the best woodchuck jewelry ad ever. You’ll get points for originality, and because it’s a “zag” you’ll probably get results.

• Use What’s Already Available.

Before you spend a lot on photos and illustrations, look at what you have lying around. It’s free.

• Can the Approach Work?

Not to discourage free form thinking, but you should reject approaches that demand too much BLT (budget, labor, and time). Instead, prepare ads that require your talent and not months and bucks.

• Frugality Makes You Timely.

The smaller the production budget, the sooner your ad can get in the market. This is the “Rule of Thumb.” The reason is because you’re not relying on other resources. So, unchain your ads from expenses and move fast.

This is worthwhile because if economic conditions suddenly change (and they will), you can quickly respond with a new ad message that addresses the new economy. You might decide to say, “Now more than ever, it pays to use our product.” You’ll again leave your competitors in the dust because they’re tied to expensive ads and long production timetables.

• Watch Your Language.

Most people don’t realize the power that’s packed in language. One misused phrase can upset thousands of people, so keep you antennas up and use your judgment.

For instance, use nothing at the expense of a certain group. This will offend people. Instead, show that an ad can get results from scores of readers and a smile from every one of them.

Don’t make fun of the prospect in a “we’re just kidding” way. He’s not paying much attention to your ad, so he won’t get the subtle nuances of your wit – only enough to be insulted.

If you can follow these hints you should be able to work out a “cracker-jack” ad for yourself.

1. Engage the customer. For example, social media is a hot trend.  Try posting your products on sites that encourage customer or peer reviews. Social media add an element of impartiality and are increasingly looked to as reliable sources of information.

2. Integrate off-line and online campaigns. Look for ways to use off-line media to drive traffic to a website with specialized landing pages that tell a deeper story. Use print and TV ads to start the customer education process and direct potential buyers online to learn more and take the next steps in the purchase process.

3. Move off-line dollars online. Online advertising now offers a strong alternative to some traditional media, such as print yellow pages. Consider moving some of your traditional directory advertising dollars into online directories and search engines. The vast majority of Americans research their products online before making purchases, so a paid search campaign is an ideal way to make sure you turn up at the top of search results.

4. Follow your customer. Alternative out-of-home advertising opportunities let you place your message wherever your customers go. Look in your area for places to PLACE your name. Little League, Hiking Trails, Corner Car Lots. The key to using these new opportunities effectively is to place your message where it will appear in the proper context and reach your potential customers when they are in the right frame of mind.

The new year comes full of high-return marketing opportunities. By closely watching the hottest trends, you can make smart choices that let you step ahead of your slower-moving competitors.