A well-laid out website with great sales copy is great. If you are the owner or webmasters of such a site, traffic just makes things better and better. If you have to choose between the two, which would you go with – great eye candy or a website that’s over run by visitors? Of course, you’d take the latter, lots of visitors jamming your site. Well, now you can do that and here’s how you can divert massive traffic to your website.

Whee, it’s free!

Now, if you are selling a product, say coconut oil used in cook, and you want to give away a freebie that will give customers incentive to sign up for your email list. If your e-book or report talks about the best dishes to make with coconut oil, it will be well received on a site about coconut oil. The point of this example is this – freebies attract people, visitors who will arrive at your website because the freebie strikes a chord or fills a need. Along with the freebie, they will join your list to get it and then you can sell to them again in the future and stay in touch with them now.

Gee! It’s not free!

Relax! We’re talking about PPC (Pay per Click) advertisements that you can release by budgeting a small amount, say $100 or so. PPC ads on search engines can really draw traffic if they are cleverly written. Search engines will ask you to bid on keywords and pay a deposit. Research keywords first, pay the deposit, get a killer ad developed, release it and then watch the fun! By the way, if you’re offering a service, go with Google; if it’s a product then try Yahoo Overture first.

Getting Going With Link Building

You build links when: (i) someone likes your website so much that he plants your link on his own website; (ii) you pay a web design firm for placing links on other reputed websites, and (iii) when you exchange links with other reputed websites. Note the use of the word “reputed” above – if you build links with scamsters or link farms, your website will receive a negative rating by search engines. Always, build links with reputed websites and avoid exchanging links with your competitors.

Article submission

Write articles (only professional level, mind you!) on subject relevant to your website’s content and hand them around to reprint directories (such as e-zine.com). At the end of each article, add a resource box that focuses on your website and carries its link. Other website owners who need content come looking to get some articles from reprint directories; if they like your article, they will publish it along with that resource box carrying your link. Result: your backlinks will increase and your visibility will increase manifold!

Affiliate marketing

Sign up with an affiliate network such as CJ.com or Linkshare.com and invite affiliate publishers to host your product/service on their website for a commission. If they do, your visibility will increase along with your sales – this works especially if you have a low-cost, fast-moving product that needs more publicity.

Running a Contest or Sweepstakes

Use the services of websites such as Feedback and Response-O-Matic to plant forms on your website. Now, ask users to fill in these forms to qualify for a prize. This way you will collect a massive database that you can use for email marketing.

The Power of Viral Marketing

Register with social networking websites and plug in fun and engaging content that will draw the members to your own website. Your traffic will receive a super boost using viral marketing.

These methods will generate a lot of continuous traffic. While online advertising is always available, consider using some offline advertising techniques as well. You can give away freebies off line as well as on including stickers, business cards with a calendar on the back and more. No matter what you decide, do it with style.

Learn tips for marketing an online business, or how to start a home based internet business. Visit the website marketing tips blog at http://www.nitromarketing.com/blog

- Kale McClelland

Popularity: 4% [?]

When you own a home business that is profitable and successful, it is a wonderful thing. Many people, however, struggle to make this a reality. Below are 10 good tips to get your started on the road to home business success.

1. Do Research: Many people get enamored of the web-based business industry but fail to research each opportunity well. As in the real world, some opportunities sell well and others do not. In order to determine which types of business are viable, it is important to look at product trend, marketing reports and the like in order to get enough information to make a determined decision. While you may need to pay a small subscription fee in order to obtain unbiased information, it will pay for itself many times over in time and money savings.

2. Look at the product thread: When you pick a product, look at its follow up possibilities. Is it a one-hit wonder or are there a number of items that will either go with it or complement it for continuous sales. For instance, if you were selling Proactol which is a natural fat binder used in weight loss products as well as eliminating constipation and cleaning the colon, there is also Isabgul which is also a natural laxative. This can be offered for people who don’t want to lose weight and just want to eliminate constipation.

3. Presentation: Your presentation must be unique. This is not to say that your website must sport a jazzy design – far from it, in fact, a simple website with user-friendly navigation will work wonders. Now, about the presentation: Let’s assume once again that you are selling Proactol. The focus of your presentation must be to hammer home the advantage of FDA approval for Proactol over other natural herbal colon cleansers, which are not backed by any regulatory seals.

4. The power of good copywriting: Words are power on the Internet. While you want your site to be easy to navigate, you want your words to grab your readers and impact the message you are trying to convey in a sincere, truthful and clear manner. Enticing the reader to take action at the end, you let your word make the case for why they should buy. In this area, avoid doing the writing yourself. This is the job for an expert so outsource it to a professional and reap the rewards of an excellent presentation.

5. Payment system: Tie-up with a reputed merchant banker who offers you a variety of payment options. Also, build in a PayPal ordering procedure, as many freelance professionals prefer to pay via PayPal.

6. Promoting and traffic building: There are many methods available for ramping up the traffic to your website once you are ready to receive visitors. Placing keywords in your content is a strategic method of gaining exposure in search engines. You an also offer a free newsletter or other freebies; advertise on search engines using Pay-Per-Click advertising, setup and post to a blog and get affiliate marketers to sell your products. In the new Web 2.0 world, you can also join a number of highly active social networking sites and attract visitors to your site through your social site. This is the new viral marketing model of today.

7. Updates: When people subscribe to any of your freebies or buy your products, always update them (by sending them an e-mail) about what’s happening on your website.

8. Tracking: Once the ball starts rolling, always keep track of your visitors and find out where they come from. If they are concentrated in a certain geographical location, then you can build your advertisement campaign around that.

9. Webhost: Always choose a reputed webhost who employs the latest technology and has redundant space and power capacities.

10. Interest: Finally, always choose a product that you will be interested to work with and promote. There’s no point selling guitars if you’re not interested in – if you promote a product you have a keen interest in, you will get a nice psychological boost every time a check comes in.

These tips will go a long way towards making you happy and prosperous in your online business pursuits.

Marketing on the internet is not as difficult as you may think. Find legitimate ways to make money online, or how to increase your website traffic at http://www.nitromarketing.com/blog

- Kale McClelland

Popularity: 4% [?]

In your quest to become the ‘biggest’ of small businesses, the way to success is banking on the things you, as a small business can offer that your larger competitors can’t touch. Rather than try to come off as a larger company than you are in reality, be honest. Tell customers about the special things you can do for them by virtue of being a small business. This, of course would be the ability to focus on a very narrow sector of the market – because if there’s one thing small businesses don’t usually do as well as the large players, it’s being able to give customers the variety a big business can. You also can provide personalized, friendly customer service; this is what will really make you stand out. Read on for some tips that will help you do just that!

First of all, get your business set up to make it easy for your customers to communicate with you. With big businesses, customers are often frustrated by how long it can take, and how difficult it is to be able to talk to someone outside of the customer service phone bank. Make yourself available to your customers on a regular basis, as much time as you can possibly spare. This will make your customers trust you, which will build loyalty in your business.

When you are working with email, the response turnaround is expected to be very high, if not instantaneous. People are fairly immune to the positive effects of autoresponders at this point, so think about how often you can check your email. Check it at least twice a day, if not more, and make sure that you respond promptly and enthusiastically to anything that you find in there. Having a good response time for personal email is a good way to make sure that your reputation for customer service is high.

Similarly, put your phone number out there, and then answer it when it rings! Make sure that people are aware that this is a line that runs directly to you, and then prove it to them by responding to it in a prompt manner. Having a phone number out there for your customers is ideal because it allows them to immediately place you in their heads as a real person, something that can be a little difficult to do if all they are getting is email. A phone number helps them associate you and your voice with the work that is being done.

Last, but most certainly not least is to follow up with your customers. Give them a call in a few weeks and inquire how your product or service is performing. Be certain to ask if there’s anything else you can do for them; every customer appreciates this little bit of extra personalized service. This also lets you evaluate how your product or service is doing by your customers, and ensures that your customer will be left with a good impression of you, your company and your product.

Communication is key to a small business. Don’t neglect this; a small business succeeds or fails based on customer service, so be sure to ingrain this idea into your corporate culture.

Did you know? FACT: 68% of people will quit doing business with companies that have poor customer service. Find out how to give great customer service – get effective customer service tips at http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Give-Great-Customer-Service

- Kale McClelland

Popularity: 4% [?]

Many small business owners do not know where to start when it comes to customer service. While you may have no direct experience with customer support, or maybe some, the best thing you can do for your small business is provide excellent customer service, and being a small business owner your ability to provide customer support is far easier than that of a big company. When it comes to providing excellent customer support you need to remember a few things.

The first thing to remember is to treat people how you like to be treated yourself. You know what it’s like when you call a big company with a service issue, you get put on hold and after some time you get the feeling that the individual you are dealing with does not really like their job. As a small business owner you will not have that problem.

You’ll soon discover that one of the things that is typically seen as a mark against small business, that is, the smallness of your organization is actually one of your great strengths when it comes to customer service. While you’ll never get to hide behind the blanket of ‘company policy’ you will actually be able to offer the person on the other end of the line real solutions that have all been approved by the company CEO, that is, you! You’ll find that when a customer can constantly deal with a single person, or even a very small group of people that he or she will start enjoying the personal attention and the ability to really communicate with the people who are doing the work.

Customer service is not as difficult as many people would have you believe. A lot of customer service involves simply communicating with your customers about where there orders are and when they will be delivered, or often times they may want to make some late changes, or add more to their order. All of this in general is positive. In actual fact you will find the majority of customer service issues are positive, and very few people get mean. When dealing with your customers, be adaptable and listen to their needs. Always try and remember your customer’s details, this way you will keep them happy.

Never give up on providing your customers with good service; sure you may not be able to do this around the clock, as you may not have the resources to do so. However when the doors are open you need to provide the best service you can, and when you do your customers will thank you for it by doing more business with you.

68% of people will quit doing business with companies that have poor customer service! Discover how to give great customer service – learn the keys to good customer service at http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Give-Great-Customer-Service

- Kale McClelland

Popularity: 5% [?]

As a small business, you are always looking for ways to set yourself apart from the larger players in your industry. The good news is that smaller businesses have the flexibility to do things their larger competitors could never accomplish. If you can play to your strengths, you stand to gain a loyal and growing customer base. Keep reading for some tips on how to maximize your potential as a small business.

1.See your customers as individuals Just like you and your company, your customers are individuals, and for a small business, there is absolutely no profit in treating them as part of a massive herd. Chances are, you don’t even have a massive herd of customers yet! Greet your customers by name and make sure that they know how important they are to you. Remember their preferences; keep notes if necessary. Remember that the more you remember them, the more they’ll remember you!

2.Follow up. Customers are allowed to drop the ball, but as the business person in question, you are not allowed to! If they said that they’d call but didn’t, give them a ring if you have their number. Even sending a gentle e-mail reminder will be a great deal better than simply letting a deal fall away. Chances are, they are simply busy and forgot, but it is in your best interests to remind them that you and your services exist.

3.Discounts You don’t need to get drastic with discounts and get to the point where you cut into your bottom line, yet you should figure out what is in demand among your customers and find a way to get it to them at a favorable price. The items you sell the most of are your best bets for this; you will likely make up the difference in volume, and your customers will appreciate and remember you for it. Consider keeping a preferred customer list for the purpose of discounts.

4.Admit your mistakes One thing that many larger companies refuse to do is admit when they have been wrong or have made a mistake. If you have been wrong or made a mistake, own up to it at once, even if the customer doesn’t know it yet. If he or she finds out about it on their own, you’ll find that it looks much worse; it’ll look like you’re trying to hide something, and even if you have not been, it’ll cement a picture in their mind of you as being dishonest and untrustworthy.

5.Don’t be afraid to answer the phone As a business owner, it creates confidence in your customers by being available to take their calls rather than pass it off to an employee. It shows them that they are valued enough to be put right through to the person in charge. If they have concerns, address them and do whatever possible to remedy the situation. This will create you great word of mouth recommendations and build customer loyalty.

Did you know that 68% of people will quit doing business with companies that have poor customer service? Learn the keys to good customer service – get effective customer service tips at http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Give-Great-Customer-Service

- Kale McClelland

Popularity: 5% [?]

If Web 1.0 was all about chatrooms, tacky banner exchanges and cute emoticons, Web 2.0 is all about social networking, interactivity and user-generated content. So which sites are the icons of Web 2.0? Well, social networking websites (FaceBook, MySpace, Bebo, etc.), social bookmarking sites (Digg, Del.icio.us, etc.) and, of course, the grand daddy of user-provided information, Wikipedia, are a few examples of the new icons of the Web 2.0 universe.

Savvy Internet marketers look at the new social interactivity as a dynamo of solid traffic. Using a 2.0 platform guarantees interactivity, community and a stream of visitors looking to buzz backlink and comment on what’s going on in the Web 2.0 universe. Through word-of-mouth, email and traditional publicity, people are flocking to sites that perpetuate the feeling that they are important. While all this traffic is terrific, getting the snowball rolling can prove a bit daunting at first.

Is it as easy as it seems?

Well, in actuality, the answer is a resounding NO! Web 2.0 marketing requires time, effort and commitment that previous web tactics barely touched. There has to be a lot of time for learning, implementing and tweaking what will hopefully turn into a successful campaign.

1. First, your website will need to look chic and have quality content that informs and entertains. It must build a feeling of credibility in the person reporting, and it must be easy to read.

2. People hang around social networking websites to kill time, not to buy stuff. So, if you have to divert them to your websites you must use killer tools (entertaining videos, games, audios, commentary, etc.) that will hook them up instantly. You cannot hoist a sales pitch on a Web 2.0 site! You have to be innovative and plant some cool entertaining content if you want to attract them to your website.

3. You shouldn’t approach your Web 2.0 marketing campaign in a half-hearted manner. If you have decided to go the whole hog, then you must put in a whole lot of time and effort to plug in informative-cum-entertaining content, and finally you can leave a small link in your signature that links to your website.

4. Web 2.0 websites are designed for you to interact with people. It is not there for you to sell. You must be expert, able to answer questions and put up posts that both entertain and inform. You are building rapport, not making sales. Any other thought will stop you dead in the water.

5. You shouldn’t expect Web 2.0 marketing to draw traffic automatically to your site the way pay per click campaigns operate. It doesn’t work like that as you are not paying for people to read your stuff.

6. You don’t want to start Web 2.0 marketing when your site is just starting or if the site is mediocre and sales are just average. Web 2.0 marketing techniques are good for established, working sites. Marketing this way needs to happen when you have a decent amount of content to offer arriving visitors.

These were the fundamental principles of Web 2.0 marketing. Go for it!

Marketing on the internet is not as difficult as you may think. Find legitimate ways to make money online, or how to increase website traffic at http://www.nitromarketing.com/blog

- Kale McClelland

Popularity: 4% [?]

If you are looking to get more traffic to your website, there are many different ways that you can make this happen. The best website on all if the internet will be of no use to you if you cannot get anyone to visit it. No matter how good your site is, there is one thing you need – traffic. It can be harder than you might think to get visitors to your site. It is well worth finding out anything you can that will help you get more traffic; especially of interest is what your competition is doing to drive web traffic.

1. Link building

Link building is simply the process of getting others to link to your website. This helps your site in a few ways. One, it is a process of networking. People are more likely to visit your site when it is linked from a site they already visit. Secondly, search engines rank websites based on many factors, including link popularity (a measure of how many sites link to yours). The higher this number, e.g. the more websites out there which link back to yours, the higher your website will place in search engine results. Submitting articles which contain links to your website to directories are one good way to both greatluy increase your link popularity and to drive traffic to your site.

2. Pay per click advertising

This is placing a ad on a website whose content is somehow relevant to the content of yours. This ad is inherently targeted, as those most likely to see it are those already interested in what you have to offer. You pay a very small charge every time someone clicks on that ads link to your website; the advantage over traditional advertising is that you only pay when your advertisement is actually bringing traffic to your site! This can be useful as a testing ground to find which ads are the most effective, as well as finding out more about keyword searches.

3. Good keyword optimization

When people use Google, they are searching using keywords, and as someone who wants to ring people to your site, you need to start thinking about what keywords they would be using to find your business. You’ll find that there is a lot of business that goes into finding out the best keywords for any given business, and that there are companies that will help you figure out which ones are the best for you.

4. Article writing

Article writing is used by many to get traffic to their websites. It can be a very effective method, which is why it is in heavy use these days. Well written articles will place an image in the mind of readers of you as an expert in your field; and this will also bring you repeat traffic, meaning much better search rankings for your website. Informative, entertaining writing can do more than almost anything else to drive traffic to your site. People go to the internet looking for information; provide it to them and you will quickly build an audience.

Marketing on the internet is not as difficult as you may think. Find legitimate ways to make money online, or how to increase your website traffic at http://www.nitromarketing.com/blog

- Kale McClelland

Popularity: 6% [?]

If you are in a position where you want to bring more people to your website or you are simply looking to bring more attention to your product or services in general, you will need to take a look and see what copywriting can do for you. The ability to write good, clear copy is something that will bring both customers and investors to your website, and you’ll find that unless you have exactly that, your business will suffer. Take some time to think about copywriting, specifically as it pertains to search engine optimization, and you’ll soon realize exactly why it is so important.

The first thing to think about is the importance of writing as it pertains to your customers. We have all heard the phrase ‘a picture is worth a thousand words,’ but you need to remember that that picture needs to be backed up words. Perhaps it will take a thousand words, or maybe it will only take fifty words, but you’ll find that the amount of time and quality that you put into your copywriting directly proportional to the attention and the business that you are getting.

One reason being able to write good copy for an internet based business is to build yourself up as an authority in your particular field. Words, after all convey information. When people see the printed word, they automatically assume that they can learn something from these words. Many people automatically begin reading whenever they run across printed material, even without thinking. Contrast this with A/V (audio/video) presentations, where people have to do something to receive the message; e.g. click or download. Well written copy captures and retains the interest of passers by.

Today, with the importance of the internet, we are finding that there is an extremely large niche when it comes to well-crafted, search engine optimization copywriting. SEO copywriting, as it is frequently called, plays the important part of bringing people to your website through the use of words that can be searched by websites like Google or Yahoo. Given the fact that an overwhelming 90 percent of purchases online are made directly after the use of a search engine of some sort, you’ll find that writing good copy is vital.

Further, when you start thinking of copywriting, remember that you will need to make judicious use of headlines. Your headlines can be easily summed up as your topic headers, and whether you are outlining the benefits of your product or the the advantages that you have over other services, the key is to create engaging headlines that will keep people reading down the page. Good copywriting, at every turn, will tell people what the benefits are of using your service over everyone else’s.

Consider what some high quality copywriting could mean for your business. You are sure to decide that this can be a large part of your advertising campaign, and is certain to increase business for you.

Learn tips for marketing an online business, or how to start a home based internet business. Visit the website marketing tips blog at http://www.nitromarketing.com/blog

- Kale McClelland

Popularity: 5% [?]