You might have an attractive web site with great products,
but your site will sit untouched in cyberspace without one
key factor.

Website traffic.

Traffic to your website is what you turn into sales, so
check out the following promotional strategies and start
sending visitors to your site in droves.

Strategy # 1 - Publish your own newsletter

Publishing your own newsletter is one of the greatest ways
to keep in touch with your visitors. The basic idea is that
once you have taken the time and/or money to direct a person
to your website, you want to get their name and email
address so that you can keep in contact with them.

In my newsletter, the RLB Marketing Essentials Newsletter,
I send out an informative, valuable article twice a month.
That is what the subscriber gets out of the deal. In return
I have part of the newsletter to recommend products or place
advertisements.

More on newsletter publishing at:
www.redlionbooks.com/1emailmark/nwsltrpublish21.htm

Strategy # 2 - Write articles

Most people browse the Internet for information first, and
to shop second. Writing articles can satisfy their need for
information and help you out in two ways.

First, putting articles full of information on your website
is great content for your website. It gives a reason for
people to come to your website and also builds a
relationship with your visitors.

Second, you can get traffic from other sites by letting
them use your articles. Let anyone use your article on
their site, in return they have to place a resource box at
the end that directs readers to your website.

More on writing articles at:
www.redlionbooks.com/1promo/promoarticles51.htm

Strategy # 3 - TrafficSwarm

This idea is great because it really does bring in some
targeted traffic. It's also free, easy to setup, and
requires little work after words.

More on TrafficSwarm at:
www.redlionbooks.com/zlinks rafficswarm.htm

Strategy # 4 - Offer a GREAT affiliate program

An affiliate program is like having your own sales force
working for you. Affiliate programs have become a big trend
on the web lately, but good affiliate programs are still few
and far between. If you have your own product, don't just
start an affiliate program, start a good one.

You should recognize that an affiliate that sends you a sale
is your partner. Without them, you probably would have
never received that sale, so treat them right. Offer a high
percentage of the sale to affiliates (around 20%-30%) if you
can, or some type of monthly commission if it suits your
product. Paying your affiliates well will pay off in the
long run.

More on starting an affiliate program at:
www.redlionbooks.com/1affiliatemark/startyourown01htm

Strategy # 5 - Search engines

Search engines and directories are a great way to get free
traffic, but you have to get a decent ranking to really see
the benefits.

I believe that getting a great ranking in search engines
starts with the way your web site is made. First, all of
your pages should be properly meta-tagged. Although not a
magic solution, meta tags will help your ranking if done
properly. See this in-depth meta tag guide at
searchenginewatch.com:

www.searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/meta.html

Next, you should have keyword rich pages and page titles.
Your writing should reflect what your site is about.
You'll notice that if you scan this page you'll see words
like "promotion" and "traffic." Those are the words that
I would want this article to come up under in a search. I
also put the most important words in my page title.

Also, be sure to submit to search engines the correct way.
There are services that will submit your site to hundreds
of search engines every month, for a fee. That can be
great for the hundreds of smaller search
engines, but be careful when submitting to the more
important search engines. Submitting too often can get you
banned with the major search engines, so submit to them
manually.

The really important search engines can be responsible for
thousands of visitors every month. Although it won't make
or break your business, having a good rank in many of the
major search engines and directories can be enormously
beneficial.

Search engine tips at:
www.redlionbooks.com/1searcheng/sitesoltips61.htm

Strategy # 6 - Viral Marketing

Viral marketing has become a fairly important subject
lately. For those of you new to viral strategies, viral
marketing allows you to multiply your marketing efforts
without actually doing more work. Here are the basics.

First off, we'll start with the (probably overused) example
of Hotmail. When Hotmail started out with its free email
services, it attached a footer to every email message sent
out. That footer said something like "Sign up for your own
free Hotmail account now and send free email." Every time
any user of Hotmail sent a message, that footer was at the
end. A lot of people who received those emails signed up
and sent more emails which signed up more people. It is
similar to tipping over the first domino and watching the
rest fall over.

The best viral tools are products that are valuable so that
people will want to spread the word. For example, a free
ebook that is packed with great information and points to
your site can spread as people refer the ebook to others,
who visit your site, download the book, and the process
continues.

The key here though, is that the product really has to be
desirable, a great deal. My free ebooks have a retail value
of $34.94 but I give them away in exchange for subscribing
to my free newsletter. That is a great deal and many people
wouldn't hesitate to tell their friends about it.

Strategy # 7 - Giving away value

This is similar to my viral strategy involving free ebooks.
But besides the viral aspect, I also have another reason for
giving away two valuable ebooks.

I want to sign people up for my newsletter, and they are a
lot more likely to do that if I am giving them something
valuable.

It's all about what's in it for the customer. I want their
contact information, so I have to put something of value up
for the customer. If your site has something valuable, the
visitor will show their appreciation.

Best of luck to you,

JC Anderl
www.Redlionbooks.com, JC@Redlionbooks.com

Visit my site or email me if you have any questions about
marketing or website promotion.

About the Author

JC's website, Redlionbooks.com, specializes in advice about Internet marketing and web site promotion. Free access to articles and ebooks, learn how to market your product or service online at Redlionbooks.com