Blog Marketing

Contents
*Click the hyperlinks below to be directed to the pages.
Introduction
2
Directory Submissions
4
Article Marketing
16
Social Networking
27
•
Facebook.com
•
Myspace.com
Squidoo.com
39
Press Releases
45
How To Build Incoming Links
51
Blog Marketing
57
Viral Marketing
64
Discussion Forums
70
The Next Step
73
1
Introduction
You might find it a little daunting to market your new website, but it can
actually be a lot of fun and very rewarding.
Internet marketing and traffic generation (the process of getting people to visit
your website) is simply just a step-by-step process of implementing new
techniques and strategies.
Think of it like building a puzzle. You can focus on one small area at a time,
and the cumulative effects will generate a larger scale result. In this instance,
you will be generating traffic from all over the Internet.
There are many proven and tested ways to bring visitors to your website, and
this guide is going to explain how to set them up in a very simple and
straightforward manner.
The guide is written in a format that anyone should be able to follow. You
simply need to read the background information and then follow the step-bystep process in order to put the techniques into action.
If you take the action that is needed, you will find that marketing via the
Internet is probably the greatest business opportunity you can have. You will
start to see results very quickly, and that should translate into more profits for
your business.
The strategies are actually very simple once you start to implement them and
practice using them. Many of the strategies contained within this book will be
used again and again in the coming weeks and months.
2
For example, there is no reason to ever stop creating articles. This is
something that you can continue to do for a long time and use whenever you
need a spike in traffic or want to have more exposure.
The guide also provides techniques for using the well-known traffic sources,
such as press releases and article marketing, while also going in to great
detail about the new social networking websites.
You are advised to get started right away and use whichever techniques fit
your needs best at this time. Take action and you will see the benefits in a
very short period of time.
Good luck!
3
Directory Submissions
This is a step-by-step guide to generating traffic by submitting your website to
the very best online directories.
WHY USE DIRECTORIES?
Using directories is a great way to get higher rankings on Google, Yahoo, and
other search engines.
Directories allow you to obtain free, one-way incoming links (we’ll go into
more detail about these in the “How To Build Incoming Links” chapter of this
book) from some of the most well-respected websites on the Internet. Having
these incoming links can drastically increase your rankings in the major
search engines, which obviously gives you a lot more free search engine
traffic to your website.
If people are searching for something that you sell or have information about,
then they will find your listing in the search engines and click to be directed to
your website. You can literally gain thousands of hits to your website each day
from simple linking methods.
Directories are one of the best ways to increase website traffic and to rank
well in the search engines results pages (without paying for placements).
In order to get higher rankings (without paying for them), you need to submit
your website to many of the online directories which can be found all over the
Internet.
There are thousands of directories and directory submission services
available on the Internet today. Directories are one of the best ways to build a
4
powerful, one-way linking campaign with high PR (Google PageRank, a
system of ranking webpages) sites and get recognized in the search engines.
Of course, not all of the directories are of equal value, and some have a better
reputation with the search engines than others. This means that you will gain
more (in terms of traffic) by being placed in certain directories than others.
Check the table at the end of this section for a list of the best directories to
submit your site to.
Remember that one-way incoming links are the very best you can find, and
they will also give you great rankings in the search engines.
Most good directories have people working on them and reviewing each
website in order to prevent spam sites from being included in the directory.
They will only accept high-quality websites, so make sure that you have
added quality content before submitting your website.
Also note that they will refuse a website that has too much advertising
displayed on it.
If you are able to secure a link from a directory website, you will get a higher
score within the search engines. The search engines know that human editors
check the sites before giving out a link, so they assume they have more
relevance to the end user.
You are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the benefits of web
directories and make them part of your marketing strategy in order to increase
your traffic.
5
BENEFITS OF ONE-WAY DIRECTORY LINKS
Here’s what a directory submission strategy will provide:
•
Quality back links,
•
Better search engine rankings for your website,
•
Targeted website visitors,
•
A bigger audience for your products your market (as people link to your
website),
•
Increased sales,
•
A higher chance of prospects finding your website, and
•
Your website will be seen as legitimate and not as spam.
This chapter is going to provide a host of suggestions and recommendations
for how to implement a powerful directory submission strategy. You will find
out how to choose and submit to the very best directories in a way that is fast,
effective and will bring you a lot of traffic.
STEP-BY-STEP ACTION PLAN (IN SIMPLE TERMS)
•
Use the list at the end of this chapter to select a directory to submit
to—one at a time to start with, OR check the search engine index and
the PageRank of the directory first, if it is not on the list.
•
Find the submission link on the directory website (see the example
below).
•
Decide which title and description you will use in the directory.
Remember to vary the site title and description every ten submissions.
This gives you more chance of being ranked for more keywords and
removes the problems that search engines may see by having 100
links all anchored in the same text.
6
•
You can buy submitter software to make the process automated. Some
good ones include iBusinessPromoter (which you can find at
http://www.ibusinesspromoter.com/submission/site-submissiontools.htm)
and
Directory
Submitter
which
you
can
find
at
http://directorysubmitter.imwishlist.com/).
•
Don’t forget that you can buy links in certain directories, but there are a
host of free directories available (which we will focus on here).
IN-DEPTH GUIDE TO SUBMITTING YOUR WEBSITE
Screenshot of "Submitting to DMOZ" video
Click here to view the video Submitting to DMOZ: http://instant-traffic-to-mysite.com/videos/03_dmozsubmit/dmoz%20submit(new%20audio)(unbranded).
html
Directories don’t usually require a reciprocal link (meaning you don’t need to
link back to them) and as such, they provide the best way to create a nonreciprocal links campaign.
7
You can generate traffic from people who browse the directories and other
websites who use their content while also transforming your rankings in the
search engines, moving your website to the first page of results.
One of the most well known directories is DMOZ.
We are going to run
through a case study of how to submit your website to this well-known and
well-recognized directory.
Go to http://www.dmoz.org/.
You will see the website above. Look at all the categories and sub-categories
listed above. They are all organized by editors and reviewed regularly. Dmoz
is a free service and open for you to link from.
From here you need to choose your category, or you can click the “suggest
URL” link to read about how to submit your site.
I will run through the steps you need to take here, here and you can research
it more later if you desire:
8
1. Find and click on the most relevant top-level category you see.
2. You will then be presented with a sub-set of categories. Again, click on
the most relevant one for your website. You will need to do this a
couple of times in order to get to the most specific category for your
website. You will see something like the screenshot below.
3. You should have “dug” down to the most base-level category, as you
can see in the “diabetes” example above. You can see the highlighted
areas
above
have
over
four
levels.
4. Once you have the correct category for your website, you need to click
on the “suggest URL” link, as shown in the screenshot above. You will
then see the image below.
9
5. As you can see above, you need to enter your website URL here.
6. See the image below. Here you need to enter both the title you would
like the directory to display and your site description. Both of these
sections need to be given some thought.
10
Remember to use the main keywords in the title so that people can
find the site easily. You should also use the main keywords and the
secondary keywords in the description. This needs to be an accurate
description in order to be included in the directory.
7. Use the main keywords in your description while creating an accurate
three
to
four
sentence
description.
8. The next step is to submit the request and wait to be contacted. You
will need to submit an email address also, so the submission reviewer
can contact you. This can take anywhere from a few days to three
weeks in some cases; it really depends on the popularity of the
directory.
NOTE: The process outlined above is quite similar for all directory
submissions, so you should be able to use the rest of the list at the end of the
chapter.
If you get stuck, simply look in the help section of the directory for detail. Most
of them will give clear instructions on how to make a submission.
Remember to change the title and description every 10 to 15 submissions.
This helps your website to get ranked for a number of different search terms
and stops your site from looking like a spam site (as all links use the same
text).
FINDING YOUR OWN DIRECTORIES
As I mentioned earlier, there are literally thousands of directories online, and
some are specific to certain niche markets. As such, the list at the end of the
chapter can be expanded upon as new, relevant directories are found.
When looking for other directories, you should keep the following points at the
forefront of your mind:
11
1: Check Directory Index and PageRank.
When you start to look for potential directories to get listed in, always pay
attention and select them wisely. Don’t just submit your link to any directory
you come across.
You must take the time to be diligent about the directories you choose. Resist
the temptation to just submit your site to the first ones that you see. This can
cause more harm than good.
Ask yourself the following questions before deciding whether or not to submit
your website:
1. Is the directory indexed and listed in the major search engines?
2. Does the directory have a Google PageRank (PR)?
3. Does the directory have an alexa rank, and if so, how good is it?
4. Has the directory website been grey barred in Google, and therefore
banned? (Check your Google toolbar to find out.)
You can save yourself a lot of time and problems by taking the time to do
some quick checks first.
The list above is a very good way to get started. If the directory does not have
a Google PageRank, you may still want to submit your link to it because
Google is always changing their criteria, and the directory could be added in a
week or so.
In some cases, you may want to submit to new directories, as it is possible
that they may see a sudden rise in rankings in a few weeks. Don’t dismiss a
directory just because it’s new.
2: Find the directories with longevity.
12
Always add your site to the well-established directories first, as this will ensure
that your listing and links will still exist a few months down the line. The older
directories that have established traffic are much more likely to exist in a few
years time.
Don’t discount the new directories, but realize that they can disappear very
quickly.
If you are going to use new directories, conduct the following checks first:
•
Check the design—is it well made?
•
Check how may categories there are in the directory.
•
Check how many listing there are in the directory.
•
Check how quickly they will review your listing.
New directories tend to have a lot of editors on standby, so your link should
be approved very quickly. This means faster linking and quicker traffic, which
is a good thing.
3: Check the directory review periods.
Always check the directories’ review periods, as you don’t want to have to
wait months for the link to be approved. You are looking for a quick
turnaround and fast linking if possible.
Check the length of review time and start by submitting your website to the
quickest first in order to see some results from your work.
4: Check the empty categories.
Have a quick browse around the directory and check for any empty
categories. This should alert you to the popularity of the directory and tell you
13
if it is worth your time. If the directory fails to attract a diverse range of
websites from various categories then it may not be a good place to submit.
It is unlikely to hurt your rankings, but you may want to spend time on another
directory first. Look for the sites that have regular users and are gaining
search engine notice. These will provide you more quality links and traffic.
LOOK FOR HIGH-QUALITY (ONE-WAY LINKING) DIRECTORIES
The table below is a very brief list of some of the top-ranked directories on the
Internet today. Because Google is always changing their page rank criteria,
some of the PR scorings may be a little outdated, but it still remains very
accurate.
I recommend that you submit your website to these directories or pay
someone to do the job for you. There are many more directories available and
you can search for them by typing “directories,” “submit site to directory,” etc.
into any of the big search engines. You simply need to follow the steps
outlined on the websites themselves in order to gain an incoming link from
them.
Directory Name
Page Rank in Google
http://www.dmoz.org/
9
http://directory.tm4b.com/
5
http://www.zeal.com/
8
http://www.stpt.com/
7
http://www.josh.nu/
5
http://www.mavicanet.com/
6
http://www.favouritelink.com/index.php
5
http://searchsight.com/
6
http://www.directory.ldmstudio.com
4
http://www.netinsert.com/
6
http://www.allthewebmasters.com/
4
14
http://www.chiff.com/
6
http://www.gotowebguide.com/
4
http://www.turnpike.net/
6
http://www.findgoodsites.com/
4
http://www.exactseek.com/
6
http://www.portalboost.com/
4
http://www.gmdir.com/
6
http://www.linkit24.com/
4
http://www.somuch.com/
6
http://www.imarvel.com/
4
http://www.clickey.com/
6
http://www.directorystation.com/
4
http://www.reallyfirst.com/
5
http://www.network-room.com/
4
http://www.clearleadinc.com/
5
http://www.linknow.co.nz/
4
http://directory.r-tt.com/
5
http://www.alldotnet.com/
4
http://www.illumirate.com/
5
http://search.able2know.com/
5
http://www.ibrain.org/
4
http://www.websavvy.cc/
5
http://www.smartlinks.org/
4
http://www.allthewebsites.org/
5
http://www.bugsdirectory.com/
4
http://www.webxperience.org/
5
http://www.thetopsites.net/
5
http://www.onemission.com/
4
http://www.searchwiz.org/
4
http://www.frequentlyasked.info/
5
http://www.directoryshark.com/
4
15
Article Marketing
Writing and submitting articles to article directories, blogs, and other online
sources of content is a great way of marketing your website and generating
lots of free traffic (and links to your website).
Once published, an article can get you traffic on your website from all over the
Internet.
An article can be used as a source of free information to engage a prospect
and induce them to click through to your main website. Articles can also be
used to promote products and share quality information that people in your
marketplace want to know.
While there are a number of reasons to write articles, the final goal is always
to produce more profit from the product or service you are selling.
KEYS TO CREATING GREAT ARTICLES:
•
It must be relevant and high-quality.
•
It must be structured properly.
•
You must have a compelling resource box.
•
Articles need to be submitted in the more popular locations.
We are now going to cover a step-by-step plan for creating great articles and
submitting them to high-traffic websites. This is the best way to get lots of
traffic and marketing exposure from articles.
16
STEP ONE: Basic Article Research
Screenshot of "Basic Article Research" video
Click here to view the video Basic Article Research:
http://instant-traffic-to-mysite.com/videos/01_basicarticleresearch/basic%20article%20research(new%2
0audio)(unbranded)_new.html
Firstly, focus on one particular topic or subtopic in your market. You need to
spend a little time researching first, as it will save you a lot of time and effort in
the long run.
•
Search the well-known article directories, such as goarticles.com and
articlehub.com, for ideas from exiting articles that are proving to be
popular.
•
Visit other article directories and type in your main article keyword. Do
the same quick search on the major search engines and also on
amazon.com. Get a feel for the current trends.
17
•
Find the common threads and the general themes that are shown over
and over again. You are looking for comments and themes that others
are discussing in that market.
•
Amazon is one of the best places to search because it has honest
feedback and authentic reviews from buyers of real products.
•
Pay attention to the language of the marketplace. Do they have their
own words, terms, and phrases? Most likely they do, and this is critical
in the success of an article. It is vital that you speak to the readers in
their language. Always attempt to speak to the readers and customers
directly in language they understand. This way, they are more likely to
want more information from you and click your resource link. The key is
to speak in their language and ensure that everything you say relates
to them (don’t be dull and boring!).
•
Pay attention to interesting quotes, new angles on techniques, and
those topics that seem to be the most requested and written about.
Remember that the articles you create must grab the reader’s
attention, so it is very wise to find current hot topics in your market
place.
Create a set of notes and some initial ideas that seem to be popular. Look at
the headlines, the body and the resources boxes on the articles, as this will be
needed later.
Now it’s time to search for the correct keywords to use based on your
research.
STEP TWO: Conducting Keyword Research for Your Article
It is critical to use the right keywords in order to attract attention from readers
and search engines. Your aim should be to have your articles published all
18
over the Internet, so you need to have the top keyword in order for people to
find your articles.
Keyword research:
1. Brainstorm a list of potential keywords that fit your market and your
customers’ buying habits. Think about the terms that customers in your
market would type into the search engines. Think in terms of keywords
and keyword phrases also. Resist the temptation to use very broad
keywords that cover a large spectrum of meanings, and make sure that
you keep the terms relevant to the marketplace you are operating in.
2. There are a number of tools that can be used to look up the top
keywords: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal is a
link to Google’s free search tool. There are a multitude of other tools
that you can buy, such as Word Tracker, Keyword Elite, and many
more, but they are not essential for writing articles. Each of these tools
will pinpoint the most popular search terms from the combined data
available.
3. Find the most searched terms used in the search engines.
4. Look for the keywords that have the highest portion of searches in a
month. The key is to find popular search terms and base your article
around that subject.
19
STEP THREE: Create an Article that Compels People to Read
Screenshot of "Creating Articles that Compel People to Read" video
Click here to view the video Creating Articles that Compel People to Read:
http://instant-traffic-to-mysite.com/videos/02_compels/compels%20to%20read(new%20audio)(unbrand
ed).html
You must provide quality content in order for this technique to work. While this
may take more time to research and produce, it is well worth the extra effort.
If you can become known as an authority on a subject, then you will have
editors and e-zine authors contacting you and asking for your content. This
will drive a lot more free, targeted traffic to your website. However, this is
impossible if the quality of the information is poor.
Here are the fundamentals of how to create quality articles:
1. Create a headline for the article (the most important part).
2. Write the introduction with a strong opening sentence. Use the main
keyword or keyword phrase here.
20
3. The main section of the article should be written next. Use short
paragraphs and talk about the key points. Format the body of the
content so the reader can skim it and still gain an understanding of the
topic.
4. Close the article with a conclusion and summarize the main points.
5. Include the resource box, which is discussed below (VERY
IMPORTANT).
Ensure that the keyword you are using appears in the title of the article itself.
Ideally this should be placed within the first three to four words.
Remember to proofread, spell check, and read over the article at least two or
three times before submitting it. These are very simple steps that will increase
your success and traffic.
The structure of the article is very important. In order for readers to take
action, they must be guided into doing so, and the structure of your article
facilitates this process.
STEP FOUR: Create the Resource Box
Screenshot of "Creating a Resource Box" video
21
Click here to view the video Creating a Resource Box: http://instant-traffic-tomysite.com/videos/09_resourcebox/resource%20box(new%20audio)(unbranded)
.html
The resource box is the small amount of text found at the bottom of every
article. This is your chance to advertise your website so that visitors are
directed to your own products and services.
The image above shows the small amount of space you have to convince the
reader to click on your link and visit your website for more information. You
have to craft a strong message in order for them to take action.
The resource box is the most important factor of any article. Most people
spend a lot of time writing the article, but then they write their resource box
without much planning.
Your aim is for the reader to click on the link and be directed to your website.
Even if you do write a very persuasive article, few people will click the link if
the resource box is poor and unappealing.
You may generate a lot of back links from other sites, but why not take
advantage of direct traffic also. Use the example above for an idea of what
should be contained in the resource box. Make it compelling and offer an
incentive.
22
Correctly Format Your Resource Box
•
The message should be two to three sentences long
•
The call to action is critical. This is where you tell the reader what
action to take next. Offer something of perceived value and you will
increase your click through rate.
•
Don’t make it appear as a blatant advertisement or you will turn people
away.
•
Offer something in exchange for the reader clicking on your link. This
can be expert knowledge, a free mini course, a free report, video or
audio.
•
Another idea that has proven effective is to offer one or two chapters of
an ebook for free.
Look for resource boxes in your market that compel you and then use them as
a template by adding your own unique twist to them.
You will get better at writing compelling resource boxes as you practice and
(like anything) the more you do, the more talented you become.
STEP FIVE: Submit Your Articles
Screenshot of "Submitting Your Articles" video
Click here to view the video Submitting Your Articles: http://instant-traffic-tomy23
site.com/videos/12_submitting/submitting%20your%20articles(new%20audio)
(unbranded).html
After creating the quality article, you need to submit it to the article directories
and start to bring some traffic to your website. There are now thousands of
article directories on the Internet to choose from, but there are also some to
stay away from.
I have listed a number of the very best article directories below. These
websites are known to receive very good search engine traffic, and all display
highly in the search results within days of being “spidered.”
•
Ezine Articles—http://ezinearticles.com
•
Go Articles—http://goarticles.com
•
Article feeder—http://articlefeeder.com
•
Article City—http://articlecity.com
•
Idea Marketers—http://ideamarketers.com
•
iSnare—http://isnare.com
•
Amazines—http://amazines.com
•
Article Hub—http://articlehub.com
You have to submit each article manually to multiple directories in order to
gain the most benefit. However, another option is also available to you: There
is software available that will submit your article to hundreds of directories at
once. You simply fill in the details one time and let the software run. You can
locate and use such software by simply entering “article submitter” into the big
search engines.
24
The image above gives you a demonstration of how to submit your articles to
the directories manually. You simply need to locate the link that says, “submit
article,” and follow the steps they give you.
You will also be asked to sign up to an account in order to submit your
articles, but this keeps you updated and allows for ease of use. See below for
an example of what you need to complete.
25
Other Places to Submit Your Articles
•
Submit your articles to announcement lists.
•
Submit your articles to well-known, well-read, e-zine publishers and
webmasters who are actively looking for content and always welcome
fresh, new articles (providing they are relevant).
•
Locate high page rank websites and offer to give your content for free.
This is a great way to get a high PR back link to your website and also
provides a steady stream of traffic.
•
Create a list of exclusive e-zine editors and website owners who wish
to be contacted when you have new content to publish.
OUTSOURCE YOUR ARTICLE CREATION
Another possible source of articles is hiring someone to write them for you. If
you really don’t want to write the content, then find someone you know or visit
rentacoder.com or elance.com and hire someone to create them for you.
The charge per article varies depending on length, but generally they are
between $5–$15 each.
26
Social Networking
Social networking sites are the big talking point in 2008, as they are changing
the face of the Internet. You have most likely used one of the many popular
social networking sites yourself.
The key is using them to drive traffic to your websites and generate income
from that traffic. By joining a social networking site and using the correct
techniques, you should be able to generate a lot of interest in what you have
to offer and drive lots of traffic your own websites.
Social networking, also known as web 2.0, has provided a much higher level
of user interaction than ever before. These websites that have become so
popular because they are built around user and member participation. Without
the users supplying the content, they would be worthless.
They are set up as virtual communities and communication portals for people
to make friends and do the following things:
•
Discuss issues,
•
Share videos,
•
Post articles,
•
Give opinions,
•
Upload photos,
•
Create networks of like minded people,
•
Give ratings,
•
And much more.
The big players in the social networking game are:
•
Myspace.com,
•
Facebook.com,
27
•
Youtube.com,
•
Squidoo.com,
•
stumbleupon.com, and
•
digg.com.
Most of these sites have already been sold in multi-BILLION dollar deals
(demonstrating what a gold mine they are). Marketers can use all of the
multimedia options as a means to drive traffic to another destination.
WHAT IS WEB 2.0?
Web 2.0 is a term used to describe the technology that allows users to
interact with each other online in new ways. The advancement in the
technology has made communication much easier and allowed a huge new
marketplace to open up. This is the marketplace that you should be looking to
tap into.
Never before have so many people been so accessible. With millions of
people engaged in this new form of social activity, there is now a great
opportunity to drive lots of traffic and market your website to potentially
millions of people in simple ways (and without spending lost of money).
The huge boom in social networking sites is not going away, and it will only
continue to grow over the next few years. If you have used any of the social
networking sites, you will probably understand why they are so popular.
There is something about the set up of the websites and communities that
draws people in and attracts millions of users at the same time. There are a
wide variety of websites revolving around separate themes. As such, they
seem to cater to most people.
28
One of the big reasons for their success is because they are so easy to use
and navigate. In fact, with very little knowledge of the Internet itself, anyone
can sign up and use a social networking site.
BASIC WAYS TO MARKET YOUR WEBSITE ON SOCIAL NETWORKING
SITES
Screenshot of "Basic Ways to market Your Website on Social Networking Sites" video
Click here to view the video Basic Ways to Market Your Website on Social
Networking Sites: http://instant-traffic-to-mysite.com/videos/06_socialnet/marketing_on_social_networking(new%20audio)
(unbranded).html
Build a relationship:
Use your friends list to get to know the people you are in contact with by
sending them quality content they can use. Seek their feedback on how the
methods worked, and also answer questions that they have.
29
Establish yourself as the “go-to” person if they have a question in your market.
Every time you send them information, tell them they can explore a lot more
information by visiting your website
Find other users and search their profiles:
You simply need to read another member’s profile and look for similar
interests before approaching them to be friends. This also means you can be
more selective and build a community feel without having to approach many
people and ask them to join.
You can also just directly ask users that you know will be interested in what
you have to offer (after reading their profile).
Join other social networking sites:
A good tip is to join as many social networking sites as you can manage. If
you begin to struggle, you can hire someone to run the sites for you. Also,
because there are millions of users across a number of different social
networking sites, it is a good idea to cross-reference between them and invite
friends from one site to another.
Use your profile for marketing your website:
Describe yourself and your online business in your profile. Talk about what
your business is about and offer additional information to people who are
interested. Offer your link on the sites that allow it. This can provide many
visitors itself.
Rather than talking about pets or your favorite band, make reference to your
interests in relation to your business and what you are currently working on.
You can create a compelling profile without blatantly advertising your
products.
30
Set up your profile pages on the big sites such as myspace.com,
facebook.com, dig.com, etc.
Use the available blog:
Many of the social networking sites have a blog (which is like an online
journal), which you should use to actively update your pages. Use your blog
pages to profile one of your products each week. You can talk about different
aspects of the same product if you wish. You can also provide case studies
from people who have used your product successfully.
Talk about your interests in your blog and link to your website. Add quality
information but keep the real secrets on your private website. This will
encourage people to visit in order to find out more.
Extra tips for marketing via a social networking site:
Remember that you can hire someone to create the content for the profiles or
even have them manage them for you. Also, because there are millions of
users across a number of different social networking sites, it is a good idea to
cross-reference others and join as many as you can manage.
Look for the social networking sites that have smaller communities of likeminded people. If you can find people who are just interested in what you
have to offer, then you have a more captive audience and they are more likely
to want to know more.
Don’t forget that you can build relationships with other online marketers via
the social networking sites. These networks can be invaluable to you and your
business in the long term.
31
FACEBOOK.COM
Screenshot of "Facebook" video
Click here to view the video Facebook:
http://instant-traffic-to-my-
site.com/videos/04_facebook/facebook(new%20audio)(unbranded).html
Facebook gives you a lot of opportunities to tap into its huge traffic pool and
use that to market yourself and your products. You can use the platform to
your advantage, and drive a lot of traffic from your profile page.
Here’s a list of the main features and how to use them to generate more
traffic:
Friends
Facebook is quite like MySpace in the way that it allows you to add friends
that you can share your information with. You also have more control over
who sees your profile, pictures, blog and RSS feeds.
You also have the option to accept or reject friend requests. This is a good
way to filter out those people who are completely unrelated to your marketing
message or who are unlikely to want what you have to offer.
32
Having a network of like-minded people is far more beneficial than people
who just want to talk about what they did yesterday or what tricks their cat can
perform.
As I said, Facebook is far more personal than MySpace because of the
permission-based friend list. This allows you to be more open and share a lot
more information with select people once they enter your marketing funnel
and have an idea about your processes and products. This is a basic
marketing technique (teaching your prospects how to respond).
Profile
Facebook gives you the space to input a very comprehensive profile, which
you should use to maximize your target market. You can talk about your
interests and background, ensuring that you use references to the market you
are entering and so that readers can relate to you.
Your profile, background, and interests will give the most information to
people who are interested in your message and help them to gain more
access to you and your products.
Keep your privacy in mind and restrict your information to those people that
are going to be interested and want to know more. You don’t want to be
sending updates to people who are not interested in hearing what you have to
say. They will simply report you for marketing and you could be banned.
You can share aspects of your profile and information with those people that
you decide to include, which is a great feature in Facebook. Sharing with
people is going to make your business more personal and develop a bond
with potential customers.
33
RSS Feeds
Don’t forget to use the power of RSS feeds. These are web feeds that update
automatically whenever you add new content. You can add your own RSS
feeds (from your blogs, news feeds, or article feeds) to keep Facebook
readers up to date.
Facebook Applications
Facebook has more than 2,000 applications that can be used to attract more
readers and add that unique and interesting element to your pages. They are
simple icons that provide more access to further information and areas of
interest.
They can be placed on websites, desktops, blogs, profiles, and even mobile
devices, and people find them unusual and very interesting. As such, they are
great attention grabbers. Choosing the right applications to use can have a
huge impact on your effectiveness in your Facebook marketing and traffic
generation.
Status Updates
Rather than using the “Status Update” feature to tell your friends about what
you are doing today and in the coming weeks, use the feature to report on the
marketing projects you are running and the workshops you are attending or
setting up (this can vary depending on your marketplace).
The point is to talk about things related to your own business and products.
Use subjects as a transition into your business.
There are multiple ways to use the status updates, but if you only have your
real friends and family on your friends list, they are unlikely to be effective, as
they only want to hear about you, not what you have to promote. One good
34
way to get around this is to approach other people on the site and ensure all
aspects of your profile are set up to make your purpose and interests clear.
Posts
Make sure that you demonstrate some knowledge when you make a post.
You can post via the Facebook posted items application or via posting on
someone's Facebook wall.
Think about sharing interesting sites with other people or engaging in small
conversations that others may ask you questions about.
Be more specific than most people are on what you are actually doing. For
example, instead of just saying that you are going to a workshop, tell your
friends exactly what kind of workshop it is and what is going to be involved
and discussed.
Also, rather than telling people that you are blogging on your own website, tell
them exactly what the subject matter is and how your articles are influencing
people.
By using these methods and ideas, your friends will know a lot more about
you and what is currently going on in your life and in your business. Also, they
are a lot more likely to be interested in what you have to say and how you can
help them out. As such, they will visit your websites and blogs that you
mention in the blog posts.
Don’t Get Banned
It is possible to be banned from Facebook for having too many contacts or if
you publish certain images. You may also be banned for using a name that is
not your legal first and last name. There are other things to be wary of which
the terms of service lay out. Read them if you are unsure about anything.
35
MYSPACE.COM
Screenshot of "MySpace" video
Click
here
to
view the
video
MySpace:
http://instant-traffic-to-my-
site.com/videos/07_myspace/myspace(new%20audio)(unbranded).html
Myspace.com has become the most famous social networking site online.
This new Internet landscape gives you a huge opportunity to market to a
much wider audience then ever before.
You should take advantage of this by using the techniques described in this
chapter. There are a number of factors involved to generate traffic from
myspace.com.
Here are some of the best way to create traffic and redirect it to your website:
Use the bulletin feature:
You can use this feature to promote your product to your entire friends list
very quickly. When you post a bulletin, everyone on your friends list can read
it.
36
Don’t ever spam them, though, or you may be reported and banned. This is
one of the reasons for selecting your friends carefully in the first place and
being selective about who you approach.
Visit and communicate with other users:
Another good tip is to start visiting other MySpace sites and send quality
messages to other users on the network. This will comes across as more
personal, and people will be far more interested in visiting your profile and
linking to your individual pages to find out more about you.
You can then just inform them about your website and drive traffic this way.
Center your pages on one main theme:
Base your page on one main topic or market. Having a focused presence
means that you can become even more appealing to those people looking for
what you have to offer. They will immediately see what you have to offer and
will be more likely to check back regularly in order to stay updated on your
actions.
Write to influence:
Basic copywriting skills are needed here. They include writing headlines,
subheads, bulleted lists, and great content in between. The content your
create must be appealing or people will simply lose interest and leave your
page.
37
Make your pages simple:
Ensure the webpage is easy to read and navigate around. Don’t use any of
those annoying background colors or patterns, as they make the text very
hard to read and they simply look poor and unprofessional.
Keep adding fresh content:
Your MySpace pages should have large amounts of information as this gives
the impression that you are knowledgeable and understand the subject
matter. If you consistently add new content, people will be encouraged to
check your site often.
Create a simple and clear layout:
Make the site clear so that visitors can see what you have to offer.
Make your pages appealing:
Ensure that your pages are appealing for people to use and explore. The best
approach is to make your pages “sticky” and differentiate yourself from the
other MySpace profiles.
Look at your keyword density on each page:
Pay attention to the factors of your Myspace pages. Ensure that you are using
the right proportion of keywords in your posts and updates. You should have a
2%–3% keyword density (which means the number of occurrences of that
keyword on a page).
38
Squidoo.com
Screenshot of "Squidoo Basics" video
Click here to view the video Squidoo Basics:
http://instant-traffic-to-my-
site.com/videos/10_squidoobasics/squidoo%20basics(new%20audio)(unbran
ded).html
This site is included in the ebook because it is one of the most heavily visited
social networking websites. In fact, Google is known to give Squidoo a lot of
attention, as do the other major search engines.
The website itself also receives a very high amount of traffic each and every
month. For these reasons, you are advised to set up and use a free account.
Squidoo can be used to bring in a lot more traffic to your own website, and it
is free to use. The only thing to note is that you will need to create content and
keep posting regularly to maintain your rankings.
39
WHAT IS SQUIDOO?
Screenshot of "Squidoo Lens" video
Click here to view the video Squidoo Lens:
http://instant-traffic-to-my-
site.com/videos/11_squidoolens/squidoo%20lens(new%20audio)(unbranded).
html
This website allows its users to build free mini-sites called “lenses,” which can
be based around any topic and are generally about things that the users have
a passion for.
Understand that squidoo can be used to market your own website and drive
traffic. There are already a lot of people that have built a lot of income from
using this free website.
The lens must be set up correctly to maximizse your efforts, therefore I have
included some detailed, step-by-step instructions in the following pages. Lets
take a look at them now:
40
Step 1—Sign up for an account.
Go to http://www.squidoo.com/ and sign up for an account. It only takes a few
minutes at most. If you want to find out more about the site first, or if you have
any
problems,
then
see
http://www.squidoo.com/squidtips/
for
more
information about what the website can do for your traffic generation.
Step 2—Set up a squidoo lens for your website.
If you have multiple websites, then consider using a new lens for each site in
order to drive more traffic and make the lens specific to that market place.
Step 3—Choose a topic for your lens.
This is going to be the title of your page, so make sure you have the keywords
in it and that it’s a phrase that people are actively searching for.
41
Step 4—Choose the type of lens that you want to use.
If you want to have total control over your articles and content, then choose
the “I just want to do my own thing” option. This will allow you to create the
lens from scratch.
Step 5—Choose your desired URL.
Ensure that you choose wisely, as this cannot be changed later and will
forever be your squidoo web address. A good tip for traffic generation is to
keep the same keyword or phrase in the URL as you have in the lens title. At
least keep the theme similar and relevant.
Step 6—Pick the category for your lens.
Pick the category for your lens and ensure that you review the available
options first. There are a number of various categories, so for maximum traffic
and exposure, you should always pick the most relevant one that fits your lens
best. The aim is to be alongside other lenses with the same theme, so that
visitors see your lens when searching for something similar. This will ensure
that the people you are looking to sell to find you first.
Step 7—Enter a rating score for your new lens.
Enter a rating score for your new lens (choose from G rating, R rating, or an X
rating). The X rating is for adults only, so choose carefully based on the
content you intend to supply. Obviously, you want as much targeted traffic as
possible, so this comes down to your prior market research.
Step 8—Pick at least three keyword phrases.
Pick at least three keyword phrases that are relevant to your market and the
products you want to be selling via squidoo. They should all relate to the topic
of your lens. Think back to the title of the lens and look for keywords that get
42
many searches but have a low volume of competition. This step alone is going
to give you higher rankings in the search engines.
Step 9—Donate or keep the profits.
At this point in the process, you will be asked if you would like to keep the
profits from the lens or donate it to your favorite charity. You also have the
option of splitting it 50/50 with the charity, so the choice is yours. Just select
an option and move on.
Step 10—Enter your personal information.
Enter your personal information, email address, and a screen name to appear
on your squidoo lens. You also need to select a password at this stage.
Step 11—Agree to the terms of service.
The final part of the registration process is to agree to the terms of service.
This is pretty standard for all websites, and you simply need to agree to their
terms of service by ticking the box to indicate you have read them.
Well done—that’s the end of the process for creating your squidoo lens. Now
it’s time to drive traffic from squidoo to your websites.
From here you can start to amend your squidoo lens in any way you want by
adding content, images and other methods to increase your traffic.
43
SQUIDOO SUMMARY
•
Squidoo and can bring your website a lot of traffic because Google is
very active in listing its pages.
•
When selecting a topic to write about, try to use one with low search
competition in the search engines but a lot of recent popularity from
users (i.e. something that is a current hot topic). This tactic will allow
you to rank highly in Google for that particular search term.
•
Only use squidoo tags that relate to your lens and are very relevant to
your post. If you fail to heed this advice, your lens could easily get
flagged as spam and maybe removed.
•
It is possible to get a first page listing on Google just by using squidoo,
which means using and redirecting that traffic to your website. You can
earn high rankings quite quickly once you have the content added to
your lens.
•
Always plan and research your target market and keyword phrases to
use before creating your Squidoo lens.
•
Whenever you create any content, always focus on the reader and
what they want to know. Provide high-quality content and you will
separate yourself form the mediocre marketers out there and attract
more attention and traffic. Focus on helping readers to find relevant
things to buy on your lens.
44
Press Releases
A press release is a written document that is created explicitly for the news
media to publish and syndicate. A press release should be newsworthy and
make an announcement about your business or products.
Press releases are great when you have an announcement to make, like that
you are releasing a new product or new website. I’m sure you can be
inventive here and use that situation as a means to create a newsworthy
document.
Using a press release means that your message can be spread far and wide
by all sorts of people and marketers on the Internet. They are one of the very
best ways to get your message spread all over the Internet.
Also, remember that the news media is involved, so you have an army of
journalists working behind the scenes spreading the word. It can spread to
some of the top news websites on the Internet, as well as offline news
sources.
WHY YOU SHOULD USE A PRESS RELEASE
Press releases are seen as official documents, not blatant marketing sales
pitches, so you can gain a lot more exposure with a press release than with a
regular article. People also tend to see them as impartial stories and not as
sales letters.
As such, most people do not expect a press release to be selling anything, so
they are syndicated and spread and used by many of the big news services
within your market.
45
To be seen and noticed in today’s busy marketplace, you need to use press
releases as many of the top marketing experts do.
They are great for generating a quick surge of traffic and can be re-released
at a later date if you need to. You should think about using press releases
whenever you want to announce a product, contest, or a new service as part
of your business.
Lets look at how to write a press release.
WRITING THE PRESS RELEASE
You should always include quality content in your press release in order to
initiate a lot of traffic to your website. Of course, your aim is to make sales and
encourage the reader to visit your site, but you must avoid the hard sale used
in most online advertising. You should write your release in a journalistic
manner by revealing something new in order to capture the attention of the
readers and other people in the media.
Press releases are different from articles, and the layout should be different
also. You need to taylor your writing style to the news media rather than the
end user, or it will not be published in the big news sites (and you will lose a
lot of traffic and free exposure).
Here are some points you should keep in mind when you are writing your
press release:
•
The press releases must be compelling and interesting to read. It must
have an angle and that should be clear to anyone reading. Make an
announcement!
•
Use a journalistic or newspaper approach when writing. You should be
reporting on the story instead of overtly selling.
46
•
It should be informative and have valuable information. Give away
some quality facts and reveal some information that other people would
not know.
•
The most important details should be included in the opening
paragraph of the press release. The reason for writing should be very
clear after reading the opening paragraph.
•
The remainder of the press release should contain more information
about your business and how to contact you. You can include a call to
action here, but don’t let it come across as a sales pitch.
•
The media won’t publish stories that are simply sales pitches, so avoid
this or your press release will fail to reach your intended audience.
There are also a number of important sections to add into the press release. If
you create the press release with these feature, you will have a very good
chance of getting it published by the big services.
Remember to include the flowing when writing your press release:
•
Facts about the topic you are writing about.
•
Quotes from people mentioned in the story, or even from people who
have been affected by the topic of the story.
•
Write it like a newspaper article informing people about an event they
should be aware of. Don’t sell them on a product or service.
•
The history of your business and how it relates to the announcement.
•
Images of the product, service, launch, event etc.—images are a great
way to break up the main text.
•
Statements that back up the main theme of the press release.
•
Contact info (choose whether or not you want your telephone number,
address, or a by-line).
47
PUBLISHING YOUR PRESS RELEASE
The initial stage in the process is to publish the press release as far and wide
as possible in relevant markets and locations. You can do this manually by
hand, or use some services that will cost you a small fee. Such services
promise to promote your press release to a set number of locations.
Publishing Press Releases Yourself
It can take a little time to locate and find the best possible places for press
release submission, although there are a number of free resources online that
offer great help for beginners.
You need to know where you will get the best exposure and where the most
people will see and act on the release. This will ensure you get the maximum
benefit and traffic from the work you have done by writing the press release.
Press Release Services
There are also a number of press release services available on the Internet.
Pay attention to the submission guidelines that the service uses, as you may
be in breach of some them without realizing it.
Some services have strict guidelines that you need to follow, or your press
release could be removed from their database for not meeting their
requirements.
There are a number of press release services that require you to use a
character-per-line format. Other services allow you to submit the press
release in other formats. They are all different, so make sure that you read the
terms of service first.
48
Probably the most popular and well-known press release service online is
called PR Web. It can be found at www.prweb.com. See the screen shot
below:
PR Web offers a broad range of service to users. You can choose the free
service or a $500 service. The high-end option guarantees a lot of attention
from the media offline and ensures that a major online presence is seen as
well.
By using PR Web or any other service, you are guaranteed to have your
press release syndicated to newspapers, radio stations, and offline magazine
publishers. Besides this, it is also sent to a host of top webmasters and other
press releases services.
You can use a number of other options that cost far less and can create a lot
of traffic also. For example, prweb.com is well known for its professionalism in
the marketing industry.
49
Press releases will always generate a lot of traffic, especially if the press
release is well written. It is a marketing technique that I encourage you to
explore further and take the advantages that it offers.
50
How To Build Incoming Links
Screenshot of "One-Way Links" video
Click here to view the video One-Way Links:
http://instant-traffic-to-my-
site.com/videos/08_onewaylinks/one%20way%20links(new%20audio)(unbran
ded).html
WHAT IS A ONE-WAY LINK?
In simple terms, a one-way links lets you place your link (to your website) on
other relevant websites without needing to reciprocate—you do not need to
give them a link in return. This process is called one-way linking.
WHY YOU SHOULD USE ONE-WAY LINKS
One-way links are a great deal for you because you get search engine
relevance and also the exposure of being seen by their visitors and
customers. They also provide a lot of free traffic.
51
Getting enough one-way links is like leaving your calling card all over the
Internet. This gives you a greater chance of people seeing you and visiting
your website.
Always make sure the websites that link to you are good quality, and try to
have as many as possible linking to you.
One-way incoming links are simply the best links to have, and as the Internet
is just a huge network of websites, linking is a natural process and can be
used to drive a massive amount of free traffic.
Look at your own marketplace and see how there are millions of relevant
websites that all share a huge portion of traffic. You can tap into that and
direct the traffic to your website with simple links. So start approaching these
sites and find out if they offer one-way links.
Search engines can bring in a lot of traffic, but linking alone is bigger than the
search engines. You can have thousands of links all bringing in steady traffic
each day, if you take the time to set this up properly.
With that said, there a number of experts who believe that one-way link
campaigns, or “power-linking,” make the search engines look small in
comparison, considering the amount of traffic that a links campaign can
generate.
CORRECT USE OF ANCHOR TEXT
Anchor text is the text used to link from one website to another. This is also
known as a hyperlink.
Anchor text is important because it is used for linking two sites. For this
reason, you should make sure that the anchor text (hyperlinks) always
contains your main keyword phrases.
52
This allows the search engines to know the nature of your website and rank
you under the keywords you want. If you use this technique, then any
searches conducted for your key term should list your site in the search
engine’s top pages. The higher a ranking you have, the more traffic you will
get.
Provided the content on your website matches the linking text that is used by
other websites to link to you, your website will be ranked well in the search
engines.
HOW TO BUILD A ONE-WAY LINKS CAMPAIGN
You goal should be to create the biggest network of incoming links to your
website as possible—almost like being the center of a wheel with all the
spokes coming into it.
This will allow you to capture the greatest amount of traffic possible for your
own marketplace.
Now let’s talk about some of the best ways to create links back to your
websites. All of the techniques below create one-way links, so they are perfect
for what you need. Notice how many of the processes and techniques in the
book are mentioned here.
Write and create free content to give away:
Free content is a great way to bring in one-way links, so think about giving
away free reports which people in your marketplace need and want (more on
this technique in a later chapter).
Ensure that the content is unique to your site, and get links from other
websites in exchange for the free products.
53
Provide testimonials for other people in your marketplace:
The idea here is to review other products in your marketplace and provide the
creator a testimonial in exchange for a link back to your website.
The best place to get a link is on the sales page itself. You can get a lot of
attention this way (if the product is popular). This is a nice little tactic, and
simple to do.
Use authority sites to get one-way links:
Authority sites are those considered to be very important and the most
relevant in the marketplace. Sites like Yahoo, Wikipedia, news sites, and so
on are a good example.
These are deemed to be quality websites and are not considered spam. As
such, a link from these popular, well ranked sites (the top websites in your
market—you should know who they are) is very helpful for your rankings in
the search engines, and also very good for your traffic (as these sites get lots
of traffic daily).
You do need to provide something special in order to gain one-way incoming
links from the very best websites in your market place. One way to do this is
to approach the authority sites in your marketplace (the big-name gurus) and
offer to write content for them, completely free of charge.
You should provide top quality content, which they will then publish on their
website
in
exchange
for
linking
back
to
you.
I highly recommend you use this tactic as its a great way to bring thousands
of people to your website and “re-use” the visitors of high-traffic websites in
your marketplace.
54
Make regular posts on relevant forums:
This is a very quick and simple way to not only establish yourself as an expert
in your marketplace, but also to ask the owner for a link in exchange for your
continued valuable content.
Besides this, don’t forget to place a small link in your signature file every time
you make a post. This will provide a lot of awareness about your products and
websites, which people can click on and talk about on other forums and blogs.
This idea is expanded upon in the forum section of this book.
Create free reviews of other websites:
Another great way to generate incoming links is to create free reviews of other
websites you would like a link from. You should send the review to the site’s
webmaster and give them permission to use it, providing they post a link to
your website in return.
In essence, they are getting an endorsement from another site in the market,
which can provide them a lot of credibility, so they are likely to be interested in
doing
business
with
you.
This
is
a
great
deal
for
you
also.
Instruct them to place links on their websites and give away free content that
they can upload to their websites as well. Everything you give away should
link back to your website for maximum effect.
Comment on other blogs:
Another fantastic way to generate one-way links is to comment on other blogs
relevant to your market. The quality of the comment you post is very
important, as spam is now very prevalent across most blog sites on the
Internet.
55
Please see the blog chapter for more in-depth instructions on the best way to
post comments (and your website link) to blogs to gain precious one-way
links. There is a correct way to use this method, which can really enhance
your linking campaign.
56
Blog Marketing
Blogs are one of the best free tools for any online marketer looking to send
traffic to their website and also build a marketing campaign. This chapter is
going to explain how to use a blog to drive traffic to your website.
Blogs are viral and grow naturally as people add content and make comments
about other people’s posts. Search engines really like to index blogs and visit
them frequently. This means that you can get listed in the search engines
quickly and get high rankings also.
Blogs are constantly updated, so fresh content can be used on a regular
basis, and you can keep your prospects updated about new products.
You need to promote your blog as well as posting content to it on a regular
basis. We are going to cover how to effectively use your blog as part of your
overall marketing strategy.
HOW TO WRITE BLOG POSTS
Screenshot of "How to Write Blog Posts" video
57
Click here to view the video How to Write Blog Posts:
http://instant-traffic-to-mysite.com/videos/05_writeblog/how%20to%20write%20blog%20posts(new%20
audio)(unbranded).html
Build a reputation for giving away great content for free, and people will
actively seek you out to learn from you. You need to provide value—that’s the
key. Give the readers what they are looking for.
Use powerful headlines to attract attention, and then use good transitions
through the post to keep up a good sense of flow, keeping your blog
interesting and easy to read.
Use embedded links that offer further value outside of the blog (your main
website that you will direct readers to). Don’t just post a title and then a link to
your website, or your blog will get classified as a spam and could be deleted.
The big key is to make your content interesting for your readers, or they will
get bored and leave.
Other things to consider when writing blogs are:
•
Make blog posts conversational, short, simple, and easy to read.
•
Make blog posts topical and based on current issues in the
news. This always gets readers’ attention, as they are already
thinking about the topic!
•
Keep posts short.
•
Discuss one topic per post, and then link to more info (only give
the reader one choice).
•
Write posts with opinions to get readers engaged.
•
Make the blog posts enjoyable to read so that people return to
your blog regularly.
58
•
Write regularly (or get others to write) so readers and search
engines visit your blog on a regular basis.
•
Ask the reader to leave a comment and encourage active
communication. This is the best way to have your readers build
content for you.
OPTIMIZE BLOG POSTS
You need to optimize your blog posts in order to rank well in the search
engines for the keywords you want to target. It is possible to have blog posts
listed on the first page of Google and the other major search engines once
you have optimized the pages.
Optimize your blog posts for your primary keywords. Here is how to do it:
•
Name the blog post (title) with the keyword you want to target (and
include other relevant keywords in the sub-headings).
•
Use as many other related keywords in the content of the blog post as
you can, but don’t simply stuff it full of keywords or you will be too
obvious and drive people away.
•
Name any images on the blog with the primary keywords.
•
Add the keywords into the keyword section of the blog post (from the
back end).
•
Relate it to similar blog posts that you have published.
•
Create a category with the same keyword name, and then list the post
in it.
•
Use the primary keyword you want to optimize for in your blog URL.
•
Use primary and secondary keywords in the anchor text of the links in
you blog post.
59
SUBMIT YOUR BLOG AND RSS FEED TO DIRECTORIES
Once you have your blog set up and you are publishing regularly, you can
start to really enhance its presence in the search engines. One simple way to
do this is by submitting it to directories, providing there is relevant content in
the blog.
Always submit your RSS feeds. RSS feeds are pieces of code that are
generated every time you post to the blog.
There are a host of blog directories and RSS submission sites below:
•
http://blogit.a1weblinks.net/
•
http://www.rsshugger.com/
•
http://www.webloogle.com/
•
http://www.myblog2u.com/
•
http://www.bloglisting.net/
•
http://feedfury.com/
•
http://www.rssmicro.com/
•
http://www.blog-search.com/
•
http://itsmynews.com/
•
http://www.millionrss.com/
USE BLOG AND PING TACTICS
A ping is just a message sent to the blog to tell them that you have just
updated your blog. This then gives the cue to others to visit your blog and
check out what you have published.
Ping the blog servers in order to let them know that you posted some new
content to your blog.
60
There are numerous services available on the Internet that are specifically
designed for tracking and connecting blogs.
You can load a lot of the ping servers into the blog platform you are using, or
you can use a number of services that do this process automatically. You
simply need to set them for a certain time during the day, or multiple times per
day. This will bring the search engine robots to your blog and get it indexed
very quickly.
You can search Google for a list of ping servers, but I have included a number
of them below for you to use:
•
http://weblogs.com/
•
http://blo.gs/
•
http://pingomatic.com/
•
http://ping.in/
•
http://pinger.blogflux.com/
•
http://www.prestwood.com/products/pingserver/
•
http://www.sixapart.com/pronet/weblog/2004/12/moreover_ping_s.html
•
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Windows-Widgets/WidgetMiscellaneous/Server-Ping.shtml
LINK TO YOUR BLOG
Building links to your blog will increase your exposure in the search engines,
and it also has a viral effect as the word spreads and people leave comments
and links on their social networking profile, other blogs, and forums. This just
takes on a life of its own once the initial post has been published and read.
There are also a number of methods that you can use in order to start getting
links pointing to your blog from other locations on the Internet:
61
•
Create easy to navigate categories on your blog that can be accessed
from the side panel.
•
Link other websites to your blog your (as long as they have related
content).
•
Track back to other blogs in your posts.
•
Post quality comments on related blogs in the same market (this is
discussed in detail below).
•
Set up a place for other websites to submit their link exchange offers in
order to exchange links with other related blogs and websites
•
Make a link to your blog in your signature file when you post to forums.
HOW TO USE BLOG COMMENTING TO DRIVE TRAFFIC
Blog commenting is simply leaving messages on other blogs on the Internet
that are related to your market. You can use these blogs to direct traffic back
to your website by taking part in conversations and posting comments while
including your site link.
Always leave quality content to engage readers about what you have to offer.
Then provide your link for them to discover more.
Blog commenting is still an effective strategy for building traffic, when the
comments are used effectively. Blogs are still very popular and also receive a
high priority from search engines, as well as getting a lot of natural traffic from
people searching the Google, Yahoo, and MSN.
In effect, you can get your site noticed by posting comments on relevant,
targeted blogs that get a lot of traffic. You can then “piggy-back” on the
62
rankings of the blog itself and use that to take some of the traffic to your own
website.
They key is to post a quality comment and include a link to your website for
readers to get more information from you. The main point here (as always) is
to post relevant, good quality content that adds value to the blog.
Creating and Posting Quality Comments
1.
Read the original article or post you will be commenting on.
2.
Now look through any other comments that have been posted. Note
the general theme of the blog in general and how others have
reacted to it.
3.
Now begin writing your own opinion. You can incorporate what
others have said, or answer them directly.
4.
Try to write a couple of paragraphs and include some content which
presents your knowledge of the subject.
5.
A sloppy, low-effort comment will guarantee that your comment is
marked a spam and removed. Take the time to post something of
value to other people.
6.
Add a link to your site for others to receive more information. Just
add the link in to the general flow of the comment so that it is not a
blatant advertisement.
63
Viral Marketing
Viral marketing can generate huge quantities of traffic to your website very
quickly, and it is almost impossible to stop once it gets started. The Internet
itself is a viral dynamic as people interact each and every day to create new
content.
For example, people see something they like and write about it, or post it to
their blog, or link to it and so on. Then other people see their comment and
start to write about it, and so the cycle continues.
WHAT IS VIRAL MARKETING?
Viral marketing is one of the very best kept secrets in online marketing. The
best way to think about it is just like a virus spreading. All the small actions
that people take online combine to create a much larger, unstoppable force as
your information gets passed around the Internet.
The effect can happen via emails, forum comments, blog comments, word of
mouth, social networking sites, articles, and so on. There are literally
hundreds of ways to spread your viral marketing message.
You can use this “word of mouth” style advertising in your own promotions
with great effects. A viral campaign will outlast any paid program, as it can
never be stopped, unless people take down their websites.
This means that a constant stream of traffic will flow to the website you create
the viral marketing promotion around.
64
HOW TO USE VIRAL MARKETING IMMEDIATELY
•
Give away free viral special reports on a topic within your market.
•
Give away free viral ebooks.
•
Give away free viral articles and e-zine publications.
•
Give away free viral software (which links to your website).
•
Give away free viral audio recordings (which links to your website).
•
Give away free viral video (which links to your website).
THE KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL VIRAL MARKETING
Here are some quick tips to getting started and being effective:
•
Allow other marketers in your market to give the free viral product to
their customers free of charge. Put a value on the price of the book,
and code the links so they all point back to your main website. This is a
good way to promote your products.
•
Create a report around a subject that is a hot topic or that solves a big
problem for people.
•
Give away the great content to people for free, simply for just visiting
your blog or social networking profile page. If you demonstrate what
you have to offer for free, then people will wonder how great your
actual products are.
65
•
Encourage people to pass the product to their friends and other people.
People will want to publish it online and post about it on forums, blogs,
and so on.
HOW TO CREATE VERY SIMPLE VIRAL REPORTS TO GIVE AWAY
The key is to give the impression that the free report has huge value and is
worthy of a $47–$97 price tag. Provide great content and give away some of
your best secrets. This will really create a buzz about you and your website.
The report should provide enough value that people cannot believe you have
given it away free. This will create posts on forums and blogs and really get it
to spread quickly.
If you write articles for your prospects, then a good tip is to combine ten or
more and compile them into a viral report. This is a very quick and easy way
to get started with viral marketing.
As long as the content is good quality and you distribute it widely enough, it
will just continue to spread and spread. The keys are your content and picking
the right style for your market.
Lets look into that in more detail…
WHAT TYPE OF MARKETING WORKS BEST?
Content is king when it comes to viral reports, as people won’t pass it on if it’s
useless information. The content you create should be something that solves
a problem for people or engages them on a current topic of conversation.
Decide what people want to know most in your market, and then give it to
them. You can ask your prospects and customers questions and get them to
fill out questionnaires in return for the free report when complete (via your
blog or social networking profile).
66
Look at current trends that are being discussed on forums, blogs, and social
networking sites. Look for the most popular ones and then create a report
about them—linking your own product into the equation.
Tips and Article Reports:
Some of the best viral reports to create are based around tips and articles in
the market you are promoting to. You can simply combine a number of
articles that already exist on the subject and edit them and add some further
clarification. People love to be given new tips and advice on how to do
something better, faster, or cheaper.
In certain cases, the more plain and bare the reports look, the more people
are prone to reading them and passing them on. On the other hand, if they
are seen as unusual and new, then the viral reports can create a lot of
interest.
White Papers:
You can also create white papers (authoritative reports) and spread them
virally. This can be a good idea, as many people see them as official
documents and are more likely to read them than a report with a fancy graphic
on the cover.
Special Reports to Solve a Major Problem:
Another idea is to create special report on a subject that is causing a lot of
people problems. The viral report should just focus tightly on one particular
problem and explain how to solve it. Make the report a step-by-step guide on
how to remove the problem or get around it.
67
Trial Versions:
Offer a trial version of a product, or a limited version. If the product is
software, then this works very well. Typically you can offer a 30-day trial run
without any problems. This is known to increase traffic as the application is
passed around the Internet virally.
If you are promoting an information product, you can cut certain chapters out
of the ebook and publish them for free inside a viral ebook. This is like a
sneak preview, but provides really valuable content. If the content is high
quality, it will be passed virally from person to person.
Case Studies & Interviews:
You should also think about writing case studies of customers who have
bought your product and then building them into full-length interviews in which
the customer reveals all. People like to read exclusives (just think about the
popularity of celebrity gossip) and find out what the real secrets are. If they
feel they are in on the secret, then take ownership of it.
WHERE TO GIVE THE VIRAL PRODUCT AWAY
You must market and “sell” the free report as much as you would a paid
product. This is one of the missing keys in viral marketing. A lot of people
think that you only need to create something free and people will go wild over
it, but this is not true. In fact many people don’t use free products, as they
perceive them to have no value.
You should mention your free report in the following places:
•
Blogs—add this as a permanent feature on your site and talk about it in
each blog post.
•
Blog comments—make reference to it on other people’s blogs.
68
•
Forums—add the link to the report inside your blog signature file as
discussed earlier. You can also create a new conversation for people
to provide feedback on.
•
Email important people in your marketplace and offer to send them the
report for free.
•
Ask other authors in your market to send it to their email list. They will
probably do this if the content is good enough.
•
Add the attachment to social networking sites and send out
announcements to your friends list.
Ensure that every page has a link back to your website and a clear call to
action.
Include partial stories in the ebook, which are explained in more detail on the
website. This is a great way to ensure people visit your website.
SUMMARY
Always try to incorporate viral marketing into any website or any marketing
campaign you create and run. You can really increase your exposure and web
traffic from something very simple to do.
69
Discussion Forums
Discussion forums are excellent places to start building up credibility as an
online expert in your own particular field or subject matter.
You can simply sign up to a forum in your marketplace and start to engage
other people. The best way to do this is by providing free content and giving
advice with out asking for anything in return (at first).
If you use this tactic, many people will start to ask you questions and want to
know more about your knowledge and what information you have to offer
them. They will ask you to see your website and provide any other products
that you have to offer.
Essentially, you will be marketing in reverse. This is a much better tactic than
blatantly trying to sell products from the day that you sign up to the forum.
This will only annoy people and ensures that they will ignore you and discount
what you have to say (because they expect you to pitch a sale at them).
HOW TO FIND THE BEST FORUMS TO SIGN UP TO
Whatever market you are involved with will have forums or places where likeminded people get together. You simply need to conduct a search in Google
or another search engine.
You can find many forums by searching for general information on your
market as well. Look for the experts in your niche and see what they
recommend also. The best forums are the ones that are updated daily and
have a high level of user participation.
70
Forums are viral by nature, as one person responds to another comment and
so on. Because people may be joining the forums every day, you will have a
steady stream of potential prospects to contact.
Here are some of the things to look for when choosing a forum to use:
•
Look for forums that
•
Use forums that are updated regularly.
•
Ignore forums that have a lot of flaming (insulting feedback) or
have
high
level
of
user participation.
negativity.
•
Look
•
Find forums that contain people who are active in the market—not
for
forums
that
have
a
large
number
of
users.
those who just want to chat about ideas (and who wont buy anything).
•
Use forums that allow linking.
•
Use forums that allow you to use a signature file on each post.
USING A SIGNATURE FILE
Once you have established yourself as part of the community, it’s time to use
a signature file in your forum posts. This is simply a little piece of code that
gets posted to every comment you make. The signature will contain your
name and also a link to your website.
This is a great way to gain more traffic and exposure. If you have already
established yourself as an expert in the forums, then people wont mind you
using a signature file as it adds to their experience and understanding of the
topics.
71
However, it is probably not wise to begin using a signature file from the
moment you join the forum. People will simply see you as trying to advertise
and not someone with valuable content. As such, they are more likely to
ignore everything you say and not investigate you any further. This is a subtle
point, but very important.
HOW TO USE A FORUM FOR SEARCH ENGINE RANKINGS
Due to the viral element of any forum (users replying to other posts, people
telling other people about them, messages getting posted on other forums,
etc.), all of the content on the forum becomes very good quality search engine
“food.”
This viral element allows the search engines to easily find the forum and keep
returning to uncover more and more content each time. Many forums now
rank highly in the search engines. As such, you should post as often as you
can and remember to join the most popular posts, and even to add a small
comment or opinion.
Always ensure that you are adding to the quality of the discussion, and not
simply advertising yourself again. Regular advertising will get you banned in
many cases.
Forums are an excellent place to build your reputation and brand name in a
market and demonstrate the knowledge that you have to offer. Remember
that people are looking for solutions, and this is a great opportunity to give
that to them. You should use forums as an integral part of your marketing
plan.
72
The Next Step
You now have a wide range of options for generating a lot of free traffic to
your website. Regardless of how old your website is, these strategies will help
to bring traffic in a short period of time.
Some of these strategies bring traffic more quickly than others due to their
nature (social networking and article marketing), however others will help to
maintain your presence in the search engines for many years to come.
For example, building one-way incoming links is one of the best ways to
establish your website as an authority site. Unless those directories go out of
business or get banned (very unlikely), there is nothing to stop them from
holding your link for many years.
Besides this, you can build your own authority status the longer you have
been established in the directories and search engines. These are all factors
that the search engines look at when ranking your website.
The best way to get started from here is to choose one of the strategies and
start to implement it. Review the section again and then take action. This is
the fastest way to learn and produce results.
Your website is ready to receive traffic and you have the means to provide it
now, so don’t wait—take action now!
In fact, I recommend you begin by submitting your website to at least ten
directories. This will give you a head start, and then you can work on other
marketing techniques while the directories are reviewing your website.
Another good idea is to begin using the social network sites in a more
productive way. If you need to sign up, then do that now, or start to create
content about your business and projects.
73
Once you have completed these steps, you can start to work on the other
marketing strategies and build your momentum. Eventually you will have
pieces of all the techniques in place and be getting a lot more traffic for your
website.
I wish you the best in your marketing efforts!
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