Recommendations by E-zine Publishers
Do you know anyone who publishes an e-zine for the same target market as yours? If you’re not direct competitors, ask her about cross-promoting each other. Example: My friend Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero, the “Red Hot Copywriter”, and I have regularly cross-promoted in our ezines, driving traffic to each other’s websites.
___ 9. Recommendations by Other Site Owners
Same idea as #8. Many sites offer a “recommended resources” page, so why not get listed on them? Find sites whose target market matches yours and ask if they’d recommend your site. You’ll get more yeses if you offer to list them on your site as well. (And especially if you also offer commissions on sales! See #10.)
___ 10. Affiliate Programs
Grow your own sales force by offering a handsome commission on your products and services. While this requires you to give away some profits on those sales, they’re sales you would not have had otherwise. Right now about 1/3 of my sales come from visitors sent to my site by my affiliates. Best of all, you can track and pay your affiliates automatically using programs like 1ShoppingCart, which also handles all your sales and customer database at the same time.
___ 11. Your E-mail Sig File
You’re probably familiar with e-mail signature (or “sig”) files — they’re the few lines of contact information that many of us put at the bottom of every e-mail we send. Add a few additional lines to your sig file that give us a reason to visit your site. Perhaps you’re having a special sale now or you’re giving away a free report, e-book, or e-zine subscription. Remember, e-mails get forwarded around all the time, so take advantage of this free exposure.
___ 12. Exposure in Print, Radio, and TV
You can attract hundreds or even thousands of fresh “eyeballs” to your site with the right media exposure. Again, no matter how great your interview or article is, people need a kick in the pants to visit your site. So give them something free that they have to come GET at your site. For help in generating publicity, check out my Diamond members Stacey and Regina who do custom plans for small businesses at PR Takeoff.
___ 13. Speaking to Groups
Nothing leaves more of an impact on people than an in-person presentation. At each appearance, collect your participants’ e-mail addresses by offering something free (your free report, e-book, or e-zine subscription), which builds your list. The day after the event, send them a welcome and a reminder to visit your site to pick up their gift.
___ 14. Postcard Mailings
One of the most overlooked tactics in today’s marketing world is the humble postcard. Postcards are a fast, easy, and reliable way to generate leads and increase visitors to your site. Best of all, they’re the ideal way to break through the online clutter… by going offline! I use and love ModernPostcard.com.
___ 15. Sheer Shamelessness
If you lived in the Los Angeles area about six years ago, there’s a good chance you saw “EzineQueen.com” whiz by you. Why? It was emblazoned across the back of my SUV in large, lime-green letters! At least once a week I got a friendly e-mail from someone who saw my giant URL and, out of curiosity, visited my site. A few of them even turned into customers. Lesson learned? Think out of the box!
© 2003-2009 Ali International, LLC
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