Top Ten FREE Traction Building Ideas for a New Web Site

The dot com era proved that just building it isn't enough. The chicken and the egg issue exists -you need customers to get customers... and attempting to launch a web site, is that issue on steroids. So, how to get traction? 

Here are Ten FREE Traction building Ideas we are trying:

1) Email Your Friends:
Find everyone you know that relates to your target market and introduce them to your website via email... as you know them, leverage every piece of emotional capital you have with them to encourage them to take a look at your new site and join.

2) Ask Your Friends to Refer Others:
If you send an email to people who are your target market, clearly articulate why it is valuable to 'THEM' (not just you) to join your site... and then ask and make it easy for them to refer people they know. Here's an example of an email I wrote that asks for a referral -

"Please forward to anyone that may be interested... entrepreneurs, advisors, people with Blogs, press contacts etc! Even forwarding to four or five contacts will make a big difference for us! 

Happy New Year and thanks!

++ 

I've just discovered a new web service bringing potential business advisors together with entrepreneurs and early stage businesses. For Advisors - It's a great way to discover new deal flow and get involved in a hot new company. For Entrepreneurs - a great way to take your business to the next level in 2007!

The site is called Advisor Garage - http://www.AdvisorGarage.com and was recently featured in Business Week!

Please sign up and forward this email to great advisors and entrepreneurs.
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After three or four weeks of steps 1 & 2 we found that we had begun to get a few people onboard... So now what?

3) Write a Press Release and get it OUT there... 
I can almost hear a few folks swallowing and already considering looking for the next blog... it really isn't that tough and it isn't expensive. In fact, its FREE! Don't believe me? Consider signing up to PR Leap (http://www.prleap.com/learn_more). Not only do they have some good articles which explain for dummies (like me!) how to write a press release but they also offer a free submission service to multiple channels such as Google News, Google Search, Yahoo! Search, Topix.net, Technorati, MSN, Ask News, Moreover, NewsNow and others. According to their website - PR Leap is the best way to send your news release(s) to all major search engines, newswires, and websites. And basic accounts are free! 

So what happened with us? Well we signed up, created a one page press release (took about 30 minutes), submitted it and it was approved earlier today. It will appear tomorrow. If you are interested, the link to the press release is: http://www.prleap.com/pr/61185/ 

The basic plan (read... Free) comes with stats, so I'll let you know in a few days if the press release was actually read by anyone and if it was picked up by any sites, bloggers, press etc. Let's see how good PR Leap and our press release writing skills are!

4) A Personalized Toolbar:
A great startup called Conduit (http://www.Conduit.com) offers people the opportunity to create their own, personalized toolbar for FREE. Conduit has a wizard embedded within their website which takes you through the setup process step-by-step. It took about twenty minutes and once you're done, they create a link to your toolbar download site which you can then share through an email signature or through a click through download on your new networking site. There are a number of cool ways to tailor the toolbar... your branded search, create links to particular pages on your own site, add weather, a radio and so on to make sure its a value download for your customers.

5) Design Your Site with the Customer In Mind and Make Inviting Others Easy
If, like us, your marketing budget is measured by the quarters rattling around in your pocket, then do your site a favor and design it so the 'Invite Others' button is never far away. No matter what page the users happen to be on. Bold it, make it big, underline it if you have to but referrals from happy customers are always easier to get than attracting new customers. 

6) Friends & Contacts Revisisted:
Do any of your friends know anyone in the press or people who have blogs ? Well you won't know until you ask... ASK! 

7) Join Linked In (http://www.linkedin.com)
If you haven't already, consider joining linked in. Yes, its another networking site, and you could consider them the compeitition (In your dreams!)... but after joining you can search through the directory and find people that may either a) be interested in joining your site or b) encouraging others to do so. If you aren't a member already, take a look

8) Groups & Forums:
Are there Yahoo (http://groups.yahoo.com) or Google Groups (http://groups.google.com) or other online forums that include the types of people you want to attract to your new networking site? If so, join them but beware... most groups want members to contribute to the discussions and no groups appreciate spam. So find the best forums for your target customers, join and spend some time getting to know what subjects are being discussed. Give it a week or two then jump in and add some value... and make sure that your post includes your email and perhaps the web address. If it is valuable, then members may check out your new site... 

One last thing, if there aren't any good groups with your target customers... consider creating your own... and make it it feeds your new networking site. Here's one I started and yes... I know it only has a few members... but its more links in the internet for your website which appears in your google or Alexa results: http://groups.google.com/group/Harvard_Entrepreneurs_Startups?lnk=oa&hl=en 

9) Write to your Existing Members:
Do you have a few members? If so, email them occassionally (Not every day!) and remind them of the value of your site... perhaps highlight a particularly useful tool or feature of your website. Maybe reach out to some of the individual members and ask them if you can write about them joining the site, a person feature if you will. At the bottom of each of these emails... give them a few sentences (above for example) to send on to others they know. Stress how much you would appreciate their help and how important they are to you and your young business.

10) Drum roll... .badda badda badda... .Create a Blog!
Here's hoping that a blog is the tenth and most valuable means of getting the message out there about a new networking site. (Wordpress.com is FREE) 

Good Luck!

Know How Popup Advertising Plays an Important Role in Internet Marketing

Popup advertising can be very useful depending on how they are used. Most of the internet marketing experts and companies use this advertising strategy for obtaining the best results. The primary purpose of this method is to pull up the web traffic to a particular promotional website. Apart from this, popup ads will also help the business to draw more email addresses, which will be important for generating good contact lists and customer data base. This will in return help the company for email advertisement campaign. Usually, this is considered as a form of online advertisement. These are some of the major reason why it used in the internet marketing. When popup advertising is used in online marketing, it will help the website to maximize the distribution of the product information to many people. The usage of this online marketing strategy can become useful, useless or even harmful to your website. Therefore, if you are planning to use this technique for your website, it is very important to understand the process thoroughly and then use it for obtaining effective results. The main aim of the popup advertising is to attract more web traffic to a promotional website. This could be done when certain website will be viewed by the visitors. When a visitor will visit a website, a pop up window will be allowed to appear. These ads will convince the visitor for visiting certain website for getting some freebies. Moreover, they will also provide useful information for the visitors. When the visitor is bound to visit the website, he has to click on the ad. However, when you are using such popup ads, for your website, it is very important to make sure that you are using the right graphics and words. In some cases, the visitor will neglect the pop up ads if it is very bright or in striking color. Therefore, it is very important to make sure that the ad is created in the right way, which suits your business. In order to enhance the ad, you can also give it a blinking effect. The pop up ads should be simple in appearance yet attractive for the visitors. The first glace only should convenience the eye of the visitor. Another great advantage of using popup advertising for web advertising is that, it will help the company to generate email addresses, which are very useful for list building. When you are using pop up ads, you will be able to use it either non-permissive or in opt-in way. In opt in process, the pop up window will appear when the user is about to go away the promotional website. In some times, it will also appear when the visitor is halfway by visiting it. These pop up ads will ask the user whether he or she needs to receive newsletters about the products or services they are promoting. Here the visitor has the power to either enter his email address or even to neglect it. However, this depends on the choice of the user. When you are surfing on the web, you will be able to find pop up windows that will even provide you information on wellness, health as well as the latest trends. These ads are more informational than promotional. Non permissive is another option of generating the email addresses with the help of pop up ads. In this list building process, the pop up window will come out by offering downloadable useful applications and unbelievable freebies, as an online advertising process. This process is also some times known as banner ads. hostgator couponWeb Directories

Where DO you get the time?

Why does it so often seem like you turn around and it's midnight when you're raising your kids? It seems like no matter what you do sometimes, there's still a lot more work to do by the time you are ready to go to bed. What can you do? The first thing you need to do is figure out where your time is going each day. Try making notes one day about what you do and how long it takes. If you're feeling really ambitious, you can try this for a week, since every day is going to be different, but even one day will give you an idea as to where you're using up all your time. It may feel like you're wasting time writing these things down, and they will slow you down a bit for that day, but it can be a big help. Take a look at what you spent your day doing. Now assign a priority to each. How much time would you prefer to spend on each? Now if you add all these up, you'll probably find out your day is more than 24 hours long if you include time to sleep. That's how it is being a parent. The first thing you need to do is figure out what items can be done less often. Can you stand a little mess in the house? Can everyone else? Can you get more help from your spouse and the kids in keeping the house clean? You'll have to decide which solution is right for you. What about time spent surfing the internet or watching TV? Give yourself time limits on each of these. If you have a Tivo or a VCR, try recording your favorite shows and watching them a little later, skipping the commercials. Not only does this allow you to choose the time you watch your shows, it can cut down their length. Sometimes it can be hard finding enough time in your day to be with your kids, yet most parents will call this a priority. Just remember that time with your kids isn't just about having fun. Even small children can help out with making dinner, which can be a great time for talking with kids of any age. My three year old daughter has been helping make salads since she was two. The lettuce ends up in either rather large or very small pieces, but she has fun helping and we get some great time together. Older kids may or may not appreciate this time, but it's good for them to help out. I definitely do not recommend cutting back on whatever meals you insist on eating as a family. This is a great thing to do as a family, and if you aren't making time for family meals, find a way to do so! Even if it's just dinner one night a week together, no activities or sports to run off too, your family needs the time to relax together. Finally, are there things you can cut out all together? If you feel as though you've been pushed into doing things for others because you're at home and "have time," don't feel guilty about telling people that you do not have the time to do things they want you to do. Your family comes first. If you really want to volunteer, think about either cutting back the number of hours when you need more time for yourself or your family, or volunteering for something you can do as a family. There are only so many hours to a day, and so many things you'd love to get done. Take a good look at what you need to do, want to do and don't really need to do, and you can find ways to feel a little less overwhelmed most of the time. You'll go through times where there just aren't enough hours in the day even when you know your priorities, but you can cut down on the less important stuff and relieve a lot of your stress.

Why Blog – 5 Strong Motivations

Many people ask themselves, why blog, what's the sense? This reaction is based primarily upon the time and commitment it takes to maintain a blogging platform. Nowadays many make money blogging and therein is found their motivation. Others however take a more 'personal' approach and they base their blog content upon merely helping or serving people! In either case a strong motivation must be found to maintain the constant flow of blog content needed to both attract readers and keep them coming back! Here is a look a 5 different reasons or the motivations behind why many blog! Help Others Creating blog content that targets solving common problems associated with a particular niche reflect noble intentions. These type of platforms normally do well in attracting a large and loyal following and can also be quite effective if you intend to make money blogging. You must have an genuine interest in what you write about however since earning an income will take time and your interest will serve to keep you plugging away! Share Experience Sharing you own experiences serves multiple functions insofar as people can learn and/or be entertained by what you share. If you happen to have a good amount of experience to share than this type of blogging platform could be relatively easy for you to maintain! Self Gratification Sharing an interest or personal passion with like minded people is both an enjoyable and self gratifying experience! Much like having a lot of experience to share, if you are passionate about what you base your blog content on, this type of platform will likely be easy and even a joy to maintain. Visitor will also be quite appreciative of the quality of your posts making them even more loyal! Offer Insight Insights and/or opinions are an intriguing way to engage readers since if 'shared' correctly, it will be thought provoking. Nothing gets people more involved then stirring their interest by offering them a perspective they have not considered before. Helping them to 'stretch' their thinking is an invigorating and often enjoyable experience, especially when it focuses on subject matter that holds their interest! Motivate People Some people are simply 'naturals' at finding the best in others and making others realize their own potential, are you one of them? Having a blogging platform that 'picks people up' and gets them motivated is one of the most popular type of sites. In most cases folks will find not only motivation but will also experience a renewed sense of self esteem making them fell better about themselves. In turn the motivator also experiences an uplifting feeling due to their ability to make those around them feel more confident and capable. In most cases the people who may ask, why blog, what's the purpose likely do not possess the commitment to maintain a blogging platform. This is not a negative but rather a point that it does in fact take time and a strong motivation to consistently create blog content people find interesting. For those who aspire to make money blogging this commitment must be even stronger! It simply takes more time to get people to spend money then it does to get them to read free content of interest to them. In either case a strong motivation is needed to maintain a consistent effort to create blog content. Discussed above are 5 of the most common and powerful motivations many bloggers use to help them maintain their site! Do any stir a strong enough motivation within you?

Making Money online : Banner Advertisements

Making Money online : Banner Advertisements When you are trying to make money off of the articles on your website, it is important to effectively promote your site so that you will attract customers and they can see just what a good, quality site you have. There are several ways so market and promote your website, one of them being though banner advertisements. What Banner Ads Can Do For You Banner ads can help bring visitors from others sites to your own. Although monthly fees can be expensive to advertise on high traffic sites, in the end it may be cheaper and/or a faster way to start seeing significant revenue from your website efforts, rather than waiting for SEO techniques to bring your own site to the top of search engine results. Aside from paying to advertise on someone else’s site, there are also free banner exchanges to choose from. We will look at the pros and cons of each banner advertising method below. Free Banner Exchanges Free banner exchanges are when you and other sites exchange each others banners. Their banner will go on your site and your banner will go one their site. Although this option is free, there are two main problems with it. First, if you want your banner on a significant number of sites, it will mean cluttering your own site up with these banners. This could even shot you in the foot if you run an affiliate website because, instead of clicking on your affiliate links, your visitors may be clicking on your banner exchange links. Secondly, you have to be really careful about the types of sites that you exchange banners with. Some sites like to gather a lot of banners so that they can be a directory or portal site and not have to have any real content. These “banner farms” or “link farms” will do nothing positive for your site and, in the meantime, you will be bringing them potential traffic. Paid Banner Ads As we saw above, paid banner ads cost money, but they will eventually pay off if you choose the right ones. You need to ensure that the site produces the amount of traffic that they say and that they have your ad placed in a way that invites visitors to click without being too pushy. You also want to choose a site that does not house too many other banners on the same page as yours or that there are no competitor links on the same page. All in all, banner ads can end up being profitable for you site if you go about it the right way. If you do decide to check out banner advertisement as a marketing avenue, be sure to keep the above tips in mind.