Monday, August 14, 2006

Generate More Web Traffic - 5 Lowcast Tactics to Explode Site Traffic

Web traffic is of utmost importance for any business. No matter what business model you're following, no matter what your goal is, be it selling a product or monetizing your web site with Adsense, you need a steady stream of targeted traffic.

With that being said, there are many ways to generate traffic; whatever product or niche you may be involved with. The key is to find the most effective yet most affordable alternatives.

Although it may be easy for big companies with deep pockets to throw cash into a pay per click campaign such as Google Adwords, for most home based businesses these costs can be daunting. Yet without targeted traffic no business can survive for long.

That's one of the great advantages to running an internet business. The home based business owner has many low or no cost options when it comes to advertising and drawing interested individuals to their sites.

Following are five such ways that can help increase your rankings in the search engines and gain much needed exposure.

Traffic Exchanges

These are exceptional tools when used right. Although every niche may not benefit from this particular traffic method, it can be used with great success when dealing with MLM, affiliate marketing and home based business opportunities.

One of the best ways to use traffic exchanges is to create your own separate landing page for the product or opportunity you're promoting. Always try to stand out from the crowd by using something other than what all the other affiliates are using.

Then by simply enticing other surfers with some free information and using an autoresponder to capture their name and email address you can quickly build your own opt-in list of interested prospects.

Write a Newsletter

While this may seem time consuming, it really doesn't have to be. There are hundreds of article directories floating around with articles written by experts in almost every field.

Simply use them within the guidelines prescribed by the directory and author, add a few lines from yourself as an introduction and throw in an ad and you've got yourself a newsletter.

Write and Submit Your Own Articles

As the previous point shows, there are many hundreds of article directories out there and literally thousands of web sites, ezines and newsletter publishers looking for new and unique content every day.

By writing your own articles and including a link back to your site you're not only branding yourself as an expert but also creating valuable back links to your site. This is a huge factor when it comes to search engine rankings which bring the best free traffic.

Online Communities and Forums

By joining online forums you can also gain back links to your site by posting comments and using a sig file with your links in it.

Beware though that most forums frown on blatant advertising. You have to attempt to add something of worth with your posts or you may get banned.

Exchange Links

This may actually be the most difficult tactic. You must find sites that are in the same niche as yours but not necessarily in direct competition.

You also have to find sites that already have a good ranking in the search engines for this to be effective.

Always approach any site owner with grace and dignity. Be tactful and courteous. Remember, you attract more flies with honey than vinegar.

Use all five of these tactics on a regular basis and you'll surely see a climb in traffic.

Sunday, August 06, 2006

MOTRIng for Dollars

Let's begin by thinking about what Multiple Streams of Income means. Multiple simply means more than one and Income is money or its equivalent received for work you have done, services you have provided or products you have sold.

Those terms are fairly straightforward, but what is meant by "streams" of Income? If you and your partner both have jobs then does that mean you are getting Multiple Streams of Income? If you were to look up stream in the dictionary you would probably find references to a steady flow or current.

So yes perhaps a two-income family could be classified as Multiple Streams of Income as it is more than one income and it brings a steady flow of money into your bank account but this is not all that inspiring or revolutionary.

Here are a few thoughts to make this more exciting:

1. Change multiple from 2 to many more (20, 100, 200)

2. Change steady from being once a month steady to multiple times a day

Perhaps you can start thinking of a Torrent instead of a Stream. Multiple Torrents of Income.
And what could be better than Multiple Torrents of Income? You could have multiple torrents setup but they take up all your time and you can't enjoy the fruits of your labor. Three terms that you may like to consider are:

*Systemization

*Automation

*Residual Income

Michael Gerber has an excellent book which talks about working on your business rather than in your business and one of the key points he makes is having operating procedures and systems. You make it so that you repeatable procedures. In the book he is treating your business as if it was a franchise. This means if at some point in the future you wish to sell your business it is much more attractive if you are not integral to the business.

When it comes to systemization if you take a look at McDonalds they have systems that teach how to follow the procedures - the gherkins are sliced and placed in such a way so they don't fall out, the fries are heated to a certain degree and it is all made very simple so they can get fairly low-skilled people to do much of their work. You can apply the same in your own business so that you can focus your money on the areas which are hard to get done cheaply/well.

Systems are not just for other people but also for yourself so you can have a basis from which to follow - for example if you create websites then they can all follow a similar format.

Automation is very useful when you find you do something which is repetitive, complicated and/or boring regularly. We can take a very simple example - within Microsoft Word you might find you regularly type your company name XYZ Widgets Ltd - you could simply set up an autocorrect entry so you type in XYZ and it fills out the rest. There are many things that can be automated when it comes to computers - it can be done through macros, programming, scripts, and software.

This indeed is one of the big allures of selling products online is that you can set it up so you can sell a digital product and the person pays and gets instant access to the product and can sign up to your customer list which then immediately emails them the most common troubleshooting procedures and can also follow up to gather testimonials, to recommend upgrades, to promote products, services and affiliate products.

Residual income continues to come in after you have done the initial work. This does not mean there is not some additional work. An example might be rent on a property which continues to come in month after month. You may have to arrange repairs to the property and handle disputes but it is residual rather than linear income.

The final part of the equation to be considered is Other Peoples Time. Once you have procedures in place then you can get people to follow those procedures to build your business while you deal with the things that are going to bring in more money and concentrate on parts you enjoy. Commonly people are not great fans of tax and accounting so they hire people to do it.
You don't have to be a great web designer or programmer to be great at Marketing products online - in fact there are some well known "gurus" who have never done any web design in their life and wouldn't know how to either. The same thing applies to having a book in your name - "ghost writers" are nothing new and are not just for the big celebrities. Indeed all your research for your book can be done by other people too. Being the author of a successful book can build a very good residual income. Sometimes a book can sell well for many years, bringing income that keeps on going and going and going.

Here's to Multiple Torrents of Residual Income (MTORI)!

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Sizzling Success on the Internet Can Be Yours!

There are at least 3 important steps to a successful plan when working on the internet. These 3 steps can be applied to just about any plan, and when coupled with the right amount of determination and perseverance, will result in success! But remember, you must persevere through the dry spells and difficult times. Everyone has hard times and this is just a fact of life. The key is to keep working toward your goal and never give up.

There are 3 key steps that will take you to success:

1) Develop the Right Philosophy
The first point is to develop the right philosophy. How you approach your business (and life) will determine your success or failure. Try to always be growing and expanding your horizons in some way. You might want to think about continuing your education or contributing to your local community in some way. (Make sure to set-aside enough money for personal development.)

Most successful people do not blindly follow someone else. They learn, evaluate, and make the necessary adjustments in their approach to career and life. Excellence is the goal, and continuous training and instruction are a very important part of the process.

As you continue to grow and develop, be sure to find other individuals who can help in the process. Good mentors are hard to come by, but indispensible when it comes to personal growth.

2) Decide What You 'Really' Want
Determine your true inner desire and then do it! If you don't really desire to accomplish what it is you are currently doing, when the difficult times arrive you will simply quit. It's a fact of life! Thousands of dollars are lost by people who invest in ill-suited programs which they soon quit. The inner desire and "real" interest were not there in the first place.

Always remember...to be successful you must first determine your true inner desire. Identify what it is that you really want in your career and life. The answers to these questions will lead you to success.

3) Take Action
Do your homework, but by all means step out and do something. Not just anything, mind you...you can actually be busy and not accomplish anything.

Consistent action in the right direction will produce results. It is the law of sowing and reaping. You reap what you sow. In other words, you get what you deserve, not what you need. Plant enough seeds and you will find growth. Ask enough people and someone will join or buy what you are offering.