• Participate in Other Blog Comments

Blog comments are very diverse. Some are blatant spam, usually advertising some online casino or pharmacy site (the good thing is that most of these are picked up by spam filters automatically now anyways), many others add little or no value to the discussion (Yeah, I agree!/Good Post!/Thanks, etc). But some are truly insightful and genuinely add to the discussion on the topic of the blog post. By participating in other blog comments, you can get a link to your blog, which can be visited by other visitors and also the blog owner. If the owner of the blog finds that your comments are truly beneficial they may even add a link to your blog on their main page and share some of your posts on social media. This can bring you a lot of traffic, especially if you get linked to from a blog that is already popular.

• Interact With Your Users

Allow your readers to leave comments on your blog. Read and respond to them. Allow your readers to subscribe to the comment thread through email or social media. By openly interacting with your readers, you will increase the amount of attention that they give to your blog and this will make them a lot more likely to come back or to share your content with others.

• Establish a Strong Social Media Presence

Use social media such as Facebook, Google +, Twitter and maybe even video sharing sites such as YouTube or Daily Motion to complement your blog and bring more attention to it from users of these services. However, to get more success, remember that your social media pages should be more than simply links to your blog posts. You can post on social media sites whenever you update your blog and share that post, but be sure to include other, original content as well. The goal is to get a following on social media as well as on your blog. The more visitors and followers you’re going to have on your social media page the better the chances that some of these people will also become followers and readers of your blog.

• Establish Yourself as An Authority in Your Niche

This is one of the hardest ways but also the most profitable in the long term. You will want your blog to be known and respected in your niche. This will give you access to many visitors, perhaps even thousands a day if your blog is very successful. How is this done? There are various methods that you can employ to increase the authority of your blog. Apply them, be patient and they will work. We will explore some of these methods tomorrow.

Attracting Quality Traffic To Your Blog: Part 2 is a post from: Websites For Sale

• Research Your Keywords

This applies to both your blog post categories, as well as the posts that you will be making. Research the keywords that you would expect readers to search for on search engines like Bing and Google. Do a comparison of the different keywords, such as their search volume and competition level. Select the right keywords to describe your categories. For your posts, include the keywords in a natural way. This is very important, as to ensure that your posts stay legible and not simply stuffed with keywords, you will need to include them in a fully natural way.

• Include Sharing and Bookmarking Options

Integrate the “big three” social media buttons, such as Google+, Twitter and Facebook with your blog, by having like buttons for your blog itself as well as for individual posts. If there are other social networks that are popular among your readers, include their buttons as well. You should also put in social bookmarking links, such as Digg, Stumbleupon and Delicious, which will further allow your visitors to remember your blog as well as share it with others. An RSS feed would also be a good way to keep your readers loyal by letting them know when new content has been posted to your blog.

• Submit Your Blog to RSS and Blog Directories

There are plenty of free blog directories that you can submit your blog to. Take advantage of them. Even if they may not bring you too much exposure in the beginning, a few visitors a day could rapidly turn into hundreds of visitors if your content is engaging enough for these visitors to share your content with others online.

• Distribute a Press Release Regarding Your Blog

When you’re just starting out and have started adding some content to your new blog, distributing a press release about your blog could be a good way to get some attention. Press releases are often held in high regard by the “News” section of search engines, especially Google. You can find plenty of free information online on how to write an effective press release, what information to include in it, as well as where to distribute it so that you will get maximum exposure for your blog. This is one of the best ways to get some attention going to your new blog and can very well get you your first loyal readers if they like the topic of your blog and its content.

Attracting Quality Traffic To Your Blog is a post from: Websites For Sale

Be Social

Social media is a topic that comes numerous times when discussing traffic generation techniques as well as internet marketing in general. This is not without good reason: the majority of people visit social networking sites, so the traffic on these sites is already there. You just need to direct it to your blog. The two best examples in this case would be using Facebook. When you post a new article in your blog, share it on Facebook. Readers will see the title of the post and a summary, where they can click through to your blog to read more if interested. For Twitter, just send out a Tweet about the update and include a link.

Also, don’t forget to include buttons so that users can like and share your posts on their social networking profiles, thus giving you exposure to their friends and followers, generating a potential for more traffic in the process.

Use RSS

RSS feeds are a good way to get people to follow your blog in a way similar to following someone on Twitter or Facebook. When they subscribe to your RSS feeds, people will be able to see in their browser if you’ve made a new blog post. If it’s something that interests them, they will then click through to your blog and read the article you just posted.

Be Patient

Building a steady amount of traffic to a blog is something that takes time and patience. It’s quite unlikely that you will receive thousands of daily visitors after just taking one of the actions presented here. But keep posting good content and keep using the techniques shown here and you will soon start seeing a few visitors on your blog. This can grow in time, you will just need to be patient and continue blogging and actively taking efforts to generate more interest and thus more traffic on the blog you’ve built.

Be Creative

You’re not limited to what was presented here when it comes to getting traffic. Think up of your own strategies to bring in high quality visitors and read up more about things such as social media, SEO and traffic generation to blogs. You may discover some new methods and techniques that you will want to try, which may very well be the solution that you were looking for to finally get the amount of visitors you wanted.

Tips for Promoting Your Blog: Part 2 is a post from: Websites For Sale

Twitter is unique in the social media world in the way that it is different from other sites such as Facebook, Google+ and MySpace operate. Twitter is known as a microblogging service where users can post short messages, called Tweets, which are up to 140 characters onto their profiles. They can also share pictures and include a short description, location as well as a website URL on their Twitter profile.

These attributes make it an interesting service to use as part of the overall social media marketing strategy for your business, whether you run an online business or a physical one. As you may have already noticed, the best use of Twitter is to give your audience quick descriptions of new things about your business. These “new things” could actually be quite diverse. For example, a new product or service you are offering, new promotion, post on your blog, YouTube video, or even a post that you made on another social networking page such as your businesses FaceBook Fan Page.

One of the keys to success with Twitter marketing is the integration aspect. While it can be a good tool to use alone, you obviously want to use more ways to communicate with your existing and potential customers. Linking to other content, such as blog posts is an excellent way to draw attention to them.

As such, your Twitter messages need to be clear and to the point. Remember, you only have 140 character, so every single one of them counts for you. For example, if you want the reader to look deeper into something that is on your website or your blog; and you want them to click on the link, include a call to action. A clear call to action has been shown to increase click through rates on Twitter, just like it increases conversions on your main website.

Remember to keep your Twitter profile updated on a regular basis, otherwise your followers may soon lose interest if you haven’t posted anything in a while. However, if you are saying something, be sure that it will be of interest to your followers. Repeatedly posting mundane Tweets such as “Everyone! We’re the best! Check out our Website!” will also get them to lose interest in you. Those who look at your profile without being subscribers will also be unlikely to follow you if all your Tweets look boring and “spammy”.

Getting more followers is not complicated at all. Include a link to your Twitter profile on your other social media pages. Include a button on your main website. Put a link to it whenever you send out a newsletter to your mailing list. Your users will then see that you are on Twitter and will follow you if interested in what you have to say to them.

Using Twitter as Part of Your Social Media Strategy is a post from: Websites For Sale

• Use Twitter For an Everyday Special

Twitter can be a powerful marketing tool for businesses. Of course, this is no secret and anyone into online marketing will already know this. But it is how you use Twitter that can make the difference between “good” and “excellent” results for your website. Simply Tweeting the same thing over and over again like “Come in! We have specials” is likely to bore your users after a while. But having a special promotion each day on a certain item, or category of items during the countdown to Christmas will be much better at keeping them paying attention to your Twitter feed.

• Create a Facebook Event

You could make a day (or week) where you offer even bigger promotions to your buyers and attract them by creating a Facebook event, then inviting your Facebook friends to it. People often get invites to holiday parties and events during this season, so there is a high chance that they will be paying attention to the invites that they receive.

• Donate Some of Your Proceeds to Charity

The holidays are a time of giving and sharing, so you definitely don’t want your company to look like “Scrooge Inc.” during this time of the year. Give some of your proceeds to a charity, maybe even a Christmas themed one and announce this on your website, social media pages and e-mail newsletters. Your shoppers will see your business as one who cares about others in need and will be more likely to shop with you.

• Organize Some Giveaways and Contests

This doesn’t have to be complicated or require a lot of cutbacks from you. For example, you can post a coupon code on your social media page that is valid for the first 10 or so people that use it. Then, do the same again in a few days. This will do a lot to keep users paying attention to your advertising messages. A contest is also a good way to draw some attention. You could, for example, be giving away a free item or a gift voucher valid for a certain amount of money at your web store. Be creative, there are plenty of more giveaways that you can offer to your website visitors. Remember, your shoppers will want to see that you are giving them something valuable and sharing during this holiday season. A few free gifts can definitely be helpful. Customers who got something from you also have a higher chance of coming back to buy something, even if it is after the holidays.

Get More Sales This Holiday Season: Using Social Media is a post from: Websites For Sale

• Make a marketing plan for the season

In order to succeed and get the most benefits, you will need to create a well thought of marketing strategy. This means planning it right ahead of time. Yesterday, we have seen that you should start preparing your website in the beginning of November and the same holds true for your marketing strategies. So get ready to develop your marketing strategy early as well. It will require some thought, but with the resources available online, it is not as difficult as you think it is. Start writing down ideas on which marketing channels you will be using, as well as how you plan to attract your customers to your site.

• Get your tools and marketing materials ready

Do you plan on using Adwords but didn’t yet create an account? Do you plan on getting on Twitter for the first time? Now would be the time to start creating accounts at these places. This will be one less thing that you will need to take care of before you kick off your holiday sales season. Then, there is preparing the ads themselves. Previously, we have seen that it is important to have good landing pages, especially when using pay per click advertisements.

But there are many methods of online and offline advertising and you need to get your materials ready for these as well. If you have a Facebook page, then it will be a very good idea for you to create some Christmas graphics to advertise your promotions. Same thing if you buy banner space, you will need to redesign your ads to reflect the holiday season as well as your current promotions.

• Decide what kind of specials and promotions you will give for the season

This can be obviously a certain percentage off selected merchandise, but could be anything else that gives more value to your shoppers. For example, it could be free shipping for orders, a two for one special on certain of your items, free gift wrapping services, etc. Basically, think of a way of still being profitable, while attracting more customers to buy from YOU. Also it is never a bad idea to see what your competitors are offering, so that you can try to beat their offers or give something better to your own customers. You want them to buy from YOUR site, so you will need to make it worth it for them.

Get More Sales This Holiday Season: Your Marketing Plan is a post from: Websites For Sale

• Leveraging the Power of Social Media

If you are like billions of people around the world, then you probably have an account on Facebook and maybe one on Twitter. Here, you would start by creating a social media page on Facebook and Twitter for your website. You would then contact your friends by posting your business Facebook page on their wall. It is also possible to create a graphic ad featuring your website, upload it to your personal account and then tag your friends in the photo. Some of your friends may Like your page, or even make a purchase on your site if they need something that you are selling. Since your post will be on their wall, it is possible that their friends will see it and Like it too. The goal here is to create a viral effect that will spread to people.

• Don’t Forget “Personal” Marketing

Even though we live in a world where many of our communications take place online and ads are often seen as impersonal and targeting a wide audience, you can also market your website to people that you know and that you think may benefit from your products. It would be a good idea to print out some business cards with your website and info about your business. These can be ordered cheaply online, or you can just print them yourself with business card paper that you can find for $1 at the Discount Dollar store and a cheap ink jet printer. Pass these around to your friends and people that you know. If you know of someone that would especially benefit from the products that you are selling, then promote your site to them in priority. For example, if you sell smart phones online and you have a friend who just accidentally dropped their iPhone in the toilet, then now would be a good time to market your products to them. If you maintain the stock yourself as opposed to drop shipping, you could just give them the item in person for a cash sale, saving them time on shipping the item and also saving you on shipping costs as well as on payment processor fees.

But running an e-commerce site isn’t like running some sleazy MLM program, is it? So you don’t have to promote only to the people you directly know. There are also some great local marketing methods that you can employ as well, which we will see tomorrow.

Promoting Your New Web Store – Part 2 is a post from: Websites For Sale

But this can be just as hard, if not in many cases harder than selling physical products. However, here are some tips for you if you would like to sell digital items.

• Focus on a specific, well researched niche

Unless you have a very good marketing plan or already have a bunch of people that would be interested in buying your products (i.e. you have an email list or some past customers), choosing a niche that is too broad will simply lead to trouble. You will have a hard time attractive decent traffic that will convert well. For these reasons, you should avoid niches like “Make Money Online”. This is too broad. But you could, for example, do some products about “Making Money Online from Twitter”.

There are plenty of different niches when it comes to info products. These could be: learn to do magic tricks, how to maintain your car, teach your dog to do tricks, how to make money from real estate, etc. The more specific you are, the better.

• E-Books are not the only product you can sell

While they are definitely the most popular when it comes to digital products to sell, you should know that e-books are not your online available choice. For example, you can sell things such as web scripts, website templates, software, etc. Basically, anything that can be digitally delivered to your customer will do the trick here. There is a lot of money to be made in e-commerce when selling virtual products and you need to go beyond simply thinking about e-books.

• Combine physical products and digital ones

While some people may not recommend it, you should know that it is possible to successfully combine selling digital products together with physical ones. But your success will depend on just how you do it. Your digital products will need to be in the same niche than your physical ones. So if for example, your web store is in the business of selling pet products, then you can include guides about training your dog, or plans to build a recreational area for your dog in your back yard, etc. Basically, anything that is related to your original niche. You can sell these e-books, but they can also be used to add value to your merchandise. If a customer makes an order over a certain amount, for example, you can include a free digital product for them. This is a great way to make your site more competitive.

Selling Digital Products in Your Online Store is a post from: Websites For Sale

• Get Listed in Google Places

Time and time again, online marketing experts will recommend that anyone who has a website for their business gets a free listing in Google Places. Why? A few simple reasons: its free and can help you get visitors, both to your website and to your actual business. All you need to do would be to list your business and it would appear in a few days.

• Put your website on your receipts, bags, printed materials, etc.

Some of your existing and potential clients may not even know that you have a website. By putting it out in front of them, you are increasing the chance that they will see it and go visit it. This also has the effect of increasing customer loyalty. A customer who visits your website will be more likely to buy from you again in the future, as it serves as a reminder that your business exists.

• Use social networking

Facebook is the second most popular website in the world, right after Google. So if you don’t have a Facebook page, then you are leaving traffic on the table. Simply create a Facebook page for your business, filled with information about your latest offerings, and prominently include links to the relevant portions of your website. Create special, Facebook only discounts and promotions to boost its efficiency.

Twitter is also a popular social networking service. It works a bit differently from Facebook: you send out short messages to your followers, called Tweets. These Tweets can include a link to the relevant part of your site, such as the page for a new product, or to a promotion that you are having for the season.

• Have your website on your business sign, your vehicles, etc.

This can serve as a very effective way of getting free traffic. For example, if your business is closed and someone passes by who might be interested in what you have to offer, they could remember your website and then check it out later. Keep in mind that very few people will actually note down your website URL, but will rather remember it from memory. Therefore, it needs to be something that is memorable and something that would not be confused with one of your competitors websites. Remember, you can have multiple domain names pointing to your main website, so if you think your main domain would be too hard to remember, consider getting an alternate one. This definitely has the potential of getting a few extra visitors to your site when you need them.

Free Ways to Get Visitors to Your Business Website is a post from: Websites For Sale

• Use Social Media Buttons

Social media is all about staying in touch. While the primary purpose is obviously staying in touch with people, social media can also be a very good tool for businesses that want to stay in touch with their customers or visitors. Take a look at any website for a large company. You will often see a “Follow Us On Twitter” or “Check us out on Facebook” type of link and a social media button. If the top companies in the industry are doing this, why shouldn’t you? It doesn’t take much. Simply create a social media page on the networks you want to use and then place the buttons on your site. Interested visitors will then follow you on these social networks if they want to.

• Maintain a Blog on Your Site

It may not always be easy to highlight new updates, depending on the configuration and layout of your website. But a blog is perfectly designed for that. Simply including a blog on your website will allow visitors to see recent updates, as well as get information on things that are relevant to your niche. It also has some great benefits for SEO. People see blogs as a more “personal” way of communicating, so they are more likely to read them than the content of a “commercial” website.

• Add a Forum to Your Site if You Can

Of course, this will not be a solution for everyone, but it will work for many webmasters. Create a forum and add it to your site. There are plenty of free forum scripts available and many webhosts already include a few in their web hosting packages. Set up a discussion forum on your site which will contain categories such as FAQ’s, new announcements, industry discussions, etc. You can populate the forum with stickies containing tutorials on how to use your products or services, frequently asked questions about your business, etc. Your website users can then create threads if they have questions or if there is something that they do not like about your website or business. This gives you an insight of what your visitors think about your site and also opens up another avenue of communication with them.

These are all excellent methods if you want to make your visitors come back to your site often. But the main element that you must remember is this: give your visitors what they want. If they like your content, they will naturally want to come back.

Some More Tips to Keep Your Website Visitors Loyal is a post from: Websites For Sale