If you already have an online business, then you know how important it is to get the word out about your product. You will need to do the same with your membership site if you want it to be a success.
Try these steps to begin your promotion. Some of the same marketing strategies that you used for your online business will work but they may need to be tweaked a bit. You'll see what we mean in a second.
1. Target the correct market. This usually goes without saying, but your market may have changed a bit with the membership site. If your target market was those interested in fitness, the group that would pay for a fitness membership site may be a more focused group of fitness buffs who are serious about staying in shape or who want to be fitness trainers. You'll have to modify your sales pitch just a bit.
2. Use unique content. Your visitors already get the run-of-the-mill stuff everywhere else. Present them with something that is innovative or has a new twist on an old problem. Use snippets of your articles on the home page so that they get a taste of what they will see if they sign up to become members. And, don't forget about SEO marketing. High search engine rankings, as you know, draw more traffic to your membership site.
3. Network like crazy. Use all of the avenues open to you. Guest blog for some of your business associates. In your bio, promote the membership site. Find your way onto guest spots on online radio shows and business podcasts. Use social networking venues like YouTube to start a viral marketing campaign using video media. It can be a simple video using an animated PowerPoint presentation set to music or with audio.
4. What about an affiliate program? This will be promoted from within the membership. Introduce the affiliate program to your members as a way to make a profit from the membership with your site. Also offer incentives at various levels as their sales increase like a second tier affiliate program that gives residuals for referrals.
5. Offer a free trial membership. For three or four days (a week if you want), offer those who will sign up for emails and newsletters limited access to the membership area. Entice them by giving them access to a few articles, but when they click on links for eBooks, special reports or video for more in-depth information, they are redirected to a page that says those items are only accessible with a paid membership.
To drive traffic and increase your membership, you will have to promote a lot. But, if any of your current customers are interested in taking their knowledge to the next level, invite them become members and bring their friends.
People want good information. If the seekers are looking for something in your niche, you want them to find you. One way to gain new leads is through newsletters.
Wouldn't it be great to get the information you need delivered right to your inbox? You can, or at least your readers can if you create a newsletter.
Your website contains content that will help draw your target market to you. You use keywords (that you carefully researched), catchy headlines and other tricks to provide interesting tidbits for your readers. But, there are more tidbits in the marketing kitchen that you can cook up. Save those for the newsletter.
Benefits of a Newsletter
What makes a newsletter so special? It gives the reader more detailed information than they can find on your website. You can upsell it as exclusively for subscribers. That alone can get your readers to opt-in for it and also tell their friends.
What are the components of a newsletter? It varies, but the more features you add, the more attractive it will be. Here are a few ideas:
- Contest entries
- Preview new products before the general public
- Discount coupons
- Letters from you
- Tips and articles
- Pictures
- New product info
Newsletters are usually delivered monthly on the same date each month. You can set your newsletters up to be delivered through your autoresponder service so your subscribers get them on time.
Newsletters can be created in a couple of different ways. Some people have their entire email be their newsletter. It is a one-page piece that includes links to areas on your website where they can find more information. If it is a contest entry, a link will bring them to the landing page where they can enter and read up on the contest particulars. That page can also link to other offers they may be interested in.
Others post emails that tell you the newest newsletter is available. Subscribers click a link that takes them to a "subscriber only" area of your website. Here they can read and download the newest newsletter. Also let them know that they can access your archive of newsletters that were created before they found your site. Creating timeless content makes these past pieces valuable months or years later.
Want to build your list? Offer newsletters to readers if they subscribe to your site. By including some of the information above, readers can stay connected in such a way that eventually leads to recurrent sales.
The Internet is all about getting the right information into the right hands in the most efficient fashion. If you have a website, then you believe that what you have to offer is important enough for others to read. Backlinks are a useful way to increase traffic to your site and increase your search engine ranking.
You can go through the more popular methods of creating backlinks. Social networking, social bookmarking, blogging and other tools take time to get established. If you are looking to drive more traffic now, then you may want to look into paid linking services.
Why Backlink in the First Place?
Like we said, backlinks can increase traffic to your site. Anytime that someone sees your comment on a post or an article in a directory that they want to use, they will also have links included that they can click to check out your other work on the website. Whether your site sells a service, information or a product, the increased traffic will potentially increase your sales and conversion rates. That is always a good thing.
Not only will people find you through your backlinks, but the number of backlinks help when search engines rank your website. It is every website owners dream to be in the first page of search results. That way, everyone will see you first. Most people don't look past the first page anyway since it is rightly believed that the results deemed best by the search engines can be found there.
Paid Linking Services
Paid linking services speed up the process of finding good quality links for your website. It works this way. You pay a monthly fee to "rent" a link from another website. These websites will be ones that are of high quality and rate high on search engines.
There are two ways to acquire paid links:
- Use a paid link service
- Go to a company directly
Most people will opt for the first one but you must be careful. Search engines like Google are cracking down on paid links. To them, paying for a link doesn't demonstrate that your site is creating a quality backlink. The website "sponsoring" you may never have known your site existed before you asked for their links. On the flip side, sites that have worked hard to build their brand want to share the good fortune, so why shouldn't they get paid for it?
Internet marketers suggest that if you use a paid link service, don't go with the overt ones. Try text link ads since they are integrated into the body of the content and are harder to separate from other hyperlinks.
You can also go to a company website and petition them for use of their link. They may say no or ignore you altogether. You can make a reasonable rental offer for their link and they may accept or not. But, you won't know unless you try.
Using paid links is one way to get the ball rolling on your traffic situation at your website. You can use paid links in combination with other methods to see which will bring you more traffic and more sales.
Have you ever shared a link with someone else? You read something that was so incredible or informative that you had to tell others. Social bookmarking can help others do that very same thing for you.
Backlinking is the method of enhancing your website traffic through inbound links from other sites. And these are not just any sites; they are reputable business sites and blogs that have established them on the Internet. It is not always easy to gain access to these sites and their loyal visitors.
Social Bookmarking
Try social bookmarking. Maybe you have seen all those cute little icons at the bottom or middle of the page on websites and blogs. What are they?
They are links to social bookmarking sites. When you bookmark something, you want to be able to come back to it later without a lot of trouble. These sites allow you to submit articles that are ranked by other members. Content that is ranked high has a chance to be featured on the front page to gain even higher visibility.
To get the ball rolling, you can sign up for these accounts for free. Some of the most popular are Digg.com, Facebook, Twitter and Delicious. Facebook and Twitter are actual social networking sites where you can post links to articles posted on Digg, Delicious and your own website. With an extensive network of friends (and their friends), you can create a ton of backlinks in no time.
On your website, you can then post an icon for these social bookmarking sites. Readers who are members also, can click and post your article there.
You can be proactive and post your article there as well, with links back to your website. If your business associates and friends are also members, they can vote for your articles and you can do the same for them.
Here, quality does count. Votes will be cast for the best content that meets the needs of your peers. You can achieve a high status here for consistently great performances. That, in and of itself, can multiply your backlinks as everyone will be looking for your latest creation.
So, what are you waiting for? If you feel that your search engine ranking is not what it could be, it could be your backlinks or the lack thereof. Social bookmarking can help catapult you onto the front page of Google and Yahoo when you and others submit your content on those sites.
Do you have an online business? If you do, the second question is how are you doing? The bottom line is always the uppermost concern in your mind. To that end, creating expert status may be just the thing to catapult your business to the next level.
What is Expert Status?
Well, it is comprised of many things actually. Mostly, it is a tool to increase the number of people who patronize your online business. It involves raising your visibility level. Potential customers have to know that you exist before they can visit, get advice and buy your products.
But, you knew that already. You've told all of your friends and family, and also your church members and co-workers that you have begun an online venture. Your marketing strategy has served you well so far to draw traffic, but you wish you were doing better.
Here's a question: When you need help, who do you go to? Hopefully you seek out someone who knows what they are talking about on the subject. They are the experts and that is what you want to be.
Why Become an Expert?
Experts are not necessarily know-it-all people. They just know a lot about their chosen subject. As an online business owner, you had an interest in the niche you chose for your business enterprise. That alone means that you know a great deal more than the average person about your topic.
People like experts. They are the go-to person who takes the headache out of your research. If your information is helpful, these people will come back to you over and over again and bring others with them.
It sounds like a lot of work but it is well worth it. Besides, you love your chosen business niche (that's why you are in business) and you were going to do the work anyway. So why not reap the additional benefits of being an expert?
Experts have several things going for them:
- Can demand higher pay rates
- Credibility
- Increased visibility
- A sphere of influence
What's the necessity?
Expert status lifts you head and shoulders above the rest in your field. Where they KNOW about the basics of the niche, you go deeper to provide your customers with a better understanding of what you can offer them. That translates into many more dollars and cents.
So, are you interested in expert status now? It is a worthwhile venture for your online business that creates a win-win situation. The next step is to implement strategies to begin marketing yourself as an expert in your business area.
Membership sites are the hottest ticket these days. You can get in on the ground floor and ride the wave if you have the right setup and an idea that can satisfy the need of a number of people. Try a membership site that offers perks for a job well done.
Maybe your idea for a membership site is to get people to come and partake of your exclusive products. They can be privy to content that gives them more than the content they can find on other sites for free. The content is also well-written and informative. You can also offer them eBooks or special reports on various topics that they can use for personal growth.
If your membership site is in the business of showing people how to go into business for themselves, you have another unique opportunity. Let's say that with their membership, they receive access to content and other resources that teach them the basics of starting their own business. You can leverage that content and create a variety of other informational resources that you can offer to those who would dare to purchase a higher membership.
Those products could be for the intermediate online businessperson. This person already has a business but wants to know how to increase their profits. To do that, they would need to view some of the free videos you have available for an upgrade in membership.
Better still, is the highest membership level that includes other perks. Each level of your membership needs to be more enticing and deliver greater products than the level before. The information at each level will be enough to get them started and make them want more. Even include previews of what they can gain access to with a higher level membership.
This is just one example of a multilevel membership. Depending on your topic you can offer a variety of different perks that increase as membership does. But, you have to be prepared to give what you promise. If you want to appeal to everyone from the novice to the expert, you have to have that level of expertise within yourself.
Don't forget your affiliate program. Performing well here can earn them an upgrade in membership for a certain amount of sales completed. For you, your traffic and membership increases. For the member, they earn a commission as an affiliate and get a better membership without paying a dime out of their pocket to do it.
Give your members something to strive for with a multilevel membership program. If you don't have one now, you can always implement such a program to keep your members motivated to stay with you.
What's the first thing you notice when you click on a website? There are words everywhere! No matter what other media marketing tools you use on your site, the ones that people still gravitate towards include words. Use article marketing to help you gain expert status as an online business owner.
Why Articles?
You might be wondering about articles. Perhaps you have shied away from them up until now because you don't write very well. Maybe your 11th grade English teacher scared the bejeebers out of you with her killer writing assignments. You don't have to go into therapy to write an article - simply write what you know.
Articles are the quickest and easiest way to drive traffic to your site. When people type all of those keywords into search engines, they are looking for information. It can come in a variety of forms but the one that most people know and are comfortable with is the article format. On your website, hopefully you have some form of content displayed there to keep your visitors happy.
Writing the Articles
Since you know a lot about the subject of your business, use that knowledge to elevate yourself to the level of expert. With what is trapped in your head, you could probably write a hundred articles.
How should you write? Create a list of topics that are related to your business. Because the subject is familiar, it will probably only take you about 30 minutes to write a 400 word article. This length is pretty normal for blog posts and article directories.
Did we mention article directories? These are the places where you will be submitting your articles to gain visibility. When you write articles, use the bio box to provide a link to your website so interested readers can find your business.
Some types of articles work better than others when it comes to promoting an expert status:
- How-To Pieces
- Tips
- Article Packs/Reports
With how-to articles and tips, you are sure to gain the reader's attention with bulleted and numbered points. Using numbers in the title also alert the reader that your work is something they want to check out. When you can put what you know into a format like this, you actually become an instant expert. And, the writing is fairly straightforward for those who doubt their skills.
An article pack can be created from ten or so articles that you have written on a similar subject. Marketing them on your site as a guide to "Learning Internet marketing" or whatever the subject of your business is.
Writing and submitting articles will get you noticed. Linking them to your website can increase your sales as you go from business owner to business expert.
Autoresponders are a series of messages you can send to your list via email to let them know that you value their participation in your business. Autoresponder emails are not sales pitches but a way to communicate with people on your list that will hopefully lead to a sale.
If someone has signed up as a subscriber, then you know one thing already: they are interested in your niche. Your content, blog posts and other marketing tools have led them to believe that you just may have a product worth buying.
There are some people who find a site that they instantly click with and purchase right away. They are not usually the norm especially on the Internet where "sight unseen" can spell disaster and lost cash for customers. People will ask friends, visit review sites and follow you for a while before deciding to hit the checkout page.
Constructing an Autoresponder Email
Email marketing is an effective campaign when done right. Once you have someone's email address, you also have the addresses of their friends and their influence. You just have to get at it. Use targeted emails and an autoresponder service.
Autoresponder services take the guesswork out of delivering your email series. You can also deliver other products also, but that will come later.
If your emails read like a sales letter, you will probably get a lot of unsubscribe notices. Avoid this with these few tips.
1. Use keywords in your catchy headline. Headlines are going to be the first thing that your subscriber sees in their subject line. If you want them to open it, get straight to the point. Tell them exactly what they will find if they open the email. It could be the answer to a question you pose or specific information:"3 Easy Ways to Create a Family Budget."
2. Address your subscriber by name. General greetings don't let your reader know that you know them. It's a sign that you are too busy to actually be "connected" with your readership. Address each person directly in your email series.
3. Provide pertinent content. Begin with the question you posed or the statement you made in your headline. If you are focused your subscribers will be also. Give what you promise in as few words as possible - 300 to 400 words.
4. Ask them to do something. This is not a sales hook. If you are offering a free eBook with more information, this is when you discuss what they will find in it and provide a link to the landing page. If you would like them to opt-in for something else like a monthly newsletter, include that here.
5. Salutations. Use your real signature. Let them know that you are personally involved in everything that you send out to your subscribers and customers.
An autoresponder program lets you communicate with your subscribers in a variety of ways. What is important to them is what you say and how you say it through well-constructed emails.
Blogs are fun ways to get your expert information into the hands of others. Also, if you have a business website, blogs are useful for communicating with customers and prospects. If you don't have a blog yourself, consider lending your brain to someone else's and enhance the traffic coming your way at the same time.
When you run an online business website and/or a blog, there don't seem to be enough hours in the day. Providing quality content alone can take up several days not to mention handling the marketing and the administrative duties. For a few fortunate entrepreneurs, they have learned the benefit of outsourcing. With more time to concentrate on lead generation and traffic, guest blogging is more fun than marketing campaigns.
Blogging?
If you have written content for your site, then you can write a guest blog post. They are usually shorter and slightly less informative. That doesn't mean that the quality of the post isn't good, it just means that the surface of a topic is touched upon so that the reader will look forward to future posts for more information.
The field is wide open for you, initially, you'll want to blog on topics with which you have at least a passing familiarity. As you establish yourself as an expert in your business area (through other marketing tools), others may be beating down your door for the opportunity to have you guest blog for them.
Choosing where to Blog
Choosing the quality of your guest blogging venues is as important as choosing the quality of your backlinks. Always go forward and not backwards. Start with friends and business contacts. The super busy folks that are familiar with you won't usually pass up an offer to have someone else blog for them.
An intimate knowledge of the blog topics gives you an idea of what topics will work and which ones won't. Try to choose a topical area where you can write a series of similar articles. For instance, choosing a 4-part post on constructing email templates for your affiliates is easier to manage than four different post topics. Besides, your readers are sure to come back for more of the same.
Blogging Nuances
Ask about links in your posts. Some blog owners may say yes to contextual links or just offer you a bio box. Take either one and use it to your advantage to create quality backlinks.
Interact with those who comment. Getting to know your audience will increase their trust of you and the chances that they will click on your link and head on over to your website.
Want to increase backlinks to your site? Guest blogging for others whose sites can elevate your status swells the traffic to your site so you can make more sales.
Backlinks are an important traffic generation method. By linking to your site from other sites and blogs, visitors always know how to find you with a click of the mouse. Article marketing is one tool in your arsenal that can yield a wealth of backlinks.
Article Marketing
Many people overlook article marketing as outdated, but it gets the job done and in the simplest fashion. What you want with a website is traffic and credibility. With so many websites and blogs all clamoring for attention, having a terrific reputation goes a long way.
Article marketing lets you share quality content with other online entrepreneurs and writers. When you submit to article directories, others can view and use your content. You get the all-important resource box to lead others to your online headquarters so that they can see more of you.
If you find an article directory that allows links in the body of the content, then readers can click and immediately find themselves on your website. Or, you can use the resource box to post a direct link to your site.
Optimize Your Articles
While you are writing informative content that others will want to read, don't forget that these articles are also ranked by search engines. With each article consider using keywords to enhance your rankings.
Let's say that you were writing about baking. Well, "baking" is a common search word so you could use some other word like "bread" or "baking bread." For that two-word phrase you want to use try and rank this article high by having it appear naturally several times. For a 450-word article, you don't want your keywords to appear more than 4-6 times. Search engines frown on overstuffing with keywords.
Using Backlinks
If you get a chance to use contextual links, for goodness sake, don't use anchor text (the words that disguise the link) like "click here." That sounds just like an ad and others won't click it. Also, the service may frown on it as blatant advertising.
For your resource box, include catchy and enticing words. You will end with a link to your website, but this can be masked with anchor text as well instead of just the usual website address.
With your articles, don't give away all of your secrets. If you tell everyone all they want to know, why will they want to click and visit your website? Give them a taste of what you can offer. For the rest, they will have to make use of that link.
The written word will not be trumped no matter what anyone predicts. Article marketing has an important place in your marketing plan and adding links to all your articles (or resource boxes) multiplies your chances of success.
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