So, you’ve done everything from building a dapper website to creating rich content. Members have started trickling in and you feel jubilant. What should you do next? Sit back and gloat, or look for ways to multiply your income, easily and quickly? If you’ve chosen the latter, as I’m sure you did, I have the perfect solution for you: Viral Marketing.
Viral marketing is marketing that spreads news of your website at the same speed as a virus rushing unchecked and undetected on the Internet. It is quick, effective and easy.
Attract search engines: Using keywords effectively has been the age-old formula for attracting people searching for information. However, there is a new twist to this old game. Instead of using keywords, use keyword phrases. These phrases should be two to three words in length, should explain your business aptly and succinctly and be placed in all the right places like the page title, meta description, alt tags, headers and meta keywords. Paid ads in important search engines are a very good way to attract traffic. Why pay when you can get it free? In the world of online business, walk-in customers are many but only a few of them convert to paying customers. To succeed, take measures to ensure that the maximum number of people visit your website. This way, you will get traffic large enough to attract that small percentage of buyers who will make you a handsome profit.
Put up some free stuff: These days, you get to see so many websites offering free e-cards, free e-books or free web hosting. Why? Viral marketing, of course. A good free e-card will find its way to a large number of people. This will pull in more visitors and a few of them may browse through the paid section and buy. Do you see the logic here?
Hold contests, games and quizzes on your website. For instance, you often see end-of-the-year poetry contests on several poetry websites. Every time an aspiring poet sends in a poem, a new prospective client is spotted.
Spread the word: Did you know that the ever-so-common ‘Tell a friend’ link can double your traffic? Suppose you read something that you like, and you feel that a close friend or relative might benefit from the knowledge, what do you do? Tell a friend! There are other ways to spread the word. Be sure to add a link to your website in all your printed material. Send out regular ezines and newsletters.
Blog it: Blogs are the easiest way to lend a human touch to your website. Blogs give you permission to speak about yourself, your values and your hopes. This allows visitors to get to know you personally. Blogs encourage new ideas and discussion threads, which will give you ideas for new paying products.
Offer a discount: use an auction site to auction off a limited number of memberships at a reduced cost. This is a great way to pull in those people who are sitting on the wall. Even if customers don’t buy right away, your website’s name will register and stick.
Exchange links: Search engines love websites that network. Solicit and offer links. This will boost your traffic almost immediately. Make sure that your website has a link resources page, which makes it easy for others to set up their links with you.
Following these techniques will help you build a flood of traffic. Once your traffic picks up, it is only a matter of time before your paid membership site starts grossing money.
