Archive for June, 2010
If You Interact They Will Come
Prospective buyers on the Internet are the most skeptical nonbelievers on the face of the earth. Sadly the actions of many Internet Marketers have spoken much louder than words. Our marketplace has been scammed and cheated to the point where visitors to all of our sites enter with a negative attitude. It may be subconscious but it’s there all the same.
I’d like to think that most of us are trying very hard to run honest and valuable web based businesses but there are many who stain the marketplace for the rest of us. We spend a great deal of time just trying to convince our visitors that we have a high level of integrity and that we really do have their best interest at heart.
After a while they realize that we are telling them the truth and they become longtime customers and friends. But how do we get to that point? What magic bullet do we have to advance our prospects to a level of trust?
There is no magic bullet. But we do have a tool that will help us tremendously and we’ll all have fun using it on a daily basis. It’s called a forum. The good ol’ soap box. A venue where we can discuss issues of mutual interest resolve problems and share ideas. It is the most valuable asset next to your customer list that you can have on your web site.
I want to discuss some ideas and approaches you can take to setup and run your own forum. You can also link to someone else’s from your home page if you want to provide your visitors with a forum and you don’t want to run your own. Either way you’re providing valuable content to your subscribers. They have access to this collective body of experts where somebody will surely provide the answer to their question or comment.
But first let’s talk about some of the dos and don’ts in a forum environment. Forums are meant to be informal. That means nobody cares about proper grammar or spelling and shorthand is okay as long as other members know what you’re talking about.
Forums are not the place for blatant advertising and marketing. If you own and run the forum then you can do as much subtle advertising as you want. After all it’s your venue. But don’t get too carried away or the members will go elsewhere to discuss their issues and ideas. Along this same line allow all members to add a backlink to their web site in their signature line but make it crystal clear that any attempt to advertise their site or products will result in their post being rejected by the forum administrator. If members post a good comment others will happily click on the link in the posters sig line and visit their site.
Try to incorporate safety measures to keep automated posters from deluging your forum with bogus comments just to get a backlink. This degrades the value of the forum for all of the legitimate members who genuinely want to share ideas. It takes a bit of work but require administrative approval of posts before they are posted if necessary.
Be sure to participate in your own web forum or discussion board. Post your comments answer members’ questions and ask your own questions. If it’s your own forum include your product text link under each message you post. If forum members read your message and like it they may click to see what else you have to offer them. Don’t do this if you’re visiting someone else’s forum.
Forums help create a longterm relationship with your entire customer and visitor base. You can stay in touch with them through your forum without becoming a pest after all they chose to sign in and participate. Nobody forced them. And remember when you stay in touch people don’t forget about you or your business.
As I mentioned above allow people to use your forum for their own web site. Some people don’t have one. Just include your banner ad at the top of the board. For example you could say Don’t have your own discussion board? Link to ours and invite your visitors to use it.’
Forums help create an online community. When people get involved in your community they will regularly return to communicate with others. You could also invite your online community to free “how to” classes hosted on your forum.
Your visitors will want to chat with other people who are interested in a similar and particular subject. They may also talk about how they enjoy your products and services. Your will visitors and prospects may see everyone chatting about you and your products and that might persuade them to buy.
Publish FAQs for your business products and web site on your forum. They can be questions about different parts of your business arranged by category. You can answer questions about your products business web site free ezine affiliate program message board forum free ebook and other services.
Build interest with a larger online community by giving your visitor’s bonuses for participating and posting in your forum. Try free products ads etc. For example you could say Participate in our forum and get this FREE report! How To…’ Another example Get this free ebook just for posting a comment or idea in our forum!’
Most people want to associate with others who have similar interests. Give your prospects a free membership to a private forum created just for them.
Hold free online howto’ classes or seminars. They could be held in your web site’s forum. The idea of live’ information will definitely entice people to visit your web site. You will become known as an expert on the topic and you could hold them weekly or monthly to get people to revisit your web site again and again.
Improve your customer service through your forum. Answering your visitors’ questions in your forum will give them the feeling of care and concern all done in a timely fashion. You’ll also benefit by having all of your forum members giving their spin on the subject as well. Soon your forum will become known as the Ask the experts’ venue for your subject matter or niche.
Above all else interact with your forum members on a regular basis. This will show them you care about them. Always be interested in what people have to say answer their questions give them compliments and take the time to talk about things other than just business. They’ll keep coming back for more of your expertise and your products.
About the writer: Mr Williams is a programmer and database engineer. He has developed a number of websites and software projects. Many of his projects deal with security and Internet protection schemas. Currently working on a major website located at http://www.myprivateroom.com which is a membership site and one in which individuals can create/store a number of private materials and information in one central location.
Ideas For Making Extra Money
One of the best methods for making money online is affiliate marketing; this is a great method of generating funds without have an entire caseload of work to get it done. Having an established site that is already making money is the best way of ensuring you will be in the thick of the cash flow as well.There is a good chance if you own a web site that interests another Webmaster they will ask you to do a link exchange. Telling whether or not you should link to their site or not may as easy as you think. You don’t want to link too just anyone. You want to make sure this is the type of business that you want linked to you and it brings in the type of customers that you are looking for.
This is a major key that is truly important. Make sure the answer is yes. If it is then you can move on down the list and actually consider this site. If this site has absolutely nothing to do with what you are promoting in anyway don’t bother. You are looking for a targeted market. If you link to a site that hasabsolutely nothing of interest to your visitors and the Webmaster’s visitors have none in yours it is moot to even bother. The point is to be able to generate a targeted market wanting what you have. There are several answers to this. Links that deliver relevant traffic are one example. There are also natural links that someone just posts your link because they like your site. This is great but should not be relied on solely. You want good links that are relevant as well. Target specific keywords on the search engines to see what the top ranking sitesare and see if you can link with them.
The affiliate promotes a merchants site with a link on his or her web page. The merchant’s products and services are promoted through the link. When a customer clicks on a link and makes a purchase the merchant gives the affiliate a commission. This isbecause that visitor found the link from the affiliate. The merchant and the affiliate will agree prior to the link being posted what the actual commission will be for a particular sale. The affiliate needs to make sure that the product and services he or she is promoting have to do with each other. You want to have a targeted audience and be able to promote these products and services on the affiliate site. If an affiliate has several types of businesses to promote they need to have their own sites independent on each other. This will keep things organized and only get the visitors who will generate sales. Make sure that all the pages you have are themed and easy to find on the popular search engines. You want to make sure that you are attracting potential buyers who are specifically looking for what your merchant or merchants’ offer.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;John Arrington has been in the marketing business since 1995. John is dedicated to helping others to become successful with their Home Based Business..
You may visit his website at:
http://tinyurl.com/rds3p
How To Promote Your MLM Opportunity Online The Easy Way
Let’s face it; promoting your MLM program online should be a slamdunk shouldn’t it? Millions of opportunity seekers looking for extra income automated lead generation and follow up systems that can contact and sort through thousands of prospects at the push of a button and lots of money to be earned if you get it right.
Why then is it so hard to find qualified active members for your downline on the Internet? The main reason is that most people are approaching their lead generation the wrong way.
Let me explain.
Most people starting off in Network Marketing start looking for ‘opportunity seekers. Here’s something you probably didn’t realize8230;the average opportunity seeker is looking for something they can do that 8211;
A. Doesn’t require much if any work
B. Doesn’t cost anything to get started but pays a regular income
C. Doesn’t have any risk attached especially the risk of being rejected
By trying to attract opportunity seekers to your business what you are most likely doing is attracting people who are looking for a ‘JOB’. These people are exactly the wrong market for your MLM business because even if you DO get them on board they will suck up your time and most likely never help to build your business.
Let’s look at a better alternative8230;
Glenda suffers from chronic arthritis has done for years and is searching online for something to finally give her some measure of relief. She finds a great website article on the benefits of a wonderful product that has been shown to work for others orders a trial amount to give it a go and discovers that her prayers have been answered.
Glenda is so impressed with the product that she tells Shirley Ann and Bill her friends from the Over 50′s activity center. Bill Ann and Shirley are also impressed with the benefits of the product and tell other people about it. Soon hundreds of people are using the product after being referred to it by people they trust.
This is the way MLM is supposed to work.
The problem is if you follow many of the industry’s training guidelines you’ll never find Glenda or her friends because your business is not looking for her 8211; the actual customer. I know several people who earn thousands of dollars a month by promoting the PRODUCTS first and THEN the opportunity.
By focusing on what your customers want and not the income you may receive from your downline you set your MLM business up for success right from the start.
Bottom Line?
Build a website around the BENEFITS of the PRODUCTS your company provides not the opportunity attract customers to those products by PREselling them to potential customers again using the benefits they provide then let them know that they can earn referral fees by sharing the benefits the very benefits they themselves have experienced of your products with others.
You will be building a long term sustainable income stream from ‘real’ customers who love and continue to order your products and not people who are really just looking for a get rich quick scheme or a job8230;
About the writer: Jake Dufield knows Affiliate Marketing. He’s been at it for a year and knows that there are countless of guides on how to start affiliate marketing but only the best will take you to the top. To begin racking up profits visit www.theprojectxguide.com for the revolutionizing guide that shifted the way people market on the net.
