Archive for July, 2006
How To Bring Traffic To Your Site - Part 2
July 5, 2006 5:33 amJuly 06 1st Week
July 3, 2006 6:35 pmHow often you heard the words blog or online diary? If you
have been active online for any length of time, you’ve
probably heard it more times than you care to remember.
What you might not realize though is that blogging is not
only one of the fastest and easiest ways to build a
relationship with your readers (as well as a fast track to
getting indexed quickly), it is also a tremendous way to
generate an online income.
it’s no secret that blogging has been around for quite a
while, but it’s only been in the last few years that most
marketers have realized how powerful this tool really is.
Two of the most well known top rated blogging services are
Blogger, which is owned by Google, and Wordpress. If you
already have a web hosting account that runs cPanel and
Fantastico, then you’re in luck because Wordpress is a
breeze to install on your own hosting account.
The easiest to get started and set up is Blogger.com, as
they have a very simple step by step process for creating
your blog. The only downside to Blogger is that the
features that are offered are very limited. The upside to
Blogger is that it’s owned by Google, which is not a bad
thing - if you know what I mean 
The most common way to generate an income from blogs is to
promote it as a meeting place where your readers can find
regularly updated unique content about your chosen niche
topic, and then integrate Google Adsense to monetize your
visitor traffic.
Of course you can also insert many other contextual
advertisements into the blog such as Yahoo, Kanoodle,
Chitika , as well as any other affiliate links or products
you may have.
The other benefit to blogging is also the ability to add
links to your blog that point to your other websites. This
is very important since the more backlinks that you have
coming inbound to your websites, the better you will rank
for the keywords you are promoting.
So, let’s look at a summary of what needs to be done in
order to take advantage of blogging.
First, you need to setup a blog either at Blogger or
create a Wordpress blog (or something similar) on your own
hosting account.
Once you have your blog setup, it’s time to start
monetizing it by adding in contextual advertising such as
Google Adsense or niche related affiliate links.
Then add in some targeted keyword anchor links that point
back to your other websites.
All you have to do now is post unique content to your blog
on a regular basis (at least once every) and make sure that
you are pinging after you make your new post. Sending out a
ping is a way to let the search engines know that you have
new content on your blog.
When this is done, the search engines will come to crawl
your blog and start indexing your new content. They will
then follow all those targeted links that point back to
your other websites. Are you starting to see how powerful
this is?
Now create a new blog for each of your niche sites and
keep posting to your blogs. If you keep up with it and
continue to add new content on a regular basis, you’ll
start reaping the rewards of blogging.
Have a great week
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The 60 Second Weekly Tip…
You should know by now that creating multiple streams of
income is one of the secrets to building a massive online
income. One of the easiest methods of doing this is to
create multiple niche content sites.
However in doing this, one of the biggest problems that
most people face is writing or finding content relating to
their topic or niche. Let’s face it, you can’t be an expert
in all your niche topics - so you need an easy way to
create unique content that you can use on your site.
The obvious choice to create unique content is to
outsource this task and let someone else do it for you.
While this is the preferred option, it does come at a cost -
and not everyone can afford to do this when first starting
out.
So if this is the case, the only other realistic option is
to do it yourself. So where do you start? What’s the most
efficient method of creating unique content for your sites
if you know nothing or very little about your chosen topic?
Performing a Google or Yahoo search and then sorting
through the hundreds of thousands of pages works, but it is
very time consuming. And I’m guessing this is time which
you probably don’t have to spare!
The most time effective method I’ve found for creating new
and unique content for just about any topic is to go direct
to the source. By this I mean you need to go to the place
where 90% of the work has already been done for you.
One such place is article directories. If you go to any
popular article directory you’ll find at your finger tips
an almost unlimited stash of pure content on virtually any
subject you choose.
For example - let’s suppose you’ve done your research and
you want to build a niche site about Fly Fishing, but you
know nothing about this subject.
Simply go to http://ezinearticles.com and in type in “fly
fishing” in the search box at the top of the page. Make
sure that EzineArticles.com is checked - and click the
“Search” button.
This search found that there are currently 778 articles
relating to Fly Fishing. This is a heck of a lot of ready
made research that has already been done for you. All you
need to do is just pull out the interesting facts from each
article, collate them and then re-write it into your own
words.
Presto… you’ve just created pages and pages of unique
content for your site!
(DO NOT copy and paste the raw articles straight into your
pages and then call them your own. Not only is this
unethical, it’s down right unlawful. Get Private Label Rights
articles, and modify them using Secret Article Converter.)
And the best part is that you can use this same technique
to create highly targeted pages for any topic that is
related to your niche.
For instance - using our Fly Fishing example - you could
create even more value for your visitors by identifying
separate fly fishing topics and then create a separate page
for each topic.
Carrying out a simple search on http://ezinearticles.com
for fly fishing found the following results:
Fly fishing tips - 585 articles
Fly fishing lure - 226 articles
Fly fishing spots - 239 articles
Fly fishing equipment - 527 articles
Fly fishing vacation - 444 articles
Just imagine how many pages of laser targeted, high
quality unique content you could create using this
information. Can you now see how easy it is to create niche
content for just about any topic?
It’s then just a matter of rinsing and repeating these
steps to create numerous niche websites to begin generating
multiple streams of income.
Have fun!
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For your enjoyment (and information), here is this week’s
quick trivia question…
How many people do you share a birthday with world-wide?
As usual the answer can be found later in the newsletter.
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Featured Article
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Have You Factored in the Asian Factor?
Something new happened recently that went un-noticed my
a majority of people online. Five out of the top ten
websites listed by Alexa (based on traffic for the previous
three months) were Asian - and four of those were Chinese.
This is hardly surprising, given roughly half the world’s
population lives on the planet’s largest continent. By
percentage however, they remain a relatively new force, one
whose online presence will only continue to grow as become
more Internet savvy.
In time these markets will be extremely profitable so as
an Internet marketer you must plan and place yourself ahead
of the pack to take advantage of this trend.
One interesting side note is that most of these Chinese
sites are also available in English; some have even enabled
phonetic search entries using English letters rather than
Chinese characters.
This could be recognition of English as the lingua franca
of the Internet - or perhaps those webmasters are simply
taking the lead in website internationalization.
While the dominance of English has encouraged millions to
learn or enhance their knowledge of it, anyone truly
seeking a global customer base must find a way to provide
their in at least two and perhaps five of the most common
languages.
Today that is largely done with translation software,
which is far from perfect and can lead to serious
misunderstandings. But the vast majority of netrepreneurs
are small shops without the resources to hire human
translators and without a multilingual site they are
leaving money on the table and millions of potential
customers in the dark.
According to various industry sources:
- Web users are four times more likely to purchase from a
site that communicates in the customer’s language
- More than 100 million people access the Internet in a
language other than English
- More than half of all web users speak a native language
other than English
- Visitors stay twice as long if a website is in their own
language (Forrester Research)
While there are a lot of claims made for the accuracy and
efficiency of machine translation, most experts agree the
current state-of-the-art software is about 70 percent
correct. That means nearly one-third of everything on a
website will be mistranslated, with a fairly predictable
result.
Which is not to say webmasters should completely reject
machine translation. If an accurate human translation is
beyond the budget, finding and applying the best machine
translation available still puts that site well ahead of
one that is available only in a single language.
For one thing, someone seeing your site in their native
language can probably figure out most of what is intended;
perhaps more important, it demonstrates the owner of that
site cares enough to make the effort. Appreciation for that
could well translate into customers and subscribers who
otherwise might never have seen the site, much less stayed.
Webmasters should also not assume that a human translation
is going to be a perfect solution either. Many companies
offering these services are based in countries where labor
is cheap and the translator almost certainly is not fully
fluent in both languages involved.
This is not saying that these translators do not have a
good command of the non-native language in question. It’s
just that it requires years of reading, writing and
interacting with native speakers to fully understand the
intricacies of any language.
The obvious source for translation services - human and
machine - is the search engine. What a search engine will
not provide, however, is any indication of how accurate
either service may be.
The only proof there will be to request a sample
translation - then take it to someone who is fluent in that
language - and ask for a list of other sites using their
service (then e-mail those webmasters for feedback).
With the rise of the global Internet, the world has truly
become decidedly smaller in little more than a decade, to a
far greater extent than the previous changes brought on by
aircraft, radio and television.
And due to the dominance of English-speaking nations in
those areas - as well as movies and the Internet itself -
there has been a tendency, even among those who pride
themselves on being at least bilingual, to assume everyone
online understands English.
While that is more true today than at any other time in
history - those truly seeking to reach the world with
their message or product need to take a wider view. In many
cases, that does not mean providing for a host of
translations; two or even three carefully chosen languages
may be enough to reach more than 90 percent of the target
audience. Each webmaster or site owner will need to make
that judgment.
Nor does this apply only to the majority of sites now
displayed only in English. It also is true for those
written in Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Swahili,
French, Italian or German
As the Internet continues to expand into more and more
homes and businesses around the world, the need for multi-
lingual websites will become more and more prominent. And
the opportunities for companies providing solid translation
services - and for individuals with true multi-lingual
fluency - will grow along with it.
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This Week’s Trivia Answer
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Here’s the answer to the trivia question I asked earlier…
How many people do you share a birthday with world-wide?
Answer: Approximately 15 million - give or take a few
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Off-Line Marketing Strategies
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10 Insider Secrets to Get the Media on Your Side!
Every business owner should include getting publicity as a
part of their overall marketing strategy. However, there is
a lot more to gaining publicity for your business than just
writing - and sending - press releases.
You want to build a long-term relationship with the media,
and become known as a resource, an expert in your industry.
That doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen by
accident. It takes time, careful planning and a strategy.
The good news is that you don’t have to spend tens of
thousands of dollars, or hire an outside agency to do it
for you.
Before you can start creating a buzz and building a
successful publicity campaign, you need to know three
things:
1. Why do you want publicity in the first place? Are you
trying to build credibility? Let people know about your
product or services? Create or strengthen your business’s
brand?
2. What is your message? When putting together your
publicity campaign, you need to know what you’re going to
say and how to say it so that you achieve your ultimate
goals.
3. What type of coverage are you looking for? (There are
three types: Newspaper/visual, radio/audio, and
Television/visual/audio). Of these three types, which is
going to be the best way to get your message out?
Once you know where you want to end up, the next step is
to create a roadmap that will get you there.
Here are the “insider secrets” that will help you to
become a partner, and build a solid relationship with the
media so that you can “plan the elephant’s walk” for your
business.
1. Do your research before writing your first press
release.
Think about your story. Who is it going to affect,
interest or impact? Is it strictly of local interest, or
can you “hook” it to a larger event or happening? Is it a
one-time happening, such as your grand opening, or a
special event, or milestone? Is it part of an ongoing
effort?
2. Create your own “hot list.”
Figure out which media sources are going to be most
interested in your story. Start locally. Think of your
local newspapers, television and radio stations. Include
your local public radio station, college stations and any
others that provide news stories in your list.
Then think even further outside your “circles of
influence.” If you live in an urban area, there may be
national affiliates like APR, etc that have stringers or
offices nearby. Include those in your list.
Now look at online sources. Be thoughtful here. Don’t just
send a press release to everyone. Sure, it may get
published online, but it may also get dumped into a “news
bin” on a thread where it is never seen or read.
In addition to the hundreds of news sources, think about
your affiliations. Are you a member of a national society,
or organization? If it is relevant to your story, mention
that you’re a member, and then send a copy of the press
release to them as well!
3. Make it personal.
Now that you know which media sources you’re going to send
your press release to, get on the phone. Find out the name
of the specific person you need to send the press release
to.
(These is a step a lot of people skip over, but take my
advice and don’t, because it’s one of the most important!)
Remember the word “relations” in “public relations.”
Building any worthwhile relationship takes time and effort.
You have to give something to get something.
If possible, talk to the reporter or editor personally.
Introduce yourself, and let them know that you’re going to
be sending a press release.
(If you’re inexperienced at this, you can actually use
that as an introduction and let him know that you want to
get started off on the right foot).
You want to find out the following information:
- The correct spelling of her/his name.
- How they prefer to receive the press release — faxed or
in the mail.
- How far in advance do they prefer that you send the
press release?
Always make sure to ask what their deadline is. If faxing
your press release is okay, get the fax number and find out
if the cover sheet should be addressed to the reporter or
someone else.
DO NOT CHAT. This is not a social call. You are calling to
get information, not a date.
4. Once you’ve found your contact person, stick to them!
Unless otherwise instructed, never send the same press
release to more than one person in any organization or
publication. If there is any confusion or duplicate
coverage, it will be blamed on you, and you will lose your
credibility.
5. Follow-up.
Within a day or two of sending your press release, call
and make sure that they received it. If not, be calm, and
pleasant, and just say that you’ll send another one.
Recheck your contact information, and make sure you’ve got
the right address, fax number, etc. And then send it right
away.
6. Never just send a press release the day of your event.
It makes you look unprofessional, and you probably won’t
get covered. The only exception to this is if you’re
holding a press conference to make a big announcement that
will impact many people.
Always plan ahead and give the media as much time as
possible to decide how they are going to cover it.
7. Know their deadlines.
I can’t stress this often enough. EVERY TIME you talk to a
reporter, ask what their deadline is.
When you’re submitting an article or a press release to a
magazine, call first and ask about submission deadlines.
And then make sure that you send it in with time to spare.
Mark the deadline on your media info sheet, or your
Rolodex, but check back with them periodically, because
changes do happen.
8. Keep your promises.
If a reporter calls you, and you don’t know the answer to
a question, or he needs something you don’t have but you
promise to get it — do it. Always follow through and do
what you say you’re going to by their deadline.
9. Be professional.
Offer to act as a liaison if the reporter needs to speak
to other people in your organization or industry, and
volunteer to provide additional research or background
information. Put together an online pressroom on your
Website, as well as offline media kits that you can send
along with your press releases, or when needed.
10. Remember what your mother taught you.
Be polite. Say please and thank you. If you read an
article that a reporter has written and you liked it, send
a handwritten a note and let them know. Be willing to
provide information, resources or background material even
if it doesn’t directly benefit you.
Building a solid relationship is about more than selling
more widgets, and will pay off in the long run.
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Have You Got Any Comments?
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This is your chance to speak out.
Comment on articles I’ve run in the newsletter, give me
your thoughts on changes or your ad testing results or
questions relating to your business, etc.
In other words, just talk to me about what you think I
need to do to improve the newsletter.
Be sure to include your website address too, because if
I use your comments in a future issue of the newsletter,
I’ll thank you by posting your address so that you can get
additional free traffic to your site!
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That’s a Wrap for this Week
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That wraps up another week’s newsletter and I hope you
enjoyed this issue.
Don’t forget to send me any comments or questions you
may have to the Feedback Loop. I would be only too happy to
help you in any way that I can.
From time to time I’ll send you important updates
that will provide information that has the potential to
greatly improve your online business… and of course
your profits!
However, you can rest assured that I will only ever
recommend products that are considered to be of HIGH value
and will provide indisputably benefits to help you grow
your business… that’s my guarantee!
Your friend,
Gilles Rais
