Get Affiliate Tactics

Most people who are used to using the Internet on a moderately regular basis are very familiar with forums and message boards and how to use them.  These online communities let people get together to ask questions, give and receive answers, share stories, and forge relationships.  As a website owner, participating in online forums will allow you to get in touch with other Internet Marketers as well as with individuals who could potentially become your new customers.  For these reasons, forums can increase the volume of traffic your website receives. It is one good tool for traffic generation.

The majority of forums give you a signature line to use with your profile when you make posts.  You can include your name, a catchphrase, a logo, and a link to your company’s website.  The business related information you include in your signature line will draw forum readers to your site.

Forums are definitely an excellent place online to form relationships, but it does not happen immediately.  You need to gain some credibility.  To do so, post a greeting message with some information about yourself when you first join a forum.  Also, be sure not to over advertise your website, since forums are often abused by spammers whose messages are deleted by moderators.

When you answer the questions that people have in a helpful and genuine way, they will eventually trust your advice and see you as an expert on the topic at hand. 

You can also include links to your opt-in pages for your newsletter. This will drive traffic to your site and increase the amount of people on your mailing list. Adding links to your newsletter that leads to articles and other information on your website will further increase the amount of traffic to your site.

If you are offering an e-course, a special report or some other discount for a product or service on your site, include a link in your forum posts. The members of the online communities you belong to will want to take advantage of your special offers.

Since word of mouth advertising is an extremely good way to build up your business, do not be afraid to ask your friends on the forums to refer you to others.  Doing so will make your business internationally known.  Contacting other Internet Marketers on forums can also help you, as you may be able to get involved in some joint ventures.

Using forums to make new friendships, make others see you as an expert, and link readers back to your website will all help you increase the traffic to your site.

Whether you’ve just started a new site or you’re looking for an easy way to spread the word for free, these 4 traffic tips will help you promote your website in ways you might never have thought of – and it!

1. Your e-mail signature – Most, if not all of today’s email programs will let you add a “signature”, that is, a few lines that get attached to each of your outgoing messages.Don’t just add your name and phone number the way most signatures do – make it into an offer your recipient would be interested in!

For example, instead of having your e-mail signature read:

John Doe
Real Estate Agent
Doe Agency Real Estate
www.doeagencyrealestate.com
555-1212

Take that same information and appeal to your reader’s curiosity – like this:

John Doe – The Real Estate Pro
Home prices are going up! Do you know what your home is worth? Find out free at www.doeagencyrealestate.com or call us at 555-1212!

When you present an offer in your e-mail signature, your reader will likely click on it – even out of curiosity, to see what you have to say.This is a terrific, free way to get people to your website.

2.  Spread the word in forums – Like e-mail, most forums and message boards allow you to have a signature line at the bottom of each post.Most people use these to post quotes or other interesting pieces of information, but you can usually also advertise a new offer, a freebie or a discount for your readers.

Depending on the forum(s) rules, you might only have a few lines to promote your offer.Take advantage of this even in a small space that will intrigue your reader, like:

Are you sitting on a fortune without even realizing it?  Find out more at www.doeagencyrealestate.com

With just two easy lines, you’ll be able to gain more interest and more clicks to your website with every post.

3. Writing reviews – This tactic is also free, and works best for companies selling a tangible product, or a service company that works with these products (such as a web design agency using different software products).   There are plenty of “review sites” out there that welcome user opinions of different products ranging from clothes to electronics to food.   Register at places like Amazon and Epinions to make your opinion count while getting some valuable traffic to your own site.

Obviously, you shouldn’t try to sell your product or service in the review itself, but you can let people know what you do without a sales pitch.  For example:

I show the XQ800 Fusion Power Generator to customers at my electronics store all the time.  They love the fact that it needs no recharging, doesn’t skyrocket the electric bill and is virtually maintenance-free.  I sell them on my website at 20% less than retail stores – so they’re always flying off the shelves.

That will get people interested in your site, and if you can include it in a profile that they can view – or even in your username itself – so much the better.

4.Writing articles – just like this!It costs nothing, doesn’t take long and you can include a link to your website in the resource box at the bottom.

Articles should generally be around 400 words (about a page and a half in Microsoft Word) to be accepted by the majority of article directories.  Above all, make sure you have something interesting, unique or helpful to share — no one wants to waste time reading a sales pitch or some vague tips that don’t have examples to share.

Plus, with article writing - not only does it get easier the more you do it, but your articles are also picked up by other sites that syndicate them across the web, meaning greater (free) exposure for you!

P.S. If you enjoyed reading this article, you can find even more web design tips at http://www.iElectrify.com

iElectrify specializes in creating professional, affordable and creative websites that get results.  With a strong background in internet marketing and niche marketing, iElectrify.com works with small to medium-sized businesses to help them easily create and manage their own websites.