Attract Web Traffic The ‘Virtual” Water Cooler Way

There are of many ways to drive traffic to your website. And savvy online marketers know most of them.

But what about the rest of us?

What can we do to attract prospects if we don’t have deep pockets to run a pay-per-click Adwords campaign or can’t flash our web site URL on Oprah?

Well, here’s a simple, effective and unintimidating strategy you can use to attract a steady stream of qualified prospects to your web site.

Start posting.

Next to Adwords and article marketing, posting to online forums can be one of the most effective marketing activities you can engage in for instantly driving traffic to your web site.

And here’s a bonus - it won’t cost you a penny. Sure you’ll have to invest your time but you have to do that anyway to grow your business.
 

OK. So what exactly is posting? Posting is simply replying to comments other people have made in an online forum.
 

First, you need to find a forum that relates to your business or area of expertise. A Google search using relevant keywords coupled with the word “forum” will reveal a number of forum discussions.

For example, say you were financial planner. You could Google “financial planner forums” and the search engines will deliver plenty of forum options for you to choose from. And you can further define the parameters of the forum by using additional keywords like “financial planner trends forum”.
 

A word of caution: Look for a forum that is active and has lots of members. A good example of an active, lively forum is warriorforum.com.

Most forums will ask you to create an account if you want to post replies to different “threads” or discussions you take part in.

Now , here’s where the rubber meets the road.

The secret to effective posting that will generate sales leads for you is to build an identity in that forum community. To do that, you need to be active and consistent. Schedule your posting in as part of your regular marketing activities. Try to make 3-5 five posts a day to various threads that are in the forum.

This sounds a lot more overwhelming that it is. A reply can simply be two or three sentences. A half hour of posting each day will quickly elevate your status in the forum.

So what do you post? Well, you can initiate a post by asking a provocative question or introducing a controversial topic or you can simply read through the existing posts (which are categorized so you can see areas of interest) others have made and reply to those where you can add value.

Forum discussions are intended to be an environment where ideas are exchanged and counsel is given.
 

It isn’t a place where you go to flog your latest product or service. If you flagrantly enter posts that are of a traditional selling nature, you will be shown the door.

Besides, you will attract a lot more prospects to your site by giving insightful and practical advice on how to address a certain issue or solve a particular problem that relates to your area of expertise than you will acting like the Slap Chop guy.
 

Now, here’s where your marketing mileage ramps up.

In exchange for your participation, you are allowed to create a profile that every forum participant can see and a signature that appears at the end of every post.  
 

When you join the forum, you will have an opportunity to create your profile. You can use your real name or a made up name that reflects your expertise. You can also include your pet’s name, your hobbies, your expertise or profession – whatever you want. The idea is to let your profile reflect who you are.

Along with your profile, you’ll be asked if you want to create a signature. Make sure your signature makes it easy for people to visit your site and suggests to them that it might be worth a visit.

Happy profitable posting!

Gerry Black is a marketing writer based in Toronto, Canada who works with clients in the U.S. and Canada.

1. Search Engine Ranking – This is the Big Daddy for a lot of business owners. Why? Most importantly, if you know what you’re doing, it’s effective. And it’s also free except for the time you need to spend developing your strategy. High rankings in the search engines allow you to be in front of people who are actually searching for your product or service. So why isn’t everyone taking advantage of this strategy? Getting your site listed high up in the top search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN) is not easy. There’s lots to learn and the search engine rules are always changing. If you want to use this strategy, my recommendation is to find someone who is a legitimate search engine optimization (SEO) expert. Do your homework. There are lots of pretenders in this industry.

2. Pay-per-Click Advertising (PPC) – Services like Google AdWords can be very effective -provided you have a thorough understanding of your target market. Basically, Pay-per-Click advertising works like this: You bid on how much you’d like to pay per click. There’s competition for certain keywords because they determine how often your ad is clicked on. The idea is to have your ad (you’ll see these ads on top and to the right of the free organic search results when you do a search for something) appear when people that fit your target market are searching for information. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad. The cool thing is you can have your ad up and running in about 15 minutes. And you can set a maximum limit on how much you’re willing to spend. That way, you can control your investment. The key to a successful PPC campaign is testing to find the right combination of keywords that get readers clicking on your ad on a consistent basis.

3. Use Your Own E-zine – If you publish your own e-zine, you already have a list of people who are probably interested in what you have to offer on your website. Keep in mind, your ezine readers may have signed up for your ezine without ever visiting your website. You can direct them to your site by letting them know about new content – maybe a new service or a free report. Consider offering a special promotion for your ezine readers only.

4. Distribute Your Articles to other E-zines and Web Sites – Many ezine publishers are on the lookout for interesting content. They are hungry for content and accept articles regularly. In exchange for your article, you get to put a resource box at the end of your article identifying you as the source of the article along with a link to your website. If you’re interested in going this route, invest in Charlie Page’s “Directory of Ezines” (DOE). It gives you contact info for ezines that welcome articles along with tons of other useful information about the ezine including, of course, who its readers are. Another great place to submit articles is EzineArticles.com.

5. Ads in Other E-zines – Use the Directory of Ezines to identify other e-zines whose readership matches your target market. The DOE will tell you if they accept advertising and what their rates are. If you do decide to try this, don’t just run your ad once. Try at least three consecutive ads. Usually ezine advertising is fairly inexpensive.

6. Public Speaking – If you do any public speaking, make sure you don’t say goodbye to your audience without letting them know your website URL. And don’t just sell your website, create a free report that you can tempt your audience with. There are lots of organizations who need speakers. You can contact them and offer to do a talk on your subject. In exchange, you’ll be able to use a few minutes at the beginning and end of your talk to make people aware of who you are, how you help your clients and how they can contact you. Check out SpeakerMatch.com or SpeakerServices.com if this appeals to you. Speaking is a great way to drive traffic to your site.

7. Online Forums and Discussion Groups – Identify popular forums and discussion groups that are related to your subject area and then sign up to participate in those where prospects in your target market are hanging out. Don’t sell in these forums. The idea here is to look for ways to participate in a meaningful way. eg. be helpful, offer advice, answer questions, etc. In your signature at the end of you post, include a link to your website. And, if you offer a free report, be sure to let readers know they can get it at your website.

8. Inform professional organizations and associations you belong to – Let them know about your site. They often make announcements in their newsletters or on their online bulletin boards. Many are glad to promote their members. Even if you have to pay for a bit of exposure, this approach allows you to leverage your affiliation with the organization when you communicate with other members. Instead of viewing you as an outsider, they see you as a fellow member and are likely to be more responsive when they are contacted by “one of their own.”

9. Use Your Business Card – Create a free report and advertise it on your business card. Using that approach, if someone comes across your business card, long after you’ve parted ways, your business card can deliver a compelling reason for someone to visit your site.