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By Kris Bickell
So, you want to make money online, but you’re having trouble
getting visitors to your website? If so, you’re not alone.
Many
people think that running an online busy is easy – just build
a
website, and in no time you’ll be making money.
Well, running an online business is no different than running
any business – you need to find ways to reach people who want
and need (and are willing to pay for) your product or service.
Affiliate marketing (selling other people’s products) is a
great way to make money online.
Yet, it is still a business, and the same rules apply to
affiliate marketing – you need to find people who need what
you
are selling.
The best way to be a successful affiliate is to create your
own
website, provide information to get people ready to buy, and
then encourage them visit the programs you are representing.
How do you do this, without spending a fortune on advertising?
1) Learn how to get free traffic from search engines
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) means getting the search
engines (like Google and Yahoo) to place your website at the
top of the rankings. Getting “free advertising” from the
search
engines is great. However, it is not easy, and it does take
some
time. The key is make your site the best possible site for
your
theme – tricks and scams may provide you with an instant
“boost” but this rarely lasts (and sometimes even gets you
banned permanently!) Over the past few years, I’ve made lots
of
money by having high rankings – and I’ve lost money when my
rankings have fallen. It’s part of the process, so you
shouldn’t count only on free traffic from the search engines.
2) Create your own newsletter
By creating your own newsletter, you can contact each person
who signs up more than once, increasing your chance for a
sale.
Don’t have any ideas for a newsletter? How about a free
course.
Or monthly tips about the topic of your website. Sign up for a
few newsletters in your industry to get an idea of how other
websites maintain this important relationship with their
current – and future – customers!
3) Write articles
Writing articles provides you with several benefits at the
same
time – by writing an article you are positioning yourself as
an
expert; when your article is published, you get a link back to
your site (which helps SEO; you can promote your newsletter so
you can contact readers more than once. You don’t need to have
your article published in USA Today to get these benefits. In
fact, getting your articles listed in an article directory
(such as EzineArticles.com), can help you get listed in more
specialized websites, newsletters, and magazines, helping you
reach the right people!
4) Place newsletter, magazine, & newspaper ads
When spending money on ads, especially for the first time,
start out small. It’s very easy to spend a ton of money,
without getting any responses (a tough lesson many advertisers
learn the hard way!) Email newsletters or ezines are a great
way to start (start with the ones in your industry that you
subscribed to in order to get ideas for your newsletter
above).
Make sure you offer something valuable – like your newsletter
–
to get as many people to respond as possible.
5) Watch out for scams!
Buying 10,000 visitors for only $29.95. Submitting your
website
to 150 search engines for $19.99. Getting your site listed #1
on
all the search engines for just $50. Most of these sound very
tempting, especially when you are just starting out.
Unfortunately, most of these are great ways to drain your bank
account very quickly – and make other people rich.
So learn from the real experts how to build your online
business: sign up for newsletters (HighRankings.com is a great
resource), read the forums (IHelpYouServices.com and
WebmasterWorld.com), read articles (EzineArticles.com).
Yes, you can make money online. So, get started, keep learning
and trying, and don’t ever give up!
About The Author: Kris Bickell is the owner of
Hi-Speed-Internet.com, a helpful affiliate site for consumers
comparing high speed internet services. For information on
high
speed DSL, Cable, and Wireless Internet, visit:
www.Hi-Speed-Internet.com, and sign up for the free
email course “5 Simple Ways To Improve Your Computer Speed”. ©
2005 Hi-Speed-Internet.com
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