I have been working online since 1996, full-time since 2002 and over time I used many methods to generate traffic for my sites.
Here is a quick overview over my favorite traffic generation methods…
- Affiliates (best long term strategy if you have your own products)
- JV Partners (Powerful for traffic burst generation, or if done right, even a long term strategy)
- Pay per click (very fast traffic at a low cost)
- Article submission (slow, but free and great long term effect)
1. Affiliates (best long term strategy if you have your own products)
Once you own your own products, this is by far the best long term method to generate a constant flow of traffic to your site.
The affiliate program script I use is called Add2it AffiliateCenter Pro which I use in combination with Add2it E-Shop Pro, a shopping cart solution that allows me to accept payments via PayPal, 2Checkout, bank transfer and even cash while giving my affiliates full credit no matter what payment methods my customers choose.
Even though the 80/20 rule applies with affiliates where only 20 out of 100 affiliates every generate any sales for you (or was it the 95/5 rule?)… those active affiliates will generate a ton of traffic for your sites.
Also… you need an affiliate program when you want to take advantage of the next traffic generation method…
2. JV Partners (Powerful for traffic burst generation, or if done right, even long term strategy)
Finding JV Partners is very powerful, as a single mailing of a strong JV partner can generate you tons of traffic, sales and profits.
Plus, if you can the JV partner to do some integration marketing, the partnership can even turn into long term profits.
Before I give you two real life examples from my latest membership site, the Add2it Go-To System, that shows you the power of JV’s as wll as what “Integration Marketing” is, let me explain quickly why you need an affiliate program to work with JV partners.
A JV partner is basically nothing else then an affiliate with a “special” deal… e.g. a higher commission percentage, a higher flat rate commission or commissions on an extra level.
The last option is particularly interesting for JV brokers that earn their money by bringing product owner and list owners together.
Let me now share two live examples with you…
Michael Cobb, owner of the Home-Income-Team.com become a JV partner for my Add2it Go-To System site and managed to earn close to $700 in commissions the very first week alone by sending a single email to the existing members of his site. But he didn’t stop there and also did some integration marketing by adding the Add2it Go-To System as a recommended resource in the members area of his membership site.
This task that took him just a few minutes to complete is responsible for the weekly commission payments he receives ever since.
Take a look at what Michael wrote me…
"Hey Frank, as you know I've been very busy revamping
Home-Income-Team.com so please forgive me for being
behind the eight ball with the launch of your GoTo-Pro
system! Have just been looking around, you have done an
awesome job my friend! You have everything in place to
help me let my members know as quickly and painlessly
as possible without too much interruption to an already
extremely busy week :o) Two thumbs up Frank and wishing
you best of luck with it. Your 'Aussie' Mate."
Now to the second example… Jason James , owner of the Membershipriches.com site generated over $1,100 in commissions within just 5 days, simply by sending a single email to his sites members.
James writes…
"Hi Frank, I just wanted to let you know how happy I am
with your affiliate program. Your site converts great,
provides a quality service to my subscribers, and you
pay on time every time. I plan on promoting your
products and services again in the future. Thank you."
As you can see, with a quality product that converts visitors into customers, JV partners are easier to find and they will be satisfied to promote your sites for you.
Of course you will need to make sure your site converts and you should constantly test and improve your web sites conversion rate.
I personally do that using my own Add2it Go-To System. It allows you to do split testing to improve conversion rates and ad tracking to be able to focus your advertising on effective advertising methods and places.
A quick tip to find JV partners…
Look for your ideal JV partner and contact them, asking how you can help him (or her), promote his (or her) product! Yes, do it first for them and they will have a much harder time saying no when you later ask them to return the favor.
Also, use integration marketing to promote their product besides a one time solo email. The more you can help them (and yourself by earning commissions) the more likely they will help you.
Now, you might not yet be at the point where you own your own products or even if you do, maybe you want some quick traffic to test and improve your site conversion before you approach JV partners. Then the next traffic generation method will be very useful for you…
3. Pay per click (very fast traffic at a low cost)
Hands down the very best place to get started is Google Adwords. Start with that source of pay per click (PPC) traffic first.
Some quick tips:
- Don't stuff all keyword phrases into one Ad Group, but split them up so the ads you write for each Ad Group match the keyword phrases
- Always write 2 ads for each Ad Group and this way split test them for effectiveness
- Use negative keywords like e.g. -free to make sure only potential buyers see your ad
- Deactivate Content network when you get started. Once your campaign is generating positive cash flow for you, you can activate it, but at a much lower cost per click.
- Choose the delivery method: Accelerated: Show ads as quickly as possible
- Choose ad serving: Rotate: Show ads more evenly
- Choose a budget of at least what Google recommends, but watch your sales conversion in carefully so you are not burning up money on a web page that doesn't convert
- If you convert to little clicks into sales, thy qualifiers in you ad like e.g. mention the price of the product sold
Once you generate positive cashflow with your Google Adwords PPC campaign and you got to the point where you feel like you can't improve your results there any more, consider to copy you successful campaign into the Yahoo Search Marketing & MSN Adcenter PPC systems.
4. Article submission (slow, but free and great long term effect)
This one is free if you can write your own articles that target the niche market you are after. Simply write one article every single week and submit it to the hundreds of article directories that are out there like e.g. the More4you Article Directory.
Do a search on Google for the term "Article Directory" and you will find many more. You will be amazed at the amount of traffic this can generate for you over time.
Also don't forget to post your article on your own blog as well as in forums like e.g. the Conquer Your Niche Forum.
One quick tip regarding writing your own articles: Don't try so much to sell your product in the article itself. But simply try to help the reader solve a problem. Then in your article signature, simply mention your product as a possible solution.
About the Author:
Frank Bauer is the owner of Add2it.com.au - Marketing Software
Scripts & Services for Your Web Business at www.Add2it.com.au
and since 1996 the publisher of the More4you Blogletter at: www.More4you.ws
To see how he can help you, visit: www.FrankBauer.name
His latest service site is the Add2it Go-To System...
\"The Secret Weapon To Multiply Your Profits!\"
www.GoTo-Pro.com
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