Posted by Daniel on September 20, 2008 under List Building, Web Traffic | 
by Daniel Moro
You’ve gone to all the trouble of designing and publishing a regular newsletter. Now how can you increase the number of people signing up for it? Here are five of the best ways to increase your newsletter subscriptions.
1. Place a Subscribe Box on Your Main Page
Place a subscribe form on the main page of your web site where everyone will see it. And if you can, include a small subscription form or button on every page of your web site.
2. Don’t Ask for Too Much Information
It is generally not a good idea to have too many information fields on your newsletter sign-up form. Streamline the subscription process. At the time of subscribing all you really need is the visitor’s name and email. If you ask for too much information you will turn some people away. You can always give your subscribers opportunities to provide additional information later.
3. Give Away an E-book or Report
This is a highly effective technique in driving new sign-ups to your newsletter. Write a small e-book or report on a related topic and then promote it next to your sign-up form. “Download Your Free Report on Publishing a Newsletter When You Subscribe Today.”
4. Give out a Password
If you restrict access to a member section of your site that contains particularly useful information then you can offer the password to your new subscribers. It might be a section of your site that includes a forum, or a database of important information. “Sign Up Today For Free and Receive The Password to Our Member Section”. This is also a very effective technique because people hate to miss out on the hidden information. And they know it doesn’t really cost them anything, they only need to subscribe.
5. Ad Swaps
Swap ads with newsletters on related topics. Once your own list has grown to a reasonable size, owners of other newsletters will be interested in swapping ads with you. This is a great way of driving highly targeted traffic to your subscription form.
That’s five ways to quickly increase sign-ups to your newsletter. Good luck.
Posted by Daniel on August 17, 2008 under Domains |
by Daniel Moro
Choosing a good domain name is one of most important steps in setting up your online business. And with more web sites being launched every day, it is certainly not getting any easier to find good domain names that are still available. So what exactly makes a good domain name?
Easy to Remember – Your domain name should be memorable and easy for visitors to recall and type into their browser.
Relevant – Your domain name should be relevant to your business and to the content on your web site.
Short Name – Although domain names can be up to 67 characters, your domain name should be shorter, preferably seven characters or less. Shorter domain names are easier to remember, easier to type and less susceptible to mistakes. Domain names with seven characters or less are harder to come by these days, so you may have to settle for a domain name that is slightly longer.
Top Level Domain – If your business is in the US or if your web site is targeting a global audience then you should use .com as your top-level domain. Generally .net and .org domains are not perceived as being as professional as .com domains. If however you are marketing to a local audience in another country, for example in UK or Australia, then using the local .com domain such as .com.uk or .com.au may make it easier for visitors to recognize that your site is local.
Keyword Optimized – If possible your domain name should contain popular keywords relating to your topic. This will help your site to rank high in the natural rankings of search engines. Use a keyword tool such as Good Keywords to check which keywords are searched more frequently.
Consider Hyphenated Names – If you are having trouble getting the name you want, consider a hyphenated domain name, e.g. barbecue-grills.com. However the downside of this approach is that some people will forget the hyphen when typing your domain name.
How Does it Sound? - If you tell a friend your domain name over the phone, will they easily be able to spell it correctly the first time?
No Trademark Conflicts – Make certain that your domain name is free of legal conflicts due to trademarks belonging to other businesses. Your new site at GoogleSecrets.com might attract a lot of traffic but it will probably attract even more after your court case is in the headlines for breaching Google’s trademark! Stay clear of other companies’ names and trademarks.
A good place to check if a domain name is available is Whois.org. Keep these tips in mind, and you will be well on your way to choosing a good domain name.
Posted by Daniel on May 25, 2008 under Viral Marketing, Web Traffic |
Viral marketing is any advertising method that propagates itself. It is built on the concept of a message spreading by ‘word of mouth’. Two examples of viral marketing online are “Tell a Friend” forms, and Viral Ebooks.
The idea with viral marketing is to induce visitors or readers to pass along your marketing message to other sites or people, creating a potentially exponential growth in the message’s visibility and response.
A “Tell a Friend” form is designed to get one person that you have already reached to recommend your site or service to a number of their friends. You can offer an incentive for them to make the recommendation, for example giving them a free report or ebook in return for recommending you to five friends.
To make a viral ebook, you use special tools to make your ebook rebrandable. In a rebrandable ebook, certain parts of your ebook are set up for customization. By doing this you enable your partners to insert their own business name, web site links, or even their own affiliate ID into your ebook. This gives them an additional incentive to pass on copies of it, ultimately helping you to promote your business and grow your traffic.
More on Making Viral Ebooks
