Online Courses

Here's how I did it. You can do it too!

<> Goal: Increase Targeted Traffic
<> The Website: Learn Internet Marketing

<> Target Market:
Internet Marketing Beginners
<> Original Traffic: 0 (5/99)
<> Traffic/Day Before 'Pull' Approach: 450
<> Peak Traffic: 2,079 (2/6/00)
<> Average Traffic/Day: 1,200

In the beginning, I followed all the 'accepted'
ways of promoting my Website. My own E-zine, a
membership only Website (with Opt-In EMail
collection), my own banner network, classifieds,
exchanges, the-yada-yada-what-have-you-it's-the-
last-trick-in-the-book...really! Well, I think
you get the idea.

Traffic climbed steadily from 0 to about 450
visitors a day. Still, traffic increase was
too slow.

I decided to change from the 'push' to the
'pull' model.

I tried to find an answer to the Question:
What Are People SEARCHING FOR? To find out,
I subscribed to two keyword and search terms
report services. They furnish you with a
report on the most used keywords and search
terms. Both are FREE.

WordsSpot 200


and

Weekly top 500 Wordtracker keyword report


What came up is that one of The Most Used
Keywords is: FREE.

I tracked other trends and decided on the
following:

Give my Target Market what they are SEARCHING
FOR in Free Information form! However, you must
have in mind that all Free information is NOT
Valuable, and can do you more HARM than GOOD!

Stay with me, and later on I'll give you the
KEY to Giving Away FREE Information EFFECTIVELY.

Meanwhile...

I went ahead and produced UNIQUE Free Content that
would interest those SEARCHING for ways to:

1. Learn Basic Internet Marketing FREE.
2. REALLY Make Money Online, and do it
basically FREE!

To accomplish this, I created Free Online Courses
and E-Books (which I produce with E-ditor Pro.
You CAN'T Miss with this one!)


Some examples:

1. A Free Internet Marketing Course for Beginners
(You must become a member first, and even membership
is FREE)

2. Hot Free E-Book Downloads like:
EBay Exposed!...How To Sell On EBay.

3. Five FREE Gifts just for visiting the Website.

4. Your Choice Of A Free Online Course or E-Book:
"How to Succeed In A Paid To Surf Program.
The Secrets Revealed!"
I call it: The Most Valuable FREEbie you'll EVER Get!
It's an easy to use, REAL HELP resource for the
little Guy & Gal who wants to make money online.

This,and my invention: The Current Link(tm) System,
are responsible for creating the Biggest Surge In
Daily Traffic to my Website EVER!

5. And the latest FREE addition is:
"The Idiot-Proof Way To Make Money Online"
It's available: Online, downloadable E-Book,
or TXT file. One of the sections covers how to
save up to $120/year on your AOL account.

I also maintain Strategic Link Exchanges with
TOP Freebie Sites, submit original articles
(like this one) to many internet marketing EZines,
and publish related articles submitted by other
successful Webmasters.

The Results?

Traffic SHOT up to an average of 1200+ visitors
a day! FREE Memberships To The Learn Internet
Marketing Website and Current Link(tm) System are
way up!

All achieved by GIVING People what they are SEARCHING
FOR!

People have liked this approach and, as a bonus to me,
they let their friends know about it. If this sounds like
'viral marketing' it's because it is! The results speak
for themselves!

Now, let, talk about you! Here's my personal advice if
want to increase MEANINGFUL, Targeted Traffic to
your site:

1. Look for that special 'something' that sets your
product or Website 'apart from the pack'.

2. You can start an EZINE! and announce it.
Check out all the tips available on my Website and back
issues of my EZine. Harmony Major's Article about EZines
on Issue 18 Is Great. It's all FREE!

3. Create your own BUZZ! You could give incentives
or reward your prospects, SATISFIED customers or
users for promoting your service. Have you ever
stopped to watch how people react to some common
promotional events?

Let me give you an example.

Just watch when someone is trying to HAND OUT
promotional flyers to every passerby. You'll
notice that MOST people are annoyed by this
'in your face' approach. The flyer WILL be
THROWN OUT by the vast majority without even
bothering to LOOK at it! (That's what happens
to most traditional advertising!)

Compare that with what happens when someone is
giving out FREE samples(discount coupons, etc.)
of a product. The main reaction you notice is:
CURIOSITY! 'What are they GIVING AWAY?'
'I want SOME!'

Never mind if you can use it or not. The first
reaction is: I WANT SOME, or KNOW MORE about it!
You have been ATTRACTED to the 'message'. And the
same happens to a lot of people. You may even ASK
someone who just GOT something to TELL you about
it! And the person(even if it's a stranger) DOES!
If you happen to like it, you GO TO GET YOURS TOO!

Why this happens?

In the flyer example, the approach doesn't appeal
to your 'What's In It FOR ME?' factor. The message
CHASES YOU! Somebody is 'TRYING to SELL you
something'.

The Second scenario hits the person right where it
counts. It feeds the: 'I Can Get Something FREE NOW!'
factor.

The tables have turned: Now, You CHASE the Message!
YOU want to see what the whole deal is! You become a
voluntary recipient. YOU convinced yourself!

I hope you can use this tip to great results!

4. Let people get to KNOW and RECOMMEND YOU!
Visit Active Web Message Boards related to your
Websites' theme, and see what people are LOOKING
FOR and the Problems they have. Give RELEVANT
answers to their Questions.

This is more effective (and cheaper)than advertising
all over the place. An honest referral by a satisfied
customer or user is your BEST ALLY!

Now...The JUICY Part!

5. Create a related Freebie(not a Blatant Ads Billboard)
that will give your Target Market VALUABLE information
like:

"Things You Should Know BEFORE ..."

"How To..."

'Mistakes You Must Avoid ..."

"The Secrets to..."

GIVE IT AWAY with NO Strings attached, and encourage
people to pass it along to their friends.

Instead of pushing, let people be 'pulled' to your
site.

The KEY to make this approach work EFFECTIVELY is:
The information you GIVE away, MUST have its
HIGHEST VALUE when used in COMBINATION with one
of your other products, or services.

This gives your visitors a STRONG REASON
(that appeals to their SELF-INTEREST) to come back
and use your other products or services. Both sides
must derive a benefit from this exchange.

That's the name of the game!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rafael Aguilo - Webmaster, A+ Certified PC Tech. invites you
to get ALL the FREEBIES mentioned in this article. They
are available at:
Get 5 Free Gifts Just For Visiting Today!