Web Savvy Strategy for Using Forums For Traffic Generation

Using forums is a very powerful way of getting free traffic to your website or blog.  One of the reasons I like this method is that if it is done correctly, you can get a load of traffic from it for years to come.   So here are the steps to going to forum in a logical order.

 

Since I am an avid user of the Warrior Forum (WF), I’m going to use that as an example whenever I talk about forums, because I’m so familiar with it.  Just like the stars in the sky there are bazillions of forums on the web, each with their own sets or rules that you’ll have to follow.  Some make it easy for you to join and post, and others can be a stiff pain in the pants to post or comment on. 

Step 1 Do Your Research First – You’ll want to figure out which forums your niche is applicable to before you decide to join and post.  (You do know what niche you’re in, don’t you?)  You sure as heck don’t want to join a forum about “gold panning” when your niche is “cat breeds”.  So, know what types of forums you’ll need to participate in before you join one.

Step 2 Register and Lurk – Make sure you register and look for a section that either welcomes you

or has a help section.  Usually most forums want you to read their rules because if you break their rules there may be repercussions. 

You might get suspended or have your account banned, so make sure you find out what the rules of the forum are.  The next thing you should do is get a feel of the forum.  You need to read what other people are interested on it, what their problems and ambitions are and how you can help them.

Once you get a good idea of what the forum is all about you can move on to the next step which is…

Step 3 Leave Comments and Help Other Members with Their Problems – Once you have a good feel for the forum, you can then participate.  Once again, make sure that you’re following the rules.

NOTE:  Most forums have all sorts of rules concerning posting with your website address.  Usually, to get that privilege you’ll be required to participate in the forum for a certain number of posts or buy your way in, as in the case of the Warrior Forum.  (Very cheap $10 lifetime membership)  So, I wouldn’t even think of posting my web address right away.  On the Warrior Forum you can use a signature if you pay, but more on that in a minute.

Step 4 Create A Signature That Automatically Follows Your Posts  - This is complexly legit, however most forums will only allow this privilege after you’ve made a number of posts or started a bunch of threads.  If you are allowed to create signature file, make sure that it grabs people’s attention, and has all of your contact information on it.  Many forums will allow you to advertise your services on your signature line, but I wouldn’t overdo it.

Step 5 Try To Deliver A Real Good Post At Least Once A Week – This is where you can really gain some solid ground on being an authority in your niche.  You should write about a 500+ post talking about some facet of your niche that’ll actually helps people.  You want to make sure that it is well written, concise, and is aimed at your target market. 

Warning!  Do not, and I repeat, do not jump on a forum and start selling your crap.  That’s just not the way it works, and at best you’ll be seen as another snake oil salesman.  Just like social media, if you haven’t taken the time to nurture relationships and help people out, you’ll be doing nothing more than hurting yourself. This sales process works best over time, but it has great rewards if you work it the right way.

Step 6 Follow And Answer People That Respond To Your Post   Once you’ve written and posted follow your post and see what the response is.  If you’ve pushed the envelope a little bit and ruffled someone feathers, then you’ll definitely get responses.  Respond to these super politely. 

You should never get offended by anything anyone says because there will people on there that are just plain nuts. You don’t want to be seen as a jerk and a bad attitude and foul language can follow you around for a while.

Step 7 Rinse and Repeat – Remember, your goal is to create a great reputation and help people.  Don’t be selfish and always be kind.

Mark “Elmo” Ellis

"When it Comes to High-Response Copy - I've Got Your Back!"

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

(859) 797-9560

elmo033057@gmail.com

Essential Dirt Cheap Newsletter Methods That Will Create a Flood of Traffic to Your Business!

If you are going to use online newsletters to stay in touch with your clients, you’ll need to acquire the proper tools to run an online newsletter. In a previous section, we looked at two companies that were dirt cheap to start out with and you can read that information here:  Newsletters That Will Make Your Business Magnetic to Customers

A List of Autoresponder / Email / Newsletter Services

 Below is a reference list of some of the best email and newsletter businesses on the Internet.  Rather than listing benefits and prices to you, I’m just going to list them so you can go to their actual sites and check them out. 

The reason why I’m not going to review each one of these is because the pricing and features change so often that by the time this is written, one of them will have already changed their information.

Autosenders
Aweber
Constant Contact
Get Response
iContact
Iminiacamail
List Wire Mail Chimp 

Text Versus HTML

Many of these online companies offer two versions of newsletters and email that you can send: HTML and a text version.  I personally like the text version for a number of reasons.  For one thing, if one of the persons I am sending my

HTML Newsletters can look
very professional in color

newsletters to have a slower method of receiving their email, HTML will take more time.  With text, you aren’t relying on faster broadband speeds because text has no colors, borders, pictures, etc.

HTML has all of that stuff, plus the ability to embed pictures, video and use templates that look like websites.  In my opinion, HTML takes longer to format.  You have to make sure your text is lined up right as well as your pictures and other elements that are on the newsletter.

All you have to worry about with text, is that you format it a little to brand the name of your business on it.  However, usually that is a onetime set up.

Offline Newsletters

If you are creating an offline newsletter, use Microsoft Word or Microsoft Publisher.  Both of these pieces of software require some time to learn, but almost everyone knows how to use Word, but if you don’t know how to create a cool looking newsletter with it, there are tons of online tutorials that’ll show you.

TIP: If you don’t want to do all of the formatting involved in producing a cool looking. newsletter, hire someone.  If you’ve already written the material, and want someone to turn it into a cool looking format that’s ready to print, you can always find someone on Fiverr to do that for you.

Fiverr is a site that only allows you to charge or pay $5.00 per job./  So you can easily get someone on there to format your material into a great looking newsletter for a mere $5.00!  Such a deal.  Here is Fiverr’s link: Five Dollar Gigs 

If that doesn’t appeal to you, you can always go to an outsourcing site and hire someone for more money, but then again, that wouldn’t be the Dirt-Cheap method I’m so fond of.

List of Outsourcing Sites:

oDesk 

Freelancer 

Warriors for Hire

To Your Success!

Mark “Elmo” Ellis

"When it Comes to High-Response Copy - I've Got Your Back!"

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

(859) 797-9560

elmo033057@gmail.com

                                                    

Write a Short Book or Manual to Create a Flood of Traffic to Your Business

Today we’re going to talk about the “Thump Factor”. The Thump Factor is a sound that will give you credibility, draw attention to your expertise, serve as a business card, and get you the traffic that your business so dearly needs. 

This is just one of those techniques that you can use offline to drive people to your online business.  Moreover, it can be used in the regular bricks and mortar world to get you great clients that’ll look to you as an expert in your field or niche. 

What is this “Thump Factor”?

The “Thump” is the sound a book makes when it lands on someone’s desk. 

With this strategy, you’re not trying to create a regular published book or bestseller.  In this instance, we’re trying to make a marketing tool that has all the looks of a well written book.  Your chances of getting anywhere near the normal world of publishing are close to zero and you’d probably have a better chance of winning the lottery. 

However, you can easily write and create a well written professional looking book without out spending much money at all.  And that’s all you’ll need to do to get it into hands of the people that you’d like to see as your clients and customers. 

How Can a Thumper Help Me Out?

There’s no question that a regular looking book carries clout. If you carry a book into a prospects office and show him or her how your book can help out their business, they are not very likely to forget you.   Not only that, but a book of

this nature will work great for you as a replacement for brochures.  If someone comes into your dentistry office and you've already written a book called “101 Ways to Make Sure You Never Get Cavities” and they can just pick up a free copy for you, then chances are, that client will never forget you and he or she might pass the book on to a friend. 

Amazon, will also let anyone sell a book from their site so even if you only sell just a few copies of your book you can walk away as a winner.

TIP : You can always set up the book to sell it on Amazon.  Next, give out your book to as many friends and people that you've done business with as possible or offer the book to anyone that promises to write you up a nice review.  Ask them to go on Amazon and place reviews on there about how much they liked it.  This will automatically give you clout on Amazon if anyone wants to check you out to see if you’re the real deal.  

You don’t have to make your promotional book massive.  You can make it fairly thin if you so desire, it’s all a matter of personal preference.  Of course, you need to bear in mind that the thicker you make your book, the more time it will take to put it together.

In reality, the effect of the Thump Factor is bigger that the number of people that will actually read it. Most people you give it to will be impressed, but won’t actually read it.

But think of it this way.  A company wants to hire a Web designer and there are two candidates, you and some other designer.  The other designer has a great portfolio and a pretty good reputation as do you; you’ve got an awesome portfolio and a good rep.  However, YOU HAVE THE THUMP FACTOR! You drop that book on their desk and …THUMP!  They’ll be impressed with the fact that you are an authority.

See the difference?

So, writing your own book is rather easy.  You can either hire a ghostwriter to write the thing or do it yourself.  Writing is so much easier these days anyway.  With word processors like Microsoft Word, you can create an outline or table of contents with just a few clicks of a mouse button.

You can also outsource the work of writing your book. Get a digital tape recorder, record yourself reciting the material that you want in your book, and then send the digital file off to an online transcriber that will type it up for you.

Don’t like that idea?

Get a copy of Dragon Naturally Speaking speech recognition software.  All you have to do is speak into the microphone, and your words will magically appear on your word processor.  You can knock out about a chapter a day with this powerful software if you wanted to.  I used this software quite a bit when I was in college.  I had so many papers to write for my Master’s degree and this was quite simply the fastest method to get a lot done in a very short time.

When using Dragon Naturally Speaking, it’s always better to have in your head what you’re going to say before you say it, though.  The other problem with this method, is that it requires time to go back and read what you've spoken into the microphone.   Many times the software will misinterpret what you've said and you’ll have to edit.

What Are You Waiting For?

If you see a value in what I just said, then the time to act is right now.  I shouldn’t have to sell you on this idea, because the benefits are real.  The hardest part of writing a book of this nature is getting off of your rump and getting it done.  That will take commitment and drive.  

To Your Success!

Mark “Elmo” Ellis

"When it Comes to High-Response Copy - I've Got Your Back!"

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

 (859) 797-9560

elmo033057@gmail.com