Carol Estep / List Building Bliss

I often get asked how to build a website that generates a lot of traffic. There are a few factors that go into building a good domain. Here are also a few simple strategies that will work. You must have good, informative content. You have to be ‘real’. But, more than anything, you need content that will last. If you’re looking for great ways of getting traffic to your website, here are some tried and true methods that will bring you the visitors you need.

Informative content draws traffic to your website.

Keep your writing informative and valuable and to the point. Keep focused and never lose sight of why you’ve created your website. If you offer relative and exciting content, readers will keep coming back for more. Do your research and keep on top of all the latest information. Most of all, focus on providing real value to your readers, don’t over-exaggerate with a lot of nonsense. And don’t make your site a knock-off of someone else’s!

What do you want your readers to learn from you? What can you offer from your own personal experience?

Being ‘real’ draws traffic to your website.

Position yourself as a friend or teacher, standing side-by-side with your readers. In order to connect with your readers, they’ll need to see you as someone like them—someone they can relate to. They need to see you as an ally who is ready to jump in and help.

Up-to-date content keeps readers coming back for more.

Every now and then you’ll have write about tends. There’s nothing wrong with that. . However, if what you write is as valuable ten years from now as it is today, you’ll be providing the kind of content that will be as helpful to next year’s visitors as it was to those who read it the day you wrote it.
If you focus on content that endures across the years, word of mouth will drive more and more hungry people to your website. Strive to provide timeless content, and your website content will grow.
There are many way to drive traffic to your website. Some of them are search engine optimization, article marketing, and pay-per-click ads. However, don’t lose sight of the basics I’ve talked about above to get traffic and keep those visitors coming back for more. Staying authentic with your readers and providing good valuable content that endures across the years will not only attract traffic but will also keep your readers coming back for more. = Bliss!

A lot has been said about list building and internet marketing. One thing most coaches leave out is finding out what your clients want and need . It’s actually probably the most important step when it comes to Online Marketing.

If you aren’t finding a need, you’re really not going to get very far in your efforts to make money online. This has to be done before product development, before marketing, before find an affiliate product, before anything. You have to be able to supply what people want and need. If you don’t, you’re wasting time and resources.

 Let’s say that it’s around March or April. You know that people are shopping for Easter Products at this time. You decide to launch an Easter based product, or made a special Easter sale. You realize that there are people on the Net with a want and money to spend. You provide the wanted item, and make money. That’s the essence of how to go about finding a need.

It’s all about target traffic. As I just said, you have people browsing the Net that are “just browsing,” and then you have people that are actually shopping. Obviously, you want the ones who are spending money. Finding what they want or need is the first part of targeting your traffic. You don’t care about the guy browsing, you want the guy ready to buy.

Of course, the process of finding a need is a bit more complicated than just knowing that Easter (or any holiday or special occasion) is coming up, so you should develop an Easter line. It takes a bit of market analysis. Let’s say that you have this brilliant idea for a launch. Let’s say that it’s a line of instruction manuals on how to do something specific.

The first thing you do in finding a need is condense this whole idea into as few words as possible. Now you can take this to your keyword tool. Plug your words into your keyword search tool and let’s see what happens. Your keyword tool will kick out every (more or less) current combination of your keyword and how often it got hit.

Based on this analysis, can you say that by doing this search that you’re finding a need? A want? If you’re not, perhaps there’s some variation on your keywords that will actually hit higher than your original version. It can be a boring process, but sticking through with it will pay off in the end.

Now that you’re done finding a need, you can begin making your instruction manuals, or finding an affiliate product to promote for whatever need you see out there. You can then move on to pricing and marketing and everything else. But this is how we begin.

Once you have the wants and needs of your potential clients, and have your manual, ebook, or product in place, you can start building your list of potential buyers=Bliss!

First of all, if you’re a total ‘newbie’ you’re probably wondering what in the world is an autoresponder?  An autoresponder is a tool or email system that allows you to manage, organize and automate the process of collecting email addresses through opt-in and distributing information via email.  Most companies, including all of the best companies use autoresponders!  I use Aweber.com to handle my mailing lists because they are the most well-know autoresponder online and their features are wonderful = Bliss! They are one of the most highly respected companies known online. I highly recommend that you use them if you are serious about building your own mailing list.

Once you are signed up to an autoresponder service like Aweber you will have access to many of their services that include list building tools, you’ll be able to generate opt-in forms, tracking, analytics and even reports. You can simply create a new list, the paste the web form code on your web page, and and sit back and wait.  The autoresponder will do the rest.  You can send a series of emails that are sent out once a week for however many weeks you choose.  It’s very easy. All you have to do is create a follow-up sequence of email messages, save them in in your Aweber control panel, and each time a new visitor signs up to your mailing list they will be sent the emails, all staggered at intervals that you choose. The feature and benefits of using a service like Aweber, far out weigh the small fee = Bliss




Wondering what in the world Social Media is?

Social media includes all kinds of “social networking sites”. It is a relatively new way of marketing even for experienced internet marketers. In a nutshell, social media allows people to connect over the internet.

You will meet people with common interests in your local area and from around the world, or hook up with former classmates or co-workers. You can post information that you want others to see—photos, words, links to sites you like, or videos.

People build relationships and share information back and forth. Building relationships is the most important part of social media.  It makes people want to hear what you have to say=bliss!

What Role can Social Media Play in Your Overall Internet Marketing Strategy?

By combining the social media and your personality with the power of the internet you can tap into an entirely new experience, gain an audience and fast-forward your list building success=bliss!

Even traditional businesses use social media as one of their internet marketing strategies. Even President Barack Obama used social media to get out his message during the 2008 election!

Just how do you use social networks for list building? You provide information that people are searching for. This lets you build your reputation as an expert. Good content is key. When you give good content people are apt to check out your website over and over. Since they already like you and believe you provide good info, they are more likely to opt-in to your list or even buy directly from your website=bliss!

Now I bet you’re wondering which network should you join? There is no one “best” network for everyone. Each of the social networks has a different look and feel and appeals to different people.

If your goal is list building, then it makes sense to take some time to be sure there is a good match between the people on that network and the people who would be attracted to your site.

Look at the different sites with your customers in mind. Are the people here likely to benefit from your products or services? There are lots of social network fish in the sea! And nobody says you only have to join one!  Join as many as you see fit for your services.

We all like to do business with people we like—but social networks are NOT the place to do heavy promotion. In fact, obvious and repeated self-promotion can back-fire on you and totally turn people off. Simply share and have fun=bliss! Now and then put a link to your blog or website if the content is relevant to the conversation or is a special value to others. Just don’t overdo it.

How do you use social media for list building if you limit self-promotion you ask? Well, the first step would be to get people to your website. Every network allows you to set up a page that tells something about you. People on the network will check out your page to learn more about you. So have a link to your website and include some information about you and your business. Make the space interesting by personalizing it. Add some photographs or customize the background. Be yourself, be distinct and provide good info. This will encourage more visitors to check out your website.

List building through social networking takes time—it shouldn’t be viewed as a one-time event. Try to participate in social media every day as one of your internet marketing strategies.  But don’t spend too much time there…it’s only one strategy of many for building your list.

The best way to use social media for list building is to provide great content so that people come to you–they will ask for more information, and look for your website. Then you will have built some rapport with them and when they see your opt-in box they are much more likely to say yes=bliss!

To learn more about using social media for list building click the link to join The ListBuilding Club.

Writing articles to drive traffic to your squeeze page is one of the best internet marketing tools you can have . It can seem like a lot of work, especially if you want to drive a ton of traffic…and of course you want to drive lots of traffic, right? So how do you do this without getting totally overwhelmed, and how do you do it in the shortest amount of time possible?

Well, I have an awesome answer…re-write your articles!  I know this might sound a little nutty, but it’s not. And it will save you oodles (<-Carolism ) of time. Here’s how this works…

You open an article you have already written and hopefully saved on your computer, go through it, paragraph by paragraph, and re-write each one. It’s really very simple. Just read the first sentence, and then say the same thing…in a different way. Here’s an example:

Paragraph Number 1. The quickest way to making money online is to build a list of people that want what you have to offer…and have come to know and trust you and your recommendations. Once you have a list built, you can find products and services that your buyers want and need and you can email them information and include a link for them to buy.

Now, let’s re-write that paragraph.

If you want to start making money online, you are going to need to build a list. Your list should be a group of people that look to you for info about  products you recommend, and which services you use that they can also use and profit from. As you build a relationship with your list, they will trust that what you are telling them is true and feel comfortable buying the things you offer.

There you have it! You are basically saying the same thing, just in a different way. You are cutting your time and work in half but, the content is still there…you have already created it…now you are just going to say it in a different way. And actually, you can do this more than just twice. You can re-write an article three or four times. .

Article writing doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Neither do you have to come up with many different topics. If you use this method, you can write on four or five topics and end up with anywhere from seven to twenty different articles. This will put tons of articles out there to get you maximum exposure and drive a lot of traffic to your squeeze page. These are the best types of internet marketing tools—ones that are effective and save you time making you blissfully happy!