Macworld 2009: Martin Sitter’s tips on how to start & promote an internet business
During one of the Expo Plus sessions, Martin Sitter of MacProVideo.com shared some tips on starting and promoting an Internet Business with your Mac (although nothing he had to say seemed particularly Mac-centric). Since most of my readers (I suspect!) are more interested in promoting their “business” (ie, your blog), the following may be of interest on how to drive traffic to your site. These tips might apply no matter what your on-line business.
Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Site:
> Word of Mouth–tell everyone you know and ask them to come check out your site (this method jumpstarted my blog and whenever I have something that may be of interest, I email people to let them know…)
> Press releases (this works best if you have something really exciting–like a new book or an award and if you target your press release to the correct person at the best media outlet)
> SEO: search engine optimization: use strong titles–clear, use the term on the pages as much as possible
> link to other sites with high quality ranking (and figure out how they will/can link to yours! so if I send out a press release that says ART PREDATOR goes to Macworld, let them know, look for them to link, then link to that)
> paid per click ads & affiliate programming
> user forums (participate in them!)
> Ads–Google’s mottto: don’t be evil (Sitter found if you pay for an ad, they may not rank you as high in the search!)
According to Sitter, what internet biz comes down to at the end of the day: building your mailing list–your group of interested people you are going to promote to, build it as quick as you can. So how to build your email list?
> build via contests and promotions, give aways, create a newsletter people want to read
> spam on Sunday sell on Monday
> internet promotions are immediate and rewarding; they hit fast, die quickly
> use coupon codes to track promotions
> offer discounts to incentivize customers
> list attrition kills biz; don’t overtax your lists–2x a month is plenty!
> users don’t unsub, they junk you; once junked, that customer is gone
So here’s a hint: don’t hit unsub, hit junk!!
Coming soon: cool stuff that I bought, saw, & did at Macworld!!
Plus a great place to stay in SF–the Marina Motel–and what to do nearby!
