Step 4 (part 4)
[Step 4 is divided into 4 parts: Part 1 (intro to advertising SFI) - Part 2 - Part 3 (free advertsing) - This is Part 3 (free advertising continued)]
F-R-E-E ADVERTISING METHODS (CONT.)
Traffic Exchanges
This method involves joining a traffic exchange program and “surfing” other members website in exchange for advertising credits which you use to have other members view your webpage. Although traffic exchanges can be somewhat time consuming, they are free and if you devote some of your time to them you can achieve some decent results. You can download this Traffic Exchange Tutorial to help you get started. It’s been provided by Dragon Surf, so it covers that program specifically, but it also provides very useful information you can apply to any traffic exchange. Some other great traffic Exchange programs I would recommend are: I Love hits, Traffic Swarm, Fast Freeway, and Traffic Pods.
Forum marketing
Forums are online communities where you can not only find helpful information and lively discussions, but they also provide a powerful avenue to market your SFI gateway pages. This is probably the most effective form of free advertising. This method should be made part of your daily routine, so be sure to add it to your consistent action schedule. I try to spend at least an hour a day posting in a few different forums (from a list I rotate througout the week). The key elements with this method are to 1) find forums that are full of members who would likely have an interest in a home business and the SFI opportunity, and 2) becoming part of the community in a helpful and unobtrusive manner. You should post helpful, genuine information instead of blantant advertising. Simply having a link to your website in your forum signature can create a good amount of traffic if you are an active, helpful member. Here are two resources that can help you find forums in the “work from home” niche:
Yahoo Answers
What is Yahoo! Answers? – It’s the service that Yahoo! created that allows you to ask just about any question you want. Once the question is posted, any registered user can opt to answer your question. The best part is you can answer questions however you want. In this case you will look for questions about home business and then respond with a high quality answer and direct them to your SFI link. You must register and verify your e-mail address before you can post.
Once you’re registered, here’s how use this Yahoo Answers to promote SFI:
1. Go to the Yahoo Answers site
2. Then type any one of the following phrases into the search box:
* internet business
* work at home
* home business
* make money online
* or any version of those search terms.
3. Notice that there are thousands of questions from people who are seeking information related to the internet business, home business, make money online industry. All you need to do is answer the questions and then provide your SFI gateway webpage in the resource section. You can also use this method to sell SFI products not just promote the SFI business opportunity. For example look for questions being asked about health and nutrition and then provide answers with links to your SFI products that fit the questions.
As with forum posting the idea here is not to go spamming answers but rather give quality replies & solutions to the individuals seeking answers. As you become experienced this will become easier for you to do. Tip: Search the forums you are posting in for answers to questions being asked in Yahoo! Answers.
Social Media Marketing
The Web 2.0 craze has made the web a larger social network than it has ever been. Jeff Dedrick Provides a truly fabulous introduction on how to use social media marketing in his ebook Web 2.0 Revealed. I highly recommend you take advantage of this free download. You will find it contains information on social networking (such MySpace), social bookmarking (like de.icio.us), videos sites (like You Tube), Podcasting, and blogs. It really is a great resource.
My favorite SMM site is Squidoo. This is because it is not just user friendly, but you can also blatantly sell products and promote opportunities at Squidoo (unlike MySpace). Squidoo allows you to create “lenses” (mini webpages) in as many categories as you want. The secret is to provide good, useful information people want. SFI provides mutliple opportunities for promotion on Squidoo. You can promote the opportuntity (or specific component of it, such as the compensation plan) or you can promote one or more of the products! Then you simply provide your SFI gateway page link (of the gateway page to the SFI product you wrote about) and watch the traffic and signups begin. For more details on how to utilize this great resource, join Squidoo Secrets (it’s free) and let Bob the Teacher show you how to make the most of it.
