I JUST DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START!

Hi, my name is Michelle and I currently have my own online business and it sells flowers, cheese cakes, gift baskets, etc. I really need some help and guidance on how to advertise my site online. Either that or just help in general to get traffic going to my site. I woul really appreciate it if someone could help me out. That would be great! Thank you so much :-D

Hi Michelle... and welcome.

A few questions so we can help you better....kinda like diagnose where you are at so the forum doctors can better help you.

What have you done so far in advertising your site?

Is it your own site or a company replicated site - replicated meaning there are a ton of sites just like it out there?

Do you have a blog or other site at all? Ever done anything like setting up a blog or webpage anywhere?

I agree with Mountainmom, give us just a little more info and we can probably steer you in the right direction.

To your Success

Research online marketing. Grab all the books you can at the library. Maybe look into a good online mentoring program. Once you figure it out, you can market anything!

I would start off by writing articles on the topics of your website's niche. Maybe cheese cake recipes, how to cook cheesecakes, how to cut flowers, what to stuff in a gift basket, etc. At the end of the article which you would submit to Ezine, ArticlesBase etc. would be the link to your website. BLOG! Look into social bookmarking, squidoo, and you if you have someone guide you, you can look at PPC (I wouldn't start that right away though).

Hi Michelle,

Welcome to the forum.

The best advice I can give you is to get a hold of a few courses that talk about online marketing and how to drive traffic to a site. Yes, you will need to invest your time and probably some money too but it will be all worth it.

There are so many ways for you to bring consistent traffic to your site that is it pretty amazing.

Remember, there are no secrets to online marketing. These techniques are just stuff you don't know anything about YET.

Tal

Its so funny to see some replies here... did you even read, what she is selling? Promoting cheese cakes, flowers etc, to all world with articles, blogs, Squidoo etc. Funny, really funny

Michelle, As you are selling physical products, flowers, gift baskets, cheese cakes etc. Only way to advertise that kind of business, very successfully is local business listings.

Take a look at this: example, nightclubs in Manhattan: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=night+clubs+in+manhattan&aq=0s&aqi=g-s7g1g-s1g1&aql=& oq=nightclubs+in+man&gs_rfai=&fp=1

You need to get it up there, with your keywords. Lets say wedding flowers in New York. Just example. To get there, is quite easy, and nothing to do with article marketing or blogs. (sometimes people think article marketing is so so powerful , let them think. )


As you are delivering your flowers etc. You really can't promote them for all world. That's why article marketing, blogs etc. are waste of time. Unless you really want to deliver your flowers to India. But i think nobody will buy them, as delivery costs more than flowers. And by that time they get to India, your flowers are dead. And i don't think you can send cheese cakes to anywhere at all (out from country). Customs will throw your cakes away.



Article marketing for that kind of business is FAIL. Fact!


If you want, you can do it, but if i was you, i would go ONLY with local listings. You can get ranked for many many keywords. And as Google Maps are from Google, you always get 1st page results. Always.


And you don't have to target your city alone. You can target areas in city. Smaller towns around you. I think small towns don't have so many local business results up, so you would be alone there. Alone, 1st page ranking in Google. With targeted keywords.


Hope this helps...

Although I do agree with Margo24 that you can't treat online and offline businesses the same, but in this case, it seems to be one of those networks (i.e. Avon) type businesses, that's what I can tell from visiting the site in Michelle's signature.

And it does seem to ship anywhere, that being said I still don't like just article marketing, yes you may up the amount of visitors on your website, but what you really want to increase is customers and sales, I find the best time and energy is done by finding them instead of trying to get them to you.

Networking works best, find people on Facebook, usually in groups and pages, that need what you're selling, talk to them, show them you are human, you will convert more people like that and if your product is really good word of mouth will help you out a lot.

Not to say all the other approaches won't help also, but I have found typically the more personal approach always works best.

Good luck Michelle

Jamie

You need to learn basic internet marketing which you can do for free with the 30 Day Challenge. Just google it or go to Youtube to view training video's done by Ed Dale and his team.

You will have to do the work as they teach and if you're willing to do that you will find out how to market your sites and much more.

Michelle,

You need to identify your niches...

In the Internet, the most targeted way to this is to find the 'search phrases' (aka keywords) that your best customers are typing in the search engines.

For example, you might want to check out with a keyword tool like this one, if "cheese cakes for sale in (your city here)" has been typed in the search engine...

Once you have that part figured out (you can start slowly and find 5-10 'advanced buying stage' keywords) then you decide if you want to invest in paid advertising like 'Google Adwords' or create some content about your products in articles, videos, press releases, etc.

Good Luck!

Cesar

P.S: In case you want more training on these strategies, send me a Private Message...

Mandm32351: , my name is Michelle and I currently have my own online business and it sells flowers, cheese cakes, gift baskets, etc. I really need some help and guidance on how to advertise my site online. Either that or just help in general to get traffic going to my site. I woul really appreciate it if someone could help me out. That would be great! Thank you so much :-D
There are lots of ways to advertise your business, free and paid. Free advertising are article marketing, social media, video marketing. These are very powerful marketing techniques you can use to advertise your business. Post some video on youtube, write some articles, open an account with facebook-(lots of companies have facebook accounts). Once your profitable, start optimizing your site for SEO in related keyword. Imagine how much sale you will make if your number 1 spot in organic search at google under the keyword "gift basket", or "flowers". Your business will explodes and you probably can't make enough gift baskets.

Hope it helps!

I would agree that facebook is a very good idea... There are 5 ladies in my area that have started selling hampers and only sell on facebook and they are doing very well.
Perhaps you could run a prize draw to attract people
Good Luck

There are many ways to advertise your site. These can do you more work. The most important is that you have the knowledge on how to market it effectively.

If you still do not know, there are tons of resources out there. Make a wise move and put everything you read into action to gain big amount of traffic to your site and earn you big amount of money.

The key of success in online business relies on the traffic volumes of your website. You must learn about Search Engine Marketing.

The objective of Search Engine Marketing is to to ensure that your webpage/website shows up and ranked high in search engine result pages when people turn to Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines for solutions, services, or products that you provide. This is of paramount important if your market niche has lots of competition.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is typically done via Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Paid Placement ( i.e. pay per click ads pay per impression ads etc.), contextual advertising and paid inclusion.

Hi Mandm32351

Id like to answer this question from my perspective and and touch on something that hasnt been mentioned here.

Viral Marketing.

This form of marketing is extremely powerful and is virtually overlooked in the network marketing world.

Prior to becoming an online marketer I used to work in IT. I was a Storage Engineer working Primarily in Data Centres with fibre optic networks. Large volumes of data were stored and managed on the systems I worked on from Govt , Banking/Finance Sector and various Global Corporations. Now here is the important part - a good percentage of the data stored was email. Email from all over the world comes through data centres everyday. Approximately 85% of all email is "junk" or "non-business" related.
Now this "junk" email ends up in what is commonly refered to as a "quarantine" area on most large scale mail systems. I spent a great deal of time going through the "quarantine" because we would have to sift through and forward legitimate email that got caught in quarantine and had to be "released " from quarantine - but more importantly I would sift through it because it was Interesting , Funny, Hilarious, Disturbing--ADDICTIVE !!

Everyday I would look through this stuff and watch funny videos , inspiring powerpoint slides, funny letters, innappropriate movies/photos etc you name it it is in there.

You see what I started realise is that I was looking at 85% of the worlds email traffic is just crap...but was it. No I eventually realised that most of it was MARKETING "in disguise". Im sure you have all have had someone forward a joke email to you or a fuuny picture or more importantly a funny ad! Ads from around the world. One thing that I stareted to notice was these emails are sent around ferocoiusly. You would see the same ads over and over. MAny would correspond with world events. Major news would sporn multiple viral ads that would be forwarded religiously.

What I learnt from all this is- I know what gets forwarded and by whom. I know what types of junk mail get forwarded the most. I know what types of junk mail appeal to women, I know what types of junk appeal to men. I know how major companies test ads globally via email before you see them on TV...usually months after it has gone viral via email. I also now am able to identify hoax ads disguised as "funny emails" that are really advertising - hint ever seen viral emails of "funny billboard signs around the world"

All one has to do is have imagination and apply your/link product and a url to a "funny video" that has been forwarded to you and - forward it on. Guaranteed if its been forwarded to you its already been forwarded a million times, which means it wll get forwarded a million more times. Trust me on this ads go round and round for years and years and people are always seeing them for the first time. MAny ads you see in quarantine I have seen for 8yrs plus and people still forward them with "This is so funny" or This is hilarious, you gott see this.

After collecting thousands and thousands of viral campoaigns I have learnt one very important lesson......interesting , funny works ! It gets attention. It gets forward. Why?? Because its interesting !!!!!!

One thing I have never seen in quarantine over a ten year period of monitoring global email - articles, forum posts, capture pages, lessons on how to attract sponsors , reps or any other regurgitated sycophantic middle of the road crap so prevelant in the online network marketing world today. Because this is not interesting !!!

Next time you get a funny video, put a url on it and a slogan relating to your product and forward, tracjk it with a marketing pixel and make sure yoiur product is presented 3 levels deep. Dont have you rproduct up front. The url should go to something else funny that indeirectly but obviously points to what you want your audience to see.

I know you are all probably wanting an example.
Ok There is a video that has gone around for a few years showing a packet of 4 AA batteries. Then they show you a a large 6 volt battery and open it to reveal 32 batteries for roughly the same price.
Now this vid went round the internet and was in email long before i could fiind it on youtube etc. People would comment on this all the time and many people went out and bought a large battery that they didnt need just to try it out. Great viral ad to make sales. Decietful?? Maybe? Upfront pushy sales . hell no? Its sellucation? Its marketing ! Its been going on for years in millions of variants a Im amazed that network marketers arent doing this type of ad. Anyway here is a link to it and see the comments (no different to what is in email an dthis vid is still being forwarded today in email, i had it sent to me by a friend a couple of weeks ago hahaha I replied "yawn!" as he knows better than to forward "interesting" emails to me).
If this is the first time you have seen this then dont worry cos there will be millions who havent also
ps note the "company logo"
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/824477/6_volt_battery_hack_youll_be_amazed/

Hahaha just noticed the "copy" inthe url heading

"6 Volt Hack You'lll Be Amazed"

ps dont go and buy one as it wont work...I know as I tried HAHAHA
I dont mind admitting I was fooled the first time I saw this but I was naive then and wasnt an "expert" on viral email ads !

Use your imagination!


Look I can't resist, here's viral marketing hint??

Wanna know how to get your ad on a Billboard on Freeway for free ??!!??!


Take a photo of a Billboard on A Freeway...get some one who is good with PhotoShop and put a URL where you want people to go to on it. Make the ad something that would NOT be allowed to be put on a Billboard or extremely funny. It can be offensive, rude whatever. Outrageous is best !! Make 3 or 4 or 5 in a power point presentation and put the heading "Hilarious Billboards froim Around tHE wORLD !!" and forward it to some friends! --- dont worry if the photoshopping is good people will never know. Will travel for years and collect visitors.
Good luck with this very basic tip !!

Michelle, the first is to find what is working in your gift basket niche.

step1. go to spyfu.com and insert your main them keyword, gift basket
then you will notice giftbasket,.com

Step 2. look at the top paid keyword niche
1 Newborn Baby Gift Basket
1 unique gift basket
1 massage gift basket
1 golf gift baskets
1 giftbaskets for him
1 giftbaskets
1 get well basket for children
1 executive gift basket
1 care packages for troops

here is why! you can get lucking with SEO but you can't keep wasting money too long with paid keywords. if the keyword stand the test of time, it gives you better start than just guessing.

leverage other people's effort to start a great, than wasting your marketing and testing budget on what you don't know.

Avoid paying stupid tax. Take time to model from the top guns online.

Step 3. model the landing page of paid traffic.
here is why? to survive paid traffic, they have to pass so many rules from performance and quality score, and bounce rate.

Step 4. build your list with giving massive great value at front. here is a niche site example with hair bows learnhowtomakebows.com this site is profitable easy to model

Step 5. learn copy writing to give great value in your email.

Design your results in advance, you will get exactly what you put in. don't focus on the traffic first, focus rather on what the market or your ideal client want or needs or desire. Then you will grow slow and strong.

I wish above all these you prosper and be in health

Mandm32351
Hi Michelle,

I'm not sure what you are doing thus far to drive traffic but here are a few tips:

-build up a list of key words about your business that will fit with your target market

-test those key words to check competition and search rankings. Google keyword tool is good for this

-On your home page make sure you casually leave a few of your best keywords throughout the page

-sign up for AWEBER. This will help you to start building your email list

- Then its a matter of gettgin as much content out there as possible with links back to your web page: blogs, forums, article writing, classified ads etc.

Hope this helps

TChurch: build up a list of key words about your business that will fit with your target market
building geo targeted keywords can really boost your search engine traffic and more visitors will go to your site to learn more and eventually buy.

Use these keywords in articles and videos.

I would say first start local (yellow pages, craigs list and etc) and start moving forward from there. Next, I would say tell the world. You have to make me think about you when I want some flowers. Do you have a good deal on them? Is this your passion? What will make me buy your flowers. Find all of your friends on facebook since they know you they will not mind buying flowers from you and they can spread the word about your business. Also, I'm lazy make your link clickable so people don't have to copy and paste your site . You may find some people on here that would not mind doing business with you.