Webmaster Discussions

Here is the basic rule of every business: you have to sell things to earn money. Salesmanship, or the art of closing a sales, therefore, is of ultimate importance for any business venture. After all, we can’t expect any earnings if we don’t make any sales.

Winning customers is essential for the success of your enterprise. And this is absolutely true for online businesses too. In fact, winning customers online has its pros and cons. The good news is that the entire world is your market, and you could potentially reach more people through the World Wide Web. The disadvantage? The Internet offers a more impersonal channel in our dealings with people, making it more difficult to gain their trust and favor.

So what can you to do then? Fear not, dear friend. As with everything else in life, you should try to accentuate the positives to compensate for the negatives. Here are 5 methods by which you could gain a good number of customers, and keep them for a long and profitable business for you and your family.

1. Always deliver quality goods or services.

There is no better vehicle for our business message than our products themselves. Consistently offering things that are more than worth our customers’ time and money will brand us as enterprises that are committed to quality products and services. This would only serve us well in future dealings with the same clients. Additionally, this would make our clients as advertising vehicles for our business as well, as they would spread the word about the excellence of our service to people belonging to their network.

2. Always try to over-deliver.

People love receiving more than what they paid for. If you consistently give them some extras, their minds would be conditioned to trust your business for future transactions.

3. Provide bonuses.

In addition to the product you’re selling, add some more goods that would perk up the package. Do this in a manner that you will make your customers aware of the value of the bonuses if they were otherwise purchased. This would definitely increase the worth of your product, and such would make it more favorable for a successful sale. Additionally, your bonuses would foster good will with your clients, and this could go a long, long way for future orders.

4. Build relationships.

The importance of building good relationships with your customers cannot be undermined. As we’ve discussed earlier, the Internet is a rather informal venue for personal dealings. So try to humanize your approach so that your customers can relate to you as someone who is more than just a business provider, but also as a friend.

5. Make use of a mailing list.

A mailing list is an Internet marketers number one weapon. By capturing the contact details of people who may not have been interested with their current offer, they will be able to condition the same people for future sales. And this could serve their businesses well for quite a long time, as one successful sale can beget another and another after that. So invest on an excellent autoresponder service and prepare those follow-up messages well. Take good care of your subscriber base, and they will take good care of your business in return.

Winning customers is more than just luck. It entails a lot of strategizing and good planning. Retaining customers involve the same level of commitment as well. In the highly competitive world of online marketing, trust plays an integral role in achieving our goals. Try your best to win your customers’ trust. Take care of it. And for sure, this trust would fuel good business for you for many years to come.

Link Popularity as you know plays a BIG part in your websites ranking within the Search Engines.

So, the basic breakdown is, the more links pointing to your website, the higher up the search engines will rank your website.

More importantly though is getting those High PR websites linking back to yours.

The question at hand is… “How can I get those High PR links without having to buy High PR links and/or spend countless hours surfing the web for link partners with the possible potential of being denied?”

And as webmasters, we can not afford to waste time, especially if your starting out on a part time basis.

We must utilize every minute we can to getting the most out of our efforts.

So with that being said, I’m going to reveal to you the ‘Back Door’ strategy I use for getting those High PR links to your website Absolutely FREE and have them begging you to come back.

And the cool thing is this can be done following these 3 steps I’m about to mention so pay attention because if you do just this, you will not only get hundreds of backlinks to your website, you’ll also get hundreds, if not thousands of Targeted visitors to your website at the same time…

…all for FREE!

Are you ready?

Good, because I am.

Step #1. First you must write an Article.

The first step is to write an related article about your Product or Service that draws the reader in and gets them to click through to your website once they finish reading it to find out more about you and your Product or Service.

Now, your probably wondering why you have to write an article.

Well, it’s real simple actually because what do you get to put at the end of your article?

Your ‘Resource Box’ with your website information and most important of all… your URL pointing back to your website.

So when someone chooses to publish your article in their newsletter or on their website, blog or article directory, they MUST add your ‘Resource Box’ with your website information and URL.

I know some of you are saying… “I don’t know how to write an article” … well, your not alone.

Here are a few resources I’ve put together for you so you can get the basic idea of How-To structure your articles with ease or get someone else to write them for you.

The first is an article I wrote called… THE 7 Step Formula For Writing POWERFUL Articles In Less Than An Hour.

It will show you How-To structure your articles for easy writing. http://www.internetwondersezine.com/article_11.html

The second resource is Elance.com – http://www.elance.com – which is basically a place where you can go and submit a project by category and freelance writers, etc. will then bid on your project. You pick the winner and you set the budget.

This will get you started in the right direction.

Remember, your article is the Nuts and Bolts of this ‘Back Linking’ strategy, so make sure you put some effort into it to get it as much exposure as possible.

Step #2. Submit your article to Article Directories.

This is the next step and an important one at that because this is where your article or articles are going to get picked up by website owners and/or ezine publishers who are in constant need of fresh, quality information to feed their audiences hunger for information.

There are literally hundreds of Article Directories out there and thousands of ezine publishers looking for quality content on a daily basis. And if they choose your article for publication, they must include your ‘Resource Box’ with your websites information and URL.

It’s all about the numbers. The more Article Directories and websites you submit your articles to, the more potential Backlinks you’ll get to your website.

And since Article Directories have recently adopted RSS(Real Simple Syndication) technology into the mix your articles will even get More mileage without you lifting a finger, creating even more Backlinks to your website.

More on RSS in a minute.

Are you starting to see the Power behind writing your own articles.

I hope so.

Step #3. Create your own RSS Feed for your articles.

This last step is a very Powerful step as well.

What you need to do is set up your own RSS Feed for your articles.

Now, if you don’t know what RSS is here’s the basic definition…

RSS is by definition – an acronym for ‘Real Simple Syndication’ or ‘Rich Site Summary’, and the .XML extension is the format used for distributing your news headlines via the Web, which is known as ‘Syndication.

‘Syndication’ is where the TRUE power of RSS is unleashed, getting your message or information across the web in an INSTANT to websites, subscribers and/or readers who subscribed to your RSS Feed.

The easiest way for you to do this is to set up your own Blog either through…

WordPress.org – http://www.wordpress.org

Or through…

Blogger.com – http://www.blogger.com

WordPress is a little more advanced so I recommend if you don’t have alot of experience with Blogs or installing scripts that you go set up a Blogger blog which will only take you less than 5 minutes to do.

I’m just giving you some options, that’s all.

Once you’ve set up your Blog the only thing left for you to do is add you articles.

TIP: Make sure you hyperlink your URL and use Anchor Text with your most targeted keywords. By doing this the Search Engine spiders will rank your website higher under that keyword term you specify in your Anchor Text.

After you’ve added your articles all you have to do now is submit your new RSS Feed to RSS Directories and RSS Search Engines.

Here’s a few resources for you to get started with.

Ping-O-Matic – http://pingomatic.com

RSS Top 55 – http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55

That’s it.

Now I know I dumped alot of information on you within this article so just take it Step-By-Step because once you implement it properly it will benefit you for years to come with Backlinks to your website and FREE targeted traffic via the Search Engines, Website Owners and eZine Publishers.

So you want to build that website ? for whatever reason, perhaps you’ve started a business or simply wish to share pictures of the new addition to your family. Let me tell you it’s easier than you think ? all you need is directions that you can follow and you will soon be online.

Let’s talk what it will cost upfront. For $10 – $20/month you can have a working website (Imagine: www.yourname.com), available to anyone in the world with internet access. That’s a trip to your favourite fast food joint. (Yes, you can afford it!) There are also some ways of getting a free site ? still residing at www.yourname.com, but lets learn about all those weird internet terms first.

There are 3 basic components required to building a personal, custom website.
You need:
- A domain name
- A hosting account and
- Content written in HTML or some other web language.
I know, what’s a domain name!!!?

Here is an analogy I teach:

You live in a home that is built on a certain piece of land (that you rent or buy). That piece of land has a specific address.

Your website (a collection of individual web pages) sits on a hosting account that you rent. That hosting account is found at a specific address ? called a domain name.

Your Home Your Website
Your Street Address: e.g. 1 John St, Anytown
Your domain name: e.g. www.yourname.com
Your plot of land Your hosting account
Your physical house Your web content

Here is the 3 step process:
STEP 1: Choose your address
STEP 2: Rent some space on a computer connected to the internet
STEP 3: Build the house you want and place it on the space you bought in step 2

Let’s explain each step:
STEP 1: Choose your address (a domain name)
With the internet you can choose what you want your address to be (your domain name). What are you selling? What would make a cool name? Understand that after over 10 years of public internet access ? a lot of good names have been taken. So get creative, and be unique but understandable. An easy place to start with is your full name for a family/personal site or your product name for a business site. Make a list of about 10 possibilities that you like in this format www.yourdesiredname.com Move to the next step.

STEP 2: Rent some space on a computer connected to the internet (A hosting account)
With a quick search for the words “Web Hosting” on the internet, you get a list of web hosting companies ? all eager to sell or rent you some space on their computer. GoDaddy.com and 1and1.com are some recommended companies ? feel free to look into others, but there are thousands upon thousands ? so don’t waste your time searching for the cheapest (you pay for what you get, but $10+ will get you a decent hosting account.

Many of the hosting companies will either give you or sell you your choice of domain name at the same time you start your hosting account. Bring out your list from STEP 1, and when instructed in the purchase process, enter in your first domain name choice. You will be informed if that name is available or not. Keep trying out your names in order of your preference until you find on that is available. Finish the purchase process and let the hosting company instruct you on how to access you account. (They’ll send you an email ? and if you go with one of the companies I recommended, you can call them with your questions.)

STEP 3: Build the house you want and place it on the space you bought in step 2
You have some choices to make here:
A – You can ask someone to build you a site.
B – You can build it yourself.
C – Use a free website builder ? (like a blog)
Each has its pros and cons.

The first option is great if you can afford it and can find someone reliable. If you want cheap, post a job at your local high school ? someone in computer club will be able to help you for really cheap. The problem is that they may not always be around when you need them to make changes. Enter choice B

It’s great to learn a new skill, and you can learn for free online ? just invest a little time. Remember once you know how? you own that knowledge forever and you will never depend on someone else to build your site. Again search online for “how to build a website” They will tell you how to design, build and upload your site onto your hosting account form STEP 2.

If you don’t really require a customized design and all you want to do is place some text and perhaps some pictures online. I suggest starting what’s called a blog – these are often free, and have a really simple “HTML CODE FREE” way of adding your content. All you do is type and publish. You can often still have your own domain name here, but each blogging company is different. Again search online for blogging ? and read what the various companies offer.

Content
There is one thing that is really important and that ONLY you can do! That is come up with the content and the idea. Think about what you have to offer and what problem it solves for your visitors and prepare your content so as to answer that problem. E.g. You write great jokes. People are looking for jokes? your website should give people some jokes and perhaps they can register for your daily joke email.
Write simply, write short, write clearly. As time goes on, remember to keep your site fresh. Keep the content updated and relevant to your ideal visitors.

The goal of this article was to give you easy steps of how to get a website for yourself. Naturally you can learn more about each step, and there are many people who can give you help, but now you can start the journey. Create your list of domain names, purchase a hosting account (including the domain name you want) and build your site and keep the content fresh.

In future articles I’ll take about next steps:

- “I build it, but they ain’t coming to see it.”

- “I built it, but nobody’s buying”

- “I built it, but I don’t know how to improve it.”

A journey of a million miles starts with one step ? so go to step 1 and start. (Don’t worry ? this is not a long journey ? but it’s exciting!).

Here to Help You!

Thanks for reading,
Your Rich Cousin
(Author and Business Success Story) Get the free e-book that got me started and helped me start making money at http://www.richcousin.com It’s so straight forward and easy to understand AND you will have the support you need to start making a great income online.