It's so easy to fall into a 'labor of love' - painstakingly
revamping our websites so that they look absolutely
'perfect' ... or pouring our heart and soul into creating
the best product possible, one that's sure to draw rave
reviews.

The problem is, no matter how great your product or how
gorgeous your website, you need traffic. If people can't
find you, they can't buy from you either. Consistent,
dedicated marketing will help you to draw interested
prospects to your business. Here are a few strategies...

1. Search engines. Optimize your pages and submit your site
to the major SEs. If you're able to rank within the top
10 or 20 sites for a particular key phrase, you'll be
treated to a steady stream of targeted traffic. A good
place to learn more about SE optimization is
http://www.searchenginewatch.com/ .

2. Targeted link exchanges. Find other good sites within
your market and offer to trade links. You and your 'link
partner' will both benefit from each other's traffic ...
plus some of the major SEs are now using 'link popularity'
to help determine your ranking. 'Zeus' is a neat little
robot that can help you with your linking efforts. Find
it at http://www.cyber-robotics.com/index.htm .

3. Build your own opt-in newsletter. Your own newsletter
gives you the opportunity to build your credibility and
keep in touch with your customers. You'll be able to
market your own products or services to them as well -
and even earn some extra income from advertising sales.
Find a quick tutorial on starting your own newsletter
at http://www.buildyourhomebiz.com/ezine/ .

4. Ezine advertising. Ezines are a very affordable way to
reach thousands of targeted prospects for just a few
dollars. A great place to pick up deals on advertising
is http://www.ezineadauction.com/ .

5. Network through message boards. Join a forum where
potential customers or partners may congregate. Become
a contributing and respected member by offering help
and support. Leave your link at the bottom of your
posts; people who have come to know you will click on
your link for more information about you and your
business. Careful, though - it's easy to spend too
much time 'chatting'! Search for appropriate forums
at ForumOne, http://www.forumone.com/index/index.php .

6. Referral marketing. Encourage your customers to refer
others to you. You may want to give them an incentive
to do so - for example, provide them with a discount on
their next order, or offer a quality free gift.

7. Pay-per-click search engines. These SEs offer you the
chance to literally pay for your ranking - a popular
option, especially for people who don't want to fiddle
with search engine optimization. You simply place a
bid per 'click' - that is, everytime someone clicks on
your link, you pay the bid amount. More information
is available at http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com/ .

8. Major indexes. Get listed with the popular large human-
reviewed indexes such as Yahoo! ( http://www.yahoo.com/ )
and Open Directory ( http://www.dmoz.org ). This can
result in a significant boost in targeted traffic - up
to several hundreds of unique visitors each day!

9. Article submissions. Write about what you know and
offer your articles to other editors and webmasters in
your market. Offer the article for reprint in exchange
for an author byline. Some sites also run syndication
networks, where your article may appear on dozens or
even hundreds of sites! There's always a demand for
fresh, original articles. Ezine directories such as
http://buildyourhomebiz.com/directory.html are a good
source for finding editors that accept articles.

10. Create a free eBook. Give it away to your visitors -
and to other editors or webmasters within your market.
Encourage them to pass it on. Your business will profit
from the free publicity. Free eBooks are an excellent
viral marketing tool; read more in the article, '10
Quick Tips on How to Create, Distribute, and Profit
from Free eBooks',
http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/articles/ebooktips.html .

11. Joint ventures. Partner with other editors or
webmasters within your market to help promote each
other's businesses. This is one of the easiest and most
profitable marketing methods! Examples of JVs include:
ad swaps, newsletter co-opts, barter agreements, special
affiliate commissions, and offering discounts of your
own products/services to each other's customers.

The key here is *consistency*; writing an occasional
article or placing an ad once in a while isn't enough to
give you the targeted traffic necessary to build a solid,
steady online income.

There are lots of ways to market -- start today! Pick
something and just do it. If you don't feel like writing
an article, find some potential link partners. Don't feel
like doing that? Then check your pay-per-click campaign
and make any necessary changes.

Commit yourself to marketing your business -- and hold
yourself to it! After all, it would be a real shame for
a great product to go to waste.

About the Author
Angela is the editor of Online Business Basics, an
exclusive newsletter for eBusiness beginners. She offers
a 'no hype, no bull' approach to building a profitable
Internet business. Every issue is packed with helpful
tips and useful tools, specially selected to fit a
beginner's shoestring budget. Visit her online today
at http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/begin.html