How to encourage your visitors to interact with your site
/ b7 S' H% z7 G; KAssociate Programs Newsletter #302, \; }1 [. E! _6 q( H D
Do you want your website to encourage user-generated content? Do you want a great new way to help you connect with your site's visitors?
8 Z" Q& v( L) e, t! u; `: x % Q, o3 u: q7 [3 r
Remember, you need to connect with your visitors before you can sell.
( u$ A0 h& k$ N) L! V0 G
' D9 X5 j q1 A7 {0 A2 K2 G; DThis is what they call a no-brainer.
; P; l# Q( v7 I6 ICONTENTS:# A4 }7 t+ Z) J. T% o. ]) @
1. User-generated ray of sunshine" `: U" y! f! J2 k- y% M: O
2. Do you want to comment?1 }/ P1 K& l, u4 y! Z1 U0 j
3. Video affiliate system should boost sales) P! E8 L% n& v! J
4. Thought for today: How high?0 {( E) f3 j' H% |
: K2 Q2 D; c7 a, \; Y* [$ W7 j& s=================================" P9 ^! j' F0 d3 e# Y
1. User-generated ray of sunshine3 q2 R) m. M: Y. v C" J! ^
=================================& S" G+ R+ R8 u- n/ y I! h' E
Here's a little ray of sunshine - a really easy way to encourage your website visitors to add unique, topical content to your site.( h) T7 i. Y+ s- {
More good content equals more traffic. More traffic equals more dollars.
+ }- m; U5 P* d$ \3 i# tIt's not a forum. It's not a blog.4 F/ g( R- b6 X
It's a simple way of allowing people to comment on the articles or newsletters you publish on your site.
0 o8 a6 d }, ]6 {2 PI love it.
: i: |) i# I8 K' A% ~Robert Blackstone's new script makes it easy for you to publish a form inviting comments at the bottom of every article. E1 U/ f- b7 J: g6 y3 C
It's a bit like the comments form you've probably seen on Matt Cutts' blog and other blogs.
# y# S8 V# O. F! H8 v9 j1 Y: PI'm sure you can see how useful this is.
! r; Z; a" [3 E" T3 _, P2 P' GRobert uses this equation to explain the value of article comments:
. v1 G% i& h* ^More Content = More Repeat & SE Traffic = More $$1 j E% \) j2 ?$ f- b
However, there's a whole lot more to it...9 `- y, G& N+ y% b: S ?6 x( I
6 q/ Y' w3 e+ @; A9 @ * Article comments enable you to receive quick feedback from your readers, so you can easily see which of your articles strike a chord and which ones are flops. If one particular article is a raving success, you can publish more articles on that topic.0 r2 @0 q. v$ h3 r+ f: e G
3 J7 ]/ n: g4 q2 a% V7 W9 O
* Your readers will interact with you more. They'll realise you appreciate their views. This is SO important. To sell or PREsell, you MUST make a connection with your readers. Encouraging them to have their say helps build a strong connection.$ K1 `' D9 F) o. j( ~! x; ?
8 l. y e$ B/ K2 l4 {( z5 A+ B
* Publishing feedback makes your site more interesting. It's not just YOUR opinion any more. You're creating a dynamic, "live" site. Because your site is more interesting, readers are likely to stay on the site longer. Search engines like sites on which readers stay more than a few seconds.2 n$ M- ?4 Y5 Y& U
* Search engines also love sites which are updated frequently. Your readers can help you "update" pages all over your site.
! G' d. Y( t4 b7 e! A; V4 {( C
5 Q& i# i! ^2 L- n; m8 W. B- W% J * Are you using PLR articles? Perhaps you haven't done quite enough rewriting to make them truly unique. If a few friends add comments to your PLR articles, this will help make your pages unique - another good thing from an SEO point of view.0 G5 S0 u. x% d$ p3 \! y
& k$ |/ O' `) ?4 F2 C! c F* m+ i
* Many people enjoy helping other people - and some love showing off their knowledge. Allowing article comments satisfies both groups while improving your site.
& k h9 E; _' K- x
n X1 S5 l8 w6 K5 C6 \( } ; v$ u$ ~" c" @4 u) Z8 i+ k
Most blogs allow visitors to comment on posts. If you're using a content management system (CMS) you may already have a system which enables article comments. B7 i: V5 o/ P; Y" K/ j7 {7 R
But what about all the other ordinary sites?( o+ O8 j6 D" ^* l7 w5 Z) d3 ~
Do you want to go through the hassle of switching all your sites over to a blog or a CMS system? Probably not.
7 |- Z/ T3 z6 `7 S; tWith Robert's script, you get the benefits of user-generated content without the hassle of a complex site conversion.
. K8 _+ f; _2 C! L0 W R% KSeveral years ago, my friend Jim Reardon suggested I ought to introduce some way for readers to comment on my newsletters. At the time, I put his idea in the too-hard basket.
( k7 ~' w; F: }Now, six or seven years later, we've finally done it. We recently introduced a comments facility on AssociatePrograms.com and I love it.
, c% O1 q- D8 B4 QIt's fun writing a newsletter and then an hour or so later checking to see what readers think of what I've written.
x; P" D' S9 }1 T9 W" V1 \On AssociatePrograms.com, I've chosen to moderate the comments. I've found that on average about one in every 20 or 30 comments is spammy junk not worth publishing.
. X, R! ~ o( q$ p0 n* ORobert's script works in a similar way. It also has a few features which make it better than our comments tool, giving the site owner more choices. (Robert's tool wasn't on the market when we created our new system.)
) H% J' e+ F* _8 i% n# H% lMy experience with article comments is new and fairly limited, but already I'm a convert.
! n1 |5 ]9 N3 q2 {- O* J: lHere are two recent examples on our site.5 ]/ a% ~5 H+ j9 s
We published an article on affiliate datefeeds:
4 r7 t7 `, \" sAn insider's tips on affiliate datafeed sites- Q4 m2 E7 d1 Q* _& m. k6 r: K5 J
http://www.associateprograms.com/articles/434/1/Affiliate-datafeed-sites
7 s7 j0 Q1 W3 ]Readers commented on the article, providing links to a couple of useful resources - DataFeedFile.com and FeedShare.com - thus making the article more useful. (With Robert's script, you can choose whether to allow HTML, which would make links active. I've chosen not to because I don't want to encourage spammers hoping for a free link.)
0 y% S3 w- j. wAnother example is a newsletter I wrote the other day about how to be your own BS detector. My wife, Joanna, worried that readers would be offended, urged me to remove the term "BS". I went ahead - http://www.associateprograms.com/articles/493/1/Seven-ways-to-be-your-own-BS-detector
9 P# t- B; }* U E4 sThat newsletter has received 50 thoughtful comments, making the page much more interesting for readers. I'm very grateful to everyone who took the time to add a comment. I really appreciate the feedback.
9 s v; B# `2 X4 R: k% mIf my next newsletter receives zero comments, I'll know I need to brush up on my writing skills.
+ x, |! S- ~8 y# q9 MThe thing I like most about Robert's new tool is that it encourages the creation of genuinely UNIQUE, relevant content, written specially about your website.
/ \) y# T6 `9 N5 IAs the Internet becomes more and more flooded with duplicate junk, it's nice to see someone who's doing something positive.1 L. @/ W7 Y. ~5 F& `( v
If you're planning a serious business future in which the search engines treat you well, you HAVE to think about genuinely unique content." ?+ Z. A' @, O' T5 M3 e2 M
Robert's script helps you create unique content.
2 Y2 P/ z \/ M: GIt's easy to install. 6 g+ S4 G8 g1 ~1 G% m
The script should work on any web host that supports SSI (server side includes) and/or PHP. "Most do these days, but it wouldn't hurt to double check," Robert says.
5 V' |( ?# m4 {" k, o: F& BHe provides full instructions and support on how to get it up and running. 7 J0 y0 D# j _# b
Robert's a good guy and a friend. You can trust him to look after you.& }* ~3 N: l/ Z, }
The script is very modestly priced - excellent value - and you're allowed to use it on as many sites as you like.
* }0 a% b+ X: t2 j5 @I recommend you grab it now before Robert raises the price.
# ^8 c3 f& {' S" o! j4 }: @http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/instant-comments
3 ?% F. W+ F2 A) v6 l/ S2 W$ V3 h) ^3 g1 @# A/ z
__________________________________________SPONSOR__________( e* C! y5 G7 ?, b" H! M
Motivated Marketing System is designed for anyone who intends
3 c* [, p2 m: B! s3 V" n4 _6 Zto make money with their own online product or membership
4 a) d% N4 f% Ywebsite. It includes site-building and management software
( r: N: D" u! ^/ [, ]3 w8 Nprogram, create /One Time Offers/ (OTO's) and complete user
- ?6 p' V9 Y H" E) h- ^0 {guide. It's called the Motivated Marketing System because it
# Q# ?6 n! Q) t3 W* X* z7 o& X*motivates* Check out the FREE version.. u9 h* j k" t6 k0 |2 w. F
http://www.motivated-marketing-lite.com
* t0 H" S. Q X$ ~) W2 X5 |___________________________________________________________
; x( H# e4 r- H+ W6 n& G: J5 o
, h, @" }- `/ h- [% _/ j$ a9 _==========================* x/ o7 r+ R2 T! N
2. Do you want to comment?& U9 m$ P. W1 m/ q' k$ K1 ~% c& U
==========================
6 W$ j, B3 P7 s9 I/ rWe have article comments software on AssociatePrograms.com, so you can have your say on any article.
9 G% m% ]. }: o9 S! S( J% J' vYou can comment on this newsletter right now, at the bottom of this newsletter.( X) B: t2 ` M$ j5 Z
I love receiving feedback on articles. Good or bad, it's all helpful.& R& S0 Q. t8 b% ?; L
: y6 W- z5 S& B/ A9 ~ I
============================================/ P( G# ~4 ]# k9 S
3. Video affiliate system should boost sales
$ x* E4 o2 T& B& C- ^) o8 X============================================
9 P: S( k, W, k U$ Y J* uAffiliate merchants, I reckon you'll see the huge potential in this...% d F, [3 |! y8 X6 g9 e6 m3 ?
You can now invite your affiliates to place your videos on their websites - with their affiliate links embedded in them.% T5 e3 t( q# F: ?, ~* j9 ? Y
Joe Chapuis, who's been marketing full-time online since 1996, has created a video affiliate system.9 x' b: b+ B1 E8 E' ^. p m
It enables affiliate merchants to combine web video with any affiliate program.
5 G* g9 K" a- w, |Here's how Joe explains it - a quick overview:
* i) ~( V9 {, b' X1. You sell widgets.
; C( w6 [6 n: R* _" e- p, ^) S2 Q2. You have an affiliate program.5 F, ~2 n+ ^4 D' I$ g
3. You create one or more web videos to promote your widgets.
0 c$ w: I+ m7 D/ K: l$ h. [0 d4. Using the Video Affiliate System, you can invite your affiliates to add your videos to their sites.- _+ p% E% T* i7 M3 f5 f
5. You provide your affiliates with simple instructions for adding to their sites a video player which is embedded with their affiliate links.
- T. O: N3 [& K! O) ]- r6. Clicking on one of the hotspot links built into the player sends traffic to you, the merchant, via an affiliate link.
: ~; {4 s/ |) w7. All transactions are tracked by your affiliate program as usual.- k" \, W9 A! A' n3 p
"When your affiliates add your videos to their sites, your web video players are transformed into eye-catching, attention-grabbing affiliate links that will drive tons of targetted to traffic to your site," Joe says.8 O# X2 K! D2 ^- p ]
You and your affiliates need do only three simple things to make it happen.
$ q3 Z% e4 D$ o' j; SThe video affiliate system is one of the video tools available in a new membership site Joe has launched. The membership site is for anyone who wants to put video on their site. You can try it risk-free for 14 days.
9 J# I. d! p' y) f) f+ u# W d @This has exciting possibilities.
+ G( g5 R5 V5 E5 z$ J# v/ L7 }- _* V; cFind out more here...6 @% \( K8 t7 M# q
http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/video-system
1 B: t2 N4 w- ~3 p* ]( |6 a* g! N( E& c& t; L0 ~- O7 Z
===============================
0 S! f" |' C. q8 I; X# ?9 w9 e2 {4. Thought for today: How high?
9 z" @3 S& ]4 n( |1 N" [* q( F===============================* @9 L, E: p& j2 @0 d8 V
"Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think." - Benjamin Disraeli |
|