Think outsite the lines
Alternative ways to build site traffic

START A BLOG or an E-ZINE
Capture the email addresses of your visitors by offering a free e-zine. A FREE Internet newsletter or e-zine lets you keep in touch with your customers and prospects on a regular basis. Educate your customers with how-to articles in your newsletters. Offer valuable and relevant information to your readers. WRITE ARTICLES
With over 400,000 E-zines being published, you can be sure that some of those publishers sometimes find themselves in a pinch for content for their E-zine. Write articles and submit them for publication in other newsletters. Each time an article is published, you will gain credibility, visibility, and will establish yourself as an expert in your field.

SWAP LINKS
Develop reciprocal links to similar sites. Build a network of contacts, clients, vendors and related, noncompetitive businesses. Create your own award. Announce your award and the guidelines needed to win. Get links to all of the sites winning your award. Encourage others to link to you through special link-to-us-to-win contests.

SIGNATURE FILE
A signature file is a block of text that can appended to the end of each email message sent by your email software. It is the Internet version of the business card. Join mailing lists and participate in discussion groups pertinent to your services or products. Always include a relevant signature file.

GIVE ADVICE
Offer an advice column at your site. Free advice is one of the most popular freebies on the Internet and it provides you with the opportunity to show your competence in your field of expertise. As a supplement to your advice column, create an email training class to enhance your reputation as an expert. Set up your email class on follow-up autoresponders. Enhance your relationship with potential customers through the continued contact established during class lessons.

PROVIDE A FREE SERVICE
One of the best ways to keep your visitors coming back is to offer a free service. When deciding upon a free service, consider one that only requires you to install a program and that keeps working for you. A good place to start is the referral service script available from LetEmKnow at http://www.letemknow.com

OFFER AN AFFILIATE PROGRAM
Partner with other sites by offering a revenue sharing relationship for sales or leads from your partners. Affiliate programs are a win-win situation. You can quickly and easily develop a sales force on the Internet, and your affiliates have instant products or services to sell on their Websites, thereby adding another revenue stream to their businesses.

DEVELOP LOYALTY PROGRAMS
Develop customer loyalty by creating an online club for buyers, a referral network or some other type of loyalty program. Offer your loyalty customers a free gift or discount coupon in exchange for completing an enrollment form. You get to know who your customers are and can fine tune your marketing efforts.

WEAR AN ADVERTISEMENT
Put your Website info on a T-shirt or hat and then wear your advertisements - everywhere. Have your kids wear them to school. Put your email and web address on bumper stickers or ID plates on your car. Don't be surprised when people come up to talk to you at the grocery store.

Move on to Step 6: Don't Flash