"The best things in life must come by effort from within, not by gifts from the outside." -Fred Corson
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Improve Your Online Small Business Profits
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Building Content
A website is more than just merging photos and graphics.
Webmasters must also integrate quality themed content into
their website. A "sticky" website is one that attracts
individuals and encourages them to return. "Sticky websites"
contains content that is related and of interest to the
prospective customers. A sticky site is a place people will
visit again and again. By creating an atmosphere people like
to revisit, will increase their exposure to your product or
service.
1. Top 10
Create a top 10 list of industry sites resources, and
products that are related to the website's theme. The list
should contain helpful resources or authority sites that are
respected and have genuine useful information. Providing a
credible top 10 will help web visitors and showcase
tenability of the website.
Example:
RSS Top 10
Top 10 Small Biz Resources
2. Product Comparisons
If you managed an industry website, consider creating a
product or service comparison guide. Use a grid to
illustrate the differences between the specific products or
services. The comparison guide will be of interest to
website visitors and contain unique aggregated data to
assist in the visitor's decision making.
Example:
Podcast Directory Comparison
3. Consumer Reports
Product warnings, recalls or alerts are generally issued by
government agencies. The product alerts contain a list of
related products, and any critical information related to
that product. Consider syndicating the RSS feed of products
from a specific industry or sector, displaying critical
information will generate goodwill with potential customers
and demonstrate social-consciousness.
Example:
Overview of Toilets
4. Buyers Guides.
Creating a buyer's guide is especially useful in the holiday
season. A buyers guide or gift guide will attract both
advertisers and web surfers. You can create a Buyers Guide
using a web form, which effectively makes the process easier
to manage. You can take the the Buyers Guide a step further,
by making the guide interactive. Ask website visitors
questions and offer helpful suggestions, based on their
preferences. Analysis of product specifications, features,
reviews and comparisons can be provided as part of an online
buyers guide, important products or services can be
highlighted in the guide.
Example:
Active Buyers Guide
5. Tutorial
Creating educational tutorials or demonstrations about how a
technology or service is effective in a specific industry or
sector, is not only useful but it helps website visitors
consider how they might further use a product or service.
Consider providing wizards, tutorials or educational
material that will assist in educating users. Educational
materials also distinguishes the website publishers as
knowledgeable in a specific area.
Example:
Podcasting Tutorial
6. Glossary.
Decipher those difficult to understand words, for your
website visitors. Despite sometimes being entrenched in an
industry, consumers often remain unaware of what specific
terminology means. Provide a clear, concise glossary of
terms related to a product or service. Educating users about
the lingo will help them better understand a product or
services benefit.
Example:
Medical Terminology
7. History.
Profile the history of an industry, event, or individual
related to the product or service that you are promoting.
The historical perspective will educate and attract those
who have an industry interest.
Example:
What is Shareware / History of Shareware
8. Online Tool or Service.
Provide a online web tool or service. Webmasters or search
engine marketers may provide a free website critique or a
free tool related to the product or service they are
marketing in order to attract web traffic. The tool or free
service will act as a lost leader bringing web visitors to
their website for an indefinite amount of time.
Example:
Button Maker
9. Interviews or Success Stories
Generate content by interviewing industry professionals. Not
only are interviews interesting to website visitors, but
also webmasters might find a number of interviewees provide
links back to the interview from related industry websites.
Example:
Software Success Stories and Interviews
10. Interactive Content.
Content that is interactive will not only generate buzz, it
will draw in website visitors. One of the first examples of
interactive content, the Subservient chicken, generated not
only buzz, but a good amount of traffic for Burger King.
Marketers have adapted interactive content allowing
webmasters to cater content based on web visitors choices or
behavior.
Example:
Subservient Chicken
My Virtual Model
(select clothes to be modeled)
Creative content building techniques can draw interested
website visitors. Create timeless, unique content and watch
your webtraffic and visitors grow.
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Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for NotePage a wireless text messaging software company.
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