April 15th, 2009
Okay, I am going to have to get off the beaten path for a minute. I know everybody that visits seems to like my stories. Especially the one about my Identity Theft which is titled “Good Name Gone” that is further down the page, and really a must read to understand more about me and my position. I really hate to sound like a salesperson, because that is not my intent. I just want to entertain. But, I have come across some very good information for all youbloggers and newbies out there that I must share, so if you will indulge me for just a minute…………….Thanks
Here’s the scenario. I must say that I have been getting a little frustrated lately because I haven’t been getting traffic to my site fast enough. Now, me being a newbie to this and to the internet altogether I had no idea how to get traffic to my site. I had no idea if I was doing good (getting about 35-50 hits a day) or doing terrible. I knew I wasn’t getting hardly any comments and that just wasn’t fulfilling at all. So, I did the wrong thing and started doing research into buying traffic, or at least buying a mailing list. WRONG ANSWER!
I actually filled out a form off of an ad I found on GOOGLE, and for the next 2 days I was fielding an enormous ammont of phone calls and e-mails. Telemarketers and Internet “SHARKS” were all over me, smelling the blood of a “NEWBIE” and ready to take advantage. I had quotes up to $5,000.00 for 3 e-mails to over 2 million people. I was even considering spending the rest of my balance on my credit card to buy 50,000 leads for 500 dollars. With only a guarantee that 1% would even visit my site. Seeing as that I’m really not set up to make money in the first place, more for the entertainment and self-therapy of writing my thoughts. That would’ve been stupid.
Lucky for me, I came across a couple of ways to get free traffic to my website. Or at least have the opportunity to. No it wasn’t safelists (where nobody reads their incoming mail). It wasn’t “link exchange programs” although I hear that those do work but slowly, and I’m impatient and want results NOW. So, I’ll give you the scoop.
The most interesting was Directmatches.com. Directmatches is like a myspace for business people and networking and it’s FREE. I had over 20 e-mails in my Directmatches mailbox in the first 2 hours. Some, I admit were just people trying to get me to visit their site and promote their business. But most were sending me info that was very informative, friendly advice, and had already read my profile and were wanting to HELP me. I was astounded. Alot of them had actually already visited this website (I put the URL in my profile) and were telling me their opinions on my stuff. I really felt validated for a change. In two days I have made over 75 contacts, and a lot of them say they will visit this website and tell their friends. Also, Directmatches has a referral program where you can actually make a little money on the side, is this place “Cyber-Heaven” or what? I am soooo excited at the prospects.
The other is hits2u.com. It gives you FREE advertising on their program. It posts “widgets” or text links for you on their network for FREE! There is a slight catch though. You start with a FREE week of posting on their network and then you earn more FREE posting by referring other people to their program. They give you all the tools (banner ads, text links, sample e-mails,etc.) and they give you step-by-step instructions on how to get referrals. I have already earned a whole year of FREE Advertising and I am STOKED!
Look, these may not be the most effective ways of advertising. But, if you are on a limited budget as I am, this is definitely the way to go. If you take advantage, you can actually profit off of what they give you for FREE! I am so glad i didn’t spend that 500. I feel refreshed and the possibilities are endless. Hope this helps you out, and keeps you from making costly mistakes. CHEERS:)