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1.) A WORD FROM THE "EDITOR"
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A Warm welcome to all our new subscribers.

We are still in the height of season.
This is the time of year we all really need to
work diligently on getting our businesses out
there and start marketing them in anyway possible.
In my opinion, we should never stop, but as humans
we can only go full steam ahead for so long before we
need a break.  The time is now and we need to be full
steam ahead.  

As most of you know, ezine a.dvertising is the most
effective way to a.dvertise your business.  In efforts
to assist you in your marketing campaign, 
The OnLine Exchange have reduced our prices and
formulated a range of variety packages to make your
campaign run smoothly during this crucial time of year.
You can visit our website to view our packages, and if
you would like to view on the special packages, just
click on Variety A.D packages for more information:

http://www.online-exchange.com/advertising.htm

If you have any questions, suggestions, opinions,
please email us at:  marketingtrendz@comcast.net

Have a GREAT Weekend!

Best Regards,
Debbie Solomon 
marketingtrendz@comcast.net 

Please forward this e-zine to all your friends and co-workers who might be interested!

 

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2.) HEADLINE ARTICLE
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Four Ways to Get Local Website Traffic on a Shoestring Budget
By Tom Swanson

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If you've recently launched an online presence, it's important to make your customers aware of it so you can get site visitors (traffic), reinforce your brand, and sell your products or services. Building and hosting your website on the Internet is just the first step. After you do this, you'll need to build strong awareness – if you want customers, that is.

"Traditional" advertising and marketing media like magazines, newspapers, television, radio, direct mail, and yellow pages aren't very effective ways to promote your website.  It's possible to use them for website promotion, but you won't see a significant return on investment (ROI).  Conversely, Internet advertising avenues like animated banners, interstitials (pop-ups, pop-unders, etc.), sponsor logos, advertorials, email marketing, and pay-per-click advertising tactics are very effective and are growing rapidly in popularity.

Though most Internet advertising media are substantially more cost-effective than traditional media, businesses that are just starting out or that are on a tight budget have to look into other alternatives. This situation begs the question, "How can I launch a successful marketing campaign on a shoestring budget?" 

You can still get the word out about your website and reinforce your company name in an effective manner without breaking the bank.  With a little creativity and ingenuity, you can increase your website traffic quite cost-effectively.  Resourcefulness goes a long way in the customer's eye and is often more memorable than traditional, more costly avenues.

Here are four inexpensive promotion ideas that you can use to drive traffic to your website:

1. Update Marketing Collateral

The simplest way to increase awareness about your website is by adding the site's address to every bit of your existing marketing collateral, including brochures, flyers, menus, business cards, forms, and other client hand-outs. Also, be sure to add the website address to each employee's email signature.

2. Start a Geo-Targeted Search-Engine or Banner Advertising Campaign

Some search-engines offer "pay-per-click" advertising for as low as ten cents per click. Pay-per-click advertising is when you, as an advertiser, pay an agreed-upon price each time an Internet user clicks on your website address from a search engine's results pages.  The largest search engine advertising programs are Yahoo! Search Marketing and Google AdWords. However, second-tier search engines like Kanoodle and Lycos typically charge less than more popular engines but still provide viable ways to drive traffic to your site.  You can set up and manage this type of advertising yourself or you can contact an Internet-marketing company to find out what they can do for you.  Usually you'll have to go through a broker to be able to put together a banner advertising campaign, however.  FastClick is a popular advertising broker, as they have an extensive network of sites that they can advertise on.  No matter which of these media you decide to utilize, you can geo-target your campaigns so that your traffic is only coming from your region.  You can even specify where you want your traffic to come from by dictating a search's geographic parameters, like specifying a radius in miles from a certain point, a particular city, or even certain zip codes. 

3. Gather Reciprocal Links

Another simple way to garner traffic to your site without coughing up a ton of cash is contacting businesses that are non-competing, but that also offer services to your customer demographic.  These types of "alliance" relationships match website designers with hosting providers, insurance carriers with realtors, car dealers with banks, book stores with coffee shops, and so on. If you find a business that is similar to yours and you like their website, send them an email or give them a call and let them know you'd like to take advantage of your common audience by posting their business' website link on your website if they'll do the same for you in return.  You can do this by yourself, or you can submit your web site to services like Monster Link Swap or Link Exchanged if you would rather bypass contacting every individual website one by one.  

4. Utilize Online Local Directories & Search Engines

One of the easiest ways to get traffic to your local business website is to list your business in local online directories like SuperPages, as well as the local component of search engines, like Yahoo! Local and Google Local.  More and more, consumers are using the Internet to search for local goods and services.  If your business is not listed where consumers that are actively looking to buy are searching, you'll pay a price.  You cannot afford to miss out on this phenomenon!  It's imperative that you make sure your business is listed in these local directories and search engines.  With new features of local search, not only can you get your business listed, but you can start a grassroots viral-marketing (word-of-mouth) campaign by asking people to post feedback about your business via rating features. And, while it's important to be listed with the big boys, don't forget about other geographic business directories that may be available on your state or local Chamber of Commerce website. These directories develop targeted, online visibility and direct inbound traffic to your website and offline store.

Use your imagination to stretch your promotional budget when you're strategizing about ways to drive traffic to your website. Don't be afraid to learn something new or do it yourself. Small and mid-sized business owners are making remarkable strides with online advertising, and you can too. So start getting the word out and watch local traffic start clicking in.



Author: Tom Swanson
Web Site: www.lowhangingfruit.com
Email: tom@itimeinc.com
Phone: 563-323-4609

Tom Swanson's experience in sales, marketing, copywriting, and multi-media advertising have given him incredible insight into the world of marketing both online and off.  His articles feature simple explanations and ideas that business owners can use to realize their marketing and business-growth goals. 

© 2005 Low-Hanging Fruit


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3.) INTERACTIVE CLASSIFIEDS
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4.) PARENTS TIME-OUT
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Time Out for Parents

Welcome Parents. It is time for a little Time-Out. Running an online business or working outside of the home takes much time and effort away from your family.
This weekly feature is committed to helping parents take back that quality time and devote it more fully to spending it with their children.

Check out this week's features:

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Time Out for the Week - Banana Tree Stumps
What's for Dinner? - Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
Just for You - 15 House Cleaning Shortcuts
Site of the Week - Learn About Spring

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Follow the link below to see what it is all about!  You owe it to yourself and your children!

http://www.parentstime-out.com

This page is designed to be simple and easy to follow.  Our goal is to keep it short and simple each week, allowing you to maximize your family time.

You can find all of our Time Out editions archived at http://www.parentstime-out.com/archives.htm
 

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5.) HOT BIZ*TIP
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Trash the Junk

Or, junk the trash - have you ever had one of those windows that
you cannot get it to Maximize or Minimize? Sometimes Web
programmers splash an advertising screen onto your PC with no
controls, and will use this technique so that you can't get
their junk off your screen. For some bizarre reason they think
this is a good thing.

To get rid of the work of this miscreant, click anywhere in the
misbehaving window and hit Alt + Spacebar. On the resulting
menu, you can choose Close and kill the window.


-----

Did you know that subscribers to Bob Osgoodby's F.ree Ezine the
"Tip of the Day" get a F.ree Ad for their Business at his Web
Site? Great Business and Computer Tips - Monday. Wednesday. And
Friday. Instructions on how to place an ad are in the Newsletter. 
Subscribe at: http://adv-marketing.com/business/subscribe2.htm 

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 E-ZINE BUSINESS DIRECTORY & RESOURCES

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EZINE BUSINESS DIRECTORY
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The OnLine Exchange is brought to you by MarketingTrendz.  Please visit our directory of resources for helpful information for your online business.  

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ONLINE EXCHANGE INFORMATION DATA
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ONLY subscribers who have personally and voluntarily subscribed to this Ezine will Receive it. We are 100% Opt-In. We will NEVER provide our subscriber list to ANYONE. We respect the privacy of our readers.

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CONTACT INFORMATION-

Editor: Debbie Solomon
Publisher: Sara Hardy
http://www.marketingtrendz.com
MarketingTrendz
1640 West Sandpiper Circle
Pembroke Pines, FL 33026
support@marketingtrendz.com

_______________________


DISCLAIMER-

THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
The information contained in this document represents the current view of MarketingTrendz on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because MarketingTrendz must respond to change in market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of MarketingTrendz and MarketingTrendz cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. Information provided in this document is provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and freedom from infringement. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of this document.

All opinions and viewpoints in each editorial of The OnLine Exchange Ezine is expressed solely by the editor and writer, Debbie Solomon. The opinions set forth by the editor is not necessarily an interpretation of viewpoints made by the company.

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