For that extra little push your membership website needs to get the traffic that you desire and deserve, take advantage of these dynamic traffic generating methods.
1. High Acclaims for Advertising on Third Party Sites. Advertising has and always will be a powerful traffic generating strategy however as consumers evolve so too will your advertising methods. Take a look at the following ad types to determine which will best meet your needs.
Banner Advertisements
Banner ads are placed across the top of a webpage. They are a fairly cheap form of advertising, but often get ignored as web users have got so used to seeing them. To get a higher click-through rate, banners have been designed that grow to fill the whole screen and then shrink back down to their original size.
Sidebar Advertisements
These are placed down the side of a webpage and have a higher click-through rate than banners as they will still be seen when the user scrolls down the page. This makes them more expensive than banners.
Pop-up Advertisements
These appear in a separate browser window in front of the webpage. They can be annoying to the web user, but they do have a fairly high click-through rate as the user can’t really ignore them. They have to do something with the ad, i.e. close it, move it or read it.
Floating Advertisements
These are similar to pop-ups in that they appear in a separate browser window. They aren’t static however, but move around the screen. They can’t be closed down by the user, but are displayed for a set period of time, after which they disappear. When they were first introduced they were seen as incredibly annoying, but as web users have got more used to them they have achieved a higher click-through rate than pop-ups.
Unicast Advertisements
A further development of the pop-up ad, unicast ads are similar to short television commercials. They play in a separate browser window for a few seconds and have an extremely high click-through rate. They are very expensive however, and may not be appropriate for your membership site depending on your niche subject.
Text Links
Text links are a very effective form of advertising on a third party site. The text link is integrated into the website’s content so that it looks like a link to another part of the same site. When the user clicks on the link, they will be taken to your site, or an advertisement for your site.
2. Co-Registration, getting your foot in the door.
Co-Registration can be a very cost effective way of generating quality sales leads for your membership site.
The principle is simple. When a potential member is filling in an opt-in form for a third party, they are given the option to request more information on various other sites or products. If they request further information on your membership site, you will be provided with their contact details to add to your mailing list.
On a co-registration form you display your logo and a short description of your membership site. This type of advertisement works best if you place your offer on a website that is related to your niche subject, but that is not a direct competitor.
Submit your offer to a co-registration company, who will find appropriate sites to display it on. Also ask other sites to put it on the thank you page their customers see after they have opted into that site. A final option is to team up with other relevant sites and create your own third party information site where you can all display co-registration adverts.
What are the advantages of co-registration?
-Co-registration usually works on a pay per name or pay per lead basis, meaning that you only pay when someone actually requests more information on your site.
-Co-reg is a very targeted form of advertising. Somebody requesting information about your site is a much stronger lead than an unsolicited sales pitch.
-In addition to the standard contact information on the opt-in form, you can take it a step further and request other information from your potential customer, which may help you target your sales pitch more effectively.
3. Social networking isn’t just for the teenagers anymore.
Social networking has grown up! Of course for social networking to effectively promote your membership site you have to choose the right network. The network needs to be aimed at the same audience as your membership site. Find a network that suits your niche subject. This may have a smaller member base than a more general site, with less networking opportunities, but your audience will be more targeted, and the network will have more staying power.
Creating new pages on some of the largest social networking sites can help to get your page picked up by the search engines very quickly.
These are just 3 methods, there are of course many more. Try applying as many of these methods as you can to your business, track and test your results and go from there.