There are of many ways to drive traffic to your website. And savvy online marketers know most of them. But what about the rest of us?

What can we do to attract prospects if we don’t have deep pockets to run a pay-per-click Adwords campaign or can’t flash our web site URL on Oprah?
Well, here’s a simple, effective and unintimidating strategy you can use to attract a steady stream of qualified prospects to your web site.

Start posting.
Next to Adwords and article marketing, posting to online forums can be one of the most effective marketing activities you can engage in for instantly driving traffic to your web site.
And here’s a bonus – it won’t cost you a penny. Sure you’ll have to invest your time but you have to do that anyway to grow your business.

OK. So what exactly is posting? Posting is simply replying to comments other people have made in an online forum.

First, you need to find a forum that relates to your business or area of expertise. A Google search using relevant keywords coupled with the word “forum” will reveal a number of forum discussions.
For example, say you were financial planner. You could Google “financial planner forums” and the search engines will deliver plenty of forum options for you to choose from. And you can further define the parameters of the forum by using additional keywords like “financial planner trends forum”.

A word of caution: Look for a forum that is active and has lots of members. A good example of an active, lively forum is warriorforum.com.
Most forums will ask you to create an account if you want to post replies to different “threads” or discussions you take part in.
Now , here’s where the rubber meets the road.

The secret to effective posting that will generate sales leads for you is to build an identity in that forum community. To do that, you need to be active and consistent. Schedule your posting in as part of your regular marketing activities. Try to make 3-5 five posts a day to various threads that are in the forum.
This sounds a lot more overwhelming that it is. A reply can simply be two or three sentences. A half hour of posting each day will quickly elevate your status in the forum.
So what do you post? Well, you can initiate a post by asking a provocative question or introducing a controversial topic or you can simply read through the existing posts (which are categorized so you can see areas of interest) others have made and reply to those where you can add value.
Forum discussions are intended to be an environment where ideas are exchanged and counsel is given.

It isn’t a place where you go to flog your latest product or service. If you flagrantly enter posts that are of a traditional selling nature, you will be shown the door.
Besides, you will attract a lot more prospects to your site by giving insightful and practical advice on how to address a certain issue or solve a particular problem that relates to your area of expertise than you will acting like the Slap Chop guy.

Now, here’s where your marketing mileage ramps up.
In exchange for your participation, you are allowed to create a profile that every forum participant can see and a signature that appears at the end of every post.

When you join the forum, you will have an opportunity to create your profile. You can use your real name or a made up name that reflects your expertise. You can also include your pet’s name, your hobbies, your expertise or profession – whatever you want. The idea is to let your profile reflect who you are.

Along with your profile, you’ll be asked if you want to create a signature. Make sure your signature makes it easy for people to visit your site and suggests to them that it might be worth a visit.
Happy profitable posting!

Gerry Black is a marketing writer based in Toronto, Canada who works with clients in Canada and the US.

1. Think and act like an effective marketer
Often, we spend too much time fussing about little things when we should be concentrating on the bigger picture. Focus on making a difference with your ideas instead of thinking about all the reasons something might not work. Think like the master marketers. Their mindset is simple: My services are valuable. I will do whatever it takes to get the attention and interest of my prospects until they see the value as well.

6 “Easy-to-Implement” Marketing Mindsets
by Gerry Black

2. Look at marketing as a game
Part of playing any game is making mistakes. It happens. You miss the shot. Drop the ball. And what happens? No biggee. You just keep playing the best you can. The mistake many business owners make when it comes to marketing is they don’t play the game at all. They try to get everything just perfect. Sure, they avoid making mistakes, but they never have a chance to win.

3. Tell ‘em what they want to hear how they want to hear it
The key to effective marketing is communicating the right thing at the right time to the right audience. One common trap is getting caught up with trying to find exactly the right words. Instead, think about who your target customer is, what’s important to him/her, the problems you help solve and then, the solutions you offer. Do that and the words will take care of themselves.

4. Create and use a compelling marketing message
Work hard to develop a powerful marketing message. Something that instantly communicates to your target audience what value you offer. When you get it to a point where you think it hits the mark, “take it to the streets” like the Doobie Brothers did. That’s an effective way to get valuable feedback. Try out your marketing message on 25 people and you’ll get a sense of know if whether or not your message is working.

5. Create a marketing strategy, make a plan and get going!
Guess what? There is no perfect strategy. Many marketers get so caught up trying to figure out the best way to market their business, they don’t act. Do SOMETHING. Pick a strategy that you think would be effective, roll up your sleeves and dive in. A big challenge for many business owners is trying to figure the perfect to market their business. What usually ends up happening is – nothing.

6. Follow a written marketing plan
When you think about promoting your business, did you ever notice how the same ideas tend to pop into your mind over and over again? The ones you know you should act on but never seem to find the time to do so? Until you actually write it out so you can see the action items, it will continue to be “something you know you should do” instead of a game plan that will help you grow your business. You don’t have to noodle out your whole plan and then write it down. Just start getting some ideas down. During the process, your plan will become clearer and clearer.
Wrap your mind around the things effective marketers do and before long, you’ll be right there along side them.

Gerry Black is a Marketing Writer based in Toronto, Canada
and serving clients in the U.S. and Canada. 6 “Easy-to-Implement” Marketing Mindsets

There’s a time-tested school of thought professional direct mail copywriters draw upon to inspire them to create attention-grabbing and compelling promotions.
It goes like this: Picture your prospect sorting through his or her daily mail standing over a trash bin. The primary objective is simple: dump as much of the stuff as possible.

A typical sort might include the following three categories:
*’forget it, no interest’
*’this is a must keep.’
*’this looks like it could be of interest, I’ll take a closer look.’

A similar approach is used by people looking for products and services on the internet.
[Read more...]

Got an email the other day from a client for whom I did some work about 18 months ago.

When he and I first met, his web site was in a sorry state. The design was weak. The copy was bland and completely void of emotion. My job was to write the web copy and the client’s SEO “guy” would optimize the site and create a PPC ad campaign.

Here’s the email he sent:
[Read more...]