Hi Dave,

This is such a great and educative topic you've presented here, thanks to Mary for refering me. You are so right about the best practices on how to get real traffic. Eversince I started participating in Adland community, my website ranking has been on the increase. I am already working on your lead sites.

Dave if you don't mind, I'll like to publish this post on my site with all your credits. Here's my website: http://www.samiplus.net

Thanks for sharing a great post.

Sami

Hi,

in response to the question(s) re Newsletters and Business Cards.

Starting with Business Cards. Going back to my hundreds of accounts when I was actively in Advertising & Marketing (not online).  The first question/statement I would always make to a contact client was "can you encapsulate your business on a business card?" Amazingly very few could in a meaningful way.

Once they could it established a focus and a direction for my activities, but if the client couldn't do it - it meant he had an immediate problem as it meant he did not understand where his business was or wanted to go. It is an exceptionally good exercise to do.

Re. Newsletters.  I have tried this route, and it can be good BUT, the whole point of a Newsletter is that you will be able to continually be able to produce material of consistent interest, and this is not easy.  I think you need to plot for at least 12 Newsletters in some detail before embarking on this hge amount of work.  Particularly when working alone as most of us are. What you may find absorbing, is not necessarilly what others find absorbing.

In my view this is also the problem with most of the electronic routes - and I include things like Youtube, and blogs.  I always had a credo in advertising, which was 'people need to be rewarded in some way to read and react to your advertising' .  Unfortunately as Dave and I have been discussing this has largely disappeared in a welter of self-indulgence in standard media - and to me at least is reflected in most of the electronic stuff as well.

Business Cards good - newsletters possible but needing huge amounts of attedntion and sustained effort.

Hope this is of some assistance?

Norm

Ad Books for Fun & Education

http://www.lulu.com/norman-clark

Hi Jason, Thank you for sharing your information on Easy Promoter. I have had a very busy weekend, and did not have a chance to take advantage of your offer. What would be most helpful for everyone here, is if you could tell us your results in using Easy Promoter. How much traffic are you getting? How well is your traffic converting? IE - what kind of sales are you seeing from the traffic you're getting this way? These two questions make or break a program like this. If the traffic is good and your sales are, too, then it's more than worth paying full price with no discounts. God bless, Dave

Hi Mary, I hope everyone reads your two excellent threads on how to generate visitors and income via forum participation. Thank you for sharing. I just read them again, and they are superb. God bless, Dave

Hi Mary, Hmmm... I know what you mean about the way it looks. I guess it comes down to the question - do you mind what it looks like, given who your stats show as blocked? The next question would be, would it make any difference if you unblocked them? Thirdly, perhaps if even one of the people who are shown as blocked decide to contact you, it might be the beginning of a renewed friendship - which would certainly be worth any negatives feedback you may get. I heartily agree with your diplomatic way of dealing with those who simply send you an ad as a first contact. I, too, generally ignore them. It's like a total stranger coming up to you and saying, "Hi. I'm Bob. Buy my junk." No matter how good the product or service is, my very first impression when approached this way is that the product or service IS junk, because it's being carelessly flogged by someone who has no idea or interest in how to do it right. God bless, Dave