Last week, I discussed how to market on the Internet without a Web site. This week I will share with you how to market online with a Web site.

Once you get to a certain level of accomplishment without a Web site, you will reach a plateau that will be difficult to overcome, without taking claim to your own plot of land.

A Web site gives you an online identity. It establishes a place where folks can find you. It allows you to establish a portion of cyber real estate to display your products/services.

It's really your World Headquarters or Branch Office. Prospects and customers come and visit at all hours of the day (or night) to, 24/7/365, get information on your area of specialization or your Theme. While they are visiting, you could be sleeping, vacationing, having fun with your family or any other activities that you desire to be doing.

Most of the information in this article is coming from efforts that I am currently undertaking to re-vamp my Web site to position myself for the next wave of growth. My initial intent with my Web site was simply to establish a greater sense of permanency and credibility.

Up until now, I have spent very little time developing it to be what it should be to get visitors to come back over and over again. Now I am in the process of enhancing my Web site to make it a place where visitors will want to return again and again, as well as refer it to their friends and associates.

The Internet is becoming more crowded everyday. Web sites number well into the millions. Trying to stand out in that crowd is going to mean that you will have to be more diligent and persistent in bringing attention to your Web site. The need for the right kind of promotion is becoming more urgent. The following tips should help you in getting visitors to your site and causing them to want to come back again:

***BECOME A SOURCE TO YOUR PROSPECTS AND CUSTOMERS

What is it that you have a lot of knowledge about? What do you like to do? Do you have certain hobbies or extracurricular activities that you participate in? Who would be interested in the knowledge that you have?

By answering these questions you have defined a Theme for your Web site and who your prospects are that you want to become a prime source of information. These are the people whose learning needs you want to satisfy. You may help them by creating a Web site that is loaded with tons of information that causes these prospects to see you as an expert. This will lead to them being repeat visitors and referring your site to others.

Here are some things that you could do to make your site an information oasis:

a) Refer them to other useful sites that are not in competition with what you have to offer. For example, if your theme is fly fishing equipment and accessories, you may have links to fabulous places to go fly fishing within 100 miles of New York City or Los Angeles.

b) Provide information to help the visitor improve their skills. Sticking with the fly fishing example, you may provide interesting articles on perfecting your casting technique, how to make your own flies, taking care of your rod and reel. If you provide this type of information your visitors will continue to come back looking for more opportunities to improve their skills.

c) You may provide advice to your visitors. Everyone in your Theme area is constantly looking for advice. Most of the feedback that I get from subscribers to this newsletter, is from online marketers wanting advice on the "how to's" of Internet marketing. Therefore I made the decision to add a discussion board to my Web site. Not only will they be able to get advice from me, but also from others who visit the board. The discussion board, talk.webprofitsource.com will be live by the end of April. Decide how you can become a better advisor and draw visitor to your Web site.

***MAKE YOUR PROSPECTS WANT TO VISIT YOUR SITE

No matter how magnificent your site is in your own eyes, you've still got get visitors there in the first place. Simply stating what they will find there is not enough. There are hundreds of other sites that can say the same thing. What can you do to make you stand out? Try some of these freebies to get them there:

a) Offer a FREE e-book related to your Theme

b) Offer a FREE report on your Theme

c) Offer a FREE newsletter or ezine

d) Offer a FREE Web site review

e) Offer a FREE hour of your time over the phone

f) Offer a FREE sample of your product

g) Offer a FREE ad in your newsletter

***MAKE IT EASY FOR PROSPECTS TO FIND YOU

Visitors are eager to learn, if they know about you and all the information that you have for them. You are more than happy to help them. So, how do you get to meet each other? There are many ways. Try these:

a) Exploit your sig. file or tag line. Do not send an email from your computer without your sig. file on it. TIP: This is how you know the Pros from the true, rank amateurs. There is something about sig. files that just makes me want to click on the links and at least find out what the person is promoting. I have run up on some very profitable tips by clicking on links in sig. files.

b) Describe your website and your services in search engines and directories. This takes a bit of time, but the payback is huge.

c) Exchange links, not with everyone, but with sites that offer products that complements yours. This is best done by visiting the Web site of others and sending them a personalized email asking for a link. Be sure to compliment the owner and tell them how he can benefit from linking with you.

***EARN YOUR PROSPECTS' CONFIDENCE

Let's face it, the Internet can be a cold place to do business. You can't see who you're dealing with, neither can you hear them. So why in the heck should you trust them? And even further more, why should you give them your hard earned dollar$?

As a Web site owner, you will *have* to gain the confidence of your prospects and customers. One of the easiest ways to do that is to establish a series of communications with the prospect, preferably in a non-threatening way. A newsletter is a perfect way to do stay in touch with your prospects.

I can attest to this fact. The longer I keep sending out this newsletter, the more my sales increase. And it's not due, alone, to the fact that the subscriber base keeps growing.

I attribute it to the fact that you keep hearing from me on a weekly basis providing you with tools, techniques and strategies to make money on the Internet. Yes, I make offers to you, but they are for items that will help you in your online endeavors.

In the beginning, none of my ads were working, no sales were being made. I did not change them, but the sales keep increasing. I say you are beginning to trust me. You don't think that I'm here to make a quick buck off you and disappear.

The newsletter is delivered to you every weekend with original content on how to become an Internet success story. When you send me an email with questions, you get a response within 36 hours, most of the time within 24 hours.

I make it a rule to thank you for responding and offer to help you in any way that I possibly can. These kind of behaviors build trust. You must show your prospects and customers that you do care about them before you can build a long-term relationship based upon trust.

Closing

By following the tips above, you should begin to see your hit counter coming alive and your bank account beginning to swell. Both are very welcome to any Internet marketer who is looking to become an Internet success story. So get busy turning your Web site into a cyber magnet.

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Jim is the administrator of http://www.webprofitsource.com and publisher of WebPROFIT Tips Newsletter. Subscribe and get a FREE eBook: "BUILDING YOUR BUSINESS IN YOUR BATHROBE" and get a chance to win a Pentium computer mailto:tips@webprofitsource.com or visit http://www.webprofitsource.com

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