Step 1 If you build it, they will come… Not!

This is the first of an 8 part series on Lifestyle Marketing. 

With a little patience and technical know-how, it’s fairly easy to build a website. The Internet is full of handy guides on it. If you don’t have the time to learn, the Internet is also full of people and companies eager to do the work for you. But now that you’ve gone to the trouble of building your site, is it doing what it needs to do to bring traffic in, or it is just sitting there in a sea of similar sites?

You need a reason for people to come to your site. 

Marketing expert Andrew Davis believes he has a way to do just that. By creating valuable content on your site, you establish a brand and you can use that brand to sell your products.  He cites Sesame Street and Disney as examples. By creating memorable stories and engaging characters such as Mickey Mouse and Elmo, both companies were able to leverage their content to sell millions of dollars in products. 

You don’t need a production company at your beck and call either. Davis also uses the example of Gary Vaynerchuk, an entrepreneur who took over his family’s wine business. Vaynerchuk created and hosted Wine TV, an internet program combining wine tasting with ESPN style broadcasting. Using the success of the program as a springboard, he has not only expanded his company sales by more than five-fold, but he has also opened up opportunities for speaking and writing engagements. 

There are numerous other ways to drive traffic to your site. Some of the simplest and easiest include making sure you’re making proper use of keywords and maximizing your exposure on search engines such as Google. Try arranging an advertising swap, maybe banner ads, with a complimentary company. You can join Facebook and LinkedIn groups in your industry, or start a Facebook or Google circle. By offering valuable advice and information, you can help build relationships and drive traffic to your site.

Creating a blog is relatively simple, and offers an excellent way to increase your visibility on the Internet. Every post is an additional opportunity to get your message out and expand your reach.  More content equals a greater chance of being found.

If full-blown blogging isn’t something you’re interested in, you can visit sites like Yahoo Answers and answer questions relevant to your business. You can also become an occasional columnist and contributor to a better known site. 

Once you start to increase your traffic, how to do convert visits into sales? The next Step of the series looks at how to capture and nurture leads.

Check out our Infusionsoft Demo HERE