Sep
5
Jake Collums asked:
Having a forum is one thing. Having a successful forum, however, is something completely different. Anyone can create a forum, but it takes hard work to improve that forum and keep it interesting to its visitors. Making sure that you keep your forum up to date and interesting is the best way to keep visitors coming back time and time again. The two most important elements of improving your forum are getting visitors to the forum and getting people to come back. In order to get people to your forum at first, you need to promote. You don’t have to be completely shameless when it comes to forum promotion, but you should find as many places to put a link as you possibly can. Promote at the end of articles, in your email communications, through social media, and even through other websites by link sharing. Make sure that you choose quality websites to work with, though. If you have 100 links out there and only 10 or 15 of them are of good quality, search engines will notice. However, if you only put out 20 or 30 links on high quality and relevant sites, you’ll get much more respect and attention from search engines and users.
The credibility of the sites where you put your links reflects directly on your credibility, which is why you need to be careful where you post. Get people to sign up for your forum by offering freebies and exclusive information or products. For example, offer a free e-mail newsletter or even an ebook that people will enjoy. People like free stuff, and if you offer it they will come. It doesn’t have to be a big gesture, because anything that shows your appreciation will be effective. Improving your forum after you have attracted visitors is critical to keep them coming back for more. Keep posts current, relevant, and updated regularly. If people come to your forum and the last post was four or five days ago, they’re likely not going to stick around. They want to see that people are talking on a daily basis and that everyone is interacting well.
The internet is a place full of instant gratification, and your forum needs to reflect that by staying on top of postings. Make sure that your software can keep up with the changing world of technology and that you can add plug-ins and extensions to make your forum more dynamic as time goes on. Stick with a simple layout and design that will stand the test of time, and avoid bright colors or complicated layouts. The easier it is for people to see your posts and use your forum, the more likely they will be to keep coming back time and time again. If you get to a place where you want to make improvements but you aren’t sure what to do, ask your forum members. The best way to appeal to the needs of your visitors is to find out what they want, need, or expect. There is no easier way to do that than to go straight to the source. Consider putting a thread on your discussion board for suggestions and ideas that users have about improving the site. It’s a great way to make people feel included, and it can help you make your forum more enjoyable and appealing to visitors without having to wonder what improvements would be best. The most important part of improving your forum is to accept the fact that you can’t just build it and forget it, and that feedback from your members is the key to successful updates and improvements over time.
Don
Having a forum is one thing. Having a successful forum, however, is something completely different. Anyone can create a forum, but it takes hard work to improve that forum and keep it interesting to its visitors. Making sure that you keep your forum up to date and interesting is the best way to keep visitors coming back time and time again. The two most important elements of improving your forum are getting visitors to the forum and getting people to come back. In order to get people to your forum at first, you need to promote. You don’t have to be completely shameless when it comes to forum promotion, but you should find as many places to put a link as you possibly can. Promote at the end of articles, in your email communications, through social media, and even through other websites by link sharing. Make sure that you choose quality websites to work with, though. If you have 100 links out there and only 10 or 15 of them are of good quality, search engines will notice. However, if you only put out 20 or 30 links on high quality and relevant sites, you’ll get much more respect and attention from search engines and users.
The credibility of the sites where you put your links reflects directly on your credibility, which is why you need to be careful where you post. Get people to sign up for your forum by offering freebies and exclusive information or products. For example, offer a free e-mail newsletter or even an ebook that people will enjoy. People like free stuff, and if you offer it they will come. It doesn’t have to be a big gesture, because anything that shows your appreciation will be effective. Improving your forum after you have attracted visitors is critical to keep them coming back for more. Keep posts current, relevant, and updated regularly. If people come to your forum and the last post was four or five days ago, they’re likely not going to stick around. They want to see that people are talking on a daily basis and that everyone is interacting well.
The internet is a place full of instant gratification, and your forum needs to reflect that by staying on top of postings. Make sure that your software can keep up with the changing world of technology and that you can add plug-ins and extensions to make your forum more dynamic as time goes on. Stick with a simple layout and design that will stand the test of time, and avoid bright colors or complicated layouts. The easier it is for people to see your posts and use your forum, the more likely they will be to keep coming back time and time again. If you get to a place where you want to make improvements but you aren’t sure what to do, ask your forum members. The best way to appeal to the needs of your visitors is to find out what they want, need, or expect. There is no easier way to do that than to go straight to the source. Consider putting a thread on your discussion board for suggestions and ideas that users have about improving the site. It’s a great way to make people feel included, and it can help you make your forum more enjoyable and appealing to visitors without having to wonder what improvements would be best. The most important part of improving your forum is to accept the fact that you can’t just build it and forget it, and that feedback from your members is the key to successful updates and improvements over time.
Don
Sep
1
Eight Ways that Increase the Perceived Value of Your Freebies
Filed Under Internet And Businesses Online | Leave a Comment
Catherine Franz asked:
Almost everyone is giving away a freebie in order to attract visitors to their web site or to get them to make a decision now to buy something. They are giving away free ezines, e-books, e-courses, teleclasses, introductory services and other e-learning opportunities.
What is happening to all this fre*e stuff? Net visitors are loosing the perceived value of anything offered for fre*e.
Every time you surf the Internet or check your e-mail you see at least 5, 10, or even 30 freebies offers. Don’t get me wrong freebies do increase traffic, but not like they did just a year ago. Most of the material being offered is old information, poorly written — sometimes even incomprehensible — or 50 percent sales pitches.
Visitor’s appetite for anything fre*e being offered on the Internet is now going back to the old saying, “There is no such thing as a fre*e lunch.”
Even bonus offers aren’t turning heads any longer.
So what is the answer? Or is there one?
The key is to increase the perceived value of your freebies so they will be more attractive to your audience. How do you do this? Well, here are eight ways:
1. You could tell them what the freebie is worth with a dollar amount. For example, “Subscribe to my free ezine! A $199 value!”
2. You could add other freebies to your freebie that will increase the value. For example, “Subscribe to my free e-ezine and get free access to our “subscribers only” private web site!”
3. You could tell them the freebie is only available for a limited time. For example, ” Download our free ebook, this free offer will only be available until May 30, 2000.”
4. You could tell them the freebie is only available to a limited number of people. For example, “Our free software will only be available for the next 100 people that download it.”
5. You could give more details about the freebie. List the benefits, features, what problems the freebie will solve, etc.
6. You could describe your freebie to sound more attractive. For example, instead of “free report” you could say, “free never released top secret document.”
7. You could list testimonials for your freebie. Most businesses don’t give testimonials for their freebies. This would defiantly increase your freebie value.
8. You could tell people how many people have already received your freebie. For example, “15,000 people have already subscribed to my free ezine! Can they all be wrong?
These are only a few ways you can add value to your freebies. Feel free to be creative, color outside the lines and think up some other ways to increase the perceived value of your freebies. But remember. It isn’t what you perceive the value to be, but what the visitors or prospective buyers think its worth. You will also want to test each idea to see which one draws the most traffic to your web site.
Edna
Almost everyone is giving away a freebie in order to attract visitors to their web site or to get them to make a decision now to buy something. They are giving away free ezines, e-books, e-courses, teleclasses, introductory services and other e-learning opportunities.
What is happening to all this fre*e stuff? Net visitors are loosing the perceived value of anything offered for fre*e.
Every time you surf the Internet or check your e-mail you see at least 5, 10, or even 30 freebies offers. Don’t get me wrong freebies do increase traffic, but not like they did just a year ago. Most of the material being offered is old information, poorly written — sometimes even incomprehensible — or 50 percent sales pitches.
Visitor’s appetite for anything fre*e being offered on the Internet is now going back to the old saying, “There is no such thing as a fre*e lunch.”
Even bonus offers aren’t turning heads any longer.
So what is the answer? Or is there one?
The key is to increase the perceived value of your freebies so they will be more attractive to your audience. How do you do this? Well, here are eight ways:
1. You could tell them what the freebie is worth with a dollar amount. For example, “Subscribe to my free ezine! A $199 value!”
2. You could add other freebies to your freebie that will increase the value. For example, “Subscribe to my free e-ezine and get free access to our “subscribers only” private web site!”
3. You could tell them the freebie is only available for a limited time. For example, ” Download our free ebook, this free offer will only be available until May 30, 2000.”
4. You could tell them the freebie is only available to a limited number of people. For example, “Our free software will only be available for the next 100 people that download it.”
5. You could give more details about the freebie. List the benefits, features, what problems the freebie will solve, etc.
6. You could describe your freebie to sound more attractive. For example, instead of “free report” you could say, “free never released top secret document.”
7. You could list testimonials for your freebie. Most businesses don’t give testimonials for their freebies. This would defiantly increase your freebie value.
8. You could tell people how many people have already received your freebie. For example, “15,000 people have already subscribed to my free ezine! Can they all be wrong?
These are only a few ways you can add value to your freebies. Feel free to be creative, color outside the lines and think up some other ways to increase the perceived value of your freebies. But remember. It isn’t what you perceive the value to be, but what the visitors or prospective buyers think its worth. You will also want to test each idea to see which one draws the most traffic to your web site.
Edna
Aug
28
Freesites – Why This Housewife Led Industry is Capturing Attention
Filed Under Internet And Businesses Online | Leave a Comment
Marvin Stewart asked:
Freesites, called Freebie sites by some, have become a popular housewife-led industry for those looking for extra income. They are a sure way for the average person to earn money online. It represents guaranteed income with no risk or monetary investment required.
Freebies are popular because one can earn money for free by completing offers to try products, or by getting others (Referrals) to try products. There is no real skill involved. Patience is the most important quality for success as one earns slowly. Freebie sites are purely for those looking for part-time income, $200 to $2K a month.
What Is a Freebie Site or Freesite? Freesites describes an online industry where companies pay consumers to try their products or services. It is also an industry where one is paid to get others to try products for free. Business loves the industry because of the opportunity to place their product in a consumer’s hands at a greatly reduced marketing cost.
In practice, the companies pay money to a Freebie site for each potential customer the Freesite brings to the table. To get customers, the Freebie sites offer an incentive, ie., a cash prize, to those (called Sponsors) responsible for the Customer. This incentive leads some to call these ‘incentivized web sites’, IFWs.
When a potential customer gets credit for agreeing to try a product, the company pays the Freebie site which in turns pays the Sponsor responsible for the customer (called a Referral). The Sponsor in turn pays the consumer who tried the product.
Freebies & The National TV/Radio Ad for Lifelock A good example of Freebies in operation is the national commercial ran by Lifelock. An individual who wants to try Lifelock’s identity theft protection service can respond to a radio or tv ad. The cost to Lifelock to get that potential customer through a radio or TV ad is significant.
Let’s assume Lifelock decides to do some marketing through Freesites. The marketing cost is so drastically less that Livelock agrees to pay the Freebie site for every potential customer. The net result is that same consumer who wants to try Livelock for 30 days will be paid when he tries Lifelock through a Freebie site instead of a radio or tv ad.
Freesites produce a ‘win-win-win-win’ for all involved:
* Lifelock got a potential customer at a drastically reduced cost . . . a win,
* A Freesite got paid for bringing a potential customer to Lifelock . . . a win,
* The Sponsor responsible for the potential customer got paid by the Freebie site for his efforts . . . a win, and
* The Customer who agreed to try Lifelock through a Freesite instead of the radio or tv ad got paid to do so . . . a win again!.
Paula
Freesites, called Freebie sites by some, have become a popular housewife-led industry for those looking for extra income. They are a sure way for the average person to earn money online. It represents guaranteed income with no risk or monetary investment required.
Freebies are popular because one can earn money for free by completing offers to try products, or by getting others (Referrals) to try products. There is no real skill involved. Patience is the most important quality for success as one earns slowly. Freebie sites are purely for those looking for part-time income, $200 to $2K a month.
What Is a Freebie Site or Freesite? Freesites describes an online industry where companies pay consumers to try their products or services. It is also an industry where one is paid to get others to try products for free. Business loves the industry because of the opportunity to place their product in a consumer’s hands at a greatly reduced marketing cost.
In practice, the companies pay money to a Freebie site for each potential customer the Freesite brings to the table. To get customers, the Freebie sites offer an incentive, ie., a cash prize, to those (called Sponsors) responsible for the Customer. This incentive leads some to call these ‘incentivized web sites’, IFWs.
When a potential customer gets credit for agreeing to try a product, the company pays the Freebie site which in turns pays the Sponsor responsible for the customer (called a Referral). The Sponsor in turn pays the consumer who tried the product.
Freebies & The National TV/Radio Ad for Lifelock A good example of Freebies in operation is the national commercial ran by Lifelock. An individual who wants to try Lifelock’s identity theft protection service can respond to a radio or tv ad. The cost to Lifelock to get that potential customer through a radio or TV ad is significant.
Let’s assume Lifelock decides to do some marketing through Freesites. The marketing cost is so drastically less that Livelock agrees to pay the Freebie site for every potential customer. The net result is that same consumer who wants to try Livelock for 30 days will be paid when he tries Lifelock through a Freebie site instead of a radio or tv ad.
Freesites produce a ‘win-win-win-win’ for all involved:
* Lifelock got a potential customer at a drastically reduced cost . . . a win,
* A Freesite got paid for bringing a potential customer to Lifelock . . . a win,
* The Sponsor responsible for the potential customer got paid by the Freebie site for his efforts . . . a win, and
* The Customer who agreed to try Lifelock through a Freesite instead of the radio or tv ad got paid to do so . . . a win again!.
Paula
Aug
6
Things To Consider When Downloading Free Stuff
Filed Under Internet And Businesses Online | Leave a Comment
Sampath Wijeratne asked:
Free stuffs (also called as freebies) are available all over the internet. They come in different kinds of forms like free software, mp3s, videos, various consumer products, magazines, money, email, web hosting, eBooks, screen savers and much more. Sometimes you have to register at their websites to get their free offers. Some websites ask you to fill a questionnaire to get the free offer. There are certain things that you should know before you download any of these free offers. This article gives some important things that you should consider when you download free stuff.
The most important thing that you must do before download anything from the internet is installing trusted anti-virus software and an internet spyware detection and removal tool. Otherwise your computer will be attacked by various viruses and spyware which will ultimately destroy your computer in various ways. I mentioned you this because about 99.99% free stuffs are carriers of various computer viruses and spyware with or without their knowledge.
Some free stuff like free software, mp3s and videos are used by websites as marketing tools for their promotions of new products or existing products. Sometimes they are given away freely as trial versions. You will have to pay to get the fully functioning version. There are cracks (These days mainly as Torrents) available for trial software to make it a fully functional software. But these cracks may also carry the unwanted viruses and spyware.
If you want to find free fully functional software, you better find open source software as they will make the least damage or zero damage to your computer. But make sure that you download them from their original developer.
Various free stuffs like consumer goods (soaps, perfume, cream, food, etc.) are not always good for your body and health. These are offered sometimes to get a feedback from you after using them. Sometimes companies test their new products on you like scientists test on rats and rabbits. You have to be very careful when using these kinds of free stuffs. You better check the vendor’s profile and reputation.
Free offers like money are 99.99% scams and you will get into trouble. My advice is that never get into money free offers. No one will give you free money. The people pretend to give money actually try to get money from you.
EBooks, email and webhosting free offers are less harmful compared to others. These are used as a medium for marketing products and services. Yahoo GeoCities, Gmail, free eBooks offered by various internet businessmen are some examples for these kinds of free offers.
The reality that you must understand is, no one offer free offers if they don’t get a benefit from them. Each and every free offer is designed in such a way that the offerer will benefit from it by some way. Therefore you better be careful when using or downloading free offers.
Timothy
Free stuffs (also called as freebies) are available all over the internet. They come in different kinds of forms like free software, mp3s, videos, various consumer products, magazines, money, email, web hosting, eBooks, screen savers and much more. Sometimes you have to register at their websites to get their free offers. Some websites ask you to fill a questionnaire to get the free offer. There are certain things that you should know before you download any of these free offers. This article gives some important things that you should consider when you download free stuff.
The most important thing that you must do before download anything from the internet is installing trusted anti-virus software and an internet spyware detection and removal tool. Otherwise your computer will be attacked by various viruses and spyware which will ultimately destroy your computer in various ways. I mentioned you this because about 99.99% free stuffs are carriers of various computer viruses and spyware with or without their knowledge.
Some free stuff like free software, mp3s and videos are used by websites as marketing tools for their promotions of new products or existing products. Sometimes they are given away freely as trial versions. You will have to pay to get the fully functioning version. There are cracks (These days mainly as Torrents) available for trial software to make it a fully functional software. But these cracks may also carry the unwanted viruses and spyware.
If you want to find free fully functional software, you better find open source software as they will make the least damage or zero damage to your computer. But make sure that you download them from their original developer.
Various free stuffs like consumer goods (soaps, perfume, cream, food, etc.) are not always good for your body and health. These are offered sometimes to get a feedback from you after using them. Sometimes companies test their new products on you like scientists test on rats and rabbits. You have to be very careful when using these kinds of free stuffs. You better check the vendor’s profile and reputation.
Free offers like money are 99.99% scams and you will get into trouble. My advice is that never get into money free offers. No one will give you free money. The people pretend to give money actually try to get money from you.
EBooks, email and webhosting free offers are less harmful compared to others. These are used as a medium for marketing products and services. Yahoo GeoCities, Gmail, free eBooks offered by various internet businessmen are some examples for these kinds of free offers.
The reality that you must understand is, no one offer free offers if they don’t get a benefit from them. Each and every free offer is designed in such a way that the offerer will benefit from it by some way. Therefore you better be careful when using or downloading free offers.
Timothy
Jul
23
How to Get Completely Free Stuff on the Internet
Filed Under Internet And Businesses Online | Leave a Comment
Stephan Ambrosio asked:
Wouldn’t it be nice if you had enough cash for that shiny new mp3 player? You could load it with all your new and old music. It would be great to take with you on runs or walks. You could hook it to your stereo and have your favorite music blasting through your house.
Unfortunately, these days, spending money on luxuries is not in the plan for most of us. What if you could get it for free, though? Well, believe it or not, that is possible. If you have a computer and an Internet connection, there are a bunch of websites that allow you to get completely free stuff. You can get samples. You can get free magazines. You can even earn points toward bigger and cooler stuff.
Many manufactures and stores will give you free stuff, in the form of samples. Sometimes, the samples are given to you, just because you ask. Sometimes, you have to fill out a survey and give your opinion. Either way, you send no money and get free stuff.
There’s free stuff for your computer, too. You can get screen savers, games, and other software all for free. You must be careful, here, though. Some of these will come with “extra” software that can harm your computer – like spyware or virus’. If in doubt, don’t download something until you talk to your computer professional. He can tell you if something is safe.
If you can’t find any free stuff that’s to your liking, you can look for ways to get discounts on items you do want. Just go to your favorite search engine and enter the item you want and the word “coupon” or “discount”. For many items, you might be able to find coupons, discount codes, or rebates on just the thing you’re looking to get.
Some sites will say they are giving you free stuff, but they really aren’t. Be wary of any site that says, “participation required”. Some sites will offer you a “free” computer or “free” gift card. But, they really aren’t free. You’ll need to fill out trial offers or make purchases from their sponsors to get credit toward the “free” item. Chances are, you’ll end up paying more than the item is worth.
Some retailers have free samples you can get just by going to their web site. Walmart is a great example of this. They generally give away free samples of household items or personal items or food. My wife and I get free items from them, all the time. It’s a lot of fun. Sure, we’ve never gotten a free iPod, or computer, or any other big ticket item. However, we’ve been able to integrate what we get in to our daily living. This means that we might get something for free that we would have bought, under other circumstances. This means we spend less and have more money for other things.
Sometimes, manufacturers will also give away free stuff. The best way that I’ve found to uncover these freebies is to watch forums where other people post what they have discovered. If you search for “freebies forum” you’ll probably be able to find a few.
These are just a few ways that you can find some free stuff on the Internet. You may score something you’ve always wanted. You may get something that you just needed. Either way, with some diligent searching, you can get new “presents” in your mailbox over and over and over. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
Christina
Wouldn’t it be nice if you had enough cash for that shiny new mp3 player? You could load it with all your new and old music. It would be great to take with you on runs or walks. You could hook it to your stereo and have your favorite music blasting through your house.
Unfortunately, these days, spending money on luxuries is not in the plan for most of us. What if you could get it for free, though? Well, believe it or not, that is possible. If you have a computer and an Internet connection, there are a bunch of websites that allow you to get completely free stuff. You can get samples. You can get free magazines. You can even earn points toward bigger and cooler stuff.
Many manufactures and stores will give you free stuff, in the form of samples. Sometimes, the samples are given to you, just because you ask. Sometimes, you have to fill out a survey and give your opinion. Either way, you send no money and get free stuff.
There’s free stuff for your computer, too. You can get screen savers, games, and other software all for free. You must be careful, here, though. Some of these will come with “extra” software that can harm your computer – like spyware or virus’. If in doubt, don’t download something until you talk to your computer professional. He can tell you if something is safe.
If you can’t find any free stuff that’s to your liking, you can look for ways to get discounts on items you do want. Just go to your favorite search engine and enter the item you want and the word “coupon” or “discount”. For many items, you might be able to find coupons, discount codes, or rebates on just the thing you’re looking to get.
Some sites will say they are giving you free stuff, but they really aren’t. Be wary of any site that says, “participation required”. Some sites will offer you a “free” computer or “free” gift card. But, they really aren’t free. You’ll need to fill out trial offers or make purchases from their sponsors to get credit toward the “free” item. Chances are, you’ll end up paying more than the item is worth.
Some retailers have free samples you can get just by going to their web site. Walmart is a great example of this. They generally give away free samples of household items or personal items or food. My wife and I get free items from them, all the time. It’s a lot of fun. Sure, we’ve never gotten a free iPod, or computer, or any other big ticket item. However, we’ve been able to integrate what we get in to our daily living. This means that we might get something for free that we would have bought, under other circumstances. This means we spend less and have more money for other things.
Sometimes, manufacturers will also give away free stuff. The best way that I’ve found to uncover these freebies is to watch forums where other people post what they have discovered. If you search for “freebies forum” you’ll probably be able to find a few.
These are just a few ways that you can find some free stuff on the Internet. You may score something you’ve always wanted. You may get something that you just needed. Either way, with some diligent searching, you can get new “presents” in your mailbox over and over and over. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
Christina