by: Dr. Mani Sivasubramanian
So you want to make your website the most preferred destination in your niche, drive a flood of targeted traffic to it, and dominate the field. Yes, you can do it.
How?
The one-word answer: "Marketing"
There are far too many methods to go into detail, but here are a few that I have used with great impact - and most are free, or involve a small cost.
* Posting on Discussion forums
Search for popular discussion forums on your niche. Register for an account. Watch the discussions for a while to get a feel for how they go. Pitch in and answer a few questions, or post some of your own. Mention your website in your signature.
* Writing articles and submitting them to directories
This is a great method to drive targeted traffic to your niche website. Many niches have specialized article directories which accept submissions from writers. Make sure the article has a link back to your website.
* Running ezine ad exchanges
If you publish an email newsletter, exchange endorsements and ads with other e-publishers in your niche. Both of you get added subscribers, and your readers will appreciate hearing about another source of useful information.
* Publishing your own blog with RSS feeds
A blog is one of the best ways to get more visibility for your niche website. If you publish a good quality blog, and update it regularly, very soon you will dominate your niche.
* Publishing your own ezine and building a list
If you haven't already started building your own in-house mailing list, start right away. The best prospect to visit your site again and buy something from you is a visitor who has already been there - and is interested enough to join your list.
* Doing link exchanges with other targeted websites
The Internet is powered by links. And by working on building as many links as you can with other related, relevant, high-quality niche websites, you will dramatically increase your website's reach and appeal.
* Making comments on other blogs
While this method of driving website traffic has been open to abuse, there is nothing wrong with doing it in an honest, ethical way. Look for blogs that are on your niche. If you see a topic which interests you, post a comment or response on that blog - and include a link back to your niche website.
* Doing joint ventures with other marketers and webmasters
Done the right way, this can explode your website's success literally overnight. Work on cultivating relationships and friendships with other powerful 'players' in your niche - and they will be glad to help a friend out!
* Press releases
Another powerful way to get wide exposure is by sending out a press release about anything news-worthy on your niche website.
All of these methods won't cost you money, though you'll spend time on them.
If you have a marketing budget, you might also consider doing these:
* Pay Per Click advertising, especially on Google Adwords, MSN AdCenter and Overture
* Buying paid links on high traffic sites with high PR
* Running ezine advertising campaigns
* Banner advertising (pay per click model may be best)
And one of the best, low cost ways is to run an affiliate program and spend effort recruiting hard working affiliates who will promote your site for you in return for a share of your profits.
Hopefully all of these tactics will give you some ideas to get your niche marketing started and grow traffic to your website. Keep doing it in a sustained, systematic fashion and soon your site will attract a huge crowd of visitors and be wildly profitable.
About The Author
Get Dr.Mani Sivasubramanian's free report, "How To Make Profitable Niche Adsense Sites" and get started with niche marketing today!
http://EzineMarketingCenter.com