Article Surfing Archive

One thing your site visitors enjoy is their anonymity. They can learn about your company, find directions to your office, get prices on your products, view examples of your work, all without sharing one iota of personal information! Great for them, lousy for you.

Many of your visitors will gather information and move on...never to think about you again. This is a missed opportunity! You may have the perfect solution to their need...if not now, later. How, then, to keep the lines of communication open?

To get visitors to part with their personal or contact information, remember back to the school lunch table when you wanted your friend's pudding: trade them for something they value.

Chances are your visitors come to your Web site because they are looking for a solution to a problem. Offer them an article, a free sample, or a download that addresses a common need of your best customers. Trade your information for their contact information.

Here's what you do:

A visitor arrives at your home page, either through a search engine, another Web site or by typing in your URL. You offer up a compelling headline of interest to your target audience:

* Does Your Child Have ADD?

* Free Red Sox Tickets

* 10 Things Your Real Estate Agent Doesn't Want You to Know

Headlines that address avoiding pain rather than gaining pleasure are often more dramatic and will get people to take action (in this case, clicking the link.) Numbers often imply a short article packed with good information; thus, a good return on investment in the reader's mind'another plus.

When your visitor clicks on the link she's taken to a page where she's asked to complete a short form in order to view the article, download the presentation handouts or be entered in a drawing. Gather as little information as possible for you to market to her in the future, despite your desire to know her household income and her favorite flavor slushie.

If you plan on marketing via email, you might offer an article available through email only, which requires them to enter their actual email address, as opposed to x@x.com (my personal favorite.) An autoresponder can be set up that sends the file--or better yet a link to the file--to the email address they've provided.

Include a link to your privacy policy. If you don't have one, write a clear, concise, truthful paragraph about what you plan to do with their information. Also make it understood that you reserve the right to contact them in the future, but at any time they can request to be taken off your list.

When you are ready to market to your contact list make sure it's something of interest to your audience. As always, keep the focus on their needs and you'll increase your chances of making the sale.

Not everyone will be willing to part with their contact information; however, these people are unlikely to be good customers. Your best prospects will realize the benefits of what you have to offer and will pre-qualify themselves as interested in other products and services you may offer.

Whether you're a small business, a non-profit, or a charity, your list of contacts or customers can make or break your organization. Use this simple tool to get visitors to opt-in to your marketing.