Our guest for this lesson is Marie Ynami . You can either read or listen to
her advice on how she makes online events & holidays to drive traffic to her
websites.
Drive more traffic to your website
by creating an event or holiday
Creating an online event or holiday can help you generate traffic to your
website. It is not that difficult. Here are some basic steps that you can
follow:
1. Decide what event you want to build up on -
You can celebrate set holidays like Christmas, Valentine's Day or Mother's
Day - or, you can declare your own holiday or event. Once you have your
event figured out, finalize your dates, and mark your calendar. You can then
decide how many days you will run your online event.
2. Figure out a general theme you will have for your online event.
For example: If you were celebrating a Valentine's Day event, your theme may
be "Love" or "Ways to Show Love".
3. Plan out your event just like a live event.
You must have a schedule of events - you can have chats, games and contests
during your online event. Having a schedule of events available for visitors
to view will let them know what to expect from your online event.
4. Start advertising your event well in advance - four weeks in advance
is good.
This way, you can have enough time to generate interest and build up
excitement for your event. Advertise your event to your friends, mailing
list, customers, website visitors, message groups and networks you belong
to. If your budget allows, advertise through other websites or ezines,
related to your target market.
5. You may want to consider co-hosting the event or partnering up with
others.
The more people advertising the event, the more visitors and participants
you get. This almost guarantees attendees to your event.
As you start announcing your online event to your potential participants -
you will start to generate traffic to your website. The key to remember is
being consistent in spreading the word about your event. Let people feel
your excitement and enthusiasm. You cannot just send an invitation once or
twice and expect a good turn out. If you plan at least four weeks in
advance, make sure you announce your event at least once a week. Announce
your event to as many people as you can. This is where co-hosting the event
or partnering up may be helpful because the more partners you have for the
event, the more people you will have to spread the word.
6. On the day of the event, make sure to have a way to capture the email
addresses of your visitors and participants.
Have an opt-in list on your site. Invite them to subscribe to your list so
that you can continue to be in contact with them even after the event is
over.
7. After your event, you can leave some information on your website about
how the online event went.
Send a message to your list, post to your groups and networks about your
event. This generates some traffic too - especially for those who either
missed the event or for those who attended the event and wanted to get a
re-cap of the festivities.
Hosting your own online event or celebrating a self proclaimed holiday is
fun and could even be profitable. The main thing to remember is to PLAN in
advance, make sure you invite others and get ready for traffic.
Article by: Marie Ynami of
http://www.mommyfest.com . Marie has been
successfully hosting MommyFest – an InterActive Online Convention for moms
since 2003. Learn more about Marie by visiting her at
http://www.mommycommunity.com
.
