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Article marketing is one of the most effective marketing strategies around and the best thing is that it is virtually free to do. You just need to look at the way marketers are flocking towards article marketing to drive traffic to their sites and to create backlinks for search engine optimization, and you would understand how effective this proves to be. So, if you have a site, you should surely make use of article marketing to drive targeted traffic.

Another advantage to article marketing is that it can actually result in generating viral traffic to your sites with the increase in the number of publishers publishing your articles on their sites. This kind of viral marketing really spreads your name and site throughout and several useful and beneficial avenues open up in front of you.

The best thing about article marketing is that it drives targeted traffic to your site. When someone clicks the link to your site, it means that he read the article and found it interesting enough to try to find more of it and it makes an image of you as an expert in your chosen field.

Each and every article of yours, that gets published results in more and more advertising for your site. After all you are allowed to place a link at the end of the article or in the about the author section. You can place a small snippet about you establishing yourself as some kind of an expert. That would build your credibility and would drive traffic

Want to learn more about it? Download the free ebook, Steps to Article Marketing Success.

List building is one of the most important things that you need to do so that you can succeed online. You may be wondering why do you need to build a list? The best way to make money online is to have a list of targeted prospects or loyal customers and sell to them over and over.

For most newbies on the internet getting started can be very overwhelming. You first need to configure your autoresponder correctly then you need to design your squeeze page and include the html code for your autoresponder. After this you need to setup all your messages. This is where most people end up not doing anything as they want everything to be perfect first.

The next common problem that many newbies face is that they do not want to spend money by advertising. The main reason for this is that they are not yet confident enough to implement a marketing system that will generate money.

Here are some good and free ways that you can start generating leads for your business.

Start writing articles and submitting them to the major directories. Make sure that you include a link to your website in your resource box. These will be picked up by search engines as the directories have a very high page rank and people will click through to your squeeze page where you can capture their email address.

Post frequently to high traffic forums which are related to your niche market. Make sure that you make quality contributions and include a link to your website in your signature.

Finally submit press releases to online sites like Prleap, Prweb and IMNewswatch. You will get exposure in search engines and if your release is noteworthy you will get additional media exposure.

Are you really interested in driving massive traffic to your website?

Here's the answer:

Secrets Of Article Marketing - Download your free ebook now.

Mark Abrahams is a full time internet marketer who has helped others to earn a living online.

As you might already know, article marketing is the best free promotional and traffic-generating tool in the internet today. It can augment your website's traffic while pulling up your search engine ranking. But, are there some ways on how you can improve you marketing efforts to maximize the benefits that you can get from using this tool?

Here are the 4 intriguing methods to supercharge your article marketing:

1. Multiply the number of your articles. As each submission grants you at least one quality inbound link, the number of your submissions plays crucial role in the success of your article marketing campaign. Experts agree that you have to submit at least 5 articles per day to further improve your website traffic and strengthen your online presence.

2. Sell your products. Although most publishers will not allow you to include blatant advertisements on your content, you can still pitch in your products on your articles - but in a subtle way. Talk about the problems that are being faced by your target market and offer your products as a solution. By doing so, you will be able to create a need for your product and properly build it up to secure more sales leads.

3. Be particular with the quality of your articles. This is the most important element that will either make or break your marketing efforts. You would want other online users to read, pick up, and republish your articles so you can create more inbound links for your website and increase your website's traffic in the process. Thus, it is important that your articles are well-written, informative, useful, and content-rich.

4. Use keywords and popular search terms on your chosen niche. This is to make your articles highly searchable online and make it easier for you to connect to your target market.

To learn more, download my free guide, "How to Generate $15,000 Per Month Online" here: "How to Generate $15,000 Per Month Online"

Sean Mize is an internet marketing mentor who teaches people to generate over $15,000 per month online via automated systems and product funnels.

When you are starting your own online business, there is so much to learn. One of the most important is how to rank well in the search engines so that your website will draw free targeted traffic.

Search engines use an algorithm to determine where each new page will be listed in their index. This is called page ranking and several components go into getting a high rank including link-popularity, which measures the relative importance of a page in a given category.

Increasing your link-popularity can increase your website Search Engine Optimization (SEO), most experts agree, but first and foremost, it can get your page in front of many more viewers. Here are a few legitimate ways this can be done:

1. E-mail a request to exchange links with webmasters of complimentary, but not competitive websites, preferably with a higher page ranking than your own. This way you share in their popularity.

2. Place a link page on your website. Make it easy for webmasters to connect to your site by posting HTML code that they can simply copy and paste. Remember to use keywords and phrases.

3. Write Articles to create unique and useful content. An author's resource box will allow you to provide HTML anchor text back to your own site.

4. Submit your web page to a directory service. There are many themed directories today, so you can get your page where viewers will find it. Consider regional directories to bring in local visitors.

5. Offer free content on your website in exchange for quality links. Many sites that offer graphics use this strategy quite successfully.

The task of increasing your website link-popularity is not fast; there is a lot of administrative work that goes into creating a successful campaign. There are e-mails to be sent and directory registration forms to fill out, as well as quality articles to write to provide useful content. It can be done and without using any of the "black hat" methods that could get you banned from the search engines, it just requires some patience and persistence on your part.

By combining the 5 Strategies above, you should soon see an increase in traffic to your page as well as a higher search engine ranking. Both of which will increase the number of potential customers who will see your offers.

About the author: Karen Gross is an article writer for the Affiliate Work Home resource web site. Please visit our web site for more information and advice on work from home!

Article marketing is simply a numbers game. The higher your article volume, the higher all your other numbers will be. That's it, thank you and good night.

Really I could stop there and you would have some great and useable information. But there is this little thing about minimum word count, so I'll explain that statement a bit more.

Article marketing is a numbers game

Here is why this statement is so important and powerful. Most people that begin in article writing and article marketing will write one or maybe even a few articles, wait for all the wonderful results that do not come right away, and then claim that article marketing does not work.

Article marketing works. Some people do not work, however.

The bare minimum number of articles on the internet that you need to just begin to see a steady trickle of traffic is 25. Everything after 25 articles increases the trickle.

If you are serious about article marketing, life really begins at 250 articles. If this article is accepted, it will give me 1017 articles on just one article directory. I could not stop the flood of daily traffic if I wanted to, and I sure don't want to.

Here is what I know -

If I want more traffic, I write more articles.

If I want more prospects, I write more articles.

If I want to build my list, I write more articles.

If I want more subscribers, I write more articles.

If I want more customers, I write more articles.

I think you get the point. If you want to raise any of your important numbers, write more great quality articles.

With your permission, I'd like to offer you free access to two of my Article Writing Templates to help you write more great quality articles. You can download them by going to http://www.TheArticleGuy.com/bonustemplates.htm

Would you like to get in on our free weekly Article Guy TeleSeminars? Visit http://www.TheArticleGuyTeleSeminars.com to get started today!

From Jeff Herring - The Article Guy and GreatArticleMarketing.com

As soon as you get into search engine optimization, you'll start hearing new phrases like keyword research. You're probably wondering what keyword research is and why is it critical?

Keyword research is a beautiful thing. Why? It is a glimpse into the minds of your potential customers and clients. What if you could gain access to a database of information on how your prospects thought about the products you are offering? What if you could identify the exact words they used in their minds? Couldn't you tailor your site and marketing to really take of advantage of that information? On the web, you can with keyword research.

There are large databases on the web that collect the search habits of people using search engines. Before you start screaming about privacy, the only thing being tracked is general search queries, not who is making them. At least not by name, but that is another subject that Google will have to answer to. But I digress.

With keyword research, you can access these databases and see the exact phrases people are using when they search for information in your business area. Let's say I sell books on dog training. I can search for all searches done by people that include the phrase "dog training" in them. The databases will then kick out all the phrases.

Depending on the systems, the phrases may include information such as the number of times a day, week or month the phrase was used in a search. The systems might also tell you how many other websites are trying to get ranked under each keyword phrase. For all intensive purposes, we are talking about a gold mine of information! The first step in any SEO campaign is to do keyword research and then embed them in your site as you can read here.

Aazdak Alisimo writes about search engine optimization for SEOServicecompanies.com.

The term coreg leads is an often talked about and criticized topic of conversation. Using coreg leads is not the horrible monster many say it is and here are three tips to use to make your coreg leads a real asset to your business.

Tip #1 - Remember that all coreg leads will never be as responsive as the leads you personally generate from advertising your website, report, or ebook yourself.

Does that make them bad? No not all. It just means you have to take a little extra time to work with them and make them responsive.

You do this by offering them solid, useful content and information. Do not try and send your new coreg leads promotions right out of the gate or you will blow any chances of success.

Tip #2 - Coreg leads are not spam. This is another big misunderstood point. These leads have all had to actually and physically check a box and enter their email address, home address, phone number, first and last name.

Any decent coreg lead will also always come with the i.p. address, time and date stamp of when the person signed up.

If you ever come across a coreg lead vendor that does not offer the above information, simply do not use them.

Tip #3 - You will need a ton of these leads to get good results. If you tink you can simply buy a few thousand coreg leads, upload them into your auto responder, send them a few emails and make a fortune right out of the gate, then you are sadly mistaken.

It literally takes thousands of good coreg leads to get the maximum results. But that is okay because most of these leads are fairly cheap.

You can find companies selling fresh leads for under one penny each. At that price, you can get thousands of them and keep using them to build you a very big and responsive list pretty quickly.

Using coreg leads is a very legitimate and great way to build your list.

Do you want to know how I build my internet business and make thousands of dollars per month from home?

Download my Free Report that'll show you:

"How To Quickly And Easily Build An Opt In List Of Hyper Responsive Subscribers Who Are Willing To Spend Money With You Right Now!"

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Gary has been a successful, full time internet marketer for over 11 years. He has created list building campaigns that have earned as much as $22,000 in a single day. If you want to know how to build a hyper responsive list and squeeze it for every penny you can, then listen to what Gary says.

http://nocostlistbuilding.com/lbr-report.htm

I know, I know...

Huh?

"Of course the best and latest marketing strategies are going to bring the boatload of profits and worry - free business they promise!"

Sure they can...but is your business at that level yet?

Come on now, put your ego aside and really do an honest self - evaluation here.

Does your current marketing process carry a client from "just looking" to "sold" effortlessly?

Some things to keep in mind when you are analyzing the strength of your current marketing efforts:

1) Message - does your marketing message contain and promote your Unique Selling Proposition? If not (and most marketing messages don't) then this is the first step of implementing the "basic" marketing rules to your business. If you do not know what a Unique Selling Proposition is...well...why even begin to look at the latest and greatest marketing techniques in the first place? Walk before you run, grasshopper.

By the way, this is the most basic of marketing techniques...and the most often overlooked or not even used.

2) Market - For those few businesses that actually have defined their U.S.P., the next step is to match your unique message to your market, or the clients you wish to target. The key word there is target. If you fail to clearly identify who your ideal client is...your money will run out someday and your business will fail, period. To start you off targeting your market, think of your market in this manner:

--You want the most clients in a pool of the most defined niche possible...for example:

Targeting a huge pool of clients like "all males" or "all females" is not good enough of a target.

But...

a) Targeting "All females, 25 - 34, with median income of over $30,000 in the household" is a good start depending on your product or service, and your U.S.P. if it is well developed.

Or...

b) Business Opportunity seekers that have recently purchased a mid - level coaching program.

Or...

c) Real Estate Investors that deal specifically with pre - foreclosures.

Do you see the common thread in each of a, b, and c?

The market is actually narrowed a little bit further than the general category. What you are shooting for here is a sizable enough market of potential clients, but narrowed enough so you can be considered a "specialist" in that market.

Match your U.S.P. and message to your market correctly...

And you will have all the profits your business needs. But there is one more "basic" marketing technique that you need to master before you advance your business to the level where you can start to think about using all of those bigger and better advanced strategies you keep looking at.

3) Basic Marketing Media and Testing - The "how you're reaching your market" stuff. What is the best media to use? Are you testing different approaches and then developing those that work?

Even for internet marketers...online may not be the best place to market your product, but rather the best spot for the client to place their order. Offline media such as newspaper, direct mail, seminar marketing, and others may actually work to promote an online business better than simply directing Pay Per Click ads at a website offering a "freebie" or introductory offer.

My own business is a perfect example of this.

I offer marketing coaching, copywriting, and a couple of internet resources on my website at http://www.dynamicwebcopy.com but I do not use PPC advertising at all. Mainly local, targeted, direct mail and seminar marketing. I have found a greater response rate using these methods combined with article marketing on the web. I have thoroughly tested my market, my U.S.P (offering complimentary coaching sessions with my copywriting services), and found offline methods to be more profitable for my business.

But your business may be different. So test for yourself, use the techniques that work best with your U.S.P. and clearly targeted market...and watch your profits soar.

And quit searching for the "next big thing" until your business is in a position to maximize profits using those techniques. Master the basics first.

See you at the top.

Discover how you can build a real, sustainable business online with proven marketing strategies at your disposal...all geared to bring you massive profits...by clicking here to check out the Straight Line Internet Marketing Program This program is not for the person who wants to "Get Rich Quick."

Joseph Ratliff is a direct response copywriter, internet business growth strategist, and author of The Profitable Business Edge 2 located at http://josephratliff.name .

Well actually, linking isn't fun at all. In fact, it's quite tedious. Seeking, responding to requests and adding links takes time and effort. But, if you're not actively building links the RIGHT way you are going to be left behind. In other words, your site will be "Lost in Cyberspace". The plain fact is Google, and to a lesser extent, other important search engines, reward sites with links from relevant and important pages.

If you want your site to deliver lots of targeted search engine traffic (and who doesn't?) there are two equally important factors:

1) lots of keyword-rich, search engine friendly content
2) lots of relevant, incoming links from the RIGHT sources

For real success you need to cover BOTH of these strategies. Don't concentrate on one and not the other.

So, how do you go about building your links? It's not rocket science, but as I said, it does take time and effort. From my own experiences, here's what you should do:

1) Download and install the Google Toolbar:

http://toolbar.google.com/

This will show you the PageRank of the page you are viewing. PageRank is a measure, rated from 1 to 10, of the "importance" that Google gives to that page. There has been a lot written about PageRank. You don't need to become obsessed with it but it IS an important consideration when determining WHO to link to. A link from a PR-5 page is worth FAR more than a PR-0 page.

2) Establish a resource or links directory for your site. This lets potential link partners see that you are willing to exchange links. You should make it clear on your links pages what your linking policy is i.e. under what conditions you will agree to exchange links.

3) Your aim should be to build a resource directory that is relevent to your business. Don't try to build a mini Yahoo with umpteen different categories. Keep your directory focussed on your site theme. When you first start out you will be inclined to link to anybody in exchange for a link FROM anybody. This is a mistake. Be patient and choose your link partners carefully.

4) Before requesting a link from another site, add that site to your directory. Contact the webmaster and tell them you added their link because you believe their site would be of interest to your visitors (and so it should). Give the url where your link is located and ask for a return link, along with instructions on how you would like your link worded. NEVER demand by saying things like "if you do not link to us we will remove your link".

5) If you have not received a reply after 2 - 3 weeks send a polite follow up. Again, don't demand. No one is under any obligation to link to you. If you do not receive a reply to your second request it means that the webmaster does not want to link to you, or they are simply too busy to respond. In that case, leave it and move on. I receive dozens of link requests a day. Sometimes it takes me many weeks to get around to responding. You'll go mad worrying about links that have not been reciprocated. Your time is better spent.

6) When you receive a link request visit the site and check that it meets with your requirements as set down on your link pages. Is it a quality site with good content or just a "link farm"? If it doesn't meet your requirements don't link to it.

The webmaster SHOULD have already linked to your site but be prepared to overlook that breech of linking protocol if it's from a good quality, high PR site.

7) Beware of webmasters who add your site to their "directory" which turns out to nothing but a link farm i.e. has no useful content, just a bunch of links, and asks you to link to an entirely different site, one that HAS good content. These webmasters are playing you for a sucker. The benefit is all theirs.

8) As I said in point #1, links from high PR pages are worth more than links from low or no PR pages. Seek out high PR linking partners but keep in mind it is the PR of the actual page your link is on that matters, NOT the PR of the home page. In other words if the home page PR is 5, but the page your link is on is several layers deep in the directory, it will probably have a PR of 0 and be of little benefit to you. Check the PR of the actual page your link is on, or is going to be on, before agreeing to exchange links.

Each page on your links directory should be no more than one click away from your home page, and your linking partner's site should be the same. If your link is placed on a page which looks something like this - directory/category/subcategory/subcategory with your link - you will derive NO value from that link.

9) Be prepared to negotiate your links. Savvy webmasters understand the value of links from high PR pages. If you add a link to a PR-0 page on your site don't expect your link partner to put your link on a PR-6 page, and your link partner shouldn't expect the same from you. Exchange value for like value.

When you first start out your site may not have any PR due to a lack of incoming links. This reduces your bargaining power. However, you can overcome this by getting your site listed in as many large business directories as possible. Some of these you will have to pay, such as Yahoo and Microsoft's Business Directory, but many others are free. You'll find a good list here:

http://www.strongestlinks.com/directories.php

10) Be specific about how you want your link partner to link to you. It is MOST important that the link to you contain your targeted keywords in the anchor (linked) text. When I ask for a link to my site I don't want the link title to be:

Steve Pronger Web Business Solutions

Instead, I ask for:

Website Designer Australia

or whichever keywords I am targeting at the time.

11) And finally, here is an excellent resource to help you find quality link partners. It's called Value Exchange, and will put you in contact with like-minded webmasters:

http://www.stevepronger.com/value_exchange.htm

Steve Pronger is a website designer and affiliate marketer helping small businesses achieve success on the Web. Visit his Web Business Solutions site at http://www.stevepronger.com

Starting a business online is such a big task, but making people know that you and your business exist is much bigger. These days, millions of new businessmen are going online on a weekly basis, making it very challenging for everyone to get the attention of online users.

Good thing, there are several marketing and product promotional tools like article marketing that you can use in order to advertise your business, draw your potential clients to your website, and effectively convince them to do business with you.

Here are the 4 authentic methods to impact your article marketing:

1. Perform a keyword analysis. To make your articles search engine-friendly and to effectively address the needs of your potential clients for specific information, identify the most searched keywords within you target niche by using a reliable keyword suggestion tool. List down all the top performing keywords and create interesting topics around them. Don't forget to sprinkle generous amount of keywords on your titles and on your content so you articles will show up on search result page whenever relevant searches are being made by online users.

2. Deliver quality and timely information. Strive to give your readers with something new every time you submit articles online. Be always on the look out for new issues that are affecting your target niche and be sure to be the first one to write about them. By doing so, online users will surely give you credit for delivering fresh information and you can easily generate more attention online.

3. Check your resource box. This is to make sure that all the links in your resource box are working and will take your readers to the correct landing page. Too many times, publishers have to reject articles because of broken links. This can be a waste of time as you will need to edit your articles, resubmit them, and wait for another 24-48 hour review and posting time.

4. Obtain more inbound links for your website. There are actually two ways on how you can do this. First, multiply the number of your articles and submissions (each submission will guarantee you one inbound link) and second, make your articles content-rich, informative, well-written, useful, and valuable to the lives of your potential clients. By doing so, you will increase their chances of being read and republished that can bring you more inbound links.

Do you want to learn more about how I use article marketing to drive over 5194 unique visitors to my site each month?

Find out free here: article marketing traffic generation

Do you want to learn how I add over 1987 subscribers to my list each month? Discover my secret here: list building secrets

Do you want to learn how I generate over $15,347 online each month? Download this: Find out free here: How to Make 7 Figures Online

Sean Mize is an internet marketing mentor who teaches people to generate over $15,347 per month online via automated systems and product funnels.

Focus, focus, focus, the Internet seems to have plenty of distraction. Here something that I have learned through experience, but it has cost me. This little tip can bring a big boost to your future.

I love article marketing. One of the things that I love the most about it is that it is one of the most reliable methods of Internet marketing that continues to prove itself over and over again. I don't think there is a better way to spend your time marketing than to be generating new articles. More articles equal more traffic. Not just more traffic, but traffic that is more highly qualified than any other method.

I received an email today from one of the many lists that I subscribe to that describes the new viral way of driving traffic to your website. It starts out, "Dear Friend, Are you interested in a brand new way to increase the traffic to any website for about 5 minutes easy 'work'?" First of all, it takes more than 5 minutes to read the sales letter which is 10 pages and a video long.

I have tried hundreds of these. I am not necessarily pointing a finger at this one, but the bottom line is, if I had spent every second wasted on the hundreds of these I have read, writing articles, I would be retired by now.

I once thought that subscribing to everything was a good thing, because it has taught me so much about all of the different options available on the Internet. Now I am rethinking this because in retrospect, I think it has continued to be more of a distraction than anything.

What if Dan Iverson could show you how to write about any topic on earth and make money? He'll teach you how to better understand human nature as it relates to e-commerce; how people, from their perspective, come to make a purchase on the Internet. I am talking about learning how you can pick a topic of interest, write about it, and with the right tools and a little research find connections between your readers and real products and services, of which you can become an affiliate and make money. Here is the best part. I will teach you all of this absolutely free. That's right, click on this link and you'll get the full Affiliate Masters Course Free This is no joke, I promise once you start to read this course, you will see and learn the logical system of affiliate and information marketing. It will open your eyes to the greatest and most versatile opportunity in known history: the Internet. Even if you have a website, you can use these techniques. http://aggressiveinternetmarketing.net/free-tool.html

Article submission is a topic that does not get as much focus as article writing. And yet how you submit your articles can make or break your article marketing efforts.

In my experience coaching hundreds of article writers and marketers, I've come across three common mistakes made by both new and experienced article writers and marketers.

Let's take a closer look at each of these three mistakes and what to do instead.

Mistake #1 - Don't submit - Believe it or not, there are many article writers you simply do not submit their articles. Procrastination and fear of rejection are the two most common reasons for not submitting articles. You simply must push past the procrastination and do it now. Procrastinate later, do it now. Article directories, the good ones that is, will help you get your article up to speed if it needs a bit of tweaking before it is published. No need to fear rejection here.

Mistake #2 - Believing that just as few will do - I've heard this from the whiners out there - "I submitted some articles and got nothing, this stuff doesn't work." This stuff works, you just didn't work it. This is a numbers game - the more articles you get our there working for you, the better article marketing will work for you. At 882 articles if this one is accepted, I know article marketing works, and works well.

Mistake #3 - You don't know what you don't know - I've found that many article writers just sort of "throw up" their article and up for the best. I've identified at least 30 specific nuances to successful article submission that result in your getting your articles getting picked up more often and over the competition. For example one tip is "Key words come first" in your title. "The Top 7 Reasons You Need to Write and Market Articles" is a bad title. "Article Writing - The Top 7 Reasons You Need to Ramp Up Your Article Writing" is a great title. Key words come first.

Avoid theses mistakes and use these tips when submitting your articles.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? You can get free access to an audio teleseminar and study guide of "How to Write 1 Great Article in Less than 30 Minutes and 8 Great Articles in 1 Day."

Download it free here: http://www.TheArticleGuy.com/themostpowerfultemplate.htm

Do you want to get in on our free weekly Article Guy TeleSeminars? Visit http://www.TheArticleGuyTeleSeminars.com to get started today!

From Jeff Herring - The Article Guy

I am sure that if you have been using article marketing for some time you would have come across long articles and also short articles. You may be considering which of the two to use.

This is my primary method of traffic generation and I have experimented with both methods. What I have traditionally found is that long articles take up so much space that the reader actually does not see my resource box. In the end he does not end up clicking through to my website and subscribing to my newsletter. So in the end it is very ineffective to build a list.

You may be wondering what to do if you were to have a long 1000 word article. I suggest that in this case you break it up into three parts of approximately 300 words each. Say for example your title is How To Write A Killer Resource Box you would include Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 at the end of the title for each article.

In some cases there may be a use for very long articles. Usually this type will have a lot of expert information condensed. So if you would like to brand your name on the internet you can write one of these and submit them to popular magazines that publish reader's articles for maximum exposure.

However, if you are thinking of building a successful internet business you need to seriously look at building your list and getting loyal customers who buy over and over from you as this is the best way of building a stable business.

I suggest that you focus on 250 to 350 word articles to build your responsive list.

Are you really interested in driving massive traffic to your website?

Here's the answer:

Secrets Of Article Marketing - Download your free ebook now.

Mark Abrahams is a full time internet marketer who has helped others to earn a living online.

Restaurants are now opening during the day to increase revenue and their customer base,
but simply opening extra hours is not enough. I will show you seven strategies to increase your customer base and therefore increase profits.

1 Seeing is Believing

Ensure it is obvious you are open, have an open sign on the door and increase
lighting. If it is not too cold leave the door open. This maybe simple but, try
standing outside your restaurant - what does the customer see? you may be surprised!
Also, customers want to see what they are walking into. Do not block their view with
blinds and curtains.

2 A-Boards

Putting an A-board outside the restaurant will re-enforce the message you are
open and you can advertise your new menu or special offers. It will also stop
customers from simply walking by.

3 Lunch Menu

Your main customers will be workers from surrounding shops and offices, create a
lunch menu that can be selected from, ordered and eaten within one hour.

4 Be Informal

Remove any cutlery, glasses or napkins from the tables. A table dressed in cutlery
etc. implies fine dining. Your lunch customer wants to feel they have the choice to
order just a coffee if they prefer.

5 Spread the word

A leaflet drop to surrounding businesses will inform customers of your new
opening times, your new lunch menu and your original menu.

6 Promote

Introduce a stamp card promotion. Giving each customer a stamp per visit. For example
five stamps entitles the card holder to a free meal.

7 A Taster of what you have to offer

Making bite size samples to give away for free will give potential customers a
memorable experience that they will tell their friends about. Stand outside with
your tasters or visit businesses. Do not forget to hand out leaflets or stamp cards at
the same time.

All seven strategies are low cost ideas and can be easily implemented. So, get started on your strategies and those customers will be beating down your door.

Claire Harkins has held various positions in customer service for over 10 years. Claire is the proprietor of a on-line business and artists directory, http://www.theglasgowlocal.com If you have any questions or comments contact Claire@theglasgowlocal.com