As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, I am working with a client who is a e-commerce retailer selling luxury linens. She only has one sale since August and her merchandise is very high-end so she really needs the help. After looking at her analytics, the problem is clearly a lack of traffic. To add to this, this company is a side project for the client and there is relatively no marketing budget for us to work with. Because of this, we have been extensively researching way to increase traffic at little or no cost. I have stumbled upon a list of 75 ways to increase your site traffic written by superbloggingtips.com back in 2007. Although it is a little outdated, it is still very relevant for today and an useful site for anyone trying to market with a low budget.

Some tips that really stood out for me were having a good design and layout (reminded me of Ivan’s tip that he often stresses). This is what users will see first and if the site is no aesthetically pleasing, you will not get a lot of traffic. This is especially relevant for our client since it is a high-end product. Her site does not match the quality of the product and therefore doesn’t display to potential customers why they would pay so much for the product if the site looks ugly and cheap.

The next one that is especially relevant to the client is #17, establishing a relationship with fellow bloggers. Since our client has a very niche, high-end product we are trying to get her featured on high-end home decor and decorating blogs in Canada. These blogs are visited by the target audience and are very trusted by the viewers. So far we have trying to push to get a feature but have had no luck thus far.

Anyways, take a look at the 75 tips that have been very helpful for me when trying to market a high-end product online with no budget:

http://superbloggingtips.com/2007/07/75-ways-to-increase-your-sites-traffic/

Twitter is relatively new to me, and although I have an account I rarely use it other then to reply to a friend’s post or follow some of my favourite athletes and celebrities to see what they are up to. However, Twitter has become a very powerful marketing tool and is the 9th most visited site worldwide according to www.alexa.com.

When I first started using Twitter after some friends told me to try it, I was very confused and it took me a couple of weeks to get the hang of. I imagine the same feeling is felt when marketers attempt to use it for their brand for the first time. This is why many companies are beginning to hire social media experts who know the in’s and out’s of mediums such as Twitter or Facebook and know how to reach the right audience with the right message at the right time.

Event though it is a business Twitter page, social media experts warn against always tweeting the same bland message to followers. Marketers say that mixing up some humor, random facts or quotes along with business can help gain and retain your followers.

I would argue that obtaining followers is probably the hardest part during a Twitter e-marketing campaign, unless of course you are already a well-established brand. Even harder is getting followers that care about what you are trying to market. There is an useful tool at www.search.twitter.com where you can see what people are tweeting and what os currently trending at the time. Also, www.sponsoredtweets.com is a great way for a Twitter marketing newby to have his or her message tweeter by a Twitter celebrity. There are people on Twitter who make a fortune solely through Twitter  and for a small fee they will tweet your ad or message to their millions of followers.

Check out the following link for some tips on marketing on Twitter catered more towards a small business :

http://getfollowersontwitternow.com/twitter-marketing/how-to-market-on-twitter-top-10-tips/

The Superbowl is one of the only television events where I actually look forward to seeing the commercials. This year, it will cost companies $3.5 million for 30 seconds to try and solidify their brand into consumers minds as they scarf down chicken wings, chili and beer.  However, marketers will not only be paying the big bucks for TV airtime but will also have advertisements for tablets, YouTube and other non-TV platforms. Companies like Audi and Honda are even uploading their Superbowl commercials before the big game so viewers can take a look. Companies doing this are doing so because they wont to have an integrative marketing campaign and have seen that having advertisements on multiple channels leverages the best benefits for these brands.

Another major reasoning for having ad’s for tablets or smart-phones is that people watching the game with one of these devicesin hand often tune out for the commercials and start surfing the w eb or playing a game. Marketers are trying to make it so consumers can’t hide from their ad’s even if they turn of the TV. I will post some of my favorite Superbowl Commercials after the game. Hope everyone enjoys it and Go Giants Go!!

Check out the Article Here: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/74324.html