When high-traffic, high-credibility Web sites and newsletters publish your articles, you ride on the coattails of their loyal relationships with readers. Your articles are seen by visitors as referrals from trusted friends.
Some of the most prime "real estate" in the world these days is at the top of the search engine listings. The most widely used search engines rank Web sites by the quantity of other Web sites that link to them. This means that every article you publish that links to your Web site can improve your search engine rankings.
Build Online Relationships
Most business networking used to happen when we recommended an associate, swapped business cards, or connected with colleagues over lunch. But increasingly, social networking is migrating to the Internet.
Through social networking Web sites and online discussion lists, entrepreneurs can access virtual communities of prospects and associates while developing virtual "platforms" to generate leads and sales and establish themselves as recognized experts.
Marketing consultant Max Blumberg credits his involvement in Ecademy.com, a business networking Web site, with elevating his business profile and generating new clients. "When I first encountered Ecademy I'd never heard of online networking, but the benefits of a large community where I could share ideas and cultivate new relationships was very appealing."
Blumberg started by posting a profile about his business, then started sharing his knowledge with other Ecademists. "I set up a club where members could get help with common marketing challenges. Many of these people became clients and friends with whom I socialize. We reciprocally use each other's services," says Blumberg, whose Ecademy presence has even been noticed by large companies who are starting to contact him.
The key to building a niche community is identifying your ideal customers and the communities they belong to. By targeting the best, most favorably inclined prospects within a niche, you can become your target market's vendor of choice, and sell more with far less effort.
