Well, ‘glad you asked. I just got my website and I’ve been juggling with ideas on how to market it. Luckily, I know computer consultants and analysts so I asked them—err—interviewed them on How to attract visitors to my site?

1. Who are these people? First suggestion I got, find out about your audience. What do they like on your page? What else would they like to see/read?

• Use Surveys. The way I’m getting the lowdown on my audience is thru surveys. Want to see how I did my survey? (go to www.shalladeguzman.com at the bottom, click on the link “Take Our Survey”) Since I already have a yahoo account, I’m using a free email form from their partner, geocities.com. Very easy to change questions to suit your needs plus Yahoo manages your surveys for you-- and did I already say it’s free?

• Get a Guest Book, encourage visitors to leave messages and suggestions then analyze their entries.

Oh yeah, as for guest books, make sure you can review entries before they are posted. In the past, I’ve received XXX spammed entries and it took awhile to delete. I’m using a free guestbook from Geocities where you can choose to approve every entry before they’re posted.

• Use a Bulletin Board or Chat Room and analyze activities there. Me? I started my ShalladeGuzman Yahoo Group which gave me a Chat Room and a Files Folder/Bulletin Board. And in case you don’t like Yahoo, MSN http://groups.msn.com/ and Google http://groups-beta.google.com/ also offer them.

• Read General Surveys. There are general surveys of on-line users you can read, like http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/user_surveys . I haven’t, but you may want to give them a try.

2. Let’s give ‘em something to read about. Make sure your site falls under at least one of these categories:

• Informative – Offer info about you, your books, writing, writing as business etc. Offer educational materials. Be a good resource for your audience’s needs/wants.

• Service Oriented – Have contests and free giveaways, something that can help your visitors. For a writer’s site, how about offering a copy of your latest novel? Or a free one page synopsis critique? People will return to your site if they find it useful.

• Entertaining – Besides color coordinating your pages, sprinkle some humor here and there. You’re a writer, get witty and let your writing voice shine. Charm your visitors and make them smile. Remember, everyone is a possible fan-in-the-making.

3. Oldies are not always goodies. Update your site often. Make sure your “News” still applies. Add recent articles. Move things around. Go from snazzy to snazzier.

4. Two words, “Viral Marketing” Okay, that might sound offensive but actually it just means a person passing your website address to others.

• Attract attention of Viral Marketers with free giveaways. This can make someone tell someone else about your website, who in turn will tell someone else, who will tell someone else… viral marketing!

• And if you want a cheaper way than awarding the latest hit novels, give away free writing info, free newsletters, free writing tips etc. For more on Viral Marketing, go to http://www.howipromotemywebsite.com/spread-word-of-mouth.html

5. DON’T SPAM, please. This should be common knowledge by now. Unsolicited email can get you in trouble plus you’ll probably lose more visitors than you’ll gain.

6. Go for speed. Make sure your site loads quickly. Slow loaders are a turn off, aren’t they? They’ll make anyone click on another site.

To get a faster-loading site, put fewer pictures. But if you must, try reducing the size of your graphics by converting them into jpg or gif format. (Okay, I realize there are hundreds of image formats out there, too many to go through each of them. Suffice it to say, .jpg or .gif usually makes them smaller)

7. Give good Customer Service. In on-line terms, this means, answer your emails promptly and cordially. One of the best ways to keep people coming back to your site is to have a friendly on-line voice. Never lose your cool. Remember, everyone’s your fan-in-the-making.

Okay, that’s it for now. I’ve got more coming like, how to make META TAGS work for you and submitting to search engines, necessary or not? Well, until then, have fun promoting your website! And if you want to check out how I’m progressing with my site or if you want to share tips, visit me at www.shalladeguzman.com

Thanks lots!

Shalla DeGuzman- is a former writer and producer of a health and fitness cable show, is currently writing a novel. She is President of The ShallaDeGuzman Writers Group where she interviews literary agents, publishers, editors, etc.