Were always being told about the importance of making our sites sticky, and everyone agrees its a great idea. The difficult part is trying to find ways to achieve this desirable state of affairs.
It sounds almost too simplistic to say that in order to keep people interested, you first have to know what interests them. There are four basic areas that interest every human being and these are: sex, family, wealth and humour - not necessarily in that order.
The adult sites have the sex side tied up, there are nearly as many genealogy and parenting sites as there are sex sites, and you dont need me to tell you that the Internet abounds with sites that exist to help you increase your wealth. But that still leaves us with one other area of immense interest - humour.
We all know, instinctively, that laughter is good for us. Laughter, says Steven M Sultanoff, Ph.D, (in an article orginally published in AhHa! Furthering the Understanding of Holistic Health, the Newsletter of the American Holistic Health Association Winter, 1999, Vol. 5, No. 1 Page 4) is the physiological reaction to humor. The research on laughter, while limited, indicates that there are physiological benefits from laughter including an increase in certain antibodies, a reduction of specific stress hormones, and an increased tolerance to pain.
Childrens hospitals around the world are realising the value of laughter in helping young patients recover more quickly, and many now employ nursing staff to dress up as clowns to entertain the children.
If it can make sick people well, its no wonder humour is so popular!
Every site benefits from a little humour, because in this day and age, it doesnt pay to take yourself too seriously, so think of how you can incorporate some fun into your site.
Many sites will send you a joke-of-the-day (http://www.jokeaday.com/6feed.shtml) and will give you permission to post this on your site if you include a link to them. These sites automatically update the material (similar to the news services).
If youd prefer a cartoon instead of a joke, try here: http://www.bravenet.com/webtools/cartoon/index.php
The downside to these services is that visitors may be so taken with the idea, that theyll click off your page to sign up for the service themselves and never return.
The solution
Provide your own material. We all seem to receive countless pieces of humour with our email, so why not set up a page where you showcase your favourites (Rememebr to acknowledge sources.)
Or write your own!
Theres rarely a day goes by that we dont encounter some example of bureaucratic lunacy, political foolishness or general insanity as we go about our business. Keep your eyes and ears open for these situations. Whenever you find yourself chuckling or shaking your head with a silly smile on your face, stop and think about what has amused you. Make a mental note to add these to your collection.
Always choose material that suits your sites subject matter, acknowledge the sources and away you go.
Write101 is a site that focuses on writing, so its natural that any humour on the site will relate to writing, education, learning etc.
If youre having a bad day, theres nothing like a chuckle to boost your spirits and help you put things into perspective. Recently, I received a photo that still sends me into guffaws and Ive looked at it dozens of times. If you need a bit of a laugh, this should do it: http://www.write101.com/W.Tips116.htm
If you prefer something more substantial, how about the History of the World Youre guaranteed to discover something new and wonderful here! http://www.write101.com/hist.htm
Planning on writing that great novel that lurks inside us all Get some tips on writing a best-seller here: http://www.write101.com/best.htm
Want to submit a script for a soapie Go no further: http://www.write101.com/soapie.htm
Take a look at your site, consider what you find funny and keep your visitors happy by offering them the gift of laughter.
If the spelling of words like humour in this article worried you, please read this http://www.write101.com/aus.htm
Jennifer Stewart is a professional writer who offers copy writing, proof reading and editing services for businesses and individuals from her site at . She has undertaken a variety of assignments for clients around the globe -- writing articles for ezines and the print media; preparing award submissions for business clients; copy writing and proof reading works of non-fiction; editing web pages and ebooks; writing press releases and much more. Subscribe to FREE, weekly Writing Tips to improve your writing: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Use Print Ads to Bring Potential Customers to Your Internet Site
Print advertizing can be very profitable to Internet operators. Low-cost classified ads in targeted print magazines can drive folks to your site. Ads not targeted will prove to me fruitless.
One problem to Internet business operators is that ads must be tracked to determine the advertising dollar return. If a visitor comes to the site from a print ad, how do you track it Well, the simplest way is to have your ad send them to a page (URL) used only for a specific ad. Place a counter on that page to see what traffic is generated by the ad. From this page, your customer can than move to your desired URL and message.
You may want to welcome the visitor to your tracking page with a request for his or her first name and e-mail address. That way, you will know which enquires place orders and those that can be contacted later by e-mail to persuade them to buy your product or service. A free gift or newsletter might intice them to leave their information. Just dont make it a requirement to move on to your sales pitch.
Some operators request more information than the first name and e-mail address. Is that a good idea How do you feel about it Remember that the visitor is there to find the information described in your print ad. He is not there for the Spanish Inquisition. With this in mind, you may not want to ask more than two or three questions.
One Advantage of Print Advertising That Directs Traffic to Your URL
Your URL can be an ad in itself. That is if it is named correctly. I have a dozen web sites. Ive tried to give them descriptive names that make the URLs ads in themselves. For example, one of my sites is www.secret-cash.com.
Another is www.money-making-books.com.
Do you get the point
These URLs are small ads in themselves. This allows me to use fewer words or just the URL to promote my business.
If you would like a copy of my full magazine published article email me at tjbooks@hotmail.com
John T. Jones may be contacted at TJ Books, 213 3rd Ave. N., Buhl, ID 83316 or by e-mail at . He has a dozen web sites. The e-commerce site where he sells wealth-success books and kits is