Not as many as you would like, I bet! It is a lot easier and less time-consuming to promote your site to people who have *already* visited. So how do you do that? Well, you could:

- Ask people to bookmark your site;

- Get people to make your site their homepage (your site had better be good!);

- Make your site next Yahoo! or Napster or Hotmail (ideal, but not too easy); or...

- Publish an ezine or newsletter!

Yes, publish a newsletter (and get people to subscribe)!

Writing a newsletter is BEST WAY to stay in touch with site visitors and existing customers. At *very least* you can remind them about your website on a regular basis. But, even better, you get a chance to develop trust between your visitors and yourself. And on faceless Internet, trust is everything!

=> VISIT THIS WEBSITE

Visit Brian Alt's Email Publishing Digest (EPDigest). This easy- to-use site has it all when it comes to email publishing. It covers important topics like list design, list management, list promotion. It discusses pros and cons of text versus HTML newsletters (and shows you how to do both). And it covers community building, newsletter advertising, and even where to get (and offer) free content,

Brian, author of several ebooks including The Insider Guide to Power Ezine Promotion, is a regular contributor to another great website http://www.ezine-tips.com , so he knows his stuff.

http://www.epdigest.com

=> OR VISIT THESE LINKS

http://www.topica.com

http://groups.yahoo.com

http://www.domeus.co.uk

http://www.roving.com

http://www.listbuilder.com

http://www.sparklist.com

=> THEN PROMOTE! PROMOTE! PROMOTE!

As with your website, you need to promote your newsletter, and get people to sign-up. By all means start with your friends and family, and then try these legitimate methods (please don't send unsolicited mail - SPAM wastes everyone's time!):

* You MUST promote your newsletter on your own site

The key to using an opt-in list effectively is to develop a large subscriber base. Not just a large subscriber base, but a list of targeted potential customers.

Although a large opt-in list is an important part of your success, quality of your publication is even more important -- both will play a very important role.

If you really want to build a massive opt-in list, you MUST provide your potential subscribers with an incentive. The competition on Internet is fierce. No longer can you simply tell your visitors what your publication will provide and expect a large percentage to subscribe. It simply won't work. You MUST give your visitors a reason to subscribe.

=> Incentives

Using incentives is a highly effective method of obtaining new subscribers. However, your incentive must be of value and be of interest to your target audience.

Some popular incentives include:

* Exclusive ebooks that provide valuable information

* Special exclusive reports

* Special software programs

* Access to a "members only" area of your website

* Provide a service

* List their website within your Directory or Search Engine.

In order for your visitors to receive your incentive, they must agree to receive your publication.

=> Pop-Windows

Although pop-windows can be irritating if not used correctly, they provide a highly effective means of obtaining new subscribers. The key to using pop-windows effectively is to combine them with your incentives.

If you would be interested in adding a pop-window to your site, I highly recommend "Pop-Window Generator" at Willmaster.com. This powerful online utility will enable you to fill out a simple form and instantly generate pop- window code for your pages. This generator will enable you to select type of pop-window, set length of cookies, and completely customize look and feel of your window. The only requirement to use this free utility is that you must be a subscriber of WillMaster Possibilities. This is a great publication and I highly recommend subscribing. http://willmaster.com/possibilities/members/

This is a prime example of using incentives...

=> Alert Boxes

Although using pop-windows with incentives is a highly effective method of obtaining new subscribers, there is one other method that is even better. When combined with an incentive, this method will literally double or even triple your subscriptions instantly. That's not hype -- it's fact, as I use this method to obtain hundreds of new subscribers each week. It's similar to a pop-window, but it doesn't require your visitor to fill out a form.