7 secrets to successful promotion of Examiner

Have a website, but you aren't getting traffic? Here are seven secrets of internet marketing and email marketing to driving traffic to your website.

1.) Set up all your email accounts to populate an automatic signature at the bottom of each email. Then add a weblink to your website to the automatic signature. I use Bit_ly.com to shorten my URL (weblink) and get a count of how many people click-thru from my emails. (Bit_ly.com gives you a cool report on click-thrus.) My automatic signature looks like this:

Stacey Wittig
Freelance writer
PO Box 17032
Munds Park, AZ 86017-7032
http://bit.ly/5JPTqS
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.co/in/wittigwriter
http://twitter.com/travelwriter
wittigwriter.blogspot.com
wittigwriter@gmail.com

2.) Twitter Tip: As you can see from my email signature, I use Twitter and let all the people who get my emails know that I am on Twitter. That helps build my Twitter following. I Tweet three times through the day about info in my website and include a link to my website (again using bit_ly.com). I space the three tweets per article throughout the day. Click here to learn more about using Twitter: http://bit.ly/aw1qVM

3.) When interviewing someone, get their email address and Twitter name. They will love to see their name in print, so email them a link to your Examiner article. I always ask them to email it out to their customer or friend list. (Because they love others to see their name in print, too!) Do the same thing with Twitter, ask them to ReTweet the link to "their" article.

4.) If I have provided a link in my article to someone's website, I always ask for a link from their site to mine. That helps with SEO and getting a higher ranking on search engines.

5.) I set Twitter up to automatically populate my Facebook account. That way, I don't spend much time on Facebook, I let Twitter do all the work. I check my Facebook for messages and friend requests about twice a week.

6.) At the end of each article, I ask the reader to "subscribe" with this comment:

Enjoy this article? Receive e-mail alerts when new Phoenix hiking articles are available. Just click on the “Subscribe” button above.

7.) About once every 30 -45 days, I send a link to a funny or wide-appeal Examiner article that I have written to my personal email list of friends and family. I ask them to "Subscribe." I haven't gotten many subscribers, but people tell me that they enjoy the articles, so I am getting hits from the email marketing.

Stacey Wittig is a freelance writer and marketing consultant located in Flagstaff, AZ Shew writes for Examiner.com as "Phoenix Hiking Examiner" and "Grand Canyon Hiking Examiner." Enjoy this article? Receive e-mail alerts when new marketing articles are available. Just click on the “Subscribe” button above.

New marketing tool for you business

Twitter users watch as a million lights illuminate Red Rock Fantasy in Sedona, AZ

Sedona, Arizona -- Los Abrigados Resort in Sedona hosted the Sedona Tweet Up tonight as a million points of light were turned on for the lighting of  "Red Rock Fantasy." About 30 social media-savvy innovators watched as Santa Claus arrived via helicopter.

You can bet that those tweople will be twittering about the gala to all their friends and family on Twitter and Facebook tonight and tomorrow. You can't BUY advertising that good! Word-of-mouth advertising is as good as it gets. That's what 1000s of customers told me when I was selling newspaper, Outdoor or Yellow Page advertising. Recommendations will drive traffic to your business faster than the printed (advertised) word. Much of the time, when a friend refers a potential client to your business, that potential client won't question price.  That's an added bonus.

So what lesson can be learned here? What is the new marketing tool for your business? To coincide with your next company event, invite your Twitter followers. Ask them to invite THEIR Twitter followers. Tell them to RT (re-tweet) your invitation. Call it a "Tweet Up." Offer appetizers, raffle prizes or free drinks.

Don't have an upcoming company event? Then plan one. It could be a little get together in the lobby, the lighting of a Christmas tree in the break room, an open house in the garage. Make it a "Tweet-up" and soon you'll be the talk of the town. Or the Tweet of the town...

BTW, you can see the awesome display of lights, and take photos like the one I captured above from now until January 2, 2010. 

Los Abrigados Resort

160 Portal Lane, Sedona, Arizona 86336

877-695-4161 (Online Specials & Promotions)
928-282-1777 (Los Abrigados Resort Front Desk

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Stacey Wittig of Wittigwriter Marketing and Sales is a Flagstaff marketing strategist and copy writer. Follow her blog for more FREE marketing ideas, Twitter tips and free marketing advice on how to use social media and internet marketing to promote your service or product. Simply go to the right column and "Follow" or "Subscribe." It's FREE!

Is a Colorado River Rafting Trip on YOUR "Bucket List?"

Jack Nicolson and Morgan Freeman star in the comedy-drama film, "The Bucket List." They portray two terminally ill men on a road trip in a race to check off each of the things on their wish list, before they "kick the bucket." After watching the movie, many of my traveling friends have drawn up their own "Bucket Lists." Running the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon is on many bucket lists. With bookings down, 2010 might just be the year to check this one off your wish list.

So don your wide-brimmed hat, pull on your Tevas and pack plenty of waterproof sunscreen. Head downstream for the ultimate family adventure vacation. With cold spray of the Colorado River on your face and the hot Arizona breeze in your hair, you’ll experience the magical grandeur of the Grand Canyon.

Hike to cool grottos or ancient ruins, experience thundering whitewater or dip into blue-green pools below bubbling waterfalls. The adrenalin rush and thrill of surging through fast-moving water may give you “Rapids Fever." Or you may simply enjoy the serenity of a personal journey that reconnects you to earth, family... and yourself.

The choice is yours. Perhaps a 15-day trip accompanied by a string quartet is the voyage for you. Listed as Sunset Magazine’s Top Ten Rafting Trips, the quartet performs in acoustically-perfect side canyons of the Grand Canyon along the way. Other specialty Colorado River rafting experiences include Arizona Highways Photo Workshops and Elder Hostel trips with Northern Arizona University.

Flagstaff River Rafting companies offer six-day to eighteen-day trips. You may choose from oar rafts, paddle rafts, motorized rafts and pontoon boats, or dories. Hybrid trips which include a combination of oar rafts, paddle rafts and kayaks create even more options.

Join people from all walks of life that make this incomparable journey down the breath-taking Grand Canyon every year. You may come as a solo adventurer or book your whole family for the unrivaled vacation of a lifetime. If a white water adventure is on your bucket list, contact any of the following Flagstaff river guides. Tell them Vagabonding Lulu sent you!

Arizona Raft Adventures, Inc.
4050-F E. Huntington Drive, Flagstaff, AZ 86004

928-526-8200

Canyon Explorations/Canyon Expeditions
P.O. Box 310, Flagstaff, AZ 86002

928-774-4559

Canyoneers, Inc.
P.O. Box 2997, Flagstaff, AZ 86003

928-526-0924

Stacey Wittig of Wittigwriter Marketing and Sales is a travel writer and marketing strategist. Let her help you with compelling web copy, email campaigns, social media and blogging.

Local Mountain Man Immortalized at Sedona Foundry

When Bill Pettit, artist and historical reenactment expert told Lee Henson, "I want to make a bust of you," Henson's answer was a flat out "No." But Henson's wife Ella Mae was there, and she gave the go ahead.

The three had gathered for the Williams Rendezvous Days which celebrates the rich history and lifestyle of 1800s fur trappers and Mountain Men. They were dressed in buckskins and authentic reproductions of the clothing of early frontiers folk.

Pettit desired to create a detailed bronze of a historically-accurate fur trader in trapper's regalia, and Henson had 'the look.' "In a week, he [Pettit] brought back a wax bust and set it on the kitchen table. He asked Ella Mae if there was anything that needed to be changed," Henson related. Soon the sculpture was on its way to the foundry. That was almost twenty years ago.

Last month Henson and his wife toured Artscape Bronze Casting in Sedona with Pettit's widow, Laurha Beveridge. The trio met with owner Rob Myers for consultation on reproducing the bust, entitled "Rendezvous." They were given a tour of the facility by Jeremy Ivy, an expert in bronze patinas, who explained the multi-step casting process.

"If I could, I'd still kill him," quipped Henson of the artist. He believes Pettit never did enough to promote his own art. "I appreciate his art a lot," added the living model. Pettit died of complications from Addison's disease in 2006. Pettit's last ante-mortem piece was cast at Artscape Bronze Casting.

Although the living model's face has lost some of its fleshy substance, the strength and confidence that Pettit captured of Henson's middle age will stand the test of time. Just as the Mountain Men of yesteryear.

Mountain Men were trappers, explorers and scouts who roamed the west from around 1810 to the 1840s. Most were involved with the beaver fur trade -- a demand that came from the popularity of the stove-pipe hat made of beaver felt. Many moderns celebrate the time period with historical reenactment of the dress and lifestyle of Mountain Men. Well-known Mountain Men include Bill Williams, Kit Carson and Jeremiah Johnson.

Photo: Youthful Jeremy Ivy describes casting process to Lee Henson, living model of historical bronze bust.
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Stacey Wittig of Wittigwriter Marketing and Sales is a marketing consultant who works with museums and artists. This article appeared in a 2009 issue Sedona Red Rock News. Wittig is based in Flagstaff, AZ and helps small businesses with internet marketing, social media and good ol' stories and news releases.

Using Less Toilet Paper During the Economy Downturn?

Are you using less toilet paper during the economic downturn? Have you noticed the empty roll at your hometown restaurant? Are you squirreling away toilet paper from home to use during banquets at local hotels or, gasp, the gas station advertising "Clean Restrooms"?

Maybe its time to complain, as this could be affecting your local economy. Today SCA Tissue North America announced that the shrinking demand for toilet paper and other paper products is causing lay-offs.

The Flagstaff plant supplies toilet paper to hotels and restaurants in Arizona, California and parts of Colorado.

A press release blamed the lay-offs on a “softening in customer orders due to the weakened economy.”

I suggest that hotel management starts buying local, not just for their gourmet chef, but also for their hosekeeping departments. SCA Tissue uses recycled paper to produce their sustainable products. By Local - Buy Recycled Toilet Paper?
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Stacey Wittig of Wittigwriter is a sales and marketing strategist based in Flagstaff, Arizona. She also enjoys writing about sustainable travel as a Flagstaff travel writer. Communicating from Flagstaff, AZ today.

NATJA Conference Celebrates Travel Writing

The North American Travel Journalists Association met for its annual conference in Cleveland last week. The above video was produced by Cleveland+ - the area's convention and visitors' bureau. You may get a glimpse of NATJA's newest member, Stacey Wittig, in some of these shots.

Good internet marketing, Cleveland+!
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Stacey Wittig of Wittigwriter is a marketing consultant and freelance writer based in Flagstaff, AZ.

Wittig Honored as 1000th Member of Climbing for Christ

Stacey Wittig was recognized as the thousandth new member of Climbing for Christ this week. She was awarded special prizes and gifts. The NY-based organization announced, "We praise God for the growing membership and pray that those who join Climbing For Christ will seek to serve the Lord through prayer, giving, and/or going."

The Christian organization of climbers and mountaineers announced the folowing list of new members in their monthly newsletter:

* Stacey Desrosiers of San Jose, Calif.
* Janine Diekmeijer of Groningen, Netherlands
* Brandy Everts of Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada
* Daniel Manahera of Jakarta, Indonesia
* Stacey Wittig of Munds Park, Ariz.

"We rejoice and offer thanks that all of these climbers have been moved by the Spirit to join us on this great adventure as we climb in His direction," added Gary Fallesen, President and founder of Climbing for Christ.

Wittig was thrilled to be recognized as the 1,000th member of the organization. "It was exciting to see my name listed with other new members from places like Groningen (Netherlands), Alberta and Jakarta," she said. Learn more at www.ClimbingForChrist.org
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Stacey Wittig of Wittigwriter is a freelance writer and internet marketing strategist based in Flagstaff, Arizona. She enjoys sharing FREE travel tips and zany travel deals with her readers and friends. Subscribe to this blog for fun travel stories and more FREE travelers advice.

Follow the travel tipster on TWITTER: Travelwriter

Writers and Hikers Converge at Grand Canyon

Writers and hikers gathered to tell tales of Grand Canyon escapade at the annual Grand Canyon Hikers Symposium this past Saturday. Fifteen presentations kept the audience in shock and awe as those in attendance laughed, listened and gasped in unison.

PowerPoint presentations including maps and photo shots of 'exposure' (to tall heights) seemed to compete to tell the most thrilling adventure. Authors of books on the Grand Canyon, friends of Grand Canyon legendary characters, macho rope-totting canyoneers as well as a quippy 10-year-old girl shared their Grand Canyon backpacking exploits.

A fun day of story telling and photo sharing. If you, too, have been bitten by the Grand Canyon obsession, don't miss next year's symposium. Go to www.gchba.com for more information.

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Stacey Wittig of Wittigwriter is a freelance writer and marketing strategist based in Flagstaff, AZ. Subscribe to this blog to get FREE marketing advice and up-to-date information about Flagstaff, Northern Arizona and the American Southwest. She writes website copy, email campaigns and blog posts for small businesses.