New Year, New Ideas
Introduction to our e-Newsletter
Our first e-newsletter, after a little thought I figured it was about time I start sending out an e-newsletter. So without further a due I'm please to announce our first e-newsletter. Each edition will cover what where up to and provide you with some helpful hints, tips, tricks, and advice on websites and beyond.

Cool Projects Were Doing
What were up to right now
I've got a few projects under way currently but a few stick out as having some very nifty features. One of those is an online picture framing application. It's pretty interesting and fun to play around with. This web program I developed allows you to upload your photos and view how they'll look in different frames and mat styles. You can check it out at www.FriendshipPrints.com (click the "Customize Your Friendship Print" link on the left hand side to view the program).

How To Increase Visitors to Your Website
Increase your web traffic
As you can image there are actually several ways to increase visitors to your website. I'll cover what I feel to be the top 3 most effective and widely used methods. For quicker viewing I've group them into 2 sections - online and off line.

Online:

1. Search Engine Optimization - also known as SEO is the practice of getting your website optimized to show up higher in search engine listings for specific keywords and phrases related to your products and/or services. Currently this is one of the best methods and one of the most widely used for getting visitors to a website.
2. Pay Per Click Advertisements - with the release of Google's "Pay Per Click Marketing Platform" taking control of online advertising is a cinch. Google's program allows you to place advertisements in their search results and participating websites. The best part about this system is that you only pay an advertising fee when someone clicks on your ad to go to your website.
3. Email Marketing - creating an email marketing campaign can be a great way to get existing customers and clients to revisit and take more interest in your website. Also it can be an effect means for gathering new viewers. For generating new viewers purchasing placement in an opt-in email list can sometimes be a profitable option.

Off line:

1. Word of Mouth - let people know you have a website and what the address is. Tell them to tell others about it and then when you see them again ask them who they told. See what kind of a buzz you can create; you might be surprised at how many visitors you get from it.
2. Business Cards - placing your website address on your business card is another great way to make sure your customers know about your website and for them to tell others about it.
3. Give Promotions Away - start giving away a small prize or promotional gift to those who can answer some sort of riddle or puzzle that requires them to view your website to figure out the answer. Making viewing your website as part of a game can be an inventive and fun way to get people looking at your site.

Final Words
Ending comments
I hope you found our first e-newsletter informative. We'll be sending them out once a week with new tips, hints, and advice. If you have any suggestions about topics you would like to hear more about please send us an email with your thoughts.