Okay, we’ve already established that one of the keys to operating a successful business online is to make optimal use of all the traffic you generate. You not only want to get visitors to your site, you want to convert your visitors into customers and you want to keep both your visitors and customers coming back. The more they return, the greater the likelihood that they are going to purchase something.

Make no mistake about it, you must build an opt-in mailing list if you aim to succeed in marketing online long-term, because the majority of your business will come from repeat visitors and customers, and you must have a means of staying in touch and following up with them on a regular basis.

Here are 15 creative ways to both lure customers back and get their email addresses so that you can build a relationship of trust.

Okay, this one’s a given. Giving something away for free - provided it has merit and quality - is sure to drive a steady stream of repeat traffic to your site and is a great way to collect email addresses. This method has been beaten to death. But here are several new angles worth considering.

First of all, if you want to attract only visitors from your target market, rather than giving away traditional, mainstream things (i.e. pencils, pens, buttons, calendars and/or refrigerator magnets) offer only items that people interested in your product or service would want (i.e. if you offer accounting services, a small calculator would make a good freebie). Try to have your logo or URL displayed somewhere on the item to build brand awareness.

Downloadable freebies like e-books, software and screensavers are the best (especially when branded with your logo or URL) as there are no shipping or handling charges. If you are going to offer an item that requires shipping, try to pick something that is generally kept around a computer, such as a mouse pad, so that it reminds people about your site when they are actually able to act upon the reminder.

Here’s another thought. If you are going to offer freebies or giveaways on a regular basis, why not get your pages listed and linked from the many sites on the Internet that list places people can go to get free stuff. Simply do a search on “Free Stuff Index” or “Free Stuff Links” on the search engine of your choice and go ahead and register your site where applicable. This may not get you a lot of traffic, but every link helps.

Also, think about this. Rather than giving something away to everyone, you could simply have a draw every week. You could then ask entrants if they would like you to notify them of the winner, which again gives you permission to email them.

If you are going to be giving away free samples of your product, don’t neglect to follow up with an email asking recipients what they think of it and directing them back to your website for more information and discounts on purchasing the regular version of your product. If you have a number of products, you might consider alternating your free samples, asking visitors if they would like to be notified by email when you change your free offerings.

2. Coupons and Discounts - The Next Best Thing to Free

Offer coupons and discount vouchers that can be printed from your site. You can change the coupon daily or weekly to encourage repeat visits. This is a great strategy to use in conjunction with a free sample giveaway. If people liked the sample, give them the opportunity to purchase the regular version at a discount with a coupon. If they like the regular version, they may opt to purchase an upgrade - always think back-end sales!

You can also ask people if they would like to be notified by emial when you update the coupons on your site. This again gives you the opportunity to present them with new information about your business. (If you operate a brick and mortar store as well as an online one, coupons are a great way to generate more off-line business.)

Remember to include terms and conditions on your printable coupons, such as an expiration date. It’s a good idea to have the coupon expire within a few days or a week at most to entice visitors back to use the coupon sooner rather than later - or to return for more updated offers.

TIP: CoolSavings.com is an online coupon network where businesses can advertise and place coupons for their products and services. (Unfortunately, this service is provided to businesses in the United States only.)

3. A What’s New Page

Add a “What’s New” page to your site. This can mean updating your visitors with announcements or summaries of the most recent changes or additions to your site - or perhaps informing them of “what’s new” in your product/service line or your industry in general. If you are faithful in updating this page and you keep the content interesting, visitors will return to your site on a regular basis to check it out. You can also ask them if they would like to be notified when updates are made to the page. If you get permission, you can then email them with news of any new products or services you have to offer or other relevant information that might prompt a return visit to your site.

A comprehensive, current calendar of events related to your business or your industry will encourage repeat visits - as long as you keep it up-to-date and include information that is of value to your visitors. The key phrase, of course, is “related to your business.” For instance, since I host a home business and internet marketing community website, I might opt to add a calendar of upcoming marketing seminars.

Holding regular contests or competitions on a weekly or monthly basis is a great way to both build traffic and generate repeat visits. The possibilities are limitless but the basic idea is that a visitor must "register" by providing their name and email address at the very least.

Just don't try to trick anyone with a contest that doesn't exist - if you say you're giving away a new car than you sure as heck better be prepared to do it. There are laws that govern certain types of promotions, so be sure to abide by them if applicable.

What type of contest you hold depends on your marketing objectives. If you want to attract only potential customers from your target market, then be sure to make your prize something that relates directly to your business or products. Inform entrants that you will email them announcing the winner, which again gives you the opportunity to initiate some follow-up.

Here’s a thought: If you are going to offer one of your products/services as the prize, have contestants write a short essay telling why they would like to have the product or service. Not only will you gain some insight as to why people might be inclined to purchase your product, but you will have the email addresses and be able to follow-up with all the losers - all of whom have written essays letting you know how much they want what you have to offer!

If your product is appropriate for a prize that would be of interest to many different types of people, you might consider finding contest sites that would like to offer your product as one of their prizes. This is a great way to build brand awareness.

Another great idea to hold onto your customers is to offer a competition relating to a product of yours that they purchased. If it is a book, you might offer a prize for the best review. If it is a software tool, offer a prize for the most innovative way customers have come up with to put it to use. If you sell a food item, have customers send in recipes using your product and select the best.

Again, emailing all entrants with your announcement of the winner will enable you to keep in touch, to share some of the great ideas you’ve garnered from their submissions as well as tell them about specials you might be offering that month!

If you’re going to hold a contest or competition, you might want to consider offering a number of smaller prizes in addition to the main prize. This ups the odds of winning and you might get more entrants if people feel they have a better chance of winning something.

6. Create A Useful Link Directory

Providing visitors with links to other relevant sites or a meta-index of links that would be of interest to your target market is another good way to generate return traffic - provided you offer quality links and update them regularly. If you’re smart, you’ll contact the owners of the websites you are recommending and broach the subject of exchanging links or possibly even joint venturing. If this is not an option at least check to see if they offer an affiliate program you can join.

If you’re going to go this route, it’s best not to put outward links directly on your home page - unless they direct prospects to other websites you own. Place the links a level or two down from your main page so that visitors get a chance to look about and see what you have to offer before you send them away. You might consider asking your visitors if they would be interested in being notified when you update your link listing or site. You’ll probably get few takers as this isn’t a very enticing offer, but it gives you another shot at grabbing a few email addresses.

7. Host Online Chat Sessions

Not only are chat rooms popular, for some they are downright addictive, so hosting a chat forum on your site could bring big returns provided that the topic relates to your business and the participants are members of your target market. To encourage repeat visitors you should change the topic often or offer regularly scheduled sessions (prominently posted on your site) with “celebrity” guests.

You could ask your visitors if they would be interested in being notified of special upcoming chat sessions, again affording you the opportunity to email them with offers and information enticing them to return to your site.

Bulletin boards are a great way to get your site visitors into the community spirit. It can be very gratifying to have people from all over the world come together at your website to interact with each other about a topic relevant to your business. Be aware, however, that you may have to keep a watchful eye on the messages and may even have to play referee on occasion.

Have a page that offers useful tips - short snippets of useful information - that relate to your business or your target market. The tips can be offered by you (thereby enhancing your credibility) or contributed by your joint venture partners or merchants you‘re affiliated with. Consider offering your visitors the option of having tips emailed to them daily or weekly.

There are several sites on the Web that offer live news feeds on numerous topics. If offering the headlines of the day and relevant articles would be appropriate to your business objectives and target audience, you can simply go to these websites, select the category of news you are interested in and copy and paste the code generated by your selection into your website.

For people to want to fill out the survey and see the results, you must pick an interesting or intriguing topic - one pertaining to your industry and, if possible, one concerning current events. The more controversial or debatable the topic, the more people will want to contribute to your survey and get the results.

In performing interesting surveys regularly (every week or month) you are not only going to garner lots of repeat traffic, you are gathering valuable information on your market (assuming you have picked a targeted topic). If your surveys are newsworthy, you can send out press releases to publicize the results and gain free publicity for your site.

Your surveys should be short and to the point. Let people know why you are asking the questions and when the deadline is. Make your questions clear and concise. The responses should be yes/no or multiple choice. Ask people if they would like to be notified of the survey results by email or be emailed when you have them posted on your site. You might also ask whether they would like to be notified when you are conducting a new survey.

When announcing your survey results, don’t just put them on a page on your website, post them to newsgroups and mailing lists that would be interested. Don’t forget to add your sig-file. If you are holding weekly or monthly surveys, let people know via your sig-file what your next survey topic will be and that there is more information available at your website.

TIP: If you want a really simple way to conduct your online survey, look into the "One Minute Poll". With this simple web-based tool, Jim Edwards and Nicholas Foster have simplified survey taking and results compiling to the point where a 6 year old child could do it.

Displaying relevant cartoons on your site will keep it dynamic and fun. Do a search engine search for relevant material - just make sure it’s not copyrighted! You can also find humorous cartoons at many clip-art sites. If you update your cartoons, jokes or trivia regularly - and they are indeed funny, interesting or amusing, people will return to view your new offerings and may even request to be notified by email when you have fresh content.

If you are going to go the cartoon route, why not make use of your clip art and incorporate them into postcards that your site visitors can email to their family and friends. There are many services on the Net where you can convert them easily. Just make sure the postcards are readily identifiable as having come from your website - that they display your URL or logo - as well as a tag line, if you can work it.

More and more sites are featuring fun activities and games as a way of engaging their visitors and getting them to return. You can host anything from trivia contests and scavenger hunts to interactive stories and fun libs. Let game players know that you will notify them by email of winners - and, of course, while your announcing the winner it never hurts to sneak in a harmless bit of promotion.

If you offer a product or service (books, gourmet treats, rare wines, party organizing) that is a natural tie-in to holidays or special occasions, such as birthdays or anniversaries, why not offer your site visitor or customers the opportunity to jot down their important dates. This way you can email them a friendly reminder when the dates roll around - wishing them the best and inviting them to return to your site to look over the new selection of gifts you have to offer.