Here are some ways in which you can make a link trade a little more attractive.

Method One: The Recommendation Exchange

When I know of a site that sells inexpensive tools for new marketers that are ready to advance to the next level, I refer a lot of my more advanced crowd to them, and they send me their beginners.

So in approaching them, I might tell them that not only have I already linked to them, but if they link back I?ll also write about them in my blog and my newsletter. Costs me nothing but an extra five minutes, and I?m more likely to get a little bit more than the link trade.

Method Two: The Bribe

This can also increase your reputation as an expert in your field.

Pick five people who are a bit more knowledgeable than you. Ask them if they?d like to be interviewed, for a collection, and offer to distribute the resulting resource for free to their audience, if they?ll link to your home page, where the free ebook can be downloaded.

You've got their link, they've got free publicity in a book they can - and probably will - distribute for you.

Method Three: Use That Feed

There are the sites that want to carry a relevant, frequently updated feed in order to get more search engine visits. So, if you have a feed, you could send that webmaster a link to your feed, and tell them how they can use tools like CARP, RSS Equalizer or RSS Digest to display your feed on their site.

If you update daily, and you're willing to take the bandwidth hit, you might find that they don't even mind a one way link.

Method Four: The Barter

Give them a free copy of your book if they?d link to you. Offer to link back to them if they?ll write a testimonial about the book.

Method Five: The Testimonial

This is a slight variation on the recommendation, because it sometimes ends up as more of a one-way trade.

If you sincerely enjoy a service or product that you bought, go back and pull up the sales page. If the links on the page for the testimonials are live, offer your testimonial.

Caution: Only offer testimonials on products you really used and benefitted from. It?s fine to put your name on something controversial if you really believe in it, but if you give a testimonial just for a link back to your site, you?re messing with your good name.

You should also know that they may not use your testimonial on their site, unless it?s really good - so and try to be as specific as possible about how their product helped you.

The point is, if you think creatively, you can solve your linking problem.

Copyright 2004 Tinu AbayomiPaul

Tinu carries on various internet marketing related discussions in her blog at http://FreeTrafficTip.com.