How To Use A Free To Do List Builder To Incease Web Site Traffic

When creating an internet marketing business plan... to do or not to do, that is the all important question. However as unimportant as preparing a to do list appears, it's a job that can often produce remarkable results, in fact, results that sometimes will even surprise the to do list creator. Let's think about this for a moment and then discover how to make our to do lists not only viable, but unstoppable!

You've got stuff you're selling online... right? You want an solid marketing strategy, right away. You've read a few articles or reports on web advertising and perhaps an internet strategy book or two; perhaps you've attended a seminar on internet marketing strategy or a web project management class. Yes, there is a lot to do and time is ticking away.

So you're thinking... with all your tasks and things to do, just how will I come up with that home-run marketing strategy and get my project on the fast road toward success?

Additional questions you might best consider:

• Does this require project tracking software for your internet marketing plans?
• Is there an easy to do list software?
• Are there any books or seminars I should take to improve my knowledge?
• Would it help to see a sample marketing plan? (see below in this Hub)
• What are the guidepost, the categories, or the steps I might need to consider?

These are all questions that plague every internet marketer from the beginner to the seasoned pro. Yes, the most common question behind most web marketing strategies is what am a to do - step-by-step, until I'm finished? Or better yet, until I'm bringing in some decent revenue.

Most folks are aware that preparing a to do list helps guide their project toward a successful outcome. It also remind us of what we've completed and what must be done next on our checklist. Even if we are doing an easy task, such as getting items from the local food store, it's a lot better if we prepare a shopping list before we start. Certainly a shopping list is as simple a to do list as you might imagine, but as many a husband will swear, it has often served a crucial role in saving many marriages! Whether it be the celery, the oranges, the valentine's day card or the white wine, if it is meant to be, it had better be on your to do list!

The ever handy to do list has been the precursor to things magnificent and small. In fact, if you were to examine all the great achievements in history, you'd commonly find that before the task was accomplished, there was a to do list - be it humble or grand.

Ponder the biggest, mind-blowing, most phenomenal thing you can think of? Is it the Egyptian pyramids, is it Apple's iPOD, is it Man landing on the moon? I know it sounds nutty however it's my theory that there had to be a to do list that preceded them all.

OK, OK, maybe some people get fancy when they are creating their marketing to do list list and call it something grander, like:

• a marketing strategy
• an internet advertising plan
• an internet marketing plan
• or something else...

But at the end of the day, it's nothing more than a list of tasks you, and your team or outsourced help, must carry out to reach the goals you desire.

Yes, a good to do list can make great things come true, including getting visitor traffic, web customers, and newsletter members.

There are many to do list systems on the web to consider and many offer truly great and unique features. There is little need to consider PAID systems when the free ones are so feature rich. However, if you are seeking a to do list builder to help you create and manage an internet marketing campaign, you have to evaluate what's available under a different light than your average to list builder.

The following are my best picks for you basic free to do list builder:

Ta-da List - a 37signals web application, is a to do list builder and nothing more. It’s clean and simple, gets right to the point, and only provides basic features. You can create multipe lists, add, edit, re-order, and remove tasks from each list. You also have the ability to share your lists to friend or by using a public address. It's simplicity is its forte, but if you're thinking of using it to create an internet marketing plan... pass.

Orchestrate - is a Web 2.0-based to-do-list builder that is a little bit cool and a little bit frustrating. Rather then simply allowing you to create a list, it lets you create multiple lists. Orchestrate then allows you to drag the ones you want to see into a workspace area. You can several to do lists open at once or just a few. Orchestrate takes getting used to and has limitations that will frustrate even the most patient. As a to-do-list builder for implementing a marketing strategy is ranks very low.

Rough Underbelly - is sorta neat because it have an interesting point system that is supposed to motivate you to use it. It’s based on the Printable CEO, an idea that has been proven effective where you grant yourself points for completing each task. As you add tasks to your list, you set specific points to each task thus creating your own measure of importance for each task. It makes task completion somewhat of a game. Perhaps this might motivate you to complete tasks, but it will leave you like deer in headlights when it comes to building a marketing plan.

Wallnote - allows you to create your to do list in two ways: online at the Wallnote website or on your Windows Desktop (sorry Mac users). Wallnote has the basic to do list features where you can add and edit tasks, although the only way to get a task off your to do list is by completing it (there is no remove option - bummer). It also has a little notes area next to the task list which can be helpful. Unfortunately, it's not a great tool for managing an intewrnet marketing plan.

Remember the Milk - is s feature rich task management solution. As milk goes, this is not a no fat or 2% solution. It allows you to organize your tasks into tabs and tags, make time specific tasks with automatic reminders, and has collaborative features. Admittedly there are a lot of features, but it does allow you to keep the service as simple if that what you prefer. Even if you use it with the bare-minimum functionality, you will soon find yourself using many of its advanced features. As a to-do-list builder in the generic sense, it's stellar. And though it's workable as a planner for your internet marketing strategy, you're on your own... no marketing tips from these cows. Mooooooo!

2Bangit - 2BangIt is the TO DO list builder that gives you the category guideposts, the internet marketing outline, the success track to run on and a few suggestions along the way. It is a to list builder made specifically for marketing or implementing any promotional strategy. It eliminates the BLANK PAGE syndrome by providing detailed guides and suggestions that help you create and manage specific campaign types (PPC, SEO, SMO, etc)

The concept of a TO DO LIST marketing strategy is easier said than done. We all know how to create a list of things to do and check them off as we complete each task, but creating a list in the first place presents a challenge if it is something we are not familiar with upfront.

None-the-less, the idea is illustrated below (see example below) and this will serve as an example of how you can acheive results with this concept if implemented.

Basically, you start a categorical TO DO LIST as you research your topics and project objectives. For example, if you are reading an internet marketing how-to book or attending a web strategy seminar, you first create the major areas or categories you need to tackle as part of your overall plan.

Next, as you continue with your book, seminar or other resources you fill inthe individual tasks one-by-one that you need to complete. Often the task is one of further research as you explore exactly what it is you must do in each category.

As you build out your marketing plan in the form of a TO DO LIST, some items will be actual tasks and others will be research-tasks into how to do aa actual task. The idea is to just get everything out on paper (or into your to do list tracking system) so you can orchestrate a comprehensive marketing plan and NOT FORGET important steps or strategies along the way.

In the end, your to do list marketing plan will be a collection of ideas from many sources, books, seminars and experts all customized for your particular product, service or needs.

This concept was at the core of the massively successful internet marketing campaign used in marketing THE SECRET movie. It resulted in approximately $24,000,000 in 18 months from web site sales alone and more than doubled that in the months that followed.

Were there other secrets used in marketing The Secret movie? YES. But at the core of the strategy was a TO DO LIST.

• KEYWORD RESEARCH

• SYSTEM SET-UP

. . . . . . . . . . Blog

. . . . . . . . . . Website

. . . . . . . . . . Opt-in List manager

• CONTENT

. . . . . . . . . . Web site content

. . . . . . . . . . Blog content

. . . . . . . . . . Newsletter

• LANDING PAGES

• OPTIMIZATIONS

. . . . . . . . . . Search Engine Optimizations (SEO)

. . . . . . . . . . Social Media Optimizations (SMO)

• PAY-PER-CLICK CAMPAIGNS (PPC)

• TRAFFIC MONITORING/ STATS

• SHOPPING CART

• REVENUE SOURCES

• TRAFFIC GENERATION IDEAS

• TOOLS & RESOURCES

• MISCELLANEOUS

If you're curious who I am and why you might take my TO DO LIST building recommendations seriously... well, I'm internet marketing consultant Dan Hollings. I personally orchestrated what is now considered the most successful internet marketing campaign of our times: yes, I'm the marketing strategist behind the smash hit movie, The Secret.

ABC News Nov 26, 2006

"The marketing campaign behind 'The Secret' is going to go down in history as the greatest case study of viral marketing ever done. ... Anywhere."

Newsweek March 5 2007

"Stroke of marketing genius... By the time Oprah ran her first segment it was already a huge success."

I'm also an internet strategist to celebrities, talk show hosts, New York Times best selling authors, noted teachers, companies, ordinary and world renowned entrepreneurs. What's my secret? Well, there are many, but at the TOP of the list, is creating killer TO DO lists.