|
1.
Build
A Strong, Presentable Image
Before you can hope to effectively begin to market
your site, you must have something to market.
This may sound like a "water is wet" statement,
but think about it -- how many sites have you
only been to only once. The answer is likely
a majority of them. Why? Because the
web sites lack anything that would draw you back.
Almost
all good web sites share four basic characteristics
- content, consistent changes, value, and entertainment:
[top]
Content
Back
in grammar school your English teacher likely
spoke about making sure each paragraph had a
"main idea". To apply that same lesson,
what's the main idea of your web site? There
must be some relevant content that the visitor
is searching for, that's the reason that they
came in the first place. Be sure your
visitors leave with what they came for - content.
Consistent
Change
Time for
a little joke. What do you call a web
site that never changes? Give up? A
cobweb. Have you ever seen one of those
before? Change in life is the thing that
helps us grow, keeps web sites vibrant and forces
us to reach new heights. This is no different
on the Internet. Consistent change builds
confidence with your visitors, because they
will know there will always be something new
to see.
Value
What do you
have to offer someone for visiting your site?
If you can't answer this question easily, it
is likely that your site's visitors can't either.
You must offer visitors to your site something
of value, whether it be information or a free
trial offer of a product. There must be
something to draw the visitor there which is
more precious than the time that they could
have used to do other things.
Entertainment
Why are so
many people "channel changers"? In most
cases it is because they are constantly searching
for something better and more entertaining than
what they are currently viewing. The Internet
is the same - people go from site to site in
search of the latest and greatest entertainment
available. In other words, they are searching
for fun. If you want to keep people coming
back, offer them something that is new and more
creative than other options each and every time
they visit.
Your
Internet site is the world's view into your
company. The site should appropriately
incorporate some form of the previously mentioned
characteristics to build a strong, presentable
image for your company.
2.
Use The
Search
Engines
Now that you have something to market, the key
comes in marketing it properly. The best
place to start for most people is to publicize
your site to the popular Search Engines. As
soon as your site is online, be sure to utilize
the listings that the search engines provide
for drawing traffic to your site. For
more information on using Internet search engines,
see the Search Engine Solutions section or the
Submit-It!tm section of the Marketing Library.
3.
Participate In Link
Exchanges
Find other sites that offer complementary
products or services and agree to trade links.
This process can be very effective in generating
more traffic to both sites alike.
4.
Use Banner Exchanges
And Banner Ads
Be honest, how many of you have ever clicked
on a witty banner advertising simply to find
out more information. I think most of us know
that banner advertising can be a powerful
means for generating a considerable amount
of traffic. Banner Exchange programs,
such as LinkExchange(tm), provide a great
way to get free advertising for your site
all across the Internet. For those that
are looking for a more upscale approach, paid
banners are available on many of the most
popular sites on the Internet. The price
varies, as do the results, but nevertheless,
banners are here to stay and should be considered
for marketing the Internet services you offer
and your clients' sites.
|
|
5.
Offer Free
Stuff
Who doesn't like free stuff? That's an
easy question to answer, because all of us have
an innate desire to win something for free.
Whether the desire comes from physiological
childhood need or is the simple passing of the
"free gene" from one generation to another -
the point is we all want to win something for
free. The
visitors to your site are the same. What
do you have to offer them for free? The
monetary value in many cases is unimportant,
the true value is it's "free" and I won it!
When planned properly, your "free" prize
can generate business for you in two ways. First,
it can often draw more traffic to your site,
traffic that brings along with it potential
clients. Second, the prize itself can
be a means of securing more business.
Let's
look at the telephone long distance industry
for an example. The big companies are
battling it out, offering months of free service
if you switch to their service. Why? Because
if you stay for one month "free", you are more
likely to stay and "pay" in the future. Now
try to apply that same lesson to your Internet
business. Make one lucky client, or make
them all a "winner" by offering them a free
month of hosting on a Virtual Server or sub-hosted
account. Once the client is with you they
are likely to remain with you. That brings
in monthly residual income that you may not
have received otherwise. Your investment
will likely pay off very quickly, bringing with
it a loyal client - after all, you gave them
something free.
6.
Issue A Press
Release
Many Internet Marketers have enjoyed success
using this good old fashioned technique for
generating free publicity. By definition,
a press release is for the purpose of announcing
a "news event" that may be of interest to a
specific group. A good press release will
concentrate on being:
[top]
Brief
Usually
no more than a page.
Content
Rich
Must
focus on a newsworthy event such as the launch
or redesign of a new web site.
Targeted
Your
press release should be sent to specific publications
or groups which would find it relevant.
Factual
Press
releases are for news, not hype. Although
used for getting free press, it is not free
advertising.
7.
Create A Newsletter
Distributing a free periodic newsletter distributed
to subscribers is another way to market your
services to others. Your newsletter could
focus on topics such as HTML secrets, CGI programming,
or any other subject you are a specialist in.
The newsletter provides a means for building
confidence in others about your expertise in
a specific area. Likewise, that trust
may eventually translate into your subscribers
trusting you to provide them other Internet
services.
[top]
8.
Seek Feedback
Feedback, in the form of suggestions or criticism,
can be very valuable for informing you of your
web site's strengths and possible areas which
may need improvement. This feedback can
be invaluable in making a site even better and
more marketable in the future. Encourage
feedback by providing a clear e-mail address
of where comments can be sent.
9.
Mesh The Web With Everything Else You Do
The Internet is not intended, nor will it ever,
replace traditional means of marketing that
businesses use. The Internet is simply
one more, albeit very powerful, tool that a
company can use to supplement its marketing
efforts. In
order to begin "meshing the web" with other,
more traditional marketing efforts, a company
should include its URL and e-mail address on
all of its company's normal promotional materials.
These addresses should be clearly placed on
company letterhead, brochures, sales literature
and even on your company's cars. The more
times and places you advertise your web presence,
the greater likelihood it will be used.
In
many cases, Internet technology is making order
processing and fulfillment quicker and more
convenient for companies
worldwide. Companies which fully implement
Internet technology would be wise to encourage
customers to use the technology by offering
special incentives for doing so.
[top]
|
