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| "If I build it, will they come?" | |
| Kevin Costner , Web Designer, Waterworld, The Postman | |
| Part 2 - Putting Out the Welcome Mat |
| What if you threw a party and nobody came... |
Use your imagination and picture in your mind what you’ve accomplished so far and what will happen next.
We’re not going to let this happen to you. You built the web site as a marketing tool, so don’t forget to market your web site. You need to promote your new web site, so the world knows about it and can choose to use it, just as you would need to announce any new venture your company engages in. It’s time to put out the Web-Welcome-Mat. The Big Question: How will anyone know you're there! Well, they won't unless you shout it out. It takes marketing - registering, advertising and promoting your eCommerce site to get customers. The reality of the Internet today is you
are one of millions of Websites. It is unrealistic and even foolish
to expect
customers to find you through search engines and directories. You will
need to rely upon targeted marketing efforts. That means you must make
and then implement a marketing plan that begins with identifying and
targeting customers and includes both Web and traditional marketing
efforts to reach those customers with informative and persuasive messages. |
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| Putting Out the Welcome Mat - Internet Marketing Plan | |
You need a Marketing Plan and a promotional strategy to communicate and reach customers. Marketing is - Plans and activities that facilitate an "Exchange of Values" between Producer and Consumer. The parts of a Marketing Plan include:
Public Relations http://www.cabrillo.edu/~dambrosini/50Web/classsessions/session1marketing.htm |
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In a traditional marketing campaign there are some things you absolutely must do to get off the ground. For instance, you put up a storefront sign, get in the Yellow Pages, print business cards. You should generate some pre-opening publicity in the media and distribute flyers to customers in your vicinity. You probably want to engage in some pre-opening advertising. Then you continue to market and promote your business. A simple plan can be developed from this outline:
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| Here's an excerpted sample strategy focusing on Place (distribution) and Promotion. | |
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Section
Index |
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V 1. Pre-opening
and Grand Opening |
V 7.
Affiliate Marketing |
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Hosting - Consider multiple options with domain names and hosts
Publicity/Press Release - Put out the welcome mat in ways that give you legitimacy and through information and media sources that consumers find trustworthy
Establish local contacts in the media that you can use for press release and publicity purposes. The launch of your web site is news, if you coordinate the launch with your press release timing. Traditionally, contacts are made by mail, fax, newswire, and Email. Want to work up a weekly
sweat? Start an Internet publicity campaign. Contact the traditional
newspapers and magazines in your area and around the country, or even
internationally by Email. Send out an Email press release telling people
that you have an exciting new site or what’s new at your internet site
as often as possible, once a week, once a month, or so. Here a a few
eZine Lists and Directories: Don’t forget radio and television for press releases. After you have been around a while it may be difficult to think about what’s new with your business or site. But, do it. If you’ve never issued a press release, there is an art to learn and a method to follow if you want to get past the immediately-into-the-trashcan sort by the media editor.
Click below for more info on generating Publicity and writing Press Releases: |
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2. Paid Web Advertising - Paid ads cost you money. However, they are effective if well planned, targeted to your customers and scheduled well. A nice thing about paid Web ads is that the people seeing them are generally comfortable users with the Web and Internet. Another nice thing is that you can test your ads, monitor responses, track statistics and not pay a small fortune to do so. Paid Web Ads include:
We will focus on Paid Placements, Pay per Click, and Site Ads in this section. The other are covered elsewhere on this page. Paid Placements in Search Engines & Directories There is a world of terminology and jargon developing in Web Advertising similar to and mimicking what we use in the real world of advertising for ad insertions, measures of effectiveness and buying and scheduling of ads. Click here to learn more. Paid Placements in search engines either charge:
Google AdWords - You sign up for this service, determine your budget and get statistical tracking of the results.
Other Search Engines and Directories like Yahoo offer similar services using a software system called Overture. Yahoo now owns Overture. Yahoo calls it Adsales. From their homepage, click on "Yahoo! Search Marketing" just under the search box or try clicking here. Google AdSense - This is a service whereby other web publishers (other websites) place ads through google and you allow their ads to display on any or all of your webpages...AND you get paid for accepting these ads. You can control the relevance of the ads that appear. You can also display Google's search box on your pages and share in the revenues of other companies that are using AdWords when the search originates from your page. It is also a banner ad service. (see below) Google's Froogle - Froogle is Google's online shopping site and directory of products. You can list your products on Froogle for free. You can list your prices, products and brands so that they come up when customers ask for a product in the Froogle search box. You will be displayed with other merchants. You can add ad paid placements on the right with AdWords, display a text and graphic display that comes up when a customer clicks on your text link and you can link back to your website. example: http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=music+cds&hl=en&btnG=Search+Froogle&lmode=unknown In order for your products to be included in Froogle, you will need to send them a product feed, which is a simple text file listing your product information. You can include graphics. There's currently no limit to the number of products you can submit. Unlike other online shopping sites, Froogle costs nothing. There's no spending account to set up and maintain. No cost-per-click. No cost, period. A product feed is a file containing information about the products listed on your site. By sending us this product feed regularly (once a month, once a day, or somewhere in between), you can make sure Froogle is displaying the latest pricing, promotional, or other information for your products. Pay Per Click Services - These services are intermediaries or facilitators that save you the trouble of going directly to Google or Yahoo and others. |
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3. Specific types of Paid Web Advertising - Banner Ads - Usually appear at the top of a page. They can be static banners, animated banners and interactive in nature. HTML banner ads use HTML elements, often including interactive forms, instead of (or in addition to) standard graphical elements.All these forms are a type of Paid ad placement that can be arranged by:
Specifically, it's a graphical web advertising unit, typically measuring 468 pixels wide and 60 pixels tall (i.e. 468x60) and appearing at the top of a home page or deep placed at your site. It can be a vertical ad, usually on the right side of the page but possibly placed anywhere. For more information try "How Stuff Works" website. The Interactive Advertising Bureau or IAB sets voluntary guidelines for website advertising. Click Here for more info on Banner Ads Button Ads - A graphical advertising unit called a button ad , smaller than a banner ad. They are often rectangular or occasionally round. Button ads come in a variety of sizes. There are standards such as 120x90, 120x60, 125x125 and 88x31 (micro-button), although nonstandard button ads are not uncommon. Whereas banners are often placed at the top or bottom of a page, buttons are often placed towards the middle of a page on the left or right sides. Text Ads (aka text sponsorships) - Advertisement using text-based hyperlinks. Text-based ads, although common in email, have been dominated on the Web by their graphical-based counterparts like banner ads and button ads. Google text advertising options, Premium Sponsorship & Adwords Program, claim a "click-through rate 4-5 times higher than industry standards for banner ads. While lacking some of the advantages of graphical ads, text-based ads have some powerful advantages of their own. They download almost instantly and are not affected by ad blocking software. Pop up Ads - An ad that displays in a new browser window. Pop up windows come in many different shapes and sizes, typically in a scaled-down browser window with only the Close, Minimize and Maximize commands. There is a strong resentment by some Web surfers towards pop-up ads. Marketers often do not realize the ill-will generated by pop-ups because it is easier to click the "close" button than send an email to complain. What can often be seen is an above-average click-through rate, although some of this can come from "false positives," unintentional clicks when the pop-up gets in the way of the desired target. Advertisers can get a better picture of the effectiveness of pop-up advertising by paying attention to conversion rates and return on investment (ROI). Pop Under Ads - An ad that displays in a new browser window behind (beneath) the current browser window. The pop-under ad is the sneakier relative of the pop-up ad. While pop-up ads are often shown (and closed) instantly, pop-under ads linger behind the current browser window, appearing only after other windows have been closed. Vertical Banner and Skyscraper Ads - unusual sizes of ads guided by the IAB guidelines. A Vertical banner ad measures120 pixels wide and 240 pixels tall. Skyscraper ads are tall -- very tall -- with heights often ranging from 500 to 800 pixels (and widths often ranging from 120 to 160 pixels). |
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4. Linking Strategies - Linking your site to others and others linking to you can help with search engine placement and the "quality" of you site. However, exchanging links and forming affiliate relationships through links is a powerful advertising method. Reciprocal Links - Links between two sites, often based on an agreement by the site owners to exchange links. Reciprocal links are based on an agreement by two sites to link to each other. Reciprocal linking is often used by small/midsize sites as an inexpensive way to increase Web site traffic and link popularity. Related terms:
For more info about linking try: |
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5. Name Identification Publicity - Once you have registered your domain name, you will want to generate a brand name or business name identity through the use of that domain name. Make people aware of it and draw attention to it. Register with Whois - whois is a domain name lookup utility that returns ownership information about second-level domains. Information often includes the name and address of the registrant, administrative contact, technical contact, billing contact, creation date, expiration date, and domain servers. Others include: Network Solutions .sig file (aka SIG file) - A short block of text at the end of a message identifying the sender and providing additional information about them. A .sig file is small text file (with a .sig extension) that can be automatically attached to the end of email messages. The phrase SIG file is also used to identify blocks of text used for similar purposes through different channels, such as discussion group messages. For personal use, SIG files often include humorous sayings or signature art. These can be automatically rotated so frequent recipients do not see the same message every time. For business use, SIG files often include a mix of contact information and business promotion. This may include the sender's name, job title, company name, phone #, fax #, email address, Web site address, tag line and brief benefits of your products or services. There are netiquette issues concerning posting a sig in public forums. Some moderated forums discourage and disallow any form of self-promotional signature. As always, fully read the Terms & Conditions and get a feel for what is acceptable at a forum before posting. favicon - A small icon that is used by some browsers to identify a bookmarked Web site. The display size of a favicon in the Favorites list is 16x16. Files are recognized by the ".ico" extension. Special applications are available to create this type of file. (see below) Once created, the favicon.ico file is placed in the root folder of the Web site. Internet Explorer is the most notable browser to use favicons. Without a favicon, Internet Explorer includes a default "IE" icon next to all bookmarked sites. With a favicon, IE5+ will display a site's unique icon next to a bookmark. The custom icon is also substituted for the standard IE icon in various places in the browser and on the desktop. Favicons are most likely to be found at large, well-branded sites such as portals and media companies. When only a few sites in a long bookmark list are using a custom image, the exceptions are very prominent. Currently, Netscape Navigator does not support favicons. White Pages - online telephone
directory of people and businesses. You can add to existing directory
information, get paid sponsorships and
to some degree control your listing. Yellow Pages - online
telephone directory of people and businesses similar to the white pages 411.com - the search utility for the white and yellow pages Word of Mouth - word of mouth is customers and vendors talking about you to others on their own initiative, hopefully because you have impressed them and they like you. Think of someone coming home from a great vacation and anxious to tell you about it. It can be negative if the experience is bad. It is possible to stimulate word of mouth:
Free Site Promotion- Get publicity through other peoples websites that have the same or similar clientele
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6. Self Promotion on your own site - Promote at your own site to entice customers and to bring back customers Promote onsite
Start your own usenet newsgroup (aka bulletin board) More info A very effective alternative, but one that will require a large amount of maintenance and management time, is to start your own newsgroup or even include it in your web site. A similar venue to online bulletin boards is offered through the online services, Compuserv, Prodigy, America Online. They provide message forums (sometimes directly business related), file libraries with text and software, and graphics files uploaded by users (you in this case) and indexed by the service provider , and conference rooms where you can schedule, publicize and conduct online conferences. Listservs vs Email more info A listserv is a lot like a newsgroup. It uses Internet Email. All members receive all postings via their personal Email, unlike a newsgroup where the postings are indexed and must be accessed by the user to get the information. Consequently, posting to a listserv group requires even more caution than with newsgroups. A listserv is more dynamic, immediate, and active. The postings tend to be shorter (what can be loaded into an Email message or typed in) and more conversational rather than narrative or literate. Listservs may remind you of radio call-in shows, but without the host or deejay. There will be a systems administrator who may censor some material as inappropriate. It can be rather free form in information exchanged and in manner and netiquette observed (or violated). This is a good place to discuss experiences, give testimonials, offer endorsements, and give advice or feedback. It is also very much like publicity in traditional media in that you can’t control the messages and the messages can be positive or negative in spin. You may find existing listservs built around a topic related to your business such as Building and Construction or no useful connections at all. Again, avoid being blatantly commercial when posting messages and responding to replies. Also, if you have the time and inclination to maintain it, you can start your own listserv. Newsletters You can create and maintain online newsletters. This is an excellent way to disseminate valuable information, entice customers, offer preferred customer goodies, and alert customers of new offerings or site changes. Newsletters can be given away or sold on a subscription basis. Again, this will be a lot of work but can be a publicity tool or an end product in itself. Try not to use a newsletter as a blatant selling tool, but use it to disseminate useful and interesting information. Only send your newsletter to subscribers. You can offer the newsletter through your web site as a service, or you can gather Email addresses by asking customers to fill out a simple subscription form, then send it. |
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7. Affiliate Marketing - affiliate marketing - revenue sharing between online affiliate advertisers/merchants (the advertiser) and online affiliates publishers/salespeople (website promoter of your products) site, whereby compensation is based on performance measures, typically in the form of sales, clicks, registrations, or a hybrid model. Affiliate marketing is one area where text ads have flourished. Benefits of affiliate marketing include the potential for automating much of the advertising process (accepting & approving applications, generating unique sales links, tracking & reporting of results) and payment only for desired results (sales, registrations, clicks). Paying only for performance shifts much of the advertising risk from the merchants to the affiliates, although merchants still assume some risk of fraud from partner sites. Affiliate marketing has contributed to the rise of many leading online companies. Amazon.com, one of the first significant adopters, now has hundreds of thousands of affiliate relationships. It is not uncommon to see industries where the major players have affiliate programs--often structured in a similar manner and making similar competitive changes over time. Affiliate networks - A value-added intermediary providing services, including aggregation, for affiliate merchants and affiliates. For affiliate merchants, services can include providing tracking technology, reporting tools, payment processing, and access to a large base of affiliates. For affiliates, services can include providing one-click application
to new merchants, reporting tools, and payment aggregation. Affiliate Directories - A categorized listing of affiliate programs. Affiliate directories are a popular starting point for finding and comparing various merchant's programs. The individual networks also provide aggregated information for their programs, but lack the all-in-one overview of the directories. |
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8a. eMail & Publicity- The transmission of computer-based messages over telecommunication technology. Email is a great way to communicate with customers and potential customers. However, it is only as good as your email list. permission marketing - The best way to use it is to get volunteered email addresses from customers and visitors to you site by giving them something - a newsletter, email discount coupons, access to member pages and privileges, etc. In the world of marketing, email can be a high-risk, high-reward medium. Response rates often run much higher than comparable Web advertisements, but there is also the risk of tarnishing a company's brand, or even landing on an email blacklist. Marketers are advised to obtain permission from recipients, and make an extra effort to understand email issues from the recipient's point of view. email marketing - the promotion of products or services via email. Email is a very versatile medium. Formats range from simple text to HTML & rich media. Content can be one-size-fits-all or highly customized. Frequency can consist of fixed, frequent intervals or sporadic intervals, with transmissions occurring only when something newsworthy comes along. Sophistication (and cost) can be very low or very high. Along with the power of email comes the abuse of email, commonly known as spam. Is spam email considered marketing? Technically, the answer is probably yes, but it is certainly not responsible email marketing. While some users fail to distinguish between permission marketing and email spam, spam is actually a major threat to legitimate email marketers, as a glut of messages could make the entire email medium less effective. ezine - an electronic magazine, whether delivered via a Web site or an email newsletter. opt-in email - email that is explicitly requested by the recipient. 8b.
Publicity
Comment on other peoples blog or forum postings, articles, letters to the editor or posted comments. If people like what you say, they will want to click-back to see what else you have to say. Write
an eBook and
self-publish and even sell as a hard copy through online services. Post Events on
selected sites (online) and Social networking sites. Letters to
the Editor can often get published but also
may be turned into articles or guest columns if you request that option. |
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9. Controversial Marketing - The efforts to attract customers, in web jargon, are either "White Hat" (ethical, playing fair) or "Black Hat" (dirty tricks, gaming the search engines). However, the distinction sometimes it becomes blurred and thus controversial. Controversial Marketing includes
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10. Personalized Marketing and Other Promotions - are ways to reach more customers, expand your market and give customers more ways to find you. Classified Ads - These can be paid or free text listing of items for sale by individuals, one item for a business (hopefully with a link to your seller site) or business classifieds. Netscape classifieds Many are for specific interests marketing like Trader Online for vehicles. Some are associated with newspapers like the Seatle Post Intelligencer. Some are free forums or directories. Targeted and commercial sites for Special Interests - These offer classifieds but also product and site reviews, paid ads, link backs to your site, a marketplace for customers and vendors and more. Audiogon.com consumer goods Chemconnect Industrial Goods Market Exchanges Personalized eCommerce - Personalized eCommerce sites let you take a logo, graphic or design and put it on items for sale ranging from t-shirts to mugs, mouse pads to postage stamps and promotional items in general. This allows your to promote your website and its products. http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/tour/index.aspx Auction Selling - Auction Selling allows you to sell almost anything, one item at a time and may allow merchants to link back to the merchant's main website. This is a lot like a classified ad. C2C: http://www.ebay.com/ Item selling - Item selling requires that the website already sells that item or will allow you to add it within their product categories.
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11. Traditional Marketing & Integrating the Internet site into your traditional marketing efforts - You most definitely want to include your Web site address wherever you include your regular address and phone numbers. Examples would be stationary letterheads, business cards, product and package labels, brochures, catalogs and such. Rather than printing all new materials you can prepare a stamp or a peel of label as a means of inexpensively and attractively including the new information on existing material. Of course you will want to include site information in your advertising and publicity efforts as another way to contact or visit you. Another consideration is incorporating this information into information sources that won’t easily change or be changed for some time. For instance location signage, Yellow pages advertising, the white pages telephone directory, and such. Integrating the Internet site into your traditional marketing efforts. Action 1. - Examine your current marketing literature (printed materials) and office stationary for opportunities to list your site URL and Email address. The next opportunity you have to reprint or redo them, consider whether or not to include your new site information. Consider:
Action 2. - Make a stamp or make peel-off labels to stick on current copies of marketing literature and office stationary or other materials listed above until you do reprint them. You may have a lot of money invested in these items and you wouldn't’t want to throw them out. So, make sure the stamp or labels look attractive and professional. If not, you will have to choose between waiting, looking less than professional, or biting the bullet and absorbing the cost in the interest of generating extra, new business. Action 3. - Examine your advertising and make it a policy to include your Email address and URL. This can be simple for print ads or television ads where there is a visual for the audience to read and keep or write down. It may be more difficult to communicate over the radio which is sound only. In this case consider memory devices or shortcuts to help the customer. An alternative is to refer the customer to a source they can remember to look up or acquire the site URL and Email address such as "call us, we’re in the phone book under Marketing Consultants." Action 4. - Mention your site URL and/or Email address on your answering machine and voice-mail systems. You can generate some excitement mentioning changes or updates to the site. Be careful not to irritate customers however by causing delays in the time it takes for them to wait to leave a message or talk to a real person when they call. Action 5. - Take an inventory of your business’ signage and decide if you need to add your site URL or Email address to it in some manner. Existing signs can include: door or window signs, roof top or exterior signs, detachable magnetic signs on your vehicles, office directories attached to walls, real estate property signs, and so on. Action 6. - Consider your packaging and labeling for your products or the packaging and labeling for containers used to ship your products. Again, you may have a lot of money invested in items that you wouldn't’t want to lose. So, make sure to consider the stamp or labels option mentioned above. Action 7. - Examine your publicity system and make it a policy to include your Email address and URL on documents and in communications if appropriate.
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© David
Ambrosini 1998-2008