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Online Marketing FAQ
The Internet is in its infancy as a marketing medium.
Regardless of where you are in your work career, it's going to be with
you as long you're involved in sales and marketing. We hope this online
Marketing FAQ - content courtesy of Microsoft
bCentral - helps in making your journey a success. Best of luck!
Components of a Web
Site Marketing Campaign
To successfully market your Web
site you need to run an on-going campaign, just as you would for a product
or service. We've identified 11 components which we cover below. Not
all apply to every Web site, and the emphasis on each component may
vary according to your situation. They include:
- Announcing
your Web site with Internet search engines and directories
- Issuing a press
release
- Announcing
in newsgroups
- Participating
in e-mail lists
- Obtaining links
from other Web sites
- Purchasing
ad banners on other Web sites
- Running on-site
events
- Issuing an
e-newsletter
- Conducting
a direct e-marketing campaign
- Integrating
your traditional marketing and sales programs
- Measuring
your results
A bonus of running a Web site
marketing campaign is that it introduces you to the advantages of using
the Internet as a marketing medium for all your products. For example,
you can send press releases to editors by e-mail, or conduct direct
e-marketing campaigns that invite prospects to in-store specials.
- Announcing Your Web
Site with Internet Search Engines and Directories
The objective here is to get your Web site listed in the Internet's
equivalent of the yellow pages. This is probably the most cost effective
way of reaching prospects who otherwise may not be aware of your company.
Once listed, prospects who search on these directories can find your
site.
There are hundreds of sites
where you can announce your site. Each typically falls into one
of six categories: 1) search engines; 2) announcement sites; 3)
general directories; 4) geographic sites; 5) specific-interest sites;
or 6) selective sites.
Always announce your site
the day it's published as it will take from a day to several weeks
for the search engines to include it in their databases. It's best
to not announce before your site is published, however, as prospects
who click to a site still under construction are unlikely to return.
As your Web site changes
and grows you may want to announce additional Web pages to the search
engines. For example, if you create a new section of your site for
a new product, you may want to announce the main page of that section.
Return to Table of Contents
- Issuing a Press Release
A press release allows you to reach prospects through publications
that cover your topic of interest. A release needs to be coordinated
with the launch of your site (or it's not news) and may be distributed
by e-mail, newswire, fax or mail. The four keys to a successful press
release are: 1) having newsworthy content; 2)targeting interested
editors; 3) matching distribution method with editor preference; and
4) properly formatting the release for each method of distribution.
Return
to Table of Contents
- Announcing in Newsgroups
A newsgroup is an electronic bulletin board where people with shared
interests can communicate. There are over 20,000 newsgroups on the
Internet with millions of daily participants. Done right and with
care, posting to a newsgroup can generate tremendous, almost instant,
word-of-mouth.
If you want to post, target
only those newsgroups that cover topics associated with your product.
First determine if the newsgroup accepts postings. If it does, monitor
the postings and participant response. When you post, provide useful
advice or information, not an advertisement for your product. Be
specific and keep it short. You can end with a mention that your
site has useful information on the topic you are posting. If possible,
become a known participant by posting frequently with both advice
and questions. And don't forget to include your signature on every
e-mail or posting. If you have an announcement be sure to post it
to the "announcement newsgroups" which are designed for announcements.
Finally, if there's sufficient interest, you may even want to create
your own newsgroup.
Return to Table of Contents
- Participating in
E-mail Lists
An e-mail list is much like a newsgroup. The key difference is that
messages go directly to a participant's e-mail box rather than the
participant going to the newsgroup to read the postings. For that
reason, posting to an e-mail list requires even more caution than
a newsgroup. Otherwise, newsgroups rules apply.
Return to Table of Contents
- Obtaining Links From
Other Web Sites
There are two types of links: 1) one-way links to your Web site; and
2) two-way links where you provide a return link to the other Web
site.
Getting a link simply requires
finding sites that have a reason for pointing to you, then asking
for the link. If a site acts as a resource for information that
resides on your site, the owners of the site will probably want
to point to you. If you can't get them to point to your main page,
then ask for a link to your page that contains the specific information.
Return to Table of Contents
- Purchasing Ad Banners
on Other Web Sites
As more links appear on any given page, advertising increasingly becomes
a way to stand out from your competition. You can sponsor another
site through barter or direct payment. In either case, you can find
appropriate sites to sponsor yourself or have another company find
them for you.
Return to Table of Contents
- Running On-Site Events
Running events on your site is an excellent way to encourage repeat
traffic. You'll want to begin running events once traffic from your
site launch begins to fade. Examples include contests, games, on-line
interviews, chat sessions and audio broadcasts.
Return to Table of Contents
- Issuing an E-Newsletter
You can ask site visitors to sign up for a newsletter, then distribute
it by e-mail. An e-newsletter allows you to keep visitors up-to-date
on site changes and new offerings. It also serves as a channel for
delivering valuable information related to your products that can
help convert prospects into customers.
Return to Table of Contents
- Conducting a Direct
e-Marketing Campaign
Direct e-marketing on the Internet is in its formative stages. You
can send your message in e-mail or HTML format; solicited or unsolicited.
We do not recommend using unsolicited e-mail as the receiver bears
the cost.
The trend in direct e-marketing
is in "push" technologies and services. These allow you to send
regularly scheduled messages and other content to individuals who
have signed up to receive it. The business models for these technologies
are still in definition, but they deserve attention and testing.
Return to Table of Contents
- Integrating Your
Traditional Marketing and Sales Programs
Start by including your Web site address on your flyers, letterheads
and brochures. If there are advantages to delivering services, programs
or information through your Web site, then provide an incentive in
your traditional materials to get customers to go to your site for
fulfillment.
Return to Table of Contents
- Measuring Your Results
To measure the effectiveness of each component of your campaign, first
determine where your traffic originates. Then measure what individuals
do once they get to your site to determine if traffic generated from
one source is more valuable than others. Note that this is different
than measuring the effectiveness of the site itself. With data in
hand, you can begin the process of fine-tuning your Web site marketing
programs.
Return to Table of Contents
For
additional information, questions and pricing on
eTuitive services, please contact us.
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