Technology
The Basics for Promoting Your Business Online By Carole Dunn
Join online marketing expert Carole
Dunn as she shares her rules for
successful online prospecting. -- Luke
Melia
To Blast or to Opt-In?
If you think that Internet marketing
equals an email blast, think again! Do
you like to receive junk email? Do you
take it seriously? Email blasts can
damage the credibility of your company,
inspire hate mail, and may cause you to
lose your ISP!
Opt-in lists are a different matter.
These are targeted lists of people who
have voluntarily subscribed to a mailing
list on a specific topic. The cost per
name is high- 20¢ each- and the response
rate is generally around .5-3%. Opt-in
lists work best for a one-time
promotion, such as a sale, a free
drawing, or a contest.
"Sig" Lines & Standard Emails
Create an email "signature." This
will be your signoff on every email you
send or message you post. It should
contain your contact information,
company name and a short benefit line.
Next write an informative, standard
email message relating the benefits of
your product or company. Why should Mr.
Prospect buy your product or join your
company? What's in it for him? Your
message should have the benefits loud
and clear near the top, followed by the
features of the company and the
opportunity. Whenever someone online
asks you for information, send him this
always-updated summary.
If You Have a Web Site
Your web site is also your signature.
Take time to design an attractive site
that offers content and value to your
prospect. Include interactive features
like autoresponders, surveys or a form
where people can request more
information or register for a
newsletter. If you are selling products
online, be sure to offer a secure,
online payment method.
Submit, Monitor, Rewrite and
Resubmit
Before submitting your site to the
search engines and directories, read up
on how to write your title, "meta" tags
and the first few paragraphs of each
page to obtain a good ranking. To
improve or maintain your position, you
may need to rewrite pages, add new
content and additional web pages, and
change your description and keywords.
Web site promotion is a mix of
knowledge, art, skill and persistence.
To Banner or to Link?
Are banner ads effective? Statistics
show that no matter how eye-catching a
banner may be, the average click-through
rate is around 1.3%. The novelty has
worn off and people are "tuning out" the
flashing advertising messages leaping
from every site. If you want to use
banners, test them first on the free
services like TrafficX and LinkExchange.
Reciprocal links are often more
effective than banners at bringing
prospects to your web site.
E-zines and Email Lists
If you have the time, inclination and
skill, creating a newsletter or e-zine
is a good and inexpensive way of
prospecting. Start a target email list
by adding a form to your web site
inviting people to sign up for your
newsletter. Advertising in established
e-zines is also effective, but can be
expensive.
Choose a few online newsgroups,
message forums, and email distribution
lists on subjects that interest you.
Contribute helpful, informative messages
regularly to these exchanges before you
talk about your business or products to
reduce the risk of negative feedback.
Plan + Persistence + Patience =
Payback!
Design your marketing campaign and
materials
carefully. Commit to your plan, persist,
and success will reward you. Your online
prospecting efforts will bear fruit only
if they are multi-faceted and repeated.
It is the total of all activities that
will bring you new prospects and product
sales.
The author, Carole Dunn, built
her international USANA business
exclusively on the Net, and she owns
a web site design and promotion
business. Email her at
caroledunn@aol.com. Luke Melia,
Upline's Technology Editor, welcomes
comments and ideas about this or
other columns. You can e-mail him at
luke@upline.com.
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Reprinted with permission from Upline,
Upline Technology - March 1999,
888-UPLINE-1, http://www.upline.com
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