Monday, July 23, 2007

Don't Market Online Anymore Until You Read This . . .

Following is an article about internet marketing riddled with statistics. I rarely write in such a "business-like manner" for my blog, but it just came together this way.

While most hear "internet marketing" and tune out, I beg you not to. Many freelancers are used to marketing online, but so many fail so miserably because they don't take the time to do it right.

Most of us are bombarded with so much information that we feel like we're on overload sometimes. I wanted to share the following because I do a lot of reading on marketing. Even though I've been a business owner since 1997, marketing is something I've learned that you never master, you just learn to adapt.

So, enjoy the following, and try to see how your marketing efforts stack up, given the following:

According to the article 2006 Search Engine Marketing & Internet Statistics on InteractiveReturn.com, "The internet is the fastest growing advertising medium, set to reach US $51.6 billion in 2010. This is nearly 10% of all global advertising."

Considering this, following are three things every online marketer must know to be successful:

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3 Things Every Online Marketing Must Know to Be Successful

Speak to the Right Market: The following is from Therese Wielage at SpinIndustry.com, who attended the Email Marketing Summit in San Francisco.

She writes: ". . . [I] wanted to share my TOP TEN highlights including the most useful information from keynote speaker, David Daniels, VP & Research Director of Jupiter Research. . . . Right now it is common for 60% of recipients to ignore you if you send out a non-targeted message. (emphasis added) Relevance is key in converting viewers to buyers.

In short, don't spam. On a more complex level, use your subscriber list wisely. Compartmentalize it so that you send the most relevant information to the right group.

Court me: What do I mean by this? Marketing is still about relationships. As Jonathan Gabay writes in the article, Creativity Works, on WNIM.com (What's New In Marketing):

"It's all about collaborative consensual relationships promising mutually rewarding benefits for everyone. The consumer gets the kind of junk mail they 'love' [I think there's an oxymoron in there somewhere] we get to target campaigns, and above all, choice, tempered by consumer rights - namely the right to be bombarded at a convenient time and place with marketing messages - is attained. (Hallelujah!)"

Think of marketing as "internet dating." No one wants a stranger popping up in their inbox proposing a get together right off the bat.

Send me a wink and a smile first (eg, an introductory email). Wait to see if I respond. If I do, tell me why you think we'd make a good match (eg, how your product/service will benefit me).

Thus, a relationship is borne.

Use It! As in, use market via the internet. While this may seem obvious, many freelancers and small business owners don't use email marketing as a regular part of their marketing efforts.

Consider this: Internet ad sales reached record levels in the first six months of 2006, hitting $7.9 billion. Sales were up about 37 percent over the same period in 2005, [Source: Internet Advertising Bureau].

Integrate Me: With the growth in internet marketing reaching record levels, many may be tempted to abandon other forms of marketing altogether. Stop, don't!

As journalist Denise Magnell asks in the Boston Business Journal article, 'Integration' is word of the day, "So where does that leave traditional print, TV and radio within the nearly $190 billion spent on advertising nationwide each year?

Jupiter analyst Emily Riley explains in the same article, "Traditional media more and more are trying to draw people to a Web site. An integrated campaign makes the best use of a variety of media. . . "

For example, a freelance writer may use a direct mail campaign (postcards) to drive potential clients to her website.

Conversely, she may use an online opt-in medium like a newsletter to drive off-line sales of her recently publish hardcover book.

The bottom line: If you're not marketing online - you're missing out!
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