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Five Proven Methods for Internet Marketing Success
20 Tips and Traps of Internet Marketing
Integrating Brand with Direct Marketing
Best Practice of 1to1 Sites

There are hundreds of ways that you can promote your online business or website, some more effective than others.These five proven methods will help you to generate traffic to your site and also to generate income into your wallet.

1. One thing that appeals to everyone is "free." If it is free people will take it. Think of the samples of cheese given away at grocery stores. Do you really want a small piece of cheese? Of course not! But you take it simply because it is free and someone is nice enough to offer it to you. The same principle applies with information or services offered from your website. You can send out free newsletters or offer a free trail period. One popular thing that is being given away now are free credit reports or free PC scans. These freebies are what we in the marketing field like to call teasers. After running the free credit report or PC scan we alert the customer if there is something found on their credit record or PC and then offer to show them what it is or repair the problem for a price. This can be an effective way to get information to your potential customers, create sales or to generate traffic to your site.

2. Your website contains information about a service or product that you are very knowledgeable about. You can use this knowledge to generate traffic to your site by writing articles in your area of expertise and having them published in an ezine or an article information site. The most effective way to use these articles is to write them for free and ask in return that the publisher allow you to include a byline. A byline is a very short summary of the author, their credentials and their website. Your byline is a way that readers will come to know you as an expert on the topic and will in turn come to trust your site as a source of credible information.

3. Some search engines will allow a website to purchase their ranking. This is an excellent Internet marketing technique in that it is effective and inexpensive. In the pay-per-click programs, website are only billed for those who actually visit the page, unlike banner ads which may be seen by millions but only used by a few. When using the pay-per-click program you are asked to choose keywords and when those are entered your site will appear and if the surfer chooses to view your site, you are billed for that click. Many pay-per-click programs will offer other benefits as well, such as updated lists of commonly used keywords.

4. You should remember that others are in the same boat as you. You can choose to network with those who have similar marketing ideas. When networking you will be able to share links and refer customers to each other. You should always be very cautious when choosing a networking partner as everything that you recommend is a reflection of yourself or your product and therefore, you should be certain that your networking partner is a reputable source of information.

5. Simply because your website is online, doesn't mean that all your advertising should be. Advertise in newspapers, TV, the radio or you can even send out a press release to get your information to thousands of people all over the country.

Today we hear many approaches and ideas from Web Weavers, Gurus and Architects on how to make the web build market share for a business. As a Marketer and Non Techie, I'd like to share with you the non-technical perspective on Web Marketing learned through direct experience overseeing many web-oriented projects. One of the challenges with the Internet of course is rapid obsolescence so here is our first tip;

1. Don't believe any of these tips
Or at least take them with a grain of salt. The web is accelerating at such a rapid pace, cutting edge stuff from a year ago is fast becoming redundant. It is very difficult to create a proper strategy around web activity when processes become obsolete so quickly. Remember the old saying 'Pioneers take the arrows' and in the world wide web, the goal posts seem to change every few weeks.

2. Capture E-mails
A significant percentage of web sites do not have a mechanism for return contact or invitations to join e-mail subscriptions. Think of a website as an invitation to start a relationship. E-mail addresses give one the opportunity to build relationships.

3.Optimize Search Engines
Studies have shown (?) up to 84% of respondents found out about specific Websites through Search Engines.

3. Turbo Charge Search Engines
The proliferation of websites has made for volunteer optimization of search engines to be more difficult. Consider pay for placement sites such as Overture, they work!

4. Cut to the Chase
Within many websites one must wade through rhetoric and poorly written copy to get to the useful information. Loads of data must be sifted though to get to the useful information. Do your viewers a favor and eliminate the crap out of your website. A website is not meant to be an ego trip.

5. Lose the gimmicks
I remember a well-intentioned web weaver who wanted to insist on using morphing images and animation to 'wow' new users to this particular site. I asked for stats on those who had the software to support the viewing. Upon considerable reflection the designer went back to second-generation technology. This leads us to our next tip…

6. Think Money not Pretty
Tom Antion runs an e-commerce workshop in the U.S. called 'Butt Camp'. His mantra, think money not pretty. Don't overwhelm users with design tricks and wild color schemes. Consumers are too sophisticated and are inundated with beautifully crafted, well designed junk. For most consumers at some level this is offensive.

7. Design for the Low Common Denominator
Survey your target, find the foundation technology they support then design for their hardware capacities.

8. Create frames at the Top of Splash Pages
A significant percentage of users will view your splash page like a print Ad. I've been told that up to 80% of new users do not scroll down off the Splash Page. Load all of your key information into what would fit into a 15-inch monitor. This would include your links and e-mail connections.

9. Site Maps Rule
Make sure a site map is prevalent. They help in search engine optimization and they allow busy people to get to where they want to go in a click or two.

10. Push verses Pull Content
The odds of building a relationship through the web increase if one can educate by e-mail. This puts some control into your marketing. A Website without linkage is largely passive as in 'here's hopin'… When you push content through opt in and viral programs, you are not so reliant on making rapid copy changes to your site and can build stronger relationships with your market.

11. Split Run Test Banners
When using banners methodically test concepts to see which pulls best. Trial and error works wonders. Remember banners are proliferating like bunnies so keep expectations low in terms of this kind of promotion

12. Beware of Reciprocal Links
A website needs perhaps up to 100 reciprocal links to make an impact on traffic. When considering a link complete the following steps;
…research the website
…click on a link the candidate site has then proceed to click on all the links of each of those sites
…repeat the process until you have reviewed all links three degrees of separation.

If the prospective link is clean ie: no porn or Neo Nazi Groups, then run a reciprocal link. Beware of collaborations which take you out of markets due to competitive environs.

13. Beware of Link Rot
Don't let users click to dead ends.

14. Orphans Need Parents
Make sure each page has your companies ID and an e-mail link.

15. Think Fast not Pretty
Slow and cumbersome websites are ….well, slow and cumbersome. Consider using more expandable thumbnails verses full blown graphics as a way to move things along for your users.

16. Ask for Optimization Strategies
If your web weaver doesn't have an integrated strategy to drive sales leads to you from your web program, run.

17. Expectations need to be in Check
A general rule of thumb, if it costs $10000 to build a website then budget $10000 a year to maintain and market the program. In other words, a Porsche in your driveway is pretty useless if you can't afford to insure, maintain and fuel it up on occasion.

18. Return your Phone Calls
The old rule in Marketing, only Market as much as you can Sell, Sell only as much as you can Produce. If you get swamped with marginal prospects, tighten the nature of the content and develop a tighter niche.

19. Consider Viral Strategies
In the book the Tipping Point, the Author speaks to the resurgence of Vans, those funky shoes, which almost went extinct. Some influential types (cool people) in the Soho District of New York picked some up in used clothing stores and then their friends started noticing how these Vans were really cool. Over time the NY hipsters took some plane trips in their Vans and inadvertently started Van Mania in other cities and away went the marketing virus. The producers of the shoes must have shook their heads in disbelief . My point, the web is perfect for high quality products with cache, see case studies on Palm Pilot and Hotmail.

20. Study E-Commerce Opportunities 'Very' Carefully
As a CEO you may be aware that shopping carts are very cheap, merchant accounts are accessible now and traffic building strategies are attainable. If you are considering E-Commerce Solutions look at the opportunity from a 360 degree analysis. In other words have different advisors with different mindsets look at e- commerce with a critical objective eye. You will get all kinds of seemingly dumb questions from perhaps your Accountant or Operations Manager which will generate extremely valuable conversations. If the E-Commerce process is not completely buttoned down it can become a black hole. Doubling the projected budget and time lines is not enough. E-commerce while in some cases a superb way to do business, can in other cases be a disaster. Consider partial e-commerce strategies and back up systems if your technology or technologist goes a bit goofy.

The Web is unlike other media. Print, billboards, and TV are passive. Radio is intrusive. The Internet is a participatory medium. That means a prospect is a volunteer. She chooses how to interact with the medium. Her participation is a function of her intent, the strength of your brand, and the measure of how well your Web site's persuasive architecture can participate in a dialogue with her. Clearly understanding the dynamic nature of the medium is critical for maximizing the return on investment (ROI) of an interactive campaign.

Because of the participatory nature of the medium, the only way to achieve maximum effectiveness for your marketing efforts is if brand building (generating awareness and making emotional connections) and persuasive direct marketing (tactics designed to elicit a specific response) are used wisely and in concert. Success lies in combining the perception-shaping, relationship-oriented power of brand advertising with the one-to-one persuasive pulling of direct marketing and in how the two combine during the different phases of a customer's lifecycle. Direct marketing lets the customer perceive she's in control of the relationship. In so doing, it allows the marketer to reinforce the brand's value proposition.

In an infinite customer universe (of which potential buyers are a subset), nontargeted brand advertising is critical to build awareness, anchor emotional connections, and establish perceptions of your brand's offering and value. Persuasion tactics then guide people along the suspect, prospect, and buyer phases, where users need incentive to take action and choose you over competitors. Direct persuasion cedes to branding again, to transition a user from customer to brand advocate. Elements of both branding and direct marketing are used in each email message and search engine result and on your Web site.

We can determine the effectiveness of the message communicated to prospects by mining data. If the right objectives are defined, we can measure just about everything a prospect perceives when interacting with us. Successful ROI marketing is a matter of identifying trends within data to test and tweak messages for optimal performance. The more we know about our customers, the more effective we are in our brand and persuasive messages.

Practically, how can we apply, measure, and manage this?

Following the Buying Process

As consumers enter the buying process, they become aware of a need or problem requiring a solution. Fredrick Marckini, CEO of iProspect, explains:

1. They recognize a problem to be solved.

2. They choose to solve the problem via the Internet.

3. They choose one of 15 major search properties to perform a search.

4. They choose certain keywords or key phrases for research.

5. They choose which site to visit from resulting sites listed.

There are two possible outcomes: They find you or they don't. How much influence do you wield? Jupiter Research (a unit of ClickZ's parent corporation) says 80 percent of all Internet users make some type of search request every month. With 175 million U.S. users, a lot of your customers are online searching for a solution to their problem.

Roy H. Williams says:
Smart advertisers are those who set out to win the customer's heart long before she needs their product. Their only goal is to be the company she thinks of first and feels the best about whenever her need arises. Smart advertisers make no attempt to predict the moment of the customer's need, but buy enough repetition [or search phrases] to ensure they will immediately spring to mind whenever such need arises.

This was reiterated by David Hirsch, Google's director of business-to-business (B2B) vertical markets, at @d:tech, "Searchers reveal what stage of the buying process they are in by the terms they use."

You can determine if people find your brand online; you can choose which search engines find your site; you can choose which keywords or key phrases to market in the search engines; you can choose how your description persuades prospects to click. According to a recent iProspect study, 33 percent of users believe top ranking in search results is for a top brand.

They land on your site as suspects. If they came using a keyword or key phrase your page is relevant to, they'll continue. If not, you've lost them. You control whether they find relevance in what you offer. After exploring your site, they've expressed interest in what you offer. Now they're prospects.

To turn a prospect into a lead or customer, persuasive architecture must be part of your site's fabric. You must be clear about your objectives and the actions you want prospects to take -- whether to print and use a coupon, purchase from your site, subscribe to your newsletter, qualify themselves as leads, or any other action or conversion you desire.

Once prospects have converted to buyers or customers, brand again comes into play. Peter Drucker explains, "The purpose of a business is not to make a sale but to make and keep a customer." The goal isn't to get customers to take action once, but to effectively establish relationships and dialogue with them.

Traditional agencies hate measuring campaign ROI. They claim their efforts' effect is beyond measurement. Yet brand-persuasion marketing is measurable, in terms of not only the new customers it brings in but also retention and advocacy of loyal customers. Perhaps that's why so many traditional advertisers are reluctant to move online and plan effective objectives. Online marketing's ability to combine branding and direct marketing in the same message makes brand advertisers more accountable.

Your prospects are online. They arrive at your Web site because they recognize a need, problem, or opportunity. They want you to provide a solution. Eventually, they will find that solution. Have you spent as much time focused on your persuasive architecture as you have on branding?