Article: Marketing Tips for Your Small Business
By Judy Vorfeld
As you struggle through the thick forest of words, phrases, and acronyms like CGI, perl, SSI, e-commerce, click-throughs, branding, and streaming media, do you ever feel lost? Or at least confused?
The Internet offers lots of experts who give excellent advice on advertising, marketing, and Web design. But what help is relevant for your small business? How can you develop a site that communicates your message effectively what you want said without dealing with information overload?
First, understand that everything revolves around your current and potential clients and customers. Without them, you have nothing. So begin by carefully choosing:
- Graphic design (including site colors)
- Navigation
- Text design (including font colors)
- Text formatting
- Text content
Presentation must somehow suggest that you and your business are of the highest quality. Bob Cortez says, "The problem that most web site owners and Internet marketers have is that they are focusing on promoting the site rather than focusing on promoting the business."
Brand name companies can afford to promote their sites, he says, but he insists that a small business needs to promote itself "at all times, with every dollar invested towards creating sales, not traffic."
Okay, you say, but how? Banners, associate programs, advertising in e-zines, reciprocal linking, web rings, buying every piece of software guaranteed to bring in 5,000 plus hits a week to my site? Some of these may work, but before getting involved with them, consider the value in networking.
Try some newsgroups. They are interactive. Get involved in at least one. Find out which best suits you.
Discussion boards and forums also make efficient vehicles for networking. Here are a couple that typify the quality of such activities:
- Dave and Heidi Perry's Home Business Online Forum at http://homebusinessonline.com
- Digital Women http://homebusinessonline.com
- Dr. Ralph Wilson's Marketing and E-Commerce forums at http://www.wilsonweb.com/forum
Each group's size (and character) varies. Part of the value of such groups is that they give members the chance to ask questions, express opinions, and learn. You will be drawn toward those people and groups offering the most insight and information for your particular needs and specialties. You begin forming friendships and business relationships. And if you're a specialist in a given area, look around forums where you may offer your services as a moderator. Many portal sites look for specialists. If you write, you might volunteer to submit regular site / book / technology reviews for quality e-zines.
Once you've joined a newsgroup, introduce yourself (if that's the policy of the group), then stay silent for a while (it's called "lurking"). Learn who the regulars are, and study their perspectives. When you find an especially helpful comment, take time to copy the e-mail address of the writer and send him/her a personal comment. Find a larger list of newsgroup links on Webgrammar's Marketing page, plus a few more on the Design page.
If you have an opinion or tip for the entire group, make sure to read through the guidelines or instructions (such as what to write in the subject line, and the maximum amount of lines in a signature). Never, ever SPAM. Go to http://www.wave.ca/HelpSafeNetiquette.html to learn more about netiquette.
If you want people to identify you with your business, create your own signature line, and append it to each e-mail message. This is a valuable way to publicize your business, helps people in need of your URL or e-mail address, and is now almost a necessity.
Sure, market your site by some of the traditional methods, but spend the majority of your time marketing yourself and your business, using networking techniques. What is the most valuable kind of reference? Word of mouth. You and I need customers and clients that will seriously consider us, our products, and our services. Don't worry about the number of visitors to your site. If you worry about anything, let it be that no potential clients or customers will come and seriously browse. It's quality, not quantity, that counts.
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