Web Marketing & Your Business

WM methods

In mid-year 2020 the question no longer relates to whether or not you’re marketing your business online, but rather, how you’re marketing your business online. What do I mean by, how? In order to answer this question I will make the assumption that you’re not a Web marketer, but a business owner seeking information, which suggests you may be interested in learning about some of the many ways businesses can be marketed on the Web today.

Hope I’m making the right assumption but, be that as it may, let’s take a look at a few of the specialized ways you can market your business on the Web:

Email & Newsletter Campaigns
Articles & Ebooks
Search Engine Optimized (SEO) Websites
Blogs
Trafic Exchanges
Message Boards & Forums
Social Media Networks
Hiring a Web Marketing Guru

Emails & articles

An Email Marketing Campaign^[1] is a coordinated set of individual email messages that are deployed across a specific period of time with one specific purpose, such as download a white paper, sign up for a webinar, or make a purchase with a provided coupon. In some instances those emails come in the form of newsletters.

An Article Directory^[2] is a website with collections of articles written about different subjects. Sometimes article directories are referred to as content farms, which are websites created to produce mass content, where some are based on churnalism. An eBook is literature made available in digital form only, and is usually offered as a free gift containing information that is of interest to website visitors or email recipients in exchange for subscription to a particular email list.

SEO and blogs

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the process by which website and some modern-day blog owners create content that is specifically meant to attract search engine robots (algorithms) by inserting popular keywords and key-phrases throughout the articles and posts in a way that the content still makes sense to human readers.

A Blog^[3] “(a truncation of “weblog”) is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order, so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the web page.”

Traffic exchanges & forums

Traffic Exchanges are a group of websites (portals) created specifically for members who agree to click on each others links and visit their websites and blogs – many containing product offers – for a period of time ranging from 15 seconds to 1 minute. In return of clicks and visits members are awarded points that help to defray the cost of credits required for visits to multiple sites.

“An Internet Forum^[4], or Message Board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. Forums act as centralized locations for topical discussion. The Forum format is derived from BBS and Usenet. The most notable and significant Internet forums communities have converged around topics ranging from medicine to technology, and vocations and hobbies.”

Social media & WM gurus

Perhaps the most popular Social Media Network on the Web is Facebook based on membership numbers alone, but there are other Web destinations that serve the same purpose of interaction and sharing of ideas, opinions and other such information, the proverbial public square. Sites like Flickr, tumblr, Linked-In, Reddit, Pinterest, MySpace and Delicious, just to name a few, serve a particular social media demographic.

Hiring a Web Marketing Guru (Web Services Consultant) may be the easiest way for the business who only casually utilize the Web to get his/her business marketed on the Web, even though this method tends to be more expensive in the short term.

Value and benefits

Of course, If you are not already marketing your business online it is probably about time to start, especially in view of the current environment (Covid-19 Pandemic) in which we’re all forced to the Web anyway. Although there are a few exceptions, just about every business can benefit from online marketing. There are just so many advantages to this type of marketing.

First and foremost is the economic value. It is extremely affordable to market your business online, but other advantages to to doing so may reach the same level in value beginning with the ability to reach a large target audience, as well as the ability to reach potential customers globally and the option to customize marketing campaigns for different sectors of the target audience.

The cost of creating and maintaining the website is insignificant in comparison to the number of potential clients you could reach through that site’s content. Additionally, the costs associated with posting links to your website are incidental. You could consider the cost of having access to the Web as part of the cost but you most likely require Web access for other reasons as well so it is a completely worthwhile venture.

Reaching a large target audience is arguable the primary reason for marketing your business online. You may have to spent a great deal of time and energy doing market research and determine who your target audience is; but you may also have to spend time trying to figure out the best way to reach that audience. despited the time spent this is a very sound marketing principle, as oppose to advertising on local television, radio and print media where you audience may be very limited by comparison.

keeping in mind that the Web is available 24 hours a day the potential for your products/services to be available any hour of day or night that is convenient to those who need them is definitely to your benefit as a business owner. Shopping for products and services in person can at times be very difficult, especially for individuals who work long hours or those who work unusual hours; and in a pandemic the difficulty is increased ten-fold. These individuals would not have the same problems obtaining their household needs from a business on the Web.

If you are a business owner who is reading this article and you do not already have a strong online presence, you need to immediately start learning more about the world of Web marketing. This is so important because if your competitors are marketing online, you may find they are gaining a steady advantage and are becoming more appealing to potential customers. Before too many of your potential customers become loyal customers of the competition you need to start figuring out how you can market your business online and keep pace with the competition.

References:

“Email Campaign.” Campaign Monitor. https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/glossary/email-campaign/. Accessed 19 Jun. 2020.

“Article Directory.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_directory. Accessed 19 Jun. 2020.

“Blogs.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

“Message Boards & Forums.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_forums. Accessed 19 Jun. 2020.

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List-Based Money-Making Methods

Is growing your email audience on your to-do list? Get it done

Essence of the list

A subscriber list is essential to any website or Web-based company, even if the entity is a small venture specializing in a specific niche or a larger, more established general merchant; because such a list – also referred to as an opt-in list – can make a world of difference in the form of extra income (and profit?) generated for an online business, niche-based entrepreneurship or personal cause, even if that cause is non-profit in nature. In today’s business environment, rarely would you come across an eCommerce site – big or small – that is operated without a subscriber list.

The main purpose of a subscriber list is to allow a company, Web marketer or online merchant to promote websites, products and services to “opt-in” subscribers via a email. Such promotional emails are permitted because the subscribers previously “opted-in” to the list thereby authorizing the business or marketer to send email, newsletters and other promotional materials to their inboxes. The benefit of this arrangement to marketers and businesses is clear: they make money from any purchases. But there is also benefit to the subscribers: they can be kept abreast of latest trends, new product offers and industry news so they are able to make better and more informed decisions.

It is because there is mutual consent between the two parties that any email sent to a given subscriber list is not considered as spam mail, which is obviously illegal and unwanted. Overall, the volume of promotional material that reaches subscribers’ inboxes, successfully opened, and read is enormous; and this material includes catalogs, newsletters and other such promotions. But it is sent because the subscribers themselves have signed up to receive it; meaning that they do want it to be sent to them.

Subscription motivation

While building a subscriber list should be an essential task of any business, it is important to point out that only a small percentage of website visitors actually opt-in to a subscriber list because many people find promotional mails annoying; but if you are a business owner or marketer who wish to build a subscriber list you’ll probably have more success in doing so by providing a high quality newsletter or catalog which, in turn, would demonstrate the time, work and care you put into this material and therefore should work to create interest in, and attract more readers to, your content after which you can watch your list nurtured and grow.

You can also achieve such a list-building goal by having good and interesting content on your website, because if visitors like what they see and read on your site they are more likely than not to want more; and a newsletter would certainly be one way to attract them back to your website. Many businesses utilize little teasers, appetizers (in the case of restaurants) and samples to attract customers and your or entrepreneurship should be no different in its approach to building and maintaining a quality subscriber list.

That having been said, keep in mind that a subscriber list can be used for purposes other than marketing your products and services in the sense that, it can be a powerful tool to enhance an already popular and reputable brand, or build an industry brand and create a credible, sterling reputation when used properly in joint ventures (JVs) and community forums. Of course it would be good to first build a successful list with a huge number of subscribers, because the more subscribers your list is comprised of, the more money you can make and therefore the more of a demand that would be created for your list in JV arrangements.

Ads, affiliations & deal-making

The following paragraphs provide an insight into several ways your business can make money using nothing more than a subscriber list.

Place advertisements – There are many corporations who will be willing to pay to put their banners and ads on a list with many subscribers. Selling or renting out lists is not a good idea so rather than doing that, many companies would rather place ads with lists boasting a huge subscriber base, and as a result, your newsletter could be selected by these companies and rewarded with many ads, each of which spells money.

Establish affiliations – Affiliations with other companies that have at least a semblance or similarity to your site’s topic and content will encourage other companies to provide links and brief descriptions of what they offer, or their products and services. With every click made on the link that directs or leads a subscriber from your list to their site, the company will pay you. This is known as P4P or pay for performance.

Make deals with other companies – By asking for a small percentage of sales done through your list with these companies, every sale done by customers that have come from your list and have gone there because of your newsletter would trigger a payment to you by the other company by way of a smal percentage of the sales created via your list. Pursuant to this arrangement, the more members of your list that buy from them, the more money you make.

Creative monetization

Products from other sites – A quality, well-maintained list will help you to get products from other sites on a consignment basis and sell them to your list members via a newsletter, catalog or other email campaign. Simply place descriptions, articles and photos of the product in your preferred medium and when list members express interest in a given product – or even place and order – you can get the product from the other site and sell or deliver it to your buyer.

Sell – Selling ebooks and compilations of article content to your list is another way to monetize that list. Manuals and how-to articles are usually in great demand and many people will be willing to shell out money to gain knowledge about a certain topic or given subject. With your existing list trusting your expertise in that area, an ebook could be offered and sold or used as an incentive.

Create a network out of your list – Get people to invite more people to view your site and subscribe to your list. The larger your list is, the more people will be able to click on your links and affiliate links as well as make your advertisement rates higher.

Selling information

Selling certain types of information – Subscribers are willing to pay for information if they know that it can be trusted and relied upon. Use your list to get more and more people to subscribe to you as well as browse your site. Lastly, you can use your list to earn money by making them your partners. Your list will be the bloodline of your growth and success.