Mary Gillen, Co-Developer of Idea Site for
Business, has
over 20 years experience in freelance commercial
copywriting, graphics design, web design and creative marketing concepts.
Idea Site for Business was featured in Microsoft Corporation's TV series "America At Work: A Roadmap To The Internet", and highlighted in such publications as The LA Times, PC Novice Magazine and many others.
Mary has developed Web sites for such organizations as The World Bank, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Cancer Research Foundation of America, Allergy Supply Company and many others.
She also teaches Web development courses for EEI Communications (http://www.
eeicom.com) in Alexandria, VA that include HTML, DHTML, JavaScript, CGI Scripting, XML, NetObjects Fusion, Web Graphics Using Photoshop and Cold Fusion.
Mary can be reached by phone at 703-339-7400
or by e-mail at mpgillen
@mindspring.com
The Reality
The Potential
The Difference
Test the Web
With Us
Advertising Available on Idea Site
The Potential
The Difference
Test the Web
With Us
Advertising Available on Idea Site
Internet Marketing -
Your Mother Was Right!
by Mary GillenCo-Developer - Idea Site for Business
Mothers. They want their children to succeed. Solid advice mixed with hours of nervous nagging. But think for a minute. Use your imagination and shift this knowledge to Internet marketing. With a little "mothering," you just might have a success on your hands.
Consultants and small business owners are whirling around the Web, trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. If your current Internet marketing strategy is giving you results only a mother could love, consider these ways to improve what you're doing, based on some maternal advice that you just might recognize:
Don't Be Stingy
Inviting guests to your home for a meal? Good hosts never skimp on the food and drink. You make sure there's plenty of it, or your visitors will leave, thinking they've wasted their time. Most will feel it's not worth it ever to return.
Same idea pertains to your Web site. Stuff it with quality content you update often, that's easy to navigate and is really useful to people. If you do this, you stand a good chance that your guests will come back...when invited, that is. Keep track of your visitors via online guestbooks and surveys. Always ask them back when you've cooked up some new site stew.
Say "Please" and "Thank You"
Two words that never go out of fashion...at any time or in any media. Use one of the powerful search engines (such as Alta Vista) to find sites that look professional and that may interest your target market. E-mail each site's Webmaster and invite them to view your site with the offer (please!) of reciprocal linking. A time-consuming job? You bet! Do a little each day. Set a goal to contact the Webmasters of 5 sites per day. Watch your traffic build! And don't forget to express your appreciation to each Webmaster via a personal e-mail thank-you note and a reciprocal link from your site.
Always Look Your Best
Is your site's "slip showing?" Bitmapped clip art, typos, difficult navigation, poor design? You could be scaring your visitors away because of your site's unprofessional appearance. Invest in professional Web design and/or training. Check out David Siegal's Creating Killer Web Sites for lots of tips and tricks on how to create quality on the Web. At professional HTML instructor Vincent Flanders' Web Pages That Suck site (honest, Mom, that's what it's called!), you can view examples of the "bad" to learn the "good."
Don't Cross Your Eyes, They'll Freeze Like That
Do the Internet world a favor and leave the complex animation offline. Many times heavy-duty animation can freeze up your visitors' computers, which leaves most folks using language their mothers would find shocking. Chances are good that they won't visit you again. And "blinking" type spells "amateur!" It's tacky, unnecessary and difficult on the reader's eyes.
Look Both Ways Before You Cross the Information Superhighway
Read, read, read all you can about the Internet, the Web and "Netiquette". "Lurk" before you leap when you subscribe to a new newsgroup or mailing list. Proof your posts before you send them off. Consistently make the best impression you can.
At last count, there are over 45,000 newsgroups online, all pertaining to specific interests, products and concerns. Yet there are strict "Netiquette" rules about posting commercial messages to most newsgroups and mailing lists. If you post a commercial message in the wrong place, you will definitely hear about it in the form of a flame, a "shame-on-you" e-mail message. Flames can range from the gentle (don't do this again) to the intense (!#^$%#@*^ language and threats to have your provider cut you off). You want to avoid this as much as possible. Many newsgroups and mailing lists have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) file that you can read before posting. Mind your Internet manners and you won't get run over!
Do What You Say You're Going to Do
If you commit to changing your site info once a week, do it. If you offer a 30-day free trial of information, keep your promise. If you say you're going to ship a product the same day, get it done. Experience has shown that people do keep track. Build a solid Internet business reputation by keeping your commitments.
Don't Get a Swelled Head
Your e-mail box is full of responses. More visitors are viewing your site every day. Keep your head and continue the efforts that brought you these rewards. The golden rule of any marketing effort - online and off - is consistency in your promotion. Work the plan. Continue to add new and exciting products and info to your site. Always be on the lookout for what's new on the Net. The opportunities for cross-marketing are endless.
Share!
Use your professional experience to help others. Post useful answers and information to newsgroups, mailing lists and business forums and you stand the chance of establishing a solid reputation and quality prospect/customer relationships. This in turn can bring you more visitors to your Web Site through word-of-mouth.
A client of ours, Ray Cardinale of the Allergy Supply Company, spends 2-3 hours a day answering questions in allergy and asthma-related newsgroups and mailing lists. This effort continues to pay off. Visits to his online catalog are up and he's received orders from all over the world.
Don't Bother Those People
Don't spam. Ever! It's unprofessional. No one likes unsolicited e-mail messages that are "disguised" as something you might find interesting. Folks who use the Internet are savvy. They can smell a scam a mile a way. The visitor to your site and the receiver of your e-mail - they are the folks who are in charge. No matter how you coax them, they won't buy unless they feel that you have a legitimate product or service from which they will benefit. Spamming is a sure way to turn prospects off.
Be Thoughtful
Design your Web site around what your prospects and customers need. Many people who cruise the Net don't care about mission statements and organizational charts. They just want to get the info they need fast, without too much trouble. Designing your site around the answers your customers are seeking can also help shorten the sales cycle.
Always Wear Clean Underwear
Internet marketing is new and constantly changing. As you use the Net and Web to market, you're bound to make mistakes. It happens to all of us. If you goof, admit it. Apologize and move on. Deal honestly with people and the business will follow.
Copyright © 1999 Mary Gillen. All Rights Reserved.
Also by Mary Gillen:
to Market Your Business
return: idea site for business main menu