The Internet is very much an extension of your efforts to promote and brand yourself on a local level. You should not look at your Internet marketing campaign as something separate from your local marketing. It should connect to it and enhance it.
Local print advertising space and media time are very expensive. You most likely don't have time to give complete descriptions of everything you can do or every product you sell. But if you can use that media to drive traffic to your web site, then you can provide them with a wealth of information. If you have a professional looking web site and use strong sales copy, you have a good shot at closing a sale. Think of your web site as your best salesman, who will take orders 24 hours a day...and who works for free.
The Internet is definitely the new Yellow Pages. It is increasingly the way people find what they need. It's the way people conduct research on local businesses with whom they are considering doing business. You need to be represented. If you don't stake your claim online and take steps to capture traffic looking for your products or services, your competition will.
Take it seriously. Get a web site up. But then take it a step further. Populate geo coordinate meta tages on your site so that people can generate directions and maps to your location. I can personally attest to doing business at particular retail locations simply because they were the only ones for which I could generate directions.
Optimize your site for the search engines. Ideally, you will discuss optimization issues with the designer of your site before your site is built. But however you have to do it, get your site optimized for the right traffic for your business.
Write articles. You've heard all this before - but that's because the classic self-promotion techniques like writing articles and books to establish credibility work. But still today, most people are too unmotivated or too unorganized to do these things. You can stand out in your field, and use the product of that action to create online promotional material. For example, you could publish a newsletter for your clients and others. You could then publish the newsletter articles to article directories online and use them to drive traffic to your site.
Look for symbiotic ways to join your online and offline marketing efforts. Give patrons to retail locations a reason to leave their email address. Encourage prospects to visit your web site and join your email newsletter for free, valuable information.
Think creatively. Implement aggressively. Measure results. And be systematic.
Tampilkan postingan dengan label ecommerce. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label ecommerce. Tampilkan semua postingan
Jumat, 18 November 2011
Kamis, 22 September 2011
What Is A Brochure Site?
When you look around and research what people think the purpose of a brochure is you find suggestions such as:
“The first question you need to ask yourself is ‘What does my company want this brochure to do?’ or ‘What purpose will the brochure serve?’ and ‘What target audience is it intended to reach?’”
When you then research what the answers to these questions are you get things like: ‘to provide information’; ‘to enhance our image’; ‘as a PR tool’; ‘to provide product information’.
Then when you Google ‘WHAT IS A BROCHURE SITE?’ this is the answer you get: “A small web site consisting of the basic information about an organisation. This would be similar in content to a flyer or leaflet.”
Made us think.
And what we thought was that all the definitions are pretty mealy mouthed and miss the point.
The point being that the purpose is surely to MARKET [i.e. engage in the commercial promotion, sale, or distribution of Z] or SELL [i.e. deal: do business].
If it isn’t then why would any business add to costs by producing said brochure?
[Back to mealy mouthed answers there!]
Does it not follow then that a “brochure site” must also market or sell? Yet, when there are over 500,000 business websites in the UK, only about 26,000 of them are ‘trading online’. What does that say about the other 474,000?
All this at a time when internet shopping has, according to IMRG, reached 10% of retail sales in the UK and £80 billion of consumer spending is on or influenced by the internet, of which:
1. £30 billion of RETAIL spending is online
2. £20 billion of OTHER CONSUMER spending is online
3. a further £30 billion of OFFLINE RETAIL sales is impacted by internet information, research or stimuli
4. 10% of retail sales now take place online
5. e-retail sales have grown at an average year-on-year rate of 45% for the past 6 months
6. e-retail sales have grown 2,000% in 6 years
7. 44% of shoppers polled expect their online shopping to increase in the next 12 months
8. 90% had researched goods online then bought them offline
9. 52% of consumers plan to reduce their high street spending in 2006
All this when a really good shopping cart costs less than £400 [yes, we sell them] and organizations such as Business West allow you to claim up to £500 worth of website development funding from IT @ Work Online. [Which we, of course, can help with!]
The world sometimes seems very strange!
“The first question you need to ask yourself is ‘What does my company want this brochure to do?’ or ‘What purpose will the brochure serve?’ and ‘What target audience is it intended to reach?’”
When you then research what the answers to these questions are you get things like: ‘to provide information’; ‘to enhance our image’; ‘as a PR tool’; ‘to provide product information’.
Then when you Google ‘WHAT IS A BROCHURE SITE?’ this is the answer you get: “A small web site consisting of the basic information about an organisation. This would be similar in content to a flyer or leaflet.”
Made us think.
And what we thought was that all the definitions are pretty mealy mouthed and miss the point.
The point being that the purpose is surely to MARKET [i.e. engage in the commercial promotion, sale, or distribution of Z] or SELL [i.e. deal: do business].
If it isn’t then why would any business add to costs by producing said brochure?
[Back to mealy mouthed answers there!]
Does it not follow then that a “brochure site” must also market or sell? Yet, when there are over 500,000 business websites in the UK, only about 26,000 of them are ‘trading online’. What does that say about the other 474,000?
All this at a time when internet shopping has, according to IMRG, reached 10% of retail sales in the UK and £80 billion of consumer spending is on or influenced by the internet, of which:
1. £30 billion of RETAIL spending is online
2. £20 billion of OTHER CONSUMER spending is online
3. a further £30 billion of OFFLINE RETAIL sales is impacted by internet information, research or stimuli
4. 10% of retail sales now take place online
5. e-retail sales have grown at an average year-on-year rate of 45% for the past 6 months
6. e-retail sales have grown 2,000% in 6 years
7. 44% of shoppers polled expect their online shopping to increase in the next 12 months
8. 90% had researched goods online then bought them offline
9. 52% of consumers plan to reduce their high street spending in 2006
All this when a really good shopping cart costs less than £400 [yes, we sell them] and organizations such as Business West allow you to claim up to £500 worth of website development funding from IT @ Work Online. [Which we, of course, can help with!]
The world sometimes seems very strange!
Rabu, 24 Agustus 2011
Who Has The Largest Retail Location In The World? The Internet, That's Who!
We often hear about the many thousands of locations where you can find a Wal-Mart, or a Target, or even the remaining K-Marts. But none of these retail giants can even come close to the Internet.
I remember when many of us first got online circa 1997. There were only 17% of Americans online and most countries around the world had barely even heard of the World Wide Web.
Within a few short years, Amazon-com had become the biggest bookstore in history with literally millions of books at their fingertips. eBay became the largest retail operation in history and the biggest retail business in the world.
But those giant retailers that the media always points to aren't the real story. From day one, the Internet was about offering people everywhere access to products, services, and ideas from everywhere else. The Net was about customizing.
Instead of going to Wal-Mart and choosing one of the three products they offered in the category of your choosing, you are able to go online and choose from just as many products as exist.
Take something like jewelry. Wal-Mart (and I only use them as an example because they're in practically every community in America) offers a jewelry area with several hundred items. The Internet gives you quick access to literally MILLIONS of jewelry items.
And because most online stores are largely virtual, their costs are extremely low. That means while a discount retail store discounts products 20% or 30%, an online store can discount 40% to 70% and more. And they don't just do that during special sales -- online retailers give those kinds of savings every day.
There was a time when people thought they couldn't judge a product unless they could hold it in their hand. But today, high resolution photographs, experiences provided by other shoppers, independent reviews, and more give shoppers a better chance than ever to find exactly the item they need -- AND have total trust that the item will work perfectly for them.
So give yourself a fun online shopping spree today. You'll get products your neighbors can't find locally, you'll get those products at amazingly low prices, and you can do it all without leaving the comfort of your home or office.
I remember when many of us first got online circa 1997. There were only 17% of Americans online and most countries around the world had barely even heard of the World Wide Web.
Within a few short years, Amazon-com had become the biggest bookstore in history with literally millions of books at their fingertips. eBay became the largest retail operation in history and the biggest retail business in the world.
But those giant retailers that the media always points to aren't the real story. From day one, the Internet was about offering people everywhere access to products, services, and ideas from everywhere else. The Net was about customizing.
Instead of going to Wal-Mart and choosing one of the three products they offered in the category of your choosing, you are able to go online and choose from just as many products as exist.
Take something like jewelry. Wal-Mart (and I only use them as an example because they're in practically every community in America) offers a jewelry area with several hundred items. The Internet gives you quick access to literally MILLIONS of jewelry items.
And because most online stores are largely virtual, their costs are extremely low. That means while a discount retail store discounts products 20% or 30%, an online store can discount 40% to 70% and more. And they don't just do that during special sales -- online retailers give those kinds of savings every day.
There was a time when people thought they couldn't judge a product unless they could hold it in their hand. But today, high resolution photographs, experiences provided by other shoppers, independent reviews, and more give shoppers a better chance than ever to find exactly the item they need -- AND have total trust that the item will work perfectly for them.
So give yourself a fun online shopping spree today. You'll get products your neighbors can't find locally, you'll get those products at amazingly low prices, and you can do it all without leaving the comfort of your home or office.
Senin, 02 Mei 2011
Getting Googly - A Quick Introduction To Google Adwords
You have most likely seen Google AdWords, even if you don’t realize it. It’s that list of sponsored links that runs down the right side of your computer screen when you Google a word. You’ll often see links at the top in a little blue box as well—we’ve all seen ‘em.
So what is Google AdWords?
Google Adwords is simply an online advertising solution that companies who have a web presence can use to drive more traffic to their site.
At-a-glance:
1. Google sells the space along the top and sides of their search engines to site owners interested in getting more exposure.
2. Site owners bid on keyword(s) that relate to what they have to offer.
3. When people perform a search on Google using that keyword(s), the site owners’ ads display as text-links in a column next to the organic results.
How Will Google Position Your Ad?
One of the things that set Google AdWords apart from their competitors is the way they rank their sponsored ads. Most search engines let you bid on keywords. He who bids the most per click “wins” the top spot. Period.
With AdWords, the amount you bid is only one factor. Google also takes into account the relevance of the text in your ad and the number of times your ad is clicked on and gives you a “quality score.” If your quality score is high enough, you can actually bump off the guy above you who pays more per click, but whose ad gets clicked on significantly less than yours!
Writing Effective Ads for Google
Frank Travisano, president of http://Linkateer.com, a leading Search Engine Optimization company says that when you are writing an ad for Google, “selecting the right keywords is critical.” Since you are paying each time someone clicks on your ad you don’t want a lot of misguided shoppers visiting your site and running up your tab.
Travisano advises, “Target your market as specifically as you can.” In other words, if you have a pet food store that offers organic, all-natural pet food; advertising for “pet” or “pet food” is not necessarily focusing on your target audience. Your target is consumers who are looking for all-natural, organic pet food. So your keywords need to reflect this.
So what is Google AdWords?
Google Adwords is simply an online advertising solution that companies who have a web presence can use to drive more traffic to their site.
At-a-glance:
1. Google sells the space along the top and sides of their search engines to site owners interested in getting more exposure.
2. Site owners bid on keyword(s) that relate to what they have to offer.
3. When people perform a search on Google using that keyword(s), the site owners’ ads display as text-links in a column next to the organic results.
How Will Google Position Your Ad?
One of the things that set Google AdWords apart from their competitors is the way they rank their sponsored ads. Most search engines let you bid on keywords. He who bids the most per click “wins” the top spot. Period.
With AdWords, the amount you bid is only one factor. Google also takes into account the relevance of the text in your ad and the number of times your ad is clicked on and gives you a “quality score.” If your quality score is high enough, you can actually bump off the guy above you who pays more per click, but whose ad gets clicked on significantly less than yours!
Writing Effective Ads for Google
Frank Travisano, president of http://Linkateer.com, a leading Search Engine Optimization company says that when you are writing an ad for Google, “selecting the right keywords is critical.” Since you are paying each time someone clicks on your ad you don’t want a lot of misguided shoppers visiting your site and running up your tab.
Travisano advises, “Target your market as specifically as you can.” In other words, if you have a pet food store that offers organic, all-natural pet food; advertising for “pet” or “pet food” is not necessarily focusing on your target audience. Your target is consumers who are looking for all-natural, organic pet food. So your keywords need to reflect this.
Minggu, 17 Oktober 2010
Five New Trends In Increasing Website Exposure
It is not the same old Internet anymore as far as marketing goes. There are new ways to promote your website that will benefit you by adding extra cash in your pocket. Read about the five new methods of Internet marketing that people are using to drive customers to their website. The basic concept that “content is king” along with correct keyword usage is the way to go. You will not regret using these new ways of marketing.
The number one Internet marketing plan for drawing customers into your website is the use of a blog. A blog is a continual updated online journal on your personal views or news related subject matters. People that read your blog are constantly aware of your ideas and thoughts, especially those concerning your business and products. The benefit of promoting your company through a blog is the fact that the search engines love blogs. Fresh new content and a few good keywords thrown in will push you higher up on the engine rankings. People will see it and more customers will click to your site.
In your blog, be sure to add valuable customer information such as product information, or business advice. This draws customer interest. In addition, other bloggers may wish to link with to your blog site, and you can draw in customers from their blogs. That will continually feed your ranking and over time; customer loyalty backed by trust will drive your website and feed new customers into your email. However, without RSS feeds, Really Simple Syndication, your blog may be doomed to fail. RSS feeds work by aggregating the information and outlay it to the customer. The customer will need to have a web browser or special software that can read RSS feeds. Most any information is fed into an RSS feed. The good thing about using a web blog with a RSS Feed is that often your information gets to the news media. A well-written blog with timely advice and resources lends you as creditable in your business area. Be prepared, you could have a reporter knocking at your door.
Another area in which you can spice up your website is with the use of PHP coding. One of the drawbacks to using an RSS feed is that because it is a dynamic page – the spiders will not catch it quick. For example, if it has to wait too long to index it with the code intact, it will just move on. There are things you can do to work with the PHP language, and it will benefit you to learn how to do it. At least with the PHP, you can make your pages on the site look like HTML files. Do not forget to use the idea of text links too. Links to other great sites is a new advertising trend you can use for more website exposure. With SEO, Search Engine Optimization, companies use text link marketing to get their site into the higher rankings. You can use auctions where you bid only on what you think you need, or through a brokerage, you can buy and sell text links. Just like with banners you can change exchange links too.
Bookmark technology and ways to use them has come a long way. Most agree that getting someone to bookmark your site will lead to future sales. People rarely ask for a customer bookmark their site though. There are software programs that you can use to make book marking a snap. All you have to do is to provide a link and your customers can bookmark easily. Some Java script software will automatically bookmark your site for your customer. There is a small fee involved for you. A simple “Please bookmark this site” button is often enough to get the customer to bookmark. Certain software will also add a special icon when the customer saves the site. This makes it easy to standout from the other bookmarked sites. Pop-ups help you to get your customer to bookmark too. New ingenuous software will remind your customer to bookmark as they are leaving, and even to bookmark with their permission.
The Internet is a dynamic marketing experience. In addition, the better you are at implementing its new marketing tools – the more profits you will make. So learn all you can about these five tips on new marketing trends and go grab some lifetime customers.
The number one Internet marketing plan for drawing customers into your website is the use of a blog. A blog is a continual updated online journal on your personal views or news related subject matters. People that read your blog are constantly aware of your ideas and thoughts, especially those concerning your business and products. The benefit of promoting your company through a blog is the fact that the search engines love blogs. Fresh new content and a few good keywords thrown in will push you higher up on the engine rankings. People will see it and more customers will click to your site.
In your blog, be sure to add valuable customer information such as product information, or business advice. This draws customer interest. In addition, other bloggers may wish to link with to your blog site, and you can draw in customers from their blogs. That will continually feed your ranking and over time; customer loyalty backed by trust will drive your website and feed new customers into your email. However, without RSS feeds, Really Simple Syndication, your blog may be doomed to fail. RSS feeds work by aggregating the information and outlay it to the customer. The customer will need to have a web browser or special software that can read RSS feeds. Most any information is fed into an RSS feed. The good thing about using a web blog with a RSS Feed is that often your information gets to the news media. A well-written blog with timely advice and resources lends you as creditable in your business area. Be prepared, you could have a reporter knocking at your door.
Another area in which you can spice up your website is with the use of PHP coding. One of the drawbacks to using an RSS feed is that because it is a dynamic page – the spiders will not catch it quick. For example, if it has to wait too long to index it with the code intact, it will just move on. There are things you can do to work with the PHP language, and it will benefit you to learn how to do it. At least with the PHP, you can make your pages on the site look like HTML files. Do not forget to use the idea of text links too. Links to other great sites is a new advertising trend you can use for more website exposure. With SEO, Search Engine Optimization, companies use text link marketing to get their site into the higher rankings. You can use auctions where you bid only on what you think you need, or through a brokerage, you can buy and sell text links. Just like with banners you can change exchange links too.
Bookmark technology and ways to use them has come a long way. Most agree that getting someone to bookmark your site will lead to future sales. People rarely ask for a customer bookmark their site though. There are software programs that you can use to make book marking a snap. All you have to do is to provide a link and your customers can bookmark easily. Some Java script software will automatically bookmark your site for your customer. There is a small fee involved for you. A simple “Please bookmark this site” button is often enough to get the customer to bookmark. Certain software will also add a special icon when the customer saves the site. This makes it easy to standout from the other bookmarked sites. Pop-ups help you to get your customer to bookmark too. New ingenuous software will remind your customer to bookmark as they are leaving, and even to bookmark with their permission.
The Internet is a dynamic marketing experience. In addition, the better you are at implementing its new marketing tools – the more profits you will make. So learn all you can about these five tips on new marketing trends and go grab some lifetime customers.
Kamis, 30 September 2010
Everybody’s Doing It: 3 Reasons You Should Have An Ebay Store
Testing the Waters
If you’ve ever dreamed of quitting your job and going into business for yourself, you may have considered online retail. But opening your own website is quite an undertaking—you’ll need to get a URL for your website, acquire a shopping cart, have someone design your web pages, get listed with the major search engines. And you’re going to have to pay for all those services up front, which means you’ll need to have some capital set aside. So before you tell your boss what you really think of his toupee, you may want to consider trying a less-drastic route first—the eBay store.
eBay stores are a great way to get a feel for whether or not selling online suits you. It’s a very simple entry point that lets you test the waters without committing a lot of your money or time. The cost is only $16.95 a month and the first thirty days are free—a pretty safe investment.
5 Benefits to Choosing eBay
eBay takes care of much of the busywork associated with running an eBiz . There are numerous advantages to starting an eBay store before attempting to create your own website:
• eBay hosts your site, provides you with a URL, a shopping cart, and an easy-to-use tool that lets you quickly design an attractive storefront.
• eBay takes care of search engine optimization for you—making sure you will be listed with the major search engines.
• When you start an eBay store, you have an immediate presence online—from day one, you have 170 million customers.
• eBay has an 800 number with live support.
• eBay provides workshops, at no extra cost, on how to implement the various tools they offer.
3 eBay Tools You Should Be Using
eBay offers built in channels for growing your business. What amazes Janelle Elms, successful e-business author and lead instructor for eBay University, is how many sellers are “not taking advantage of all the amazing tools that eBay gives you for that $16 every month.” Three of eBay’s biggest untapped resources:
• An opt-in newsletter to keep your eBay store in front of your customers. A series of clicks and pull down menus, and your newsletter is ready to go in a matter of minutes. A simple source to keep your customers coming back, but many people don’t even realize that option is available to them.
• RSS Feed (Really Simple Syndication). Once you turn this button on, all your buyers have to do is click on it, and every time you put new products in your store or up for auction, they’ll get an update telling them what you’ve added. Elms refers to RSS Feed as “a legal version of a pop-up ad.”
• Printable brochures of your eBay store to send out with every package to show your customers what else you offer and to remind them to shop with you again.
eBay stores are user-friendly: anyone can run an one. In addition to being a great proving ground for your online retail skill, you may find it to be a very profitable enterprise in and of itself.
If you’ve ever dreamed of quitting your job and going into business for yourself, you may have considered online retail. But opening your own website is quite an undertaking—you’ll need to get a URL for your website, acquire a shopping cart, have someone design your web pages, get listed with the major search engines. And you’re going to have to pay for all those services up front, which means you’ll need to have some capital set aside. So before you tell your boss what you really think of his toupee, you may want to consider trying a less-drastic route first—the eBay store.
eBay stores are a great way to get a feel for whether or not selling online suits you. It’s a very simple entry point that lets you test the waters without committing a lot of your money or time. The cost is only $16.95 a month and the first thirty days are free—a pretty safe investment.
5 Benefits to Choosing eBay
eBay takes care of much of the busywork associated with running an eBiz . There are numerous advantages to starting an eBay store before attempting to create your own website:
• eBay hosts your site, provides you with a URL, a shopping cart, and an easy-to-use tool that lets you quickly design an attractive storefront.
• eBay takes care of search engine optimization for you—making sure you will be listed with the major search engines.
• When you start an eBay store, you have an immediate presence online—from day one, you have 170 million customers.
• eBay has an 800 number with live support.
• eBay provides workshops, at no extra cost, on how to implement the various tools they offer.
3 eBay Tools You Should Be Using
eBay offers built in channels for growing your business. What amazes Janelle Elms, successful e-business author and lead instructor for eBay University, is how many sellers are “not taking advantage of all the amazing tools that eBay gives you for that $16 every month.” Three of eBay’s biggest untapped resources:
• An opt-in newsletter to keep your eBay store in front of your customers. A series of clicks and pull down menus, and your newsletter is ready to go in a matter of minutes. A simple source to keep your customers coming back, but many people don’t even realize that option is available to them.
• RSS Feed (Really Simple Syndication). Once you turn this button on, all your buyers have to do is click on it, and every time you put new products in your store or up for auction, they’ll get an update telling them what you’ve added. Elms refers to RSS Feed as “a legal version of a pop-up ad.”
• Printable brochures of your eBay store to send out with every package to show your customers what else you offer and to remind them to shop with you again.
eBay stores are user-friendly: anyone can run an one. In addition to being a great proving ground for your online retail skill, you may find it to be a very profitable enterprise in and of itself.
Senin, 30 Agustus 2010
Don’t Worry About Scrooge This Christmas, By Shopping Online You’ll Save Plenty Of Time And Money
According to a study by BizRate Research, 60% of women were already planning their online buying in September, compared to only 42% of men. Women are also reported to carry the burden of Christmas shopping with 55% taking on the responsibility, compared to only 45% of men. However, as more and more retailers go online, women can exploit the internet by saving themselves time, money and effort.
There are many advantages to shopping online:
* You have more choice
* Prices tend to be lower
* It’s scientifically proven to be less stressful!
Choice:
Even if you live in a big city, you’d have to be prepared to shop in multiple districts to get the same choice that you would have online. Most high street retailers now have a presence on the internet in any case and you may find that the website could offer more choice than your local store. In addition to big brand names, there are also lots of specialist sites on the internet – which only have an online presence. Such online specialists include CCL – a computer system and accessory specialist, Justtoys -with toys for kids and “big kids” ( http://www.justtoys.com/ ) and ChristmasHamper.com ( http://www.christmashamper.com/ )or Highland Fayre which specialise in luxury food and drink hampers.
Lower prices:
Many websites offer minimal delivery charges and because they don’t have the same costs as a bricks and mortar business, their prices to the consumer are often lower. Most transactions on the internet start with a search engine, but this is not the only method of research that you can do for your Christmas shopping. Perhaps you have heard of price comparison sites which exist for very specific markets such as personal finance like moneynet.co.uk ( http://www.moneynet.co.uk/ ) or for more general shopping services (Kelkoo, Ciao ). These sites act as mini search engines and they will collect data from a range of services – showing the results of products with the lowest prices.
Internet shopping is healthier
Internetretailer.com reported in 2003 that when twin sisters were asked to conduct Christmas shopping - one online, one offline, the sister who did her shopping on the internet fared much better. ( http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=10847 )The sister who shopped on the high street took four hours to complete her shopping trip. At the start of the shopping expedition, this sister had a heart rate of 67 which rose to 138 whilst shopping and was still 79 when she got home – apparently “tired and cold, with sore feet”.
On the other hand, her twin sister who had done her Christmas shopping online – took only 36 minutes to do her purchasing – and that was without broadband! Her initial heart rate was 66 and didn’t rise above 67. Instead of dragging the kids around the shops, this twin was able to have them on her lap, and all the shopping was delivered direct to the home.
And if you want some assistance in the New Year to lose those few extra pounds, there’s always online help for losing weight. The high profile website theleanteam.co.uk, as featured on Channel 4, provides useful health advice and if that still isn’t enough to tempt you online for Christmas – take a look at Disco Dancing Santa - http://www.northpole.com/Clubhouse/DancingSanta/
There are many advantages to shopping online:
* You have more choice
* Prices tend to be lower
* It’s scientifically proven to be less stressful!
Choice:
Even if you live in a big city, you’d have to be prepared to shop in multiple districts to get the same choice that you would have online. Most high street retailers now have a presence on the internet in any case and you may find that the website could offer more choice than your local store. In addition to big brand names, there are also lots of specialist sites on the internet – which only have an online presence. Such online specialists include CCL – a computer system and accessory specialist, Justtoys -with toys for kids and “big kids” ( http://www.justtoys.com/ ) and ChristmasHamper.com ( http://www.christmashamper.com/ )or Highland Fayre which specialise in luxury food and drink hampers.
Lower prices:
Many websites offer minimal delivery charges and because they don’t have the same costs as a bricks and mortar business, their prices to the consumer are often lower. Most transactions on the internet start with a search engine, but this is not the only method of research that you can do for your Christmas shopping. Perhaps you have heard of price comparison sites which exist for very specific markets such as personal finance like moneynet.co.uk ( http://www.moneynet.co.uk/ ) or for more general shopping services (Kelkoo, Ciao ). These sites act as mini search engines and they will collect data from a range of services – showing the results of products with the lowest prices.
Internet shopping is healthier
Internetretailer.com reported in 2003 that when twin sisters were asked to conduct Christmas shopping - one online, one offline, the sister who did her shopping on the internet fared much better. ( http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=10847 )The sister who shopped on the high street took four hours to complete her shopping trip. At the start of the shopping expedition, this sister had a heart rate of 67 which rose to 138 whilst shopping and was still 79 when she got home – apparently “tired and cold, with sore feet”.
On the other hand, her twin sister who had done her Christmas shopping online – took only 36 minutes to do her purchasing – and that was without broadband! Her initial heart rate was 66 and didn’t rise above 67. Instead of dragging the kids around the shops, this twin was able to have them on her lap, and all the shopping was delivered direct to the home.
And if you want some assistance in the New Year to lose those few extra pounds, there’s always online help for losing weight. The high profile website theleanteam.co.uk, as featured on Channel 4, provides useful health advice and if that still isn’t enough to tempt you online for Christmas – take a look at Disco Dancing Santa - http://www.northpole.com/Clubhouse/DancingSanta/
Sabtu, 08 Mei 2010
Blogs, Podcasting, And RSS Within Ecommerce
You probably have heard all these terms an awful lot lately. You wonder about what these technologies do? What value to they provide? If you aren't up to speed on these new applications and how they are impacting retail online interaction then read this brief further.
Will these technologies impact you? To be honest, it's too early to tell - but awareness drives innovation and maybe your team will develop an idea/application that truly changes a portion of your eCommerce business.
Here's the rundown:
Blogs
What it is:
Probably the most well known of the three, blogs allow everyday people to quickly develop a website and distribute any type of content that they desire. Many web entrepreneurs use this functionality to develop online stores within niche markets, while using search popularity to beat out larger retailers on the specific terms within the market.
Where Blogs make make sense is within targeted online communities. Certain blog authors develop a large base of specific visitors, hence the site becomes a target market for viral marketing. By integrating your brand image within the site experience at that SPECIFIC blog, you as an online marketer are able to truly segment your marketing PRIOR to converting someone as a customer.
Should you care:
If you have a very unique value proposition, or sell to a very specific or high-value customer segment, blogs can be a great way to increase overall brand awareness. You can better connect with your customers and provide detail into the current sales/promotions that you are providing.
Podcasting
What it is:
Pocasting should be just called mobile video broadcasting - Apple's marketing/development team did a great job with branding their device to a type of emerging media! Similar to traditional radio and television, mobile video broadcasting delivers branded content in either a paid/free environment, on someone's mobile MP3 player (Apple only does video currently, but that will change shortly). Retailers can use this communication channel to further connect to their customers with promotional events, while transmitting specialty programming to meet an interest need.
Should you care:
Not really. Until video podcasting penetration increases, it's still a limited channel for advertising. The best application available right now would be an online content segment that is digitally delivered to an opt-in list. As technology advances, you can potentially do this from your current opt-in page from your website and not from Apple's iTunes platform.
RSS
RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and is a method for electronic content distribution. RSS is transmitted via the internet, but what makes it unique is that no downloading efforts are needed by the end receiver of the content. It streams instateneously. Consumers can have news readers on their computers, either integrated into an emal client, or an aggregated web application such as News Gator, and are able to get information relating to their interests.
Already gaining steam in the travel industry and within comparison shopping engines, RSS seems to be a valuable way to push news, offers, and infomrmation to customers. Travel companies are able to provide a streaming supply of last minute airfare offers to their customer segments, without that customer having to open an email or visit a webpage.
Should you care:
Depends on the nature of your business. Do you consistently offer new prices? Do you get new pieces to your assortment consistently? Do you have a customer base that is extremely loyal that you want to reach out to with messaging? If so, RSS may another channel to help build your brand.
Will these technologies impact you? To be honest, it's too early to tell - but awareness drives innovation and maybe your team will develop an idea/application that truly changes a portion of your eCommerce business.
Here's the rundown:
Blogs
What it is:
Probably the most well known of the three, blogs allow everyday people to quickly develop a website and distribute any type of content that they desire. Many web entrepreneurs use this functionality to develop online stores within niche markets, while using search popularity to beat out larger retailers on the specific terms within the market.
Where Blogs make make sense is within targeted online communities. Certain blog authors develop a large base of specific visitors, hence the site becomes a target market for viral marketing. By integrating your brand image within the site experience at that SPECIFIC blog, you as an online marketer are able to truly segment your marketing PRIOR to converting someone as a customer.
Should you care:
If you have a very unique value proposition, or sell to a very specific or high-value customer segment, blogs can be a great way to increase overall brand awareness. You can better connect with your customers and provide detail into the current sales/promotions that you are providing.
Podcasting
What it is:
Pocasting should be just called mobile video broadcasting - Apple's marketing/development team did a great job with branding their device to a type of emerging media! Similar to traditional radio and television, mobile video broadcasting delivers branded content in either a paid/free environment, on someone's mobile MP3 player (Apple only does video currently, but that will change shortly). Retailers can use this communication channel to further connect to their customers with promotional events, while transmitting specialty programming to meet an interest need.
Should you care:
Not really. Until video podcasting penetration increases, it's still a limited channel for advertising. The best application available right now would be an online content segment that is digitally delivered to an opt-in list. As technology advances, you can potentially do this from your current opt-in page from your website and not from Apple's iTunes platform.
RSS
RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and is a method for electronic content distribution. RSS is transmitted via the internet, but what makes it unique is that no downloading efforts are needed by the end receiver of the content. It streams instateneously. Consumers can have news readers on their computers, either integrated into an emal client, or an aggregated web application such as News Gator, and are able to get information relating to their interests.
Already gaining steam in the travel industry and within comparison shopping engines, RSS seems to be a valuable way to push news, offers, and infomrmation to customers. Travel companies are able to provide a streaming supply of last minute airfare offers to their customer segments, without that customer having to open an email or visit a webpage.
Should you care:
Depends on the nature of your business. Do you consistently offer new prices? Do you get new pieces to your assortment consistently? Do you have a customer base that is extremely loyal that you want to reach out to with messaging? If so, RSS may another channel to help build your brand.
Senin, 12 April 2010
7 Reasons You Need To Blog For Your Business
If you are not blogging for your business then you should be. While many people simply dismiss blogging because of its description as a web diary they are missing a lot of traffic and revenue generating opportunities every day. Are you one of those missing out?
In truth blogs are much more than a simple web diary. They are actually a content management system and/or an easy web site template. Blogging software allows you to begin posting your content to the Internet in minutes and when you harness that ability with an RSS feed you have a powerful traffic magnet.
I have come up with 7 reasons why every business should have a blog and RSS feed.
1. Publishing a regularly updated blog helps you keep in touch with your existing audience and/or customer base. You can publish updates, news, or thoughts in your blog as well as answer questions.
2. A blog can help you attract new customers. Your blog entries (posts or articles) will become fodder for the search engines and will attract new visitors. If your blog answers the visitors question or attracts their interest you have just found another qualified lead.
3. Blogs and RSS feeds often rank higher in search engines than traditional web sites. Search engines love blogs and RSS feeds. If you design your blog properly then every time you update it the search engines are notified. Even if you don't regularly ping most search engines will revisit blogs more frequently. Plus the very organization of a blog lends itself to spidering and good search engine ranking.
4. Blogs can help you establish or build your reputation in a particular field. As your blog grows you will demonstrate your knowledge in your chosen niche.
5. Blogs and RSS feeds are good revenue streams. You can add pay-per-click ads, affiliate ads, or sell ad space on your blogs. In fact, many PPC companies also provide the ability to add PPC to your RSS feeds.
6. Blogs are great ways to generate leads. Even if you don't want to put any advertising on your blog you can use it to promote or capture leads for your own programs. These are great leads as the fact that they came from your blog means they are already interested in your topic and predisposed to your individual message.
7. Creating your own blog is the easiest way to establish a presence on the Internet and creating an RSS feed is even easier. In fact, it is also the cheapest way to get started on the Internet as there are a number of free blogging sites out there. I started out with http://blogger.com and usually recommend them but have heard others point to several other top blogging sites as well. The blogging software that I now use is WordPress and also happens to be free. In fact, most web hosts now offer WordPress (or other free blogging software) as a free site add-on through Fantastico. Installing WordPress from scratch is quick and easy but Fantastico makes it even easier. Blogs created at Blogger have an RSS feed created for them and WordPress also creates feeds in several variations automatically.
As you can see there are several benefits to starting your own blog and RSS feed. If you can count that many benefits from an Internet marketing technique that is also free and easy then you are foolish not to begin using it for yourself.
In truth blogs are much more than a simple web diary. They are actually a content management system and/or an easy web site template. Blogging software allows you to begin posting your content to the Internet in minutes and when you harness that ability with an RSS feed you have a powerful traffic magnet.
I have come up with 7 reasons why every business should have a blog and RSS feed.
1. Publishing a regularly updated blog helps you keep in touch with your existing audience and/or customer base. You can publish updates, news, or thoughts in your blog as well as answer questions.
2. A blog can help you attract new customers. Your blog entries (posts or articles) will become fodder for the search engines and will attract new visitors. If your blog answers the visitors question or attracts their interest you have just found another qualified lead.
3. Blogs and RSS feeds often rank higher in search engines than traditional web sites. Search engines love blogs and RSS feeds. If you design your blog properly then every time you update it the search engines are notified. Even if you don't regularly ping most search engines will revisit blogs more frequently. Plus the very organization of a blog lends itself to spidering and good search engine ranking.
4. Blogs can help you establish or build your reputation in a particular field. As your blog grows you will demonstrate your knowledge in your chosen niche.
5. Blogs and RSS feeds are good revenue streams. You can add pay-per-click ads, affiliate ads, or sell ad space on your blogs. In fact, many PPC companies also provide the ability to add PPC to your RSS feeds.
6. Blogs are great ways to generate leads. Even if you don't want to put any advertising on your blog you can use it to promote or capture leads for your own programs. These are great leads as the fact that they came from your blog means they are already interested in your topic and predisposed to your individual message.
7. Creating your own blog is the easiest way to establish a presence on the Internet and creating an RSS feed is even easier. In fact, it is also the cheapest way to get started on the Internet as there are a number of free blogging sites out there. I started out with http://blogger.com and usually recommend them but have heard others point to several other top blogging sites as well. The blogging software that I now use is WordPress and also happens to be free. In fact, most web hosts now offer WordPress (or other free blogging software) as a free site add-on through Fantastico. Installing WordPress from scratch is quick and easy but Fantastico makes it even easier. Blogs created at Blogger have an RSS feed created for them and WordPress also creates feeds in several variations automatically.
As you can see there are several benefits to starting your own blog and RSS feed. If you can count that many benefits from an Internet marketing technique that is also free and easy then you are foolish not to begin using it for yourself.
Sabtu, 30 Januari 2010
7 Steps To Skyrocket Your Internet Business Profits.
There are many ways to bring your income to the next level, and it all relies on just a little work that you can take anytime. So what do you need to take action on for your online business venture?
Here are a few ways you can create a greater stream of income through your own Internet Marketing:
1. Publish an e-zine
Have you started publishing your own e-zines yet? E-zines are newsletters that you send out every few days for your subscribers so that they can read and gain information from.
E-zines can also help you improve the relationship between you and your subscribers, sell your products, and promote any affiliated programs. As many gurus have mentioned, “the gold’s in the list”.
2. Publish testimonials
Testimonials can greatly increase your sales as it works like a proof – that the products you sell works. No one wants to buy junk, people are skeptical with anything that includes money.
So clear off the doubt in your visitors and show them the proof, testimonials from your customers, and that will greatly increase trust which eventually leads to profit.
3. Write articles
When is the last time you have written articles to be published in article directories? These articles you’ve written and submitted will be seen by thousands and thousands of people, and sometimes if your articles are good they’ll be used and published on websites.
This way, you can drive tons and tons of traffic to your site without cost at all, and every visitor are potential buyers.
4. Tracking your advertising
It is important that you track your advertising. If you have involved in Pay-Per-Click advertising like Google Adwords or Overture, you can clear off the ineffective keywords, and only bid on more profitable keywords that brings you profit.
5. Offering a guarantee
This is extremely important. 70% of people who sees no guarantee will leave the sales page just because they’re not convinced! If your product delivers well, why won’t you offer a guarantee?
You must earn your visitor’s trust, only then will they be comfortable in investing their money for your product.
6. Promote your own affiliate program
Whenever you have the chance to do so, execute the plan. Many times people will not have the urge to take action until they are asked to do so. Try to emphasize the benefits over and over again about affiliating your product, provide sufficient tools, and you’ll be receiving a whole lot more in your profits.
7. Publish an affiliate newsletter
Once you have gotten your affiliates, you can’t let them do it all by themselves. Provide them an affiliate newsletter, share affiliate tips and strategies with them so that they can successfully promote your product.
If you haven’t included these steps in your online business venture, make sure you’ll grab hold of it right now and execute them right away to multiply your revenues.
To your success,
Here are a few ways you can create a greater stream of income through your own Internet Marketing:
1. Publish an e-zine
Have you started publishing your own e-zines yet? E-zines are newsletters that you send out every few days for your subscribers so that they can read and gain information from.
E-zines can also help you improve the relationship between you and your subscribers, sell your products, and promote any affiliated programs. As many gurus have mentioned, “the gold’s in the list”.
2. Publish testimonials
Testimonials can greatly increase your sales as it works like a proof – that the products you sell works. No one wants to buy junk, people are skeptical with anything that includes money.
So clear off the doubt in your visitors and show them the proof, testimonials from your customers, and that will greatly increase trust which eventually leads to profit.
3. Write articles
When is the last time you have written articles to be published in article directories? These articles you’ve written and submitted will be seen by thousands and thousands of people, and sometimes if your articles are good they’ll be used and published on websites.
This way, you can drive tons and tons of traffic to your site without cost at all, and every visitor are potential buyers.
4. Tracking your advertising
It is important that you track your advertising. If you have involved in Pay-Per-Click advertising like Google Adwords or Overture, you can clear off the ineffective keywords, and only bid on more profitable keywords that brings you profit.
5. Offering a guarantee
This is extremely important. 70% of people who sees no guarantee will leave the sales page just because they’re not convinced! If your product delivers well, why won’t you offer a guarantee?
You must earn your visitor’s trust, only then will they be comfortable in investing their money for your product.
6. Promote your own affiliate program
Whenever you have the chance to do so, execute the plan. Many times people will not have the urge to take action until they are asked to do so. Try to emphasize the benefits over and over again about affiliating your product, provide sufficient tools, and you’ll be receiving a whole lot more in your profits.
7. Publish an affiliate newsletter
Once you have gotten your affiliates, you can’t let them do it all by themselves. Provide them an affiliate newsletter, share affiliate tips and strategies with them so that they can successfully promote your product.
If you haven’t included these steps in your online business venture, make sure you’ll grab hold of it right now and execute them right away to multiply your revenues.
To your success,
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