|
Common sense consensual marketing
One of the things most if not all Internet marketers come
across at least once in their lives is "spam." Whether they've
used it, contemplated it, rallied against it, or received it, the deceptively
appealing nature of unsolicited commercial email as well as the gut-wrenching,
mind-numbing, nerve-racking person-hours it takes to manage spam makes
it the most detested form of online marketing. But the question remains:
Why is it still being used?
It's Like a Drug
Today, while driving to a client in my consulting practice, I listened
to the audio version of one of my favorite books, "The
22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" by Al Ries and Jack Trout --
the fathers of positioning. One of their laws struck me in a way
it has never struck me before, for I realized, now that I am online, how
much these laws apply to Internet marketing as well. It also struck me
because the book was written in a time when email was relatively unknown
and "WWW" was thought of as an acronym for some new sports organization.
Law number 11, the law of perspective, states: In marketing, "The
long-term effects are usually the exact opposite of the short-term effects."
Al Ries illustrates this law with sales promotions and the way they work
-- and work against you. While sales do help to increase business
in the short-term, in the long-term the effect wears off and, like a drug,
one has to inject more price based incentives to keep the volume at a
certain level. Ultimately, a discount driven company will see its business
inevitably decrease. As Ries points out, "Sales tend to educate consumers
over time never to buy at regular prices."
Sex, drugs, money, and crime are all typical examples in which short-term
gains can lead to long-term losses. But these hedonistic-like marketing
approaches are not limited to sales promotions. With the Internet comes
along another -- this seemingly unstoppable barrage of unwanted commercial
email called "spam." Obviously, spam is effective and very profitable
since, if it wasn't, it would have stopped haunting our inboxes long ago.
However, in addition to the potential infringement of new business-related
laws, the negative consequences of spam with regards to long-term profitability
far outweigh the short-term advantages.
Credibility is Crucial
A business' most important asset is its credibility -- and more so online,
for the Internet lacks the human element. (By the way, it is this very
lack that often makes spam so attractive if not addictive, as some people
tend to forget that people receive the mail, not computers.) Nevertheless,
credibility in the faceless world wide web is like oxygen in its offline
version: It's critically important and inescapably essential. Therefore,
a more profitable, long-term solution is the creation of one's own opt-in
mailing lists or the use of others that are opt-in, responsible, and targeted.
Consequently, ezines are growing with astonishing fervor. Beyond the
fact that they help build trust and credibility, ezines help you to stay
in constant touch with your prospects. People want to get to know you.
And the level of value they attribute to their purchase from you is --
as unrelated as it may seem -- inextricably tied to the level of trust
they place in you.
Sure, short-term band-aid solutions can produce good results. Sales and
profits can be made with spam (or without the need for prospects to know
you, for that matter). But like drugs, these solutions are only short-lived,
which is why they must be continuously repeated in order to remain viable
let alone profitable -- hence, the reason why spammers keep spamming.
Knowing you is the basis of any long-term business success. If you're
in it for the long haul and if you want to remain profitable for a long
period of time, then consider the converse -- short-term losses versus
long-term gains. In other words, don't spam. Find ways to stay in contact
with eager, interested, and consensual prospects. Publish your own ezine.
Buy or rent targeted opt-in lists from reputable mailing list brokers.
Get linked on as many other sites as possible. Most important, advertise
in ezines... It's your surest and safest bet.
Needless to say, it is commonsensical that, if you sell a product online
that helps to make life easier for your prospects, don't market your product
in a way that negates or contradicts that very point. Use responsible
email marketing strategies. The pitfalls of spam marketing will, in the
end, cost you much more than some of its more respectable alternatives.
About the author
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter and consultant dedicated
to turning sales messages into powerful magnets. Get a free copy of
his book, "The 10 Commandments of Power Positioning," when
you subscribe to his free monthly ezine, "The Profit Pill."
See http://SuccessDoctor.com/
now! |
| » Change
your mind about an eBay bid?
We have all made choices in life that two seconds later
we know we should take back. Especially when there is money involved
this can become a problem.
» A
simple way to create 7 effective autoresponder messages
Email is the Net's most powerful marketing tool. And autoresponders
are the best idea yet for marketing with email.
» 7
ways to drive laser-targeted traffic to your website
Getting people who matter to see one’s website
is a difficult undertaking if he tries to consider the fact that
there are rivals everywhere waiting to pin him down.
» Website
valuation: Why standard website pricing methods will emerge
The market of buying and selling developed websites is
becoming more and more liquid each day.
» One
way links are better than reciprocal links
You probably know by now that where your website ranks in
the search engine rankings dramatically affects how many visitors you
have to your site. Did you also know that you can change where your
site is ranked by being proactive and getting as many one way links
to your site as possible?
» How
to make visitors stay at your website
The very first thing which you should provide the visitors
with is some free interesting reading material.
» How
to make your visitors click your ads
Here is a simple solution; Convert your banner advertisement
to look like a text advertisement!
» Offline
advertising should be a part of your online strategy
Day by day, online business has become more & more
complicated and competitive.
» How
to sell traffic
Selling the traffic arriving at your site is a good method
to increase profits from your portal.
» Make
money from online auctions
Online auctions have the best benefit of a vast platform.
Your product is viewed by loads of people & hence there is
more possibility of finding a suitable bidder.
» Groupware
explained in easy terms
Groupware is a term used frequently to describe collaborative
software. Groupware is application software that integrates work
on a single project by several concurrent users at separated random
workstations.
» Timely
back up can save you from disasters
Few things which people often back up are e-mail addresses,
bank records, photographs, personal records, software’s,
music etc.
» Why
should one go for autoresponders
Autoresponders are programs which get automatically
executed in particular situations.
» Become
your own boss - Start your own online business today
A survey conducted by SBA states that two third of new
business survives at least two year and about forty four percent
survives at least four year.
» Express
your thoughts - Creating your own blog!
What exactly is a blog? Technically speaking it is a
journal or a newsletter which is regularly updated and can be used
by any one.
» Pop-up
ads - To be or not to be?
According to a study conducted by the Bunnyfoot University, “The
Efficacy of Pop-ups and the Resulting Effect on Brands” Internet
users feel harangues and harassed by pop-up ads.
» Why
content is king on the Internet
The advantages that Internet holds over the rest of
the other communication mediums should not wasted because of
the inability to find a comprehensive plan that will bind all
these faculties together.
» 10
niche marketing tips
In our increasingly driven consumer economies, the average
customer is bombarded by choices. With increased saturation of the
market, companies look towards niche marketing to search new, ever-evolving
and sophisticated consumers.
» Using
free traffic exchange
These days internet has emerged as both, a market and
hub for marketing. Unlike the ‘brick and mortar’ world
where large manufacturers manage to squeeze out the market bases
of smaller companies, the internet provides haven like the free
traffic exchange.
» Ten
ways to drive traffic to your website
Developing a web site and then letting it grow is
like planting a tree and then nurturing it.
» Marketing
through keyword articles
One of the most effective tools of Internet marketing
is the use of keyword articles.
» Want
to make money online? Market a service to businesses
Don walked across the street from his house to mine to
announce he had finally retired. "But I'm not ready for the
golf course," he said. "I want to make a living on the
Internet. What can I sell?"
» Web
site design mistakes - Database parameters in URLs
Creating a web site takes thought, planning and execution.
Unfortunately, many designs are dead in the water before they are
even published as far as search engine optimization is concerned.
Whatever you do, avoid these critical mistakes.
» Alexa
Toolbar - The ultimate internet tool
There are numerous tools available on the Internet to
assist online businesses. A valuable tool that you should use is
the Alexa Toolbar. Even better, this tool is free.
» Web
site design mistakes
Some wise human once said "Learn from the mistakes
of others. There isn't nearly enough time to make them all yourself."
Hence this article. Here are five of the most annoying and common
web design mistakes.
» Abandonment
- Why visitors don't turn into customers
Every good Internet business understands the value of
conversions versus hits received. Far too often, businesses become
fixated on the hits they are receiving instead of monitoring their
hit to sale conversion rate.
» Creative
search engine optimization - A case study
Search engine optimization this and search engine optimization
that. You read and hear about it all day, but what about your site?
|
|
| Tools & services to enhance your online
business |
|
» Site
Build It!
Over 100,000 small businesses of all kinds outperform
larger, well-financed competitors. Read about this all-in-one site-building-hosting-marketing
system of tools that delivers results.
» Secrets
To Their Success
Take a private tour of two "Mom & Pop"
web sites every month that earn $100,000+ a year... and discover
the exact step-by-step strategies they have personally used to generate
these massive profits. |
|
|
|
