Top Online Marketing Solution

This article provides insight into the online marketing solution that top Web entrepreneurs use.

• They use a comprehensive marketing plan.
• They do not limit themselves to passive advertising.

Advertising is not marketing

Many people think of marketing and advertising as being synonymous! They will often limit their online marketing solution to using:

• graphics … as if they were a flashy neon sign on their storefront,
• a home page … as if it was a large billboard next to a busy street or highway,
• colors and fonts … like the ones they would use on a brightly colored ad in a popular newspaper or magazine,
• and language … as in a short, "punchy" ad at prime time on television or radio.

These people consider a web site as just another advertising medium. They will try to get results by applying the same "street tactics" as above ... unsuccessfully!

Advertising is not marketing. It is only one of the many tactics you use to support your online marketing solution.

A working marketing plan

As a minimum, a working marketing plan will include the following activities (almost in this order):

• Identify the products or services you wish to sell: your offer.
  Add someone else’s offer to yours as an affiliate , and diversify!
• Identify your competition and their offers.
• Identify the demand for your offer.
• Identify a "niche" market you feel you can serve well. (Hint: it is the one, that best matches your strongest passion).
• Identify your target clientele within that "niche" market.
• Create or adjust your offer to fill a void in your chosen "niche".
• Make your offer known to your target clientele (attract attention to your offer). This is where advertising can be used in support.
• Convince your target clientele of the superior characteristics of your products or services. Note: You do that with more than words. You must honestly deliver! Word of mouth will do the rest for you.
• Persuade your target clientele to buy (see preceding note).
• Make your target clientele grow (see preceding note).
• Persuade your target clientele to remain faithful to your offer (see preceding note).
• Periodically measure the effectiveness of your marketing plan, as it is executed.

The above are the main activities that should make up your online marketing solution. You may even have to run through the entire process more than once before you get your web site marketing strategy to fit your particular small web business.

A full discussion on marketing is beyond the scope of this web page. There are many good books and web sites on traditional marketing out there. Some are better than others at helping you acquire a deeper understanding of the subject, if you so wish.

It's very special on the web

The web requires a special form of advertising . The main objectives remain the same of course. However, the strategies and tactics, that you should use on the web, differ significantly in some respects from traditional advertising. Your online marketing solution must reflect that reality.

Words take the lead on the web. They outdistance colors, movement and sound any day in the race to be the first to draw the attention of web surfers.

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