Advertise, Promote and Market Your Business or Website

2626Here is our compiled checklist from the book titled “Advertise, Promote and Market Your Business or Website” by Bruce C. Brown:



Ten Steps To A Profitable ECommerce Site

1. List your goals and ideas

1. Review your products and services

1. Compare against competition

1. Determine your target market

1. Set a budget for your website

1. Determine your unique selling proposition

1. Create a marketing plan

1. Develop a site structure

1. Get all your services together

1. Launch your site

Mistakes To Avoid

1. Home page is unfocused or does not communicate quickly

1. Pop-ups, splash pages, and flash advertising

1. Poor navigation

1. A website equals a marketing plan or promotions strategy

1. Failure to attain online relevance and not update content

1. Too many text effects

1. Too many graphics

1. Use Microsoft themes or other off-the-shelf templates

1. Using a frames based site

1. Ignoring search engines

Marketing

1. Search engines

1. Pay-per-click

1. Keywords and meta tags

1. Affiliate Programs

1. Banner Ads

Repeat Customers / Customer Retention Online

1. Coupons for Repeat Customers

1. Contests for Existing Customers

1. Newsletters

1. Chat Room for Existing Customers

1. Discussion Groups, Forums, or Message Boards

Top Three Reasons for Going Online

1. Want or need information

1. Want to make a purchase or donation

1. Want to be entertained

Non-Traditional Types of Web Advertising

1. Advertorials

1. Advertainments

1. Customer Loyalty (Ladder of Loyalty)

Five Ways to Improve Online Marketing

1. Site Design

1. Honesty

1. Customer Incentive

1. Domain Name

1. Testimonials

Increasing Website Traffic

1. What’s New Page or New Products Page

1. Promotions program – free or trial products, coupons

1. Contests

1. Content-relevant professional articles, news events, press releases

1. Viral marketing

1. Signatures in Emails

1. Affiliate marketing

1. Include URL on all printed/electronic collateral

1. Free search feature

1. Win some awards

Benefits of Database Marketing

1. Reach new customers and encourage them to try your products and services

1. Reach existing customers and send them timely information

1. Increased profits through personalization

1. Increased satisfaction with existing customers that reinforces your relationship

1. Increased potential referrals through satisfied customers

1. Reduced marketing expenses through automation

Types of data in Database Marketing

1. Contact information

1. Lead information

1. Sales information

1. Service after the sale information

1. Forecast information

Building A Marketing Database Plan

1. Analyze your database

1. Define assumptions about your market and demographics

1. Plan your offers based on above analysis

1. Continue to build your database