Willie Crawford is a marketing consultant, promotion specialist and popular writer. His mentoring has helped hundreds build successful online businesses. Visit today and begin learning how to Really Make Money Online!
http://www.williecrawford.com/
© 2000 by Willie Crawford
In part 1 of this series we examined the question, "Why would anyone want to visit your website?" It's essential that you answer that question prior to starting your promotional efforts. That's because you must point out to people the benefits of
visiting your website IN your promotional efforts. That's what promotion is all about. It's about telling people why they should visit your website or business instead of your competitors'.
In this issue, we look at step 2, which is planning. This IN-DEPTH planning includes identifying all of the avenues you will use in promoting your website or business. You need to actually flow out what you will do each month - each week - in
utilizing each
promotion avenue. In doing this, one of the first things that you'll notice is that it is a LOT of work. Promotion is a never ending task. However, in flowing out the promotion avenues that you will use, you should also be able to identify those
that will provide the most return on your investment of time and money.
Begin by brainstorming all of the places that you could possibly promote your business. Jay Conrad Levinson in his popular series on Guerrilla Marketing points out that many businesses use only a few or the hundreds of possible marketing tools. To
gain the competitive advantage you must use as many effective tools as you can. Jay lists tons of guerrilla marketing tools. Some of these tools may seem minor but they can be a steady source of business. Something as simple as your business cards,
letterhead, or a license plate frame with your business url can bring in a steady stream of unexpected business.
As is always the rule in brainstorming, do not rule out anything at first. Just jot down every promotionavenue you can think of. Another source of great promotion ideas is the book "Poor Richard's Internet Marketing and Promotions." It's subtitled,
"How To Promote Yourself, Your Business, Your Ideas Online." It's one of the best books I've read on the topic and I regularly refer to this indispensable guide.You can buy the book through many bookstores. You can also order it through their
website at: http://www.topfloor.com. [http://www.topfloor.com.http://www.topfloor.com.] This book is a truely remarkable resource. It really stimulates your "marketing imagination." Get a copy today!
I realize it is a trite expression, but you also need to learn to "think outside the box." Harvey MacKay, the president of MacKay Envelope Corporation explains in his books how he sells millions of dollars per year in, of all things, envelopes. He
once looked out his
office window at the traffic and noticed all of the trucks. He imagined that if someone were to paint an advertising message across the tops of these trucks, how tens of thousands of people looking out of office windows would see these messages.
They would notice that the firm which did this was innovative and their message would become branded into the subconscious of many corportate executives. That's thinking outside of the box. That's gaining the promotional advantage.
I mentioned earlier high value promotion. This is a factor you will need to consider because some promotion efforts DO provide a better return than others. For example, if you can be a guest on a television talk show, or be featured in a popular
magazine, you will generally get more response than if you simply place ads in the same media. That's because the media hosts are in-effect indorsing you. It's suprisingly easy to get this type of publicity
if your business is newsworthy. Media types are looking for stories to report. If you can make your site or business "news" they WILL publicize you. I know because I gotten sites publicized in major magazines and newspapers. However, you must be
NEWSWORTHY.
Begin planning now by grabbing copies of the books I mentioned. If you don't want to buy
them for some reason, see if your local library has them. There are several titles in the Poor
Richard's series. Jay Conrad Levinson also has several in his series. I think I have read them
all. Read them too. Brainstorm. Consider which of the hundreds of promotional tools you can use effectively. I say effectively because some tools may just be a waste of time for you. Others may COST you more than they return. For example,
free-for-all pages may bring in a few new visitors.However, you may spend more resources processing the SPAM that they generate than you earn.
Step two of promoting your website/business is planning. For now, identify all of the possible promotion avenues. In the next several issues we will begin building an actual campaign plan. Together we will put together a step-by-step action plan.
I'll leave you with one very important closing thought. Given the persistence of publicity, it's critical to do it right the first time. Bad publicity or search engine listings take forever to undo. Take the time to do it right now.
Willie Crawford is a marketing consultant, promotion specialist and popular writer.
His mentoring has helped hundreds build successful online businesses. Visit today and begin learning how to Really Make Money Online!
http://www.williecrawford.com/