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Web Site Marketing Strategy Ezine
Fri 6th Oct '00
In this issue:
1. INTRODUCTION
==>Ideaviruses, Changes
2. PLACES TO VISIT
==>Web sites for you to visit.
3. TIDBITS
==>Business news and other interesting snippets.
4. TOOLS AT NOW SELL!
==>Useful tools to make your life easier.
5. MARKETPLACE
==>Check out special offers and deals here.
6. FEATURE ARTICLE
==>"Can Small B2C Sites Succeed?"
by Rob Spiegel.
Scroll to the end for subscription details.
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X INTRODUCTION X
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Hello,
For weeks now I've been meaning to mention 'Unleashing the
Ideavirus' by Seth Godin, former marketing VP for Yahoo and
author of the best-selling book 'Permission Marketing'.
'Unleashing the Ideavirus' is a book about viral marketing (what
we used to call 'word of mouth') and creating "ideaviruses." The
author contends that the best ideas become viruses, which are
broadcast by influential "sneezers" to their "hives," from where
they spread.
Says Seth, "We live in a world where consumers actively resist
marketing. So it's imperative to stop marketing 'at' people. The
idea is to create an environment where consumers will market to
each other.
"The future belongs to the people who unleash ideaviruses. What's
an ideavirus? It's a big idea that runs amok across the target
audience. It's a fashionable idea that propagates through a
section of the population, teaching and changing and influencing
everyone it touches. And in our rapidly/instantly changing world,
the art and science of building, launching and profiting from
ideaviruses is the next frontier."
Seth has positioned 'Unleashing the Ideavirus' as an ideavirus
itself, by giving the entire book away free in PDF format, and
exhorting readers to pass it on. A print edition is now available
from bookstores.
Whether or not you agree with all of Seth's arguments, I'm sure
you'll find this an interesting, thought-provoking read (as I
did). Download 'Unleashing the Ideavirus' for free from
http://www.ideavirus.com
BB
You may have noticed that VIEWPOINT doesn't appear in this week's
table of contents. That's because it no longer exists. Although
many readers have written to say they enjoyed the feature, it
appears few were interested in contributing. A shame, but there
you have it. I hate carrying dead wood, so it's gone. And with it
the opportunity for free promotion worth $25 a shot. :-)
I've changed something else this week as well. Can you tell?
There's a free ad to the first person to email me, saying what
I've done, and why.
BB
Tell me what YOU think! Send your feedback, comments, what you
like, what you hate, etc., to me at: mailto:azam-nowsell.com
TTFN
Azam
PS - Have you downloaded Mike Enlow's "Stealth Marketing" ebook
yet? It's 14-chapters on the best and most overlooked ways
to profit on the Internet. Valued at $49, you can get it
FREE from: http://www.NowSell.com/downs/stealth.pdf.zip
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"POWERFUL ADS AND SALES COPY MAKE MORE SALES!"
"Make Your Words Sell!" The definitive guide to writing copy for
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X PLACES TO VISIT X
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http://www.dotcom.com/
Internet economy information resource from Network Solutions.
News, statistics, forecasts and research studies.
http://www.NameProtect.com/
Trademark registration. Free trademark search. Free monitoring to
inform if a variation of your domain name is registered by others
http://www.WorldWideLearn.com/
Directory of online courses and learning resources from around
the world in almost every topic you want.
http://www.EnglishCLUB.net/
Educational site for people to easily learn how to speak and
write english fluently at no cost.
http://www.directNIC.com/
New wireless web site service enables users to register domain
names via cell phone.
TAKE CREDIT CARDS ONLINE, HANDS FREE!
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X TIDBITS X
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ONLINE AUCTION CRAZE MAY NOT HAVE STAYING POWER
Despite reports that auction sites may be the e-commerce wave of
the future, cPulse suggests that the auction fad may not have
staying power. According to a new study from cPulse, auction
sites are racking up impressive numbers of hits, but an
increasing share of auction visits are from first-time users who
are just checking out the craze and don't plan on returning.
http://www1.internetwire.com/iwire/iwpr?id=17249&cat=te
IBM: MANY COMPANIES LACK A GLOBAL E-COMMERCE STRATEGY
Many companies have not yet taken the steps required to reap the
benefits of having a worldwide presence on the Web, according to
a leading consultant from IBM Global Services. In fact, US
e-businesses turn down more than half of their international
orders because they have failed to address such basic issues as
currency, customs and shipping, according to recent studies.
http://www1.internetwire.com/iwire/iwpr?id=17329&cat=te
VARIETY OF USES PROPELS SMS MESSAGING
The utility of short messaging service (SMS) text messages has
fuelled explosive growth at rates higher than Internet usage, and
there's no end in sight, according to Logica and the GSM
Association. http://cyberatlas.com/markets/
wireless/article/0,,10094_477641,00.html
Q4 STILL THE BIG PAYOFF FOR E-COMMERCE
Gone are the days of more than 100 percent growth rates for
holiday e-commerce, according to eMarketer, but the fourth
quarter is still a do-or-die time for online merchants.
http://cyberatlas.com/markets/retailing/
article/0,,6061_478001,00.html
THE DMA: WHAT IS THE MAIN REASON AMERICANS SHOP ONLINE?
Eighty-two percent of consumers cite convenience as the reason
they shop from home for holiday gifts, according to the Direct
Marketing Association (The DMA).
http://www1.internetwire.com/iwire/iwpr?id=17421&cat=te
IBM OUTPERFORMS ORACLE AT ONE-THIRD THE COST
According to recent industry-standard performance benchmarks and
a survey issued by META Group, IBM DB2 Universal Database is
outpacing Oracle in all areas of the business on a range of
platforms. Highlights of IBM's database leadership:
http://www1.internetwire.com/iwire/iwpr?id=17437&cat=te
ORACLE ISSUES $1,000,000 GUARANTEE
Oracle Corp. issued a $1,000,000 (US) guarantee that companies
using Microsoft SQL Server or IBM DB2 to power their production
Web sites will be able to run their sites three times faster by
converting to the Oracle9i Application Server and Oracle8i
database. http://www1.internetwire.com/iwire/iwpr?id=17400&cat=te
EUROPEAN AD EXPENDITURES UP IN AUGUST
July's total, according to data collected by AdZone Interactive.
Forrester Research found the UK has the largest online
advertising market in Europe. http://cyberatlas.com/
big_picture/geographics/article/0,,5911_468181,00.html
ONLINE AUTO SHOPPING KEEPS RISING
More people are using the Internet to aid in new-vehicle
shopping, according to a study by J.D. Power and Associates, but
the auto shoppers seem to be a well-informed, aggressive group
who likely don't really need it. http://cyberatlas.com/
markets/retailing/article/0,,6061_469861,00.html
NATIONAL ISPS STILL KINGS OF THE ISP HILL
Despite reports that smaller ISPs are using high-speed access to
steal some market share from the big names, Cahners In-Stat found
that national ISPs generate 80 percent of total ISP revenues.
http://cyberatlas.com/
big_picture/hardware/article/0,,5921_471621,00.html
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Do Your Bit!
If you haven't already done so, please forward this issue
to one or two of your friends or colleagues. Thanks so much!
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E-BILL ME
Forty percent of U.S. banks will allow customers to pay their
bills online by 2004, according to IDC. Although electronic bills
currently represent a meager 1 percent of all U.S. bills, IDC
estimates that will grow to 14 percent in the next four years.
http://www.thestandard.com
AD SPENDING TO DOUBLE FROM 1999
Internet ad revenue this year is on track to nearly double 1999
ad spending of $4.6 billion, said the Internet Advertising Bureau
Online ad revenue reached $2.1 billion in the second quarter, up
almost 9 percent from the first quarter, according to the IAB
report conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The report comes as
several online ad companies and media firms have warned that they
may see softer earnings and revenues in the third quarter.
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,19074,00.html
AD GIANT ACQUIRES NETCREATIONS
DoubleClick announces that it has agreed to buy the opt-in list
broker NetCreations in an all-stock deal valued at $191 million.
The deal gives DoubleClick's clients access to 15 million new
e-mail addresses.
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,19055,00.html
WARNER, EMI CALL IT OFF
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,39276,00.html The
rigorous objections by the European Commission to the planned
merger of EMI and Warner Music finally did the deal in. It's been
called off for now, but both parties will keep talking
INCHING TOWARD DOT-WHATEVER
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,39246,00.html As the
ICANN deadline for proposing new top-level domains closes,
Network Solutions and other domain big-wigs pitch their ideas for
new Internet name endings.
E-PUBLISHERS FEAR TRADEMARK
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,39232,00.html The
company's filing a trademark application for the word 'EBOOK' has
small-time e-publishers fretting. But trademark attorneys and
big-time publishers say it's not going to happen. By M.J. Rose.
AOL WANTS TO 'OPT OUT'
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,39240,00.html America
Online tells a Senate panel discussing privacy bills that it's a
better world if laws that allow consumers to decide whether data
can be collected about them online don't exist.
KIBU QUITS BEFORE ALL IS LOST
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,39215,00.html The
teen-oriented site breaks dot-com tradition by shutting down
before spending all its cash. The company, with backers that
included Netscape co-founder Jim Clark, say it will give back
unspent funds.
U.S. PICKS NEW CRYPTO STANDARD
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,39194,00.html It's
spelled Rijndael, it's pronounced 'Rhine-dahl,' and it's the new
encryption standard as selected by the U.S. government. It only
took 23 years.
CHINA'S IRON-FISTED INTERNET REGS
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,39192,00.html The
Chinese government's new regulations on Internet firms call for
strict surveillance on 'subversive' content, force companies to
get licenses and limit foreign involvement.
IPOS BACK IN SEASON
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,39164,00.html Even
though Nasdaq may be tanking, the public offering slowdown
appears to be over. Twenty companies debuted this week, and next
week will feature noteworthy arrivals in fiber optics, satellite
communications and energy.
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X FEATURE ARTICLE X
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"Can Small B2C Sites Succeed?"
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by Rob Spiegel
Do you have to be the size of Amazon.com, America Online or
Yahoo! to succeed on the Internet? After a few years of watching
the evolution of Internet retailing, the answer comes to a big
no. You don't have to be the biggest on your block to succeed.
In fact, the next couple of years may show that the really big
sites may have less chance for success than the tiny niche sites.
How do you succeed online?
What does it take to do business on the Internet? That used to
be a valid question. There was a time when Internet consumers
were an odd breed of early adopters whose consumer behavior was
far different from their offline counterparts. There also was a
time when running an enterprise based on Internet connectivity
required sophisticated skills that required deep online
experience.
Not so anymore. Over the last year, the nature of Internet
business has changed. For one thing, the Internet consumer is
much the same as the mall shopper. For another, running an
Internet business is not strikingly different from running a
catalog business. And at this point, it's easier to learn how to
run a Web site than it is to shop for catalog printing or learn
the ultra-specialized rules of mailing list selection, not to
mention obtaining the skills of effective catalog design and
copy.
Business is just business now
The great revelation coming down the Internet pike this year is
that it doesn't take a dot com wizard to create a winning
e-business. In fact, the skills that will ultimately serve
Internet start-ups are not the esoteric knowledge of virtual
enterprise. Instead, the basics of business 101 are winning the
day online. Get a pinpoint target on who your customers are.
Adjust your product line to reflect your customers' needs. Serve
your customers well. Work hard to get your customers to return
again and again. Let them know when add new products and
services.
Even when you use the tricks of online connectivity such as
making your site "sticky" to keep customers from leaving or
"viral" so they'll tell their friends, you're employing the
concepts of a good offline retailer. You can learn more by
visiting a Disney store in your local mall than you will by
spending your time at the AOL mall. After all, the Disney store
is wise enough to sell a porcelain Snow White to Mom as the same
time they sell a Pooh beanie baby to her daughter. This trick is
simply a matter of knowing who walks in the store.
At first, consumer Web sites were Internet retailers. Then they
became e-tailers. Now they're called B2C (business-to-consumer)
sites, but it all comes down to serving consumers. Wall Street
has kept a skeptical eye on Amazon.com, Yahoo's mall and AOL's
collection of online stores, but what about the shoestring
entrepreneurs on the Internet? You probably wonder whether it's
even possible to make a niche site work. If the Web's largest
retailers can't figure out how to get profitable, how on earth
can a tiny special-interest site every hope to create earnings?
Well, just as your neighborhood children's shoe store gets to
know what product lines their local parents want for their kids,
a Web store can get to know it customers. At this point in
consumer ecommerce, I'd place my bets on a fly-fishing site that
gives its customers expert advice on techniques and locations.
That site will go profitable long before Amazon.com.
You don't hear much about it, but there are thousands of very
profitable e-tailers on the Internet. Go look at YouCanSave.com,
PrairieFrontier.com or ParaPub.com. None of these are public and
don't expect them to go IPO with billion-dollar valuations. But
they all have one thing in common. They live by traditional
business values. They stake out manageable ground in a niche
subject and serve their customers needs with a passion. Most of
all, they're profitable.
Rob Spiegel is the author of The Shoestring Entrepreneur's Guide
to the Best Home-Based Franchises (St. Martin's Press) and
upcoming Net Strategy (Dearborn Publishing). You can reach Rob
at spiegelrob@aol.com.
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