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Web Marketing Strategies For Home Business Promotion
Fri 15th Sept '00
In this issue:
1. INTRODUCTION
==>Advertising woes, Affiliate security
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. VIEWPOINT
==>What's your opinion?
6. MARKETPLACE
==>Check out special offers and deals here.
7. FEATURE ARTICLE
==>"Getting Visitors to Your Site"
by Rob Spiegel.
Scroll to the end for subscription details.
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X INTRODUCTION X
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Hello again,
I said last week that I thought the dot com shakeout is a good
thing, and I do. Less appealing has been the effect it has had on
Internet advertising. Fewer companies means fewer advertisers,
but just as important - if not more so - is the accompanying
financial climate.
It's become much harder to secure funding, and cash is getting
tight for some. Especially hard hit are companies that have yet
to show much of a profit, which are finding it increasingly
difficulty to convince investors exactly when they will. If ever.
With less money in the pot, advertising budgets are being cut.
Not surprisingly, the knock-on effect is that companies relying
on ad revenue in one form or another, are also feeling the pinch.
One of those to make the headlines earlier in the week was
NetCreations. The seller of email marketing services saw its
shares fall 42 percent after announcing third-quarter revenues
won't meet its estimates, because customers cut advertising
spending.
Another was AllAdvantage, although its problems are far more
serious. Having already postponed a planned IPO, AllAdvantage is
laying off staff, and apparently losing a lot of money. One of
many companies that pay users to view ads while they surf, I am
personally somewhat pessimistic about its chances of survival.
Nor do I expect it to be the only casualty.
I joined a number of programs similar to AllAdvantage, and many
have reneged on their original promises, presumably due to
financial constraints. Being a Mac user, and currently based in
Malaysia, I was doubly disadvantaged with most of these. However,
whilst at the time unable to use the ad bars personally, I was
assured Mac versions would soon be released and international
users accepted.
Blinded by the hype perhaps, or too eager to stake my claim, I
should have known better. It didn't happen, and I simply became a
free referral service for most. That's not to say this was the
intention of the companies concerned. That would be unfair. Most
businesses are run by ordinary people just like you and me. They
have their plans and goals, but sometimes things don't work out
right, and something has to give.
Nevertheless, these days I am more careful about who I invest my
time with. I also pay far more attention to affiliate agreements.
Although I'm a member of a number of programs, two are worthy of
particular note here regarding their attitude towards affiliates,
and the protection they afford them through the affiliate
agreement.
If you're looking for long term stability - and who isn't? -
consider the programs at http://www.sitesell.com/info.html and
http://www.newbieclub.com?details . Read the affiliate agreements
and compare them with those of other programs.
I seem to have wandered off-topic a bit ;-)
Back to the 'plot' ...
The holiday shopping season aside, if you are looking to
advertising as a major revenue source, it might me a good idea to
investigate other income options. Niche sites will fair better
than those more general in nature, as they do in most respects.
On the other hand, if you are thinking of buying advertising, now
is the time to look for a good deal. Says John Nesbit of Penn
Media http://www.pennmedia.com/ , "CPMs are drifting down lately
on newsletter ad space and most online media."
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 - Did you remember to get your 21 FREE Net Profits audio files
and course notes?
Declan Dunn tells you what works and shows how to do it.
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X PLACES TO VISIT X
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http://www.alabanzahosting.com/domtrack.phtml
Email reminders help you keep an eye on domain names you may be
interested in.
http://www.tailwind.com/
Small Business startup and management advice, networking and
resources.
http://www.Mailshell.com/
Free anonymous email service now offers email boxes that users
can set to automatically expire after pre-defined periods of time
(from Sept 18th).
http://www.Lastminutesearch.com/
Select one of more than 130 countries worldwide and search from
your choice of local engines.
http://www.emailtothemax.com/
Using E-Mail to the Max. Free course on working smarter with
email.
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X TIDBITS X
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INTERNET.COM ACQUIRES CLICKZ.COM
internet.com Corporation http://www.internet.com today announced
that it has acquired the ClickZ Network of http://www.clickz.com
Web sites and related Internet advertising and marketing
properties and the ClickZ conferences. The consideration for this
acquisition totals $16.0 million in a combination of $10.0
million in cash and $6.0 million in restricted common stock, with
additional cash and restricted common stock consideration to be
paid based on future performance.
PRICES, eMARKETPLACES AND THE FUTURE OF B2B
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) predicts that US online B2B
e-commerce will reach $4.8 trillion in 2004, up from $670 billion
in 1998. US online B2B will account for 40% of total (online and
offline) B2B business of $12.1 trillion.
http://www.emarketer.com/estats/dailyestats/b2b/20000911_bcg.html
ASIAN INTERNET TIGERS
According to the French research firm NetValue, many Asian
countries refuse to be stuck on the wrong side of the global
digital divide. A recent survey of Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Korea and the Chinese cities of Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai
indicates a rapid pace of internetadoption. http://emarketer.com
/estats/dailyestats/global/20000908_asia.html
$19 BILLION IN WORLDWIDE HOLIDAY SALES
As the last quarter of 2000 gets rolling, the big question on
e-retailers' minds is how this holiday season will stack up
against last year. Gartner Group is predicting a very sound Q4
worldwide, with an 85% jump in revenues over $10.5 billion earned
in Q4 1999 -- a total of $19.53 billion.
http://www.emarketer.com/estats/dailyestats/20000907_gart.html
HOW eRETAILERS AIM FOR PROFITABILITY
Online retailers are slowly moving towards greater profitability
according to "The State of Online Retailing, Second Quarter 2000
Update," a recent report by Shop.org and the Boston Consulting
Group. Underlying this trend are decreasing customer- acquisition
costs and rising order-conversion rates. Findings are based on
data from 66 North American online retailers.
http://www.emarketer.com/estats/dailyestats/20000905_bcg.html
B2B MARKETPLACES PREDICTED TO THIN OUT
Research by both Gartner Group and Forrester found that the
number of businesses in the e-marketplace space is likely to
decrease in the coming years, as the tremors of another dot-com
shakeout are felt. http://cyberatlas.com/markets/
b2b/article/0,,10091_452861,00.html
TEEN NET TIME
Teens may still hog the phone, but they spend only 303 minutes
online each month, according to Media Metrix and Jupiter
Communications. That's less than half of the 728 minutes per
month that adults spend online. http://thestandard.com
KIDS' SITES CITE COPPA WOES
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,38666,00.html The
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act isn't hurting the big
sites. But the little guys are finding compliance to be too
costly, and many aren't complying at all.
PRIVACY GROUP DROPS AMAZON
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,38753,00.html The
Electronic Privacy Information Center ends its relationship with
Amazon.com over its new privacy policy.
WINDOWS ME: IS IT FOR YOU
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,38725,00.html
Microsoft adds video editing, home networking and multimedia
elements in the first true consumer version of the operating
system. The OS is better at recovering from crashes, but still
lacks stability.
COULD MACOS X BE 'HOLY GRAIL'
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,38736,00.html
Developers and beta testers are all agog over Apple's new
operating system. Asked to compare Mac OS X with Windows ME, one
fan says it would be 'like comparing Apples to...er, something
inedible.'
AMAZON MAKES PRICE AMENDS
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38758,00.html After
customers discovered they were paying the giant e-tailer more for
the same product than other customers (and after a bit of bad
publicity), Amazon.com decides to reimburse those who overpaid.
FCC MAY FORCE AOL'S HAND
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38741,00.html If
there's an AOL-Time Warner merger, the FCC may force the online
service to open its instant messaging service to its many rivals.
RENO TALKS TOUGH ON PIRACY
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,38720,00.html The
attorney general says organized crime's infringement of
intellectual property should be prosecuted as vigorously as drug
trafficking or money laundering.
GATES: GLOBALIZATION IS GOOD
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,38690,00.html Members
of the World Economic Conference, safely ensconced in a casino,
talk globalization while protesters rally outside.
SELLING YOURSELF BIT BY BIT
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38676,00.html Tired of
watching others profit by selling your personal data company
claims it will help you sell it yourself. By Farhad Manjoo.
CRACKER HITS WESTERN UNION SITE
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38698,00.html Someone
monitoring the website takes advantage of a security lapse during
'routine maintenance' and makes off with 15,700 credit card
profiles.
PDA: 'PUBLIC' DISPLAY ASSISTANT
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,38688,00.html
Bluetooth flaw allows for eavesdropping in digital conversations.
DIGITAL SECURITY FOR FREE
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38635,00.html Following
the release of the RSA encryption algorithm used in digital
security products, an Irish security company will release one
version of its toolkit for developers for free.
HARDCORE FRAUD BY THE MILLIONS
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38655,00.html A Los
Angeles federal judge fines three Southern Californians $37.5
million for billing thousands of consumers for adult Web visits
they never made. Over half the consumers didn't have computers.
CARNIVORE TO CONTINUE MUNCHING
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38618,00.html Despite
protests from legislators and privacy activists, the FBI will
continue using the electronic communications surveillance
technology while an external review is in process.
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This week:
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What do you think about the changes made to Amazon.com's privacy
policy? Is it important, or a big fuss about nothing?
Send your comments to: mailto:viewpoint-nowsell.com
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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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Last week:
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What do you think about the problems many online companies are
facing? Does it worry you?
Reader Comments:
Dot com failures were inevitable, and 99% of those which have
gone bust to date, are of no loss to anybody. Millions of dollars
were being pumped into ecommerce set-ups without so much as a
business plan. So why the sudden cries of anguish? For every one
that disappears in a blaze of doom laden publicity, there are 10
very sound ecommerce firms trading profitably and there is no
reason why they should not continue to do so for many years.
Everyone thought ecommerce was an electronic gold rush. Now,
thank God, the financial market has binned its rose colored
glasses, and the people who put up the funds are really pulling
the purse strings.
Britain's big high street firms must be the last on earth to have
taken ecommerce seriously. But now they are - and I am not
pretending they still aren't having horrendous technical problems
just getting up-and-running - people's perspectives are
realigning from the new world (where, Amazon's apart, it really
is necessary to show a profit) to traditional businesses trading
on line.
David Deeson
dcd@daviddeeson.com
http://www.nowsell.com/BB/consult.html?view
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"Getting Visitors to Your Site"
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By Rob Spiegel
Each day I get the same email question: "How do I get more
visitors to my site?" Every time I give a workshop it's the same
refrain: "I'm here to find out how to get visitors." I rarely
get a question about how to set up a storefront or what content
is most appropriate for the site. Everyone wants to know how to
get visitors, traffic.
The question about visitors is not as simple as it sounds. First
off, what they really want is customers. In a perfect world, you
don't want any visitors who don't buy. The assumption, of
course, is that if someone visits the site, they're likely to
buy. Unfortunately, that's not always true. If you have a site
that sells gift baskets of chocolates, you don't necessarily want
to attract chocolate lovers. You really need to attract gift
givers.
You also have to think in terms of customer acquisition costs.
Web sites commonly spend $60 for each new customer. If the
average first order of a gift basket is $45, you've lost at least
$15 for the acquisition, and that's not counting your cost of
goods, which is probably $20. But if 40 percent of your
customers buy a second time, and 60 percent of your second-time
buyers return a third time and 60 percent of those come back a
fourth time, you'll hit profitability. If your customers bring
in friends, you're home free.
The new customer acquisition cost and the return purchase
percentages are critical numbers for your business. Once you
determine these numbers you can calculate the investment needed
to create profitability. They also become targets for
incremental improvement.
As for getting those customers, here are eight thoughts to
ponder:
1. Who is your customer?
It helps to get very, very clear about who your customer really
is. If you sell toys, remember that 25 percent of toys are
purchased by grandparents. Also, the older the child, the more
the child participates in the choice of toys.
2. Where is your customer?
What sites do your customers visit. Go to those sites and trade
links. It doesn't matter how many affiliation programs you
participate in if you're not trading links with the sites that
your potential customers visit.
3. Go offline
Not all your customers can be found on the Internet. Look for
offline opportunities to reach customers. Do they belong to
clubs? Do they visit brick stores? Do they drive by billboards?
Do they read certain magazines?
4. Get your customers to tell their friends
The least expensive new customer is the referral. Offer your
customers gifts for each referral. If your cost per new customer
is ordinarily $60, you can certainly afford to give away a $5 or
$10 item as a referral gift.
5. Get your customers to buy again
Always work to increase your repeat sales statistics. It doesn't
take great math skills to figure out that the percentage of
repeat customers will make or break your business. Offer
discounts and other incentives to encourage repeat sales, and
send newsletters and other communication to your customers
weekly.
6. Study your competition
Learn from your competitors mistakes; learn from their successes.
If there is one thing all of the successful Web merchants I've
known have in common, it's their awareness of their competition.
Good merchants study their competition's every move to steal good
ideas.
7. Don't fall asleep
Rust never sleeps. Entropy increases. You have to overcome
these laws of nature by fighting for your business constantly.
Experiment with new promotions; keep reaching out to customers;
keep introducing new inventory; keep updating all areas of your
site. Inertia is your greatest enemy. Stay three or four steps
ahead of the rust.
8. Stay hungry for knowledge
Learn, learn and learn some more. Keeping up with Internet
developments is like drinking from a fire hose, so you have to
get good at swallowing new information and translating it into
better business practices. You may have to give up reading
novels for a few years and take print-outs and Net mags to bed
instead.
Rob Spiegel is the author of The Shoestring Entrepreneur's Guide
to the Best Home-Based Businesses (St. Martin's Press) and the
upcoming Net Strategy (Dearborn). You can reach Rob Spiegel at
spiegelrob@aol.com.
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