Here are some tips for marketing to a mature online audience:

Keep your site simple and easy to navigate. Equally important, make it easy to read, using slightly larger type sizes than you otherwise would. Offer clean, crisp page design. Lean toward high-contrast (black type on white background). Provide plenty of relevant information with links to additional sources of information rather than a brief summary. Provide toll-free numbers for convenient communication. Don't assume that seniors know "jargon" of your site. Explain terms or labels relating to your product, service or industry. Idea: offer a glossary or provide a link to definitions of unfamiliar terms. They're used to receiving special treatment from most companies, usually in form of discounts, because of their purchasing power. Consider a special offer for seniors.

Where do you reach them? Simply type in "seniors" into a search engine and you'll likely come up with sites like:

http://seniors-site.com/ http://www.seniornet.org/ http://www.ageofreason.com/

They aren't all that fond of banner ads, but don't ignore placing ads on sites like these. Consider placing classified ads, advertising in senior-focused e-zines and be sure to register with senior search engines like http://www.seniorssearch.com/

Write Your Copy to Sell When you begin to write copy for your site, always stress benefits. Develop a theme for your site that focuses on this benefit and don't stray from it - see my article, "How to Get Listed in Search Engines – Developing a Theme-Based Site" (www.isitebuild.com/searchengine.htm)

Make Sure Each Page Sells Each page should emphasize benefits in headline, to pull reader into contents of your page. It should ask this question: "What's in it for me? Why should I spend my precious time reading this page?"

Make sure you are writing, as if you were talking to your friend. Make your copy one to one, conversational, friendly and personal, as if you are sitting next to person. Write from viewpoint of what your customer wants to buy, not what you want to sell.

Then deliver contents in a clear, crisp way, being careful not to stray from central purpose of what you promised in headline.

Finally, make your customer want to click through to next page or click through to your order page.

Now, that you have identified your targeted customer and written copy tailored to solving your customers problems, you will no longer lose those that you have driven to your site.

You have now put them in buying mood.