Lesson 3: Include advertisements.

Pop-ups and other online advertising are a fact of life on free-to-user sites. Major League Baseball demonstrates taste and intelligent implementation with their pop-under, limiting each visitor to a single impression. Banner advertisements and sponsorships are also apparent.

Develop Profit Pulling Marketing Techniques

Lesson 4: Segment your visitors.

The league uses a "hub and spoke" system, which allows visitors to choose their own interests. There is one general site (MLB.com), with links to several specialty sites (stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com, etc.).

This portal approach helps segment visitors into specific interest groups. It is a win-win strategy. Visitors find what they are looking for and league can more easily target its marketing activities.

Lesson 5: Target locally.

Each "spoke" off MLB hub contains local content, which segments visitors regionally. The league targets products and services accordingly.

For example, Cardinals team site includes detailed information for Cardinals baseball events, ticket purchasing for Busch stadium games, and auctions for St. Louis related baseball memorabilia.

Lesson 6: Offer tiered products.

MLB offers subscription services at many levels. By packaging fantasy games into progressively larger bundles, they encourage trial as well as repeat visits. The offering also target customers according to interest level and budget.

There you have it - five lessons in profitable target marketing from Major League Baseball.

Copyright 2003 Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.

Bobette Kyle draws upon 10+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, MBA, and online marketing research in her writing.

WHY IT WORKS: The 809 area code is located in British Virgin Islands (The Bahamas). The 809 area code can be used as a "pay-per-call" number, similar to 900 numbers in US. Since 809 is not in US, it is not covered by U.S. regulations of 900 numbers, which require that you be notified and warned of charges and rates involved when you call a pay-per-call" number.

There is also no requirement that company provide a time period during which you may terminate call without being charged. Further, whereas many U.S. homes that have 900 number blocking to avoid these kinds of charges, do not work in preventing calls to 809 area code.

We recommend that no matter how you get message, if you are asked to call a number with an 809 area code that you don't recognize, just disregard message.

Be wary of e-mail, or calls, asking you to call an 809 area code number. It's important to prevent becoming a victim of this scam, since trying to fight charges afterwards can become a real nightmare. That's because you did actually make call. If you complain, both your local phone company and your long distance carrier will not want to get involved and will most likely tell you that they are simply providing billing for foreign company. You'll end up dealing with a foreign company that argues they have done nothing wrong.

Please forward this entire message to your friends, family and colleagues to help them become aware of this scam.

Sandi Van Handel AT&T Field Service Manager (920)687-904

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