Ecards as a marketing toolWritten by Dessy Oundian
As any successful businessman will confirm, having a great product or service is just beginning. After all, in this day and age, everything comes down to marketing. The more creative you are in your marketing efforts, more successful your business is. There are many ways to promote your business without spending a fortune. In this article I will describe one of most powerful tools on Internet – ecards!Ecards (electronic greeting cards) are a great example of efficient marketing on internet. You have a service open to Internet users. The ecards they send from your site invariably contain promotion for your company, products or services. They are advertising tools that are immediate, inexpensive, personalized and although sent via email, S.P.A.M.-free. This form of Internet marketing is extremely effective. More than 50% of U.S. population and 85% of all Internet users visit a greeting's site annually, according to research firm Jupiter MediaMetrix. Why not use even a small percentage of these potential clients to your advantage? OK, BlueMountain.com has more than 100 million unique visitors each year, but even with less numbers, potential is there. Remember, with each sent ecard from your site you have at least two potential clients! If someone utilizes ecards service on average only twice a day, in period of a year service is advertised approximately 730 times. Multiply this number by number of registered users and you get yourself a healthy advertising stream. Recognizing huge potential, in 1999 Excite@Home Corp. paid $780 million for purchase of BlueMountain.com. How much would you pay for that type of advertising? No need to answer -- you can have an ecard site for a lot less. The concept is same, and you can use it just as big boys. You can build a database of qualified prospects and use ecards to: - Promote - promote products and services - Brand - create company awareness among your client base - Invite - invite people to seminars and events - Remind - send appointment reminders - Inform - send Client appreciation memos, Recruiting/hiring notices, etc. - Reference - send Birthday wishes, Holiday greetings, Thank You's, etc.
| | Creating Your Internet Marketing PlanWritten by Megan Corwin
For large corporations, a marketing plan is a huge document detailing strategies for fiscal year. It may include competitor analysis or a sales forecast. While these elements are important to a large business, do you as a small business owner (without a well paid marketing staff) have time or energy to devote to putting together a huge document? Unless you are trying to get a financial loan, probably not...But that doesn't mean you should totally scrap idea. A marketing plan can be a wonderful tool to help you refine your focus. You've heard old saying "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." That's because when you don't plan you lack intention and attention. My suggestion is to create a "micro-plan." Open up a new document and take an hour or two to answer following questions. “Micro-Plan” Questions What is your purpose for being online? - Awareness - Sales - Community What % of your overall marketing to be done online? - How much time do you expect to spend marketing on internet?
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