Long before movie "Gladiator" hit theatres, millions of people have been fascinated with ancient Rome. More than 15 centuries after its fall, Roman Empire continues to profoundly influence world history. But few have ever explored how Rome marketed itself to greatness. It wasn't all blood and guts, gladiators and chariots, togas and swords. There was a strategy and a mission, too.

After all, how could an ancient class of poor farmers rule most of Europe? Why would people leave their farms and their families to travel into unknown territories and fight barbaric wars? They were basically self-sufficient. They didn't even have a need for money until third century. What's deal here?

Roman Marketing was key. In short, it was a powerhouse strategy practiced by greatest emperors to instill hypnotic confidence in soldiers, allegiance from public, and victory over almost all enemies.

And you can use it today to build your own empire.

Here's how Roman Marketing worked:

1. Create a mythology.

Psychologists recently sought answers to these questions by assembling a number of equally attractive women volunteers, then assigning them to take classes with groups of college men for an entire semester.

Some of women attended 5 classes each week with men, while others attended only 3 or 1.

When semester was over and men were asked to rate their women classmates in terms of attractiveness, results were revealing: It consistently showed that more classes they shared with each woman, more attractive (and desirable) they perceived that woman to be.

So as far as human nature is concerned, it appears that Hannibal Lecter's observation in "Silence of Lambs" is true: We desire what we see most often -- even to point of coveting it.

And what does this insight have to do with way you run your business / market your products on web?

A LOT.

Familiarity Breeds Desire -------------------------

The more frequently your potential clients NOTICE your products, more DESIRABLE they'll perceive your products to be -- and more chances you'll have of developing business relationships with them.

But becoming visible & desirable doesn't have to spell "unaffordable" to small business owners. Because chances are, you already know a number of low-cost ways to be SEEN by target surfers on web. The only question now is, do they really NOTICE you when they do?

Here are 5 ways to make sure you (and your website, and your products) appear VISUALLY OUTSTANDING in first place, and mute hundreds of other stimuli surfers usually get on net.

1. CAPTURE WITH COLOR --------------------- It's true that different colors can evoke different emotions, and greatly influence how long someone will stay on a website or look at an ad. So besides choosing background & graphic colors for readability, choose them also for emotions they'll evoke.

Here are some of most common colors & their general effects, divided into 2 types:

HOT COLORS Hot colors are bright, and not very good for long-term eye exposure. They're best used for graphics & important text -- anything that you want to really draw attention to.

* RED - energizes, gives a sense of heat, excites * ORANGE - stimulates any existing emotion a surfer already has * YELLOW - illuminates, provokes thinking

COOL COLORS Cool colors are easy on eyes and produce a calming effect. This makes it safe for them to be used extensively in graphics, text, and even in backgrounds.