Posted by:
Julie McManus
May 9, 2008
Issue #414
Dear Business Builder,
Happy Friday and welcome back to In the ‘Net Trenches. In last week’s issue, we discussed an often overlooked opportunity for driving website traffic beyond Google and SEO. It’s paid Web media. We also took a closer look at several different types of paid media available for advertising your wares on the Internet.
Well, from that information, one big question arose. It’s simply the question of “where.” Where are you buying media? What websites are working for you?
Oh, wouldn’t you just like to know …
The inherent problem with the question of “where” is that my “where” may be very different from your “where.” And that’s simply because the products I market and my customers are likely different from your products and customers.
So rather than me taking the easy way out and making this week’s issue one big list of websites, let’s take a little closer look at my research process and see how you might make it work for you.
Web media research can be a painstaking process. It can take a considerable amount of time and testing to find the sites that will work for you. But don’t let that stop you, because once you find a few that work for your offer … finding others like them is as easy as breeding bunny rabbits.
Five steps to finding the sites that can work for you!
Step 1: Let your customer be your guide …
Knowing your customer is hands down the most important piece of information you can have when marketing your products and services online … and offline for that matter.
If you don’t have a clear picture of who your customers are, I suggest you start doing some research immediately. One excellent way to do that is by surveying your existing customers. A great tool for doing e-mail and online surveys can be found at www.surveymonkey.com.
Core survey questions should have to do with customer demographics. Demographics are simply the statistics of a population – age, gender, income level, geographic location, marital status, etc.
Armed with this information, you can then start thinking like your customers and looking for websites they might be likely to visit. A tool I like for researching a website’s demographics is www.quantcast.com. It will also tell you if a site accepts advertising and recommend other sites that have a similar demo to the one you’re researching.
Here’s an example of my demographic – rich, old, white guys that live in the United States, Canada and Europe. So when researching Web media, I think of where my rich, old, white guys might like to hang out – news sites, financial sites, political sites … I’m sure you get the picture.
(more…)
Posted by:
Julie McManus
May 2, 2008
Issue #409
Dear Business Builder,
Welcome back to In the ‘Net Trenches. I’m really happy you’ve decided to join me again today.
Last week, I revealed a really “big” secret about how to get tons of traffic to your website. And no, it’s not some newfangled do-this-then-do-that, step-by-step system. It doesn’t involve social media sites and befriending thousands of people. And it’s not Google Pay-Per-Click or Search Engine Optimization.
The funny thing is … I never realized how big a secret it really was until recently. To me, it was just business as usual.
So, what the heck is the secret you say? What? You didn’t read last week’s issue!?
Okay then, I won’t beat around the bush …
The easiest way to get tons of traffic to your website is to (drum roll please) … PAY FOR IT!
And how exactly do you do that? Well, that’s what we’re going to explore today.
The Wacky World of Web Media
It amazes me how many online marketers completely ignore this opportunity. Web media seems to be the ugly stepsister of the web marketing world … definitely the marketing sloppy-second to Search Engine Optimization and paid search … and certainly not as flashy and Hollywood as Social Marketing.
Yet, unlike paid search, web media affords an opportunity to reach a nearly endless amount of prospects … at a cost that can be completely controlled … with results that can be measured without question.
So why is it that more online marketers don’t add it to their marketing mix?
Perhaps they lack knowledge … are afraid it won’t work for them or think it’s too expensive … or maybe because no “superstar web marketing guru” is talking or writing about it (keeping this one their inside secret) … well, let’s rectify that, shall we?
Web media is too expensive and won’t work for me …
If you ask me, this is a huge fallacy … pure rumors spread by people that have never given media a fair shot or have never taken the time to figure out how to make it work for them.
But not all web media is created equal. As a responsible web marketer, you can’t listen to what they say. You have to find out for yourself! And this means testing.
As a smart direct response marketer, you need to allocate time and money to testing not only ad copy, ad layout, offers and prices – you also have to traffic drivers. Consider the media placement for your prospect list … it’s your traffic driver. The thing that get’s people to your website. And any list can work at the right price; it’s simply a numbers game.
If your list brings in enough prospects that convert and generate enough revenue to cover the cost of the media placement — you win. If not, you lose and go back to the drawing board. It’s as simple as that.
(more…)
