"The Desktop Global Marketer" (tm)

   A free on-line newsletter of Sidereal Designs, Inc.,
   for Internet Entrepreneurs, and those who are
   considering becoming one.
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                  December 22nd, 1998

In this issue: Getting people to come to your web site.

"If you opened a physical store or office, you wouldn't just
list it in the Yellow Pages and then sit back and wait for
the customers to pour in. You'd likely starve first. Yet,
that is exactly what a majority of proprietors of web sites
do when they list with search engines and wait for traffic."
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Don't fall into the trap of thinking your web-based business
is any different than any other business.  Thinking of your
website as your global office is helpful when trying to
figure out how to manage it and what to equip it with.
There are a lot of insights that can emerge from that point
of view, and I plan to review several of them in the future,
but right now let's look particularly at the problem of
getting people to show up and do business with you.

If you opened a physical store or office, you wouldn't just
list it in the Yellow Pages and then sit back and wait for
the customers to pour in. You'd likely starve first. Yet,
that is exactly what a majority of proprietors of web sites
do when they list with search engines and expect to get
traffic. Remember, there are now more web pages than there
are people on the planet. So lets forget about the search
engines and look at some other possibilities.

If you were opening a physical place of business, how else
would you reach your local clientele? How does that
translate to the global clientele of your virtual business?

Most businesses send out useful things like calendars with
their name on them.  On the Internet where you don't have to
worry about printing and distribution costs, you can send
out a new, useful item with your name on it as often as you
like. A newsletter is one major example, but a simple
mailing to your customer or prospect list with relevant, new
links, references, or materials is also good. And of course
you invite them to visit your site where you thoughtfully
keep the whole set indexed on a references page.

Surf the web for great links, facts, thoughts or ideas
relevant to what your client's interests are and send them
out. When you do, mention anything new on your site they
might have missed if they haven't been there recently.

And did you remember to send holiday greetings to everyone
on your mailing list? (Ummmm....by the way, Happy Holidays,
everybody!)

You'd certainly have business cards printed with your
address and try to distribute them wherever you
could. Similarly, your web site's URL should be on the
bottom of every email you send out - that can be done
automaticly by your email tool (and it should be on every
piece of physical paper that goes out of your hands as
well.)

Do you have an answering machine? Does the message mention
your URL?  Why not?

You would probably contact other businesses that were
related to yours, but not competitors, and agree to mutually
recommend your clients to each other. On the Internet that's
called exchanging links. You put a link to their site on
your pages and they put one to yours on theirs. This is one
of the most powerful ways of getting people to drop in. But
be sure to check them out to see that they are reputable and
that you're doing your customer a favor by recommending
them!

You might send out press releases. On the Internet there are
things like the List of Lists that accomplish the same
function.

A common trick is to get your business mentioned in print in
a regular newspaper story.  On the Internet, join public
mailing lists that are read by people with relevant
interests, and when you can LEGITIMATELY post a response or
comment to the list, make sure the URL of your site is in
the signature. And if you can do it without being too
obviously commercial, mention it in your remarks. This is
where it helps to have a "useful stuff" page, so you can say
-- "I think there's a link that might help you with that
problem at http://mysite/goodies", etc.

Many businesses find offering discount coupons brings in the
public.  Put a special offer on your newsletters and emails,
and in it invite people to pass it along to a friend. A free
consultation or a discount on your services or programs are
good examples, and you can even include a reference number
that's tracked by software on your web site.

Paid advertising is the lifeblood of ordinary commerce, and
it works in Cyberspace as well. Just like ordinary
advertising however, it's not cheap. Still, most businesses
find paid advertising is a necessary expense that pays for
itself.  When you want to go that route, consider what kinds
of web sites people flock to in great numbers, and if there
are any that would be likely to be particularly attractive
to your prospective clients. News pages, search engines,
sports pages, financial pages, and many many more are
available in abundance, and most take paid advertising.

A word of warning. Just as in the physical world, get a pro
to do it for you!  There are a raft of studies on web
advertisements that show that tiny changes in an ad can make
huge differences in the response. (And did you know that a
study shows that a lower right hand page-placement is as
effective as a banner headline and costs a fraction as
much?)

The moral is - actively promote your business on the web as
you would if it were a shop on main street - and don't be
lulled into thinking the search engines will do it for you.

Jamie


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