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Low-Cost, High-Return Marketing Strategies for Internet Start-ups Stephan Spencer President, Internet Concepts [email protected] www.netconcepts.com These Are Interesting Times… Is this you??? I Hate To Burst Your Bubble, But… • Leading analysts predict that market valuations will not return to previous, unreasonable levels • Focus must now be on profitability and making the cash reserves last • The Solution? Develop e-marketing strategies that are low-cost and high-return Online Marketing Strategies That Won’t Burn Through All Your Cash • • • • • • • • Email marketing Viral marketing Link building Search engine optimization Pay-for-performance advertising (affiliate programs) Content distribution Partnerships PR Email Marketing • No spamming! • Opt-in, not opt-out (get consumer’s consent!) – Read Permission Marketing by Seth Godin • Deliver value – newsletters, reminders, announcements, greeting cards, incentives, special offers • Segment your market • Test test test! More Tips on Email • • • • • • • • Publish and abide by a strict privacy policy Make it short & sweet - use links Monitor number/variety of contacts Avoid burnout (frequency expectations) Provide an easy way to unsubscribe Avoid use of purchased lists Be sure reply works Have it signed by a real person Viral Marketing • Word of mouth marketing • Make it compelling for consumers to refer their friends – to purchase your products, visit your site, sign up for a free trial, subscribe to your newsletter, etc. • Read Unleashing the Ideavirus by Seth Godin and The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell • Examples: HOTorNOT.com, Quixtar, Paypal, Vindigo Search Engines • The search engines periodically explore and “index” your web site • You need to let them know your site exists (i.e. announce it) • Optimize your site: every page has a “song” • Create new pages specifically designed for ranking well (i.e. “doorway pages”) Search Engines • Pick the right keywords to target – Overture will give you relative search popularity http://inventory.overture.com – Ex: hair color 16000, hair coloring 4100, colorant 150 • Keywords placed in title tags, hyperlink text, headline text, and high in the body copy are given more “weight” • Title tags are critical Search Engines • Meta tags are not a magic bullet • Frames and dynamic pages (i.e. pages w/ “?” or “&” in the URL) kill rankings • Monitor your rankings over time, as they will change – WebPosition (www.webposition.com) • Pay to play: bid on keywords at Overture.com • Learn more at SearchEngineWatch.com Directories • Directories are lists of sites organized by topic, usually editorially reviewed • Different from a “Search Engine” • When submitting your site, include relevant keywords in your site name & description • Don’t forget niche sites! Directories • Submit your site: – Yahoo! $299 – LookSmart $0.15/click (partners: Excite, Altavista, MSN Search) – Open Directory (www.dmoz.org) free (partners: AOL, Lycos, Netscape, Hotbot, Altavista, Google) Link Building • “Link popularity” affects search engine rankings • Links from popular sites (like Yahoo!) have more impact on your rankings • Check your link popularity at www.marketleap.com/publinkpop • Check your “PageRank” with the Google Toolbar (download it from toolbar.google.com) • Read Eric Ward’s ClickZ column on Building Links at www.clickz.com/column/bl.html Affiliate Programs • Pay For Performance / Revenue sharing • Amazon.com blazed the trail with their “Associates Program” • Many affiliate programs listed at Refer-it.com • Read The Complete Insider’s Guide To Associate & Affiliate Programs www.linkstosales.com • LinkShare, BeFree, Commission Junction.. Content Distribution • Take your best “nuggets” from your site and disseminate them elsewhere on the Web • “Microsites” – Example: www.women.com/beautifulyou/ • Sponsored content – Business2.0 article business2.com/content/magazine/marketing/2000/09/29/19075 • Transactive banners – Example: www.bluestreak.com/gillette.html Partnerships • Select partners based on your own business objectives • Establish quality, not quantity partnerships • Plan for the long term, but assume the partnership won’t last, during contract negotiations • Be flexible, especially with larger partners • Don’t expect too much (never assume your partner’s commitment, leave upside in your biz plan) • Read Co-opetition by Brandenburger et al. Demonstrate Market Acceptance • Focus on revenue, not eyeballs or numbers of partnerships • Close high visibility accounts, use as references • Listen to your customers and modify your offerings • Prove that you can scale Create Channels Not Competitors • Grow off the table scraps of other companies (stay below the radar) • Sometimes it’s worth suborning your brand to create a great business • Consider licensing elements of your core technology to perceived incumbent competitors • Exclusives are a last resort Identify & Select Good Partners Emerging firms Large portals Global 2000 firms Eyeballs Limited number High number Moderate number Qualified leads Limited number Depends on product Depends on product Revenue transactions Doubtful Probably limited Depends on product Credibility No Limited value High value References Limited value Limited value High value Exit strategy Virtually no potential Limited potential Modest potential Source: Bennett Hirsch, NowDocs Public Relations • Press releases: – Use a PR specialist (e.g. Eric Ward of URLwire.com) • Media interviews: – Short and sweet – Talk as you would to a neighbor. Think of your grandmother in Albequerque – why would she care? – Remember to say your company name throughout – Avoid “no comment” and don’t be deceitful – Get media training In Summary • Don’t fritter your money away on expensive portal deals, celebrity web events, launch parties, etc. • Drive traffic, and SALES, cost effectively with email, word of mouth, partnerships, PR, links, search engines, affiliate programs, and microsites Questions? • Feel free to email me at [email protected] • Thank you!