Offline Marketing Case Study Part 1:
Ben Bravery asked:
I don’t know about in other countries, but in New Zealand there is absolutely no one using offline advertising for affiliate programs. Not yet anyways. Do you see a goldmine like I do? Well even if you don’t, i bought two domains, kiwifling.com and amateurmatchz.com.
The first one, kiwifling.com redirects people to fling.com through my affiliate link without them knowing, and amateurmatchz redirects them to amateurmatch. Fling.com will pay me $35 – $55 depending on how many sales i get per day. I dont think i will break 9 sales per day with offline advertising, but if i do, well that would be amazing. The other site, amateur matches pays $3 per free sign up. Free sign ups always convert like a charm, so $3 per sign up is a far cry better than the over saturated adult affiliate network.
I bought those domains not for search engine purposes, im sure the domain names i chose are not searched as a whole that often, I bought them for advertising my affiliate link, to hide my referral id. When people see too much tinyurl or offto.net they think oh no someones redirecting me to some fake site… maybe credit card theft! This is actually very possible… it’s a big problem with affiliate marketing. Although if they try and reach the site again hopefully your cookie will still be there… You may want to ask your affiliate manager how long your cookies last. If you dont know what a cookie is: logicaltips.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=416
If you want to know where to buy these domains check out the resources widget on the right sidebar, theres a link to cheap godaddy codes. I get my godaddy domains for $7.69 each including the 20 cent i-cann spam fee.
Adult affiliate programs are usually the best to use as the landing pages are geo-targeted. So the landing page will have a list of members from your city. Casinos are also good… but thats a for different post at a different time
Once you have bought your domain, set up forwarding to your referral link (i recommend offto.net). You then have to advertise it. One way you could advertise your domain in the offline world is by getting some banner stickers and placing them on your bumper, imagine how many people are stuck behind you in traffic. You may as well monetize that traffic. You could also pay people per car they stick the banner on. Or… to avoid the possibility of people just sticking it on once and running with your money, you could offer a revshare program through i-dev affiliate. Im sure you could offer a share of profits to family members as well, this would be a great way of having some trusted affiliates of your own.
If you dont want to spend any money on buying stickers or what have you, you could just print off a banner you made in photoshop… or even word and laminate it, then superglue it to your car.
You could also put a sign at the end of your driveway, you would make one out of wood and some old real estate signs easily. I would advise you to put a laminated paper ad on the real estate sign. You could also call your local sign company and get them to make you some signs, but this could end up being really expensive.
You can also use flyers, go to carparks and put flyers on their cars… we dont care if it annoys people, we are here to make money
Along with the flyer idea, you can place bumper stickers on their car as well… but with the superglue/laminate trick.. you might get a fine. The possibilities are endless, the bumper idea is my favourite because it is so autopilot.
You could place ads next to highways, motorways, or any other busy roads. Sure they might get taken down, but they might just stick longer than craigslist ads.
The above methods i mentioned above are good for getting a good amount of general traffic, you can take this whole thing one step furthur and place your ads near places that are related to your affiliate program.
For example: Im using Fling.com or Amateur Matches, so both of these ads would be perfectly set outside an adult store. It doesnt have to be right outside the shop, just close enough to it so you know that you are targeting said shops customers.
Even if you dont try and target your advertising, you should still get great conversions because people who see the link cant just click it… they have to bother to visit the site. And as for the dating affiliate programs, they will always be a goldmine, so many people are using these, even married people.
This is just the start of my case study into offline advertising, I hope to bring you all many insights into this fairly untouched affiliate market.
www.wakkaoaka.blogspot.com/
I don’t know about in other countries, but in New Zealand there is absolutely no one using offline advertising for affiliate programs. Not yet anyways. Do you see a goldmine like I do? Well even if you don’t, i bought two domains, kiwifling.com and amateurmatchz.com.
The first one, kiwifling.com redirects people to fling.com through my affiliate link without them knowing, and amateurmatchz redirects them to amateurmatch. Fling.com will pay me $35 – $55 depending on how many sales i get per day. I dont think i will break 9 sales per day with offline advertising, but if i do, well that would be amazing. The other site, amateur matches pays $3 per free sign up. Free sign ups always convert like a charm, so $3 per sign up is a far cry better than the over saturated adult affiliate network.
I bought those domains not for search engine purposes, im sure the domain names i chose are not searched as a whole that often, I bought them for advertising my affiliate link, to hide my referral id. When people see too much tinyurl or offto.net they think oh no someones redirecting me to some fake site… maybe credit card theft! This is actually very possible… it’s a big problem with affiliate marketing. Although if they try and reach the site again hopefully your cookie will still be there… You may want to ask your affiliate manager how long your cookies last. If you dont know what a cookie is: logicaltips.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=416
If you want to know where to buy these domains check out the resources widget on the right sidebar, theres a link to cheap godaddy codes. I get my godaddy domains for $7.69 each including the 20 cent i-cann spam fee.
Adult affiliate programs are usually the best to use as the landing pages are geo-targeted. So the landing page will have a list of members from your city. Casinos are also good… but thats a for different post at a different time
Once you have bought your domain, set up forwarding to your referral link (i recommend offto.net). You then have to advertise it. One way you could advertise your domain in the offline world is by getting some banner stickers and placing them on your bumper, imagine how many people are stuck behind you in traffic. You may as well monetize that traffic. You could also pay people per car they stick the banner on. Or… to avoid the possibility of people just sticking it on once and running with your money, you could offer a revshare program through i-dev affiliate. Im sure you could offer a share of profits to family members as well, this would be a great way of having some trusted affiliates of your own.
If you dont want to spend any money on buying stickers or what have you, you could just print off a banner you made in photoshop… or even word and laminate it, then superglue it to your car.
You could also put a sign at the end of your driveway, you would make one out of wood and some old real estate signs easily. I would advise you to put a laminated paper ad on the real estate sign. You could also call your local sign company and get them to make you some signs, but this could end up being really expensive.
You can also use flyers, go to carparks and put flyers on their cars… we dont care if it annoys people, we are here to make money
Along with the flyer idea, you can place bumper stickers on their car as well… but with the superglue/laminate trick.. you might get a fine. The possibilities are endless, the bumper idea is my favourite because it is so autopilot.
You could place ads next to highways, motorways, or any other busy roads. Sure they might get taken down, but they might just stick longer than craigslist ads.
The above methods i mentioned above are good for getting a good amount of general traffic, you can take this whole thing one step furthur and place your ads near places that are related to your affiliate program.
For example: Im using Fling.com or Amateur Matches, so both of these ads would be perfectly set outside an adult store. It doesnt have to be right outside the shop, just close enough to it so you know that you are targeting said shops customers.
Even if you dont try and target your advertising, you should still get great conversions because people who see the link cant just click it… they have to bother to visit the site. And as for the dating affiliate programs, they will always be a goldmine, so many people are using these, even married people.
This is just the start of my case study into offline advertising, I hope to bring you all many insights into this fairly untouched affiliate market.
www.wakkaoaka.blogspot.com/
Introduction to Marketing
November 20, 2009 by admin
Filed under Business Ideas
Kiranvoleti asked:
Marketing: Marketing is analyzing and satisfying consumer needs. A strategically planning and executing of a set of objectives to bring buyers and sellers together so that a sale can take place.
3M’s are Money, Management, and Marketing
In the 3 M’s of Business model Marketing play a key role.
Buying and Selling of and exchange of goods for an agreed amount.
Marketing is the promotion of products or service especially advertising and branding.
The 4 P’s of Marketing are
• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion
Marketing can be classified as 3C model also
• Customer
• Company
• Competitor
3 conceptions of marketing are
• Production concept
• Selling concept
• Marketing concept
Short Term Factors in Marketing System are
• Product
• Place
• Price
• Promotion
Long Term Factors in Marketing System are
• Technological
• Legal
• Cultural
• Economic
Different Components of a Marketing Plan:
1. Market Research/Analysis
2. Marketing Objectives/Goals
3. Marketing Mix/Strategy
4. Marketing Budget
5. Market Monitoring and Evaluating
6. Plan Check List
Types of Marketing:
• Internet Marketing
• Offline Marketing
• Word of Mouth Marketing
• Guerilla Marketing
• Print Advertising
• Direct Mail
• TV and Radio
• Network Marketing
• Services Marketing
• Evangelism Marketing
• Relationship Marketing
• Experiential Marketing
• Mobile Marketing
New Media marketing types:
• Internet
• Mobile phones
• IPODS
• PDAS
Types of Market Research:
Exploratory Research: Better understanding of the problem dimensions.
Descriptive Research: General understanding of the marketing problem
Causal Research: Used to identify cause-and-effect relationship.
Top Marketing Rules:
• Rules are Meant to be Broken if needed
• Marketing Must Result in Sales and growth
• Be unique
• Keep a deadline
Marketing: Marketing is analyzing and satisfying consumer needs. A strategically planning and executing of a set of objectives to bring buyers and sellers together so that a sale can take place.
3M’s are Money, Management, and Marketing
In the 3 M’s of Business model Marketing play a key role.
Buying and Selling of and exchange of goods for an agreed amount.
Marketing is the promotion of products or service especially advertising and branding.
The 4 P’s of Marketing are
• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion
Marketing can be classified as 3C model also
• Customer
• Company
• Competitor
3 conceptions of marketing are
• Production concept
• Selling concept
• Marketing concept
Short Term Factors in Marketing System are
• Product
• Place
• Price
• Promotion
Long Term Factors in Marketing System are
• Technological
• Legal
• Cultural
• Economic
Different Components of a Marketing Plan:
1. Market Research/Analysis
2. Marketing Objectives/Goals
3. Marketing Mix/Strategy
4. Marketing Budget
5. Market Monitoring and Evaluating
6. Plan Check List
Types of Marketing:
• Internet Marketing
• Offline Marketing
• Word of Mouth Marketing
• Guerilla Marketing
• Print Advertising
• Direct Mail
• TV and Radio
• Network Marketing
• Services Marketing
• Evangelism Marketing
• Relationship Marketing
• Experiential Marketing
• Mobile Marketing
New Media marketing types:
• Internet
• Mobile phones
• IPODS
• PDAS
Types of Market Research:
Exploratory Research: Better understanding of the problem dimensions.
Descriptive Research: General understanding of the marketing problem
Causal Research: Used to identify cause-and-effect relationship.
Top Marketing Rules:
• Rules are Meant to be Broken if needed
• Marketing Must Result in Sales and growth
• Be unique
• Keep a deadline
Benefits of Combining Online and Offline Marketing
November 17, 2009 by admin
Filed under Entrepreneurship
Lucien Bechard asked:
There is a lot of buzz going around the network marketing industry lately about online vs. offline marketing and which concept is better. The top leaders from each industry have been strongly stating their case as to why their concept is better. Both sides have strong and valid points that make it very tough to decide which one is better. But what if you didn’t have to choose a side? What if you could become involved with both of them?
Before we delve into this further let’s take more of a look into both industries.
Offline marketing & Direct Selling companies have been around since the beginning of time. It all started back in the day with people going door to door to pitch and sell their products. Companies such as Amway, and Mary Kay created a massive boom in the industry using the techniques of door to door selling. People in the 80′s and 90′s started learning the concepts of residual income and became really excited about the income potential this could bring to their lives. They started jumping on the bandwagon and began pitching their products and companies to everyone they came in contact with. There were a select few that made a tremendous amount of income from the direct selling craze, but most people ended up with nothing. A lot of people not only lost a lot of money, but they also had their dreams shattered along with it.
That’s when people started having a negative taste in their mouth about the direct selling industry. Terms such as “pyramid scheme” and “scam” began to surface.
The trends started to shift in the late 90′s. People started to become turned off to the concept of direct selling. They didn’t like bothering their friends and family. They weren’t interested in going to seminars and buying products they didn’t need. The direct selling industry now had a bad rap.
But here’s the key thing to remember. The concept and idea of residual income still stayed strong. Residual income wasn’t the “pyramid scheme” and it wasn’t a “scam.” Despite what people thought about the direct selling industry, no one could ever say anything negative about residual income. People still desired to have the lifestyle that residual income produced. They just didn’t like the way they had to go about achieving it.
Residual income never has and never will be a negative concept. The way people go about achieving residual income has become what’s negative. It’s a solid concept that most people still desire to have.
Now let’s flash forward to Internet boom. Ever since the Internet craze has hit the industry people have become inundated with business opportunities everywhere they go. People are being pulled in every different direction and they don’t know which way to turn.
The social media craze is causing such a stir throughout the industry. Sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube are taking over the Internet. If you go on any one of those sites, you will see that they are just one big “pitch fest.” Everyone is selling something, no matter if they are involved in online or offline marketing. They have a message they want to tell and they want you to hear it.
Everywhere people go on these sites they are being sold on business opportunities to “work from home,” “no meetings involved,” “no bothering friends and family,” and “no lotions or pills to sell.” 90% of the work will be done for them they are told. Terms like “pre-launch,” “get rich quick,” ‘join now,” ‘reserve your spot” have taken the industry by storm. Every time people log into their email, they get spammed by every Internet marketer on the planet telling them how great their business is.
So here’s where the crazy cycle has begins. Offline & Direct Marketers vs. Online Marketers. The tug of war has become heated.
Offline marketers believe in the old school network marketing principles of “making a list of friends and family,” “contacting them,” “showing them their opportunity,” and then “following through.” They believe in the human touch approach. They still hold motivational seminars, dream building sessions, strategy meetings, and cold call sessions like they did in the 80′s and 90′s.
They do network a little bit on the social media sites but most people don’t know what they are doing. They aren’t receiving any training from their up lines on how to brand themselves and market their business online. Also, most of the top offline companies have restrictions about their distributors using online marketing methods to promote their business. The distributors hands are tied.
Here’s where the struggle is taking place with offline companies and why they are losing most of their distributors to online companies. Most of these companies are on the verge of being wiped out because they are still stuck in the olden days of running a business. They are not with the times. Their philosophies of running a business are sound, they even have strong moral principles, but they are being buried by the Internet. Internet marketers are stealing these distributors away in droves and the people that are left are stunned when their down lines are wiped out.
Online marketers have a laser targeted focus on playing to the emotions of offline marketers. Their goal is to target all offline marketers and play off of the negative emotions they are facing with their current business. “The grass is greener on the other side” is what they portray.
With online marketing everything is automated with very little human touch. Online marketers just want people to enter their information into their “capture” page and then proceed to blast peoples email addresses with auto-responder messages hoping to play the law of averages. They know that if they can get their message to enough people, the law of averages will end up working in their favor.
“The money is in the list!” That holds true in both online marketing and offline marketing. It’s all about “the list.”
After reading this and seeing both sides of the fence, neither side seems appealing does it?
That’s because they aren’t working together! There is no “Synergy” working against each other.
That’s why you should incorporate both online and offline marketing methods into your businesses.
First of all, human contact is still the most important element in both online and offline marketing. Human contact is the key to having long term and lasting success in the network marketing industry. People want to do business with other people, not with a computer.
Online marketers can only hide behind the Internet for so long before their businesses will crumble. If online marketers want to become true leaders and have huge businesses, they have to incorporate human touch into their business.
If online marketers want to truly become successful, they need to still fill their minds with positive information through motivational cd’s and seminars, dream building sessions, and strategic planning sessions with other mentors.
Offline marketers have been teaching these principles for years and they are even more relevant in today’s world. Today more than ever, people want to be in business with someone they can trust. People still need guidance and mentorship from other leaders. Online marketers can learn a lot from offline marketers on how they build a business. The principles offline marketers use to build a business are sound and are still the basis by which a business should be built.
Let’s talk about what offline marketers need to do to get with the times before it’s too late. There’s no denying that the Internet has changed how business is being done. The social media giants are not going away and neither is online marketing. It’s only going to get bigger. Offline marketers need to start learning how to brand themselves and their businesses on the Internet if they want to succeed in today’s world. If offline marketers don’t learn how to market their businesses and brand themselves using the major social media outlets, they are going to get eaten alive very quickly.
There’s a tremendous amount of opportunity that’s come with the social media boom, but there’s a very limited amount of time people have left to learn how to capitalize on it.
If people get the right training they need now and learn how to use the Internet to build and market their business, they will become very wealthy.
It’s important to catch and ride the Internet and Social Media wave now before it’s too late! If you incorporate human touch in the process you will be a top leader that everyone turns to.
If people learn to combine the personal human touch, strong moral principles and philosophies of offline marketing, along with the momentum of the social media giants and the power of online marketing, they will become a part of history.
To learn how to effectively combine both online and offline marketing strategies to create “The Perfect Synergy” visit http://lucienbechard.com/online-and-offline-marketing
To learn more about the author visit http://lucienbechard.com
There is a lot of buzz going around the network marketing industry lately about online vs. offline marketing and which concept is better. The top leaders from each industry have been strongly stating their case as to why their concept is better. Both sides have strong and valid points that make it very tough to decide which one is better. But what if you didn’t have to choose a side? What if you could become involved with both of them?
Before we delve into this further let’s take more of a look into both industries.
Offline marketing & Direct Selling companies have been around since the beginning of time. It all started back in the day with people going door to door to pitch and sell their products. Companies such as Amway, and Mary Kay created a massive boom in the industry using the techniques of door to door selling. People in the 80′s and 90′s started learning the concepts of residual income and became really excited about the income potential this could bring to their lives. They started jumping on the bandwagon and began pitching their products and companies to everyone they came in contact with. There were a select few that made a tremendous amount of income from the direct selling craze, but most people ended up with nothing. A lot of people not only lost a lot of money, but they also had their dreams shattered along with it.
That’s when people started having a negative taste in their mouth about the direct selling industry. Terms such as “pyramid scheme” and “scam” began to surface.
The trends started to shift in the late 90′s. People started to become turned off to the concept of direct selling. They didn’t like bothering their friends and family. They weren’t interested in going to seminars and buying products they didn’t need. The direct selling industry now had a bad rap.
But here’s the key thing to remember. The concept and idea of residual income still stayed strong. Residual income wasn’t the “pyramid scheme” and it wasn’t a “scam.” Despite what people thought about the direct selling industry, no one could ever say anything negative about residual income. People still desired to have the lifestyle that residual income produced. They just didn’t like the way they had to go about achieving it.
Residual income never has and never will be a negative concept. The way people go about achieving residual income has become what’s negative. It’s a solid concept that most people still desire to have.
Now let’s flash forward to Internet boom. Ever since the Internet craze has hit the industry people have become inundated with business opportunities everywhere they go. People are being pulled in every different direction and they don’t know which way to turn.
The social media craze is causing such a stir throughout the industry. Sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube are taking over the Internet. If you go on any one of those sites, you will see that they are just one big “pitch fest.” Everyone is selling something, no matter if they are involved in online or offline marketing. They have a message they want to tell and they want you to hear it.
Everywhere people go on these sites they are being sold on business opportunities to “work from home,” “no meetings involved,” “no bothering friends and family,” and “no lotions or pills to sell.” 90% of the work will be done for them they are told. Terms like “pre-launch,” “get rich quick,” ‘join now,” ‘reserve your spot” have taken the industry by storm. Every time people log into their email, they get spammed by every Internet marketer on the planet telling them how great their business is.
So here’s where the crazy cycle has begins. Offline & Direct Marketers vs. Online Marketers. The tug of war has become heated.
Offline marketers believe in the old school network marketing principles of “making a list of friends and family,” “contacting them,” “showing them their opportunity,” and then “following through.” They believe in the human touch approach. They still hold motivational seminars, dream building sessions, strategy meetings, and cold call sessions like they did in the 80′s and 90′s.
They do network a little bit on the social media sites but most people don’t know what they are doing. They aren’t receiving any training from their up lines on how to brand themselves and market their business online. Also, most of the top offline companies have restrictions about their distributors using online marketing methods to promote their business. The distributors hands are tied.
Here’s where the struggle is taking place with offline companies and why they are losing most of their distributors to online companies. Most of these companies are on the verge of being wiped out because they are still stuck in the olden days of running a business. They are not with the times. Their philosophies of running a business are sound, they even have strong moral principles, but they are being buried by the Internet. Internet marketers are stealing these distributors away in droves and the people that are left are stunned when their down lines are wiped out.
Online marketers have a laser targeted focus on playing to the emotions of offline marketers. Their goal is to target all offline marketers and play off of the negative emotions they are facing with their current business. “The grass is greener on the other side” is what they portray.
With online marketing everything is automated with very little human touch. Online marketers just want people to enter their information into their “capture” page and then proceed to blast peoples email addresses with auto-responder messages hoping to play the law of averages. They know that if they can get their message to enough people, the law of averages will end up working in their favor.
“The money is in the list!” That holds true in both online marketing and offline marketing. It’s all about “the list.”
After reading this and seeing both sides of the fence, neither side seems appealing does it?
That’s because they aren’t working together! There is no “Synergy” working against each other.
That’s why you should incorporate both online and offline marketing methods into your businesses.
First of all, human contact is still the most important element in both online and offline marketing. Human contact is the key to having long term and lasting success in the network marketing industry. People want to do business with other people, not with a computer.
Online marketers can only hide behind the Internet for so long before their businesses will crumble. If online marketers want to become true leaders and have huge businesses, they have to incorporate human touch into their business.
If online marketers want to truly become successful, they need to still fill their minds with positive information through motivational cd’s and seminars, dream building sessions, and strategic planning sessions with other mentors.
Offline marketers have been teaching these principles for years and they are even more relevant in today’s world. Today more than ever, people want to be in business with someone they can trust. People still need guidance and mentorship from other leaders. Online marketers can learn a lot from offline marketers on how they build a business. The principles offline marketers use to build a business are sound and are still the basis by which a business should be built.
Let’s talk about what offline marketers need to do to get with the times before it’s too late. There’s no denying that the Internet has changed how business is being done. The social media giants are not going away and neither is online marketing. It’s only going to get bigger. Offline marketers need to start learning how to brand themselves and their businesses on the Internet if they want to succeed in today’s world. If offline marketers don’t learn how to market their businesses and brand themselves using the major social media outlets, they are going to get eaten alive very quickly.
There’s a tremendous amount of opportunity that’s come with the social media boom, but there’s a very limited amount of time people have left to learn how to capitalize on it.
If people get the right training they need now and learn how to use the Internet to build and market their business, they will become very wealthy.
It’s important to catch and ride the Internet and Social Media wave now before it’s too late! If you incorporate human touch in the process you will be a top leader that everyone turns to.
If people learn to combine the personal human touch, strong moral principles and philosophies of offline marketing, along with the momentum of the social media giants and the power of online marketing, they will become a part of history.
To learn how to effectively combine both online and offline marketing strategies to create “The Perfect Synergy” visit http://lucienbechard.com/online-and-offline-marketing
To learn more about the author visit http://lucienbechard.com
From Print to the Net: The Top Ten Benefits of Online Marketing Verses Yellow Page Advertising
Assassin Marketing asked:
Advertising today has definitely evolved, just as people and businesses continue to find and discover ways of sharing information with one another. Back then, it was almost imperative for businesses to grace the pages of that thick yellow phonebook more fondly known as the Yellow Pages. The traditional yellow page advertising has been a key promotional tool for businesses to create awareness for their products and services, and sell it to the public.
The advent of the Internet, however, started to alter the way people do things; businesses responded to this by exploring new ways of communicating with and addressing the needs of the people. Today, an increasing number of transactions are already being done online and information-sharing and dissemination over the Net has never been more widespread now than it was before. More businesses are likewise actively promoting themselves online, taking advantage of the growing number of Internet users and wider reach of an online medium. Thus, there came the emergence of online marketing.
Online marketing is fast growing in popularity as an effective advertising tool, and continues to post itself as a viable alternative to the traditional yellow page advertising, especially in a fast-paced and tech-savvy environment. Any avid Internet user today would actually notice that a lot of businesses today have websites where they promote their product and service offerings, and share other types of company information. In contrast, the once very thick Yellow Pages seem to have fewer pages lately, an indication that businesses are recognizing the benefits of increasing their online presence against advertising the traditional way. A thorough comparison of the two modes of advertising reveal that online marketing indeed has a greater number of benefits versus yellow pages advertising. Let me share with you ten benefits which top my list.
First, the Internet allows businesses to share more information to potential customers. Businesses practically have limitless space in their websites which they could fill in and update with information. On the other hand, yellow page advertising has a limit in terms of space that may be utilized to post certain content. The more information is shared in the Yellow Pages, the greater is its investment requirement.
Second, marketing initiatives done online are more easily searchable as compared to those advertised in the Yellow Pages. With the right key words, businesses can easily make their websites accessible to their target market. Information searches done using the Internet is much faster than manual scanning of the Yellow Pages.
Third, online marketing is more cost effective than yellow page advertising. Setting up, designing and running a website could be done for just a small amount of investment. On the contrary, the use of offline medium is known to cost substantially, even reaching thousands of dollars, while being bound by space and time limitations.
Fourth, online marketing makes it possible for businesses to attract hundreds, even thousands, of visitors to their sites, and create two-way interactions with them. Websites can be easily programmed to collect information from site visitors and keep in touch with them. This kind of functionality is not available in the traditional yellow page advertising.
Fifth, customer loyalty is more easily gained via online marketing. The Yellow Pages are simply all about ads, nothing more and nothing less. Meanwhile, websites may contain newsletters, updates and other attention-grabbing information links that encourage repeat customer contact.
Sixth, establishing credibility and gaining the customers’ trust are easier achieved through online marketing than yellow page advertising. Aside from ad placements, company websites can contain a whole range of information that can give customers better knowledge about a company and its products and services. The more customers know about a company, the greater is their tendency to trust it and see it as being reliable.
Seventh, online marketing offers greater convenience and flexibility in terms of updating information, at practically no additional cost. Businesses have total control of the content of their websites and they can modify it at any time they wish. Yellow page advertising does not have this kind of flexibility. In addition, any update done on traditional advertising usually requires additional investment.
Eighth, the effectiveness of marketing initiatives could be measured faster when the online medium is used. Site visits or hits as well as inquiries related to an online advertising placement, for instance, can be readily tracked as compared to calls received in response to a yellow page advertisement.
Ninth, marketing online allows companies to better demonstrate their competitive advantages and support their unique selling propositions. A website highlights the merits of a particular company, while the Yellow Page merely categorizes a company, together with its competition.
Lastly, online marketing has far greater reach than yellow page advertising. Web presence exposes businesses to the whole world, allowing it to tap not only local but international prospects as well. This opens promising opportunities for business growth and expansion later on.
There is no doubt about the power and capabilities of the Internet as an effective marketing tool. No wonder more and more businesses are shifting their budget allocations to enhance their web presence. With the right planning and use of resources, companies can make the most out of online marketing, the next big thing in the field of marketing and advertising.
Advertising today has definitely evolved, just as people and businesses continue to find and discover ways of sharing information with one another. Back then, it was almost imperative for businesses to grace the pages of that thick yellow phonebook more fondly known as the Yellow Pages. The traditional yellow page advertising has been a key promotional tool for businesses to create awareness for their products and services, and sell it to the public.
The advent of the Internet, however, started to alter the way people do things; businesses responded to this by exploring new ways of communicating with and addressing the needs of the people. Today, an increasing number of transactions are already being done online and information-sharing and dissemination over the Net has never been more widespread now than it was before. More businesses are likewise actively promoting themselves online, taking advantage of the growing number of Internet users and wider reach of an online medium. Thus, there came the emergence of online marketing.
Online marketing is fast growing in popularity as an effective advertising tool, and continues to post itself as a viable alternative to the traditional yellow page advertising, especially in a fast-paced and tech-savvy environment. Any avid Internet user today would actually notice that a lot of businesses today have websites where they promote their product and service offerings, and share other types of company information. In contrast, the once very thick Yellow Pages seem to have fewer pages lately, an indication that businesses are recognizing the benefits of increasing their online presence against advertising the traditional way. A thorough comparison of the two modes of advertising reveal that online marketing indeed has a greater number of benefits versus yellow pages advertising. Let me share with you ten benefits which top my list.
First, the Internet allows businesses to share more information to potential customers. Businesses practically have limitless space in their websites which they could fill in and update with information. On the other hand, yellow page advertising has a limit in terms of space that may be utilized to post certain content. The more information is shared in the Yellow Pages, the greater is its investment requirement.
Second, marketing initiatives done online are more easily searchable as compared to those advertised in the Yellow Pages. With the right key words, businesses can easily make their websites accessible to their target market. Information searches done using the Internet is much faster than manual scanning of the Yellow Pages.
Third, online marketing is more cost effective than yellow page advertising. Setting up, designing and running a website could be done for just a small amount of investment. On the contrary, the use of offline medium is known to cost substantially, even reaching thousands of dollars, while being bound by space and time limitations.
Fourth, online marketing makes it possible for businesses to attract hundreds, even thousands, of visitors to their sites, and create two-way interactions with them. Websites can be easily programmed to collect information from site visitors and keep in touch with them. This kind of functionality is not available in the traditional yellow page advertising.
Fifth, customer loyalty is more easily gained via online marketing. The Yellow Pages are simply all about ads, nothing more and nothing less. Meanwhile, websites may contain newsletters, updates and other attention-grabbing information links that encourage repeat customer contact.
Sixth, establishing credibility and gaining the customers’ trust are easier achieved through online marketing than yellow page advertising. Aside from ad placements, company websites can contain a whole range of information that can give customers better knowledge about a company and its products and services. The more customers know about a company, the greater is their tendency to trust it and see it as being reliable.
Seventh, online marketing offers greater convenience and flexibility in terms of updating information, at practically no additional cost. Businesses have total control of the content of their websites and they can modify it at any time they wish. Yellow page advertising does not have this kind of flexibility. In addition, any update done on traditional advertising usually requires additional investment.
Eighth, the effectiveness of marketing initiatives could be measured faster when the online medium is used. Site visits or hits as well as inquiries related to an online advertising placement, for instance, can be readily tracked as compared to calls received in response to a yellow page advertisement.
Ninth, marketing online allows companies to better demonstrate their competitive advantages and support their unique selling propositions. A website highlights the merits of a particular company, while the Yellow Page merely categorizes a company, together with its competition.
Lastly, online marketing has far greater reach than yellow page advertising. Web presence exposes businesses to the whole world, allowing it to tap not only local but international prospects as well. This opens promising opportunities for business growth and expansion later on.
There is no doubt about the power and capabilities of the Internet as an effective marketing tool. No wonder more and more businesses are shifting their budget allocations to enhance their web presence. With the right planning and use of resources, companies can make the most out of online marketing, the next big thing in the field of marketing and advertising.
Web Marketing Vs Offline Marketing
William King asked:
One of the most critical aspects of running a business is marketing. It encompasses every customer related task from creating awareness to customer satisfaction and retention. One may go as far as to say that a business cannot survive or even start up without it. In the current scenario, marketing has become a complex and sophisticated function, especially now that an increasing number of businesses choose to start up online. Now, along with the traditional offline marketing tools, there are a number of web marketing tools and methods available. These web marketing methods must be mastered for any level of success in online business.
The differences that separate web marketing from offline marketing are as below:
• Snail mail vs. email – Email marketing is low cost, efficient, instant and effective means of generating customers. Snail mail is slow, generally more expensive and is losing some of its efficacy with the influx of TV and Internet.
• Limited radius of impact vs. unlimited – The target audience is global in the case of web marketing with the Internet shrinking the world. The radius of offline marketing is limited by physical, political and time barriers.
• Web customers are looking for a product or service similar to yours – The beauty of being an online business is that people log on to look for a service or product that you can offer. Whereas, offline businesses have to rely more on push marketing than the pull effect.
• Long, complex process of making a sale vs. instant conversion – A few clicks of a mouse and the product is sold, in the case of web marketing. Offline marketing process is time and manpower heavy, from generating leads to making a sale.
• Fixed office hours vs. 24 hour store – An online business can sell its products 24 hours a day while an offline business will open and shut at particular hours.
• Advertising in print, TV and radio is expensive – While you can easily offer content, audio and video clips on the Internet for a very low cost.
• Pay for time spots vs. unlimited time and space – Ads in offline marketing mediums are for a limited time only and you pay for time slots and space. In an online marketing scenario, you would keep your ads up for a longer time and pay much less.
• Cost per incremental customer – This cost is very low for web marketing based concerns, whereas this cost is appreciable in case of offline marketing efforts.
• Targeted approach vs. blanket approach – The above reason leads offline marketing businesses to target and select carefully, eliminating a lot of potential customers, who may buy in the future if not the present. However, low incremental costs result in online businesses covering a broad spectrum of the market.
• Segmentation – Preferences are much easier to track for an online business and this means that segmentation is simpler. The web marketing effort has the information it needs to customize its pitch at once.
• Customer contact – Access to customer information is automatic in the case of online businesses and the web marketing process is simplified and made efficient. Databases and mailing lists are created in an instant. On the contrary, offline marketing efforts for the same require time, employees and money.
There are many benefits to both web marketing and offline marketing, and it is best to use a judicious mix of the two.
One of the most critical aspects of running a business is marketing. It encompasses every customer related task from creating awareness to customer satisfaction and retention. One may go as far as to say that a business cannot survive or even start up without it. In the current scenario, marketing has become a complex and sophisticated function, especially now that an increasing number of businesses choose to start up online. Now, along with the traditional offline marketing tools, there are a number of web marketing tools and methods available. These web marketing methods must be mastered for any level of success in online business.
The differences that separate web marketing from offline marketing are as below:
• Snail mail vs. email – Email marketing is low cost, efficient, instant and effective means of generating customers. Snail mail is slow, generally more expensive and is losing some of its efficacy with the influx of TV and Internet.
• Limited radius of impact vs. unlimited – The target audience is global in the case of web marketing with the Internet shrinking the world. The radius of offline marketing is limited by physical, political and time barriers.
• Web customers are looking for a product or service similar to yours – The beauty of being an online business is that people log on to look for a service or product that you can offer. Whereas, offline businesses have to rely more on push marketing than the pull effect.
• Long, complex process of making a sale vs. instant conversion – A few clicks of a mouse and the product is sold, in the case of web marketing. Offline marketing process is time and manpower heavy, from generating leads to making a sale.
• Fixed office hours vs. 24 hour store – An online business can sell its products 24 hours a day while an offline business will open and shut at particular hours.
• Advertising in print, TV and radio is expensive – While you can easily offer content, audio and video clips on the Internet for a very low cost.
• Pay for time spots vs. unlimited time and space – Ads in offline marketing mediums are for a limited time only and you pay for time slots and space. In an online marketing scenario, you would keep your ads up for a longer time and pay much less.
• Cost per incremental customer – This cost is very low for web marketing based concerns, whereas this cost is appreciable in case of offline marketing efforts.
• Targeted approach vs. blanket approach – The above reason leads offline marketing businesses to target and select carefully, eliminating a lot of potential customers, who may buy in the future if not the present. However, low incremental costs result in online businesses covering a broad spectrum of the market.
• Segmentation – Preferences are much easier to track for an online business and this means that segmentation is simpler. The web marketing effort has the information it needs to customize its pitch at once.
• Customer contact – Access to customer information is automatic in the case of online businesses and the web marketing process is simplified and made efficient. Databases and mailing lists are created in an instant. On the contrary, offline marketing efforts for the same require time, employees and money.
There are many benefits to both web marketing and offline marketing, and it is best to use a judicious mix of the two.
The Top 10 Reasons Why Online Marketing Dominates Traditional Advertising
Assassin Marketing asked:
Online marketing has become the most successful method of advertising for any kind of business on the planet during the last decade. It is lightning fast and can promote your business to thousands of potential customers daily. As marketing is a primary factor for a long and successful business, the internet facilitates this process in a way that will ensure the maximum exposure to what you are offering.
Traditional marketing is becoming more expensive and slower to produce results. It also requires much more time and effort. It often has to be done by many employees and is restricted by many barriers and regulations which make it hard to get the most beneficial results. Then along comes the internet as it makes the entire globe seem like a short alley rather than a large city where you can reach customers overseas in a matter of seconds. Online marketing is superior to traditional ways of marketing in almost every aspect, and here we list the top 10 reasons online marketing dominates traditional advertising.
1. SPEED
Email marketing campaigns are fast, targeted, cost-effective, highly efficient method of marketing your business. They reach a lot of customers in the shortest time. Traditional mail marketing can take months and a lot of money and effort to generate results.
2. GEOGRAPHICAL RESTRICTIONS
The whole globe can be your customer base when you are marketing your business online, as the internet reaches almost every house on the planet. On the other hand, you are often restricted to local customers from a smaller geographical area when you market offline.
3. MARKETING EFFECTS
Online marketing is based on pull marketing effects, which means that online customers come across your website when they are looking for similar products of yours. While offline marketing is based on push marketing effects, which means you have to introduce your business to every single customer that come into your location.
4. SALES PROCESS
When your business is marketing online, you can make a sale in a matter of seconds; where the customer chooses what product or services they wise to buy, they move to the check out page, pays for the product or services on a secure page, and then receives their purchase. Offline advertising is very different as the selling process is very complex and requires a lot of effort and persuasion and sometimes can’t be completed after all.
5. HOURS OF OPERATION
Your website is self-managed and requires you only to make few changes, and after that it can operate non-stop and can be selling products or services while you are sleeping. Offline stores are restricted to the human active times, this means you open in the morning and close in the evening and you can’t make a sale while you are closed. In other words, the offline selling process has a shorter sales life than the online one.
6. COST OF MEDIA
If you want to make a commercial on TV or radio or a newspaper, you will pay a fortune. While online marketing allows you to make a short video or audio commercial and submit it thousands of media communities and it will cost you next to nothing.
7. LIMITED ADVERTISING LIFE SPAN
When you post an ad online about your business or website, with an article for example, it can be online forever and the place where the ad occupies will be untouched for a long time. On the other hand, offline ads can be only active for an agreed-upon period of time and then it will be replaced.
8. COST PER CUSTOMER
These costs are reasonably low with online marketing but relatively high with offline forms of advertising. They are simply the costs incurred to generate potential customers for the business.
9. CUSTOMER SUPPORT
With one email you can solve all your customer problems and concerns. This process is much more time consuming and require more effort offline.
10. ONGOING MARKETING INFORMATION
It is very easy and only takes a few seconds to collect all the information and data about every aspect of your business when you market online. Offline information and data are stored within piles of documents, where it requires a squad of employees to collect the required information.
As you can clearly see, online marketing is far superior to traditional forms of marketing. Online marketing is all about saving you money, time, and effort; yet brings you the required results you seek and most of the time exceeds your expectations.
Online marketing has become the most successful method of advertising for any kind of business on the planet during the last decade. It is lightning fast and can promote your business to thousands of potential customers daily. As marketing is a primary factor for a long and successful business, the internet facilitates this process in a way that will ensure the maximum exposure to what you are offering.
Traditional marketing is becoming more expensive and slower to produce results. It also requires much more time and effort. It often has to be done by many employees and is restricted by many barriers and regulations which make it hard to get the most beneficial results. Then along comes the internet as it makes the entire globe seem like a short alley rather than a large city where you can reach customers overseas in a matter of seconds. Online marketing is superior to traditional ways of marketing in almost every aspect, and here we list the top 10 reasons online marketing dominates traditional advertising.
1. SPEED
Email marketing campaigns are fast, targeted, cost-effective, highly efficient method of marketing your business. They reach a lot of customers in the shortest time. Traditional mail marketing can take months and a lot of money and effort to generate results.
2. GEOGRAPHICAL RESTRICTIONS
The whole globe can be your customer base when you are marketing your business online, as the internet reaches almost every house on the planet. On the other hand, you are often restricted to local customers from a smaller geographical area when you market offline.
3. MARKETING EFFECTS
Online marketing is based on pull marketing effects, which means that online customers come across your website when they are looking for similar products of yours. While offline marketing is based on push marketing effects, which means you have to introduce your business to every single customer that come into your location.
4. SALES PROCESS
When your business is marketing online, you can make a sale in a matter of seconds; where the customer chooses what product or services they wise to buy, they move to the check out page, pays for the product or services on a secure page, and then receives their purchase. Offline advertising is very different as the selling process is very complex and requires a lot of effort and persuasion and sometimes can’t be completed after all.
5. HOURS OF OPERATION
Your website is self-managed and requires you only to make few changes, and after that it can operate non-stop and can be selling products or services while you are sleeping. Offline stores are restricted to the human active times, this means you open in the morning and close in the evening and you can’t make a sale while you are closed. In other words, the offline selling process has a shorter sales life than the online one.
6. COST OF MEDIA
If you want to make a commercial on TV or radio or a newspaper, you will pay a fortune. While online marketing allows you to make a short video or audio commercial and submit it thousands of media communities and it will cost you next to nothing.
7. LIMITED ADVERTISING LIFE SPAN
When you post an ad online about your business or website, with an article for example, it can be online forever and the place where the ad occupies will be untouched for a long time. On the other hand, offline ads can be only active for an agreed-upon period of time and then it will be replaced.
8. COST PER CUSTOMER
These costs are reasonably low with online marketing but relatively high with offline forms of advertising. They are simply the costs incurred to generate potential customers for the business.
9. CUSTOMER SUPPORT
With one email you can solve all your customer problems and concerns. This process is much more time consuming and require more effort offline.
10. ONGOING MARKETING INFORMATION
It is very easy and only takes a few seconds to collect all the information and data about every aspect of your business when you market online. Offline information and data are stored within piles of documents, where it requires a squad of employees to collect the required information.
As you can clearly see, online marketing is far superior to traditional forms of marketing. Online marketing is all about saving you money, time, and effort; yet brings you the required results you seek and most of the time exceeds your expectations.
Through Online Marketing Or Offline Marketing
cyberThink InfoTech asked:
Your efforts must have through online marketing or offline marketing, whatever principle or method of work may be but the goal is ultimately to achieve the best output into market segments. Everyone wants a good marketing campaign through mobile, internet, SME, and other campaigns. Whatever the system may be? Whatever the condition arises?
You must have the preparation before the hurdle comes so when it comes to business development you must be aware about business intelligence through software development and integration. Having this tool, you could easily get the best deal out of millions. The potential of any companies lie beneath its ethics, working methodologies, and their determination and dedication towards task fulfillment.
Planning is the backbone in every business, plan like preceding entrepreneur, judges every decision on practical hand, and takes forward decision. Every body wants a good mentor who guides in every footstep you follow or will be going to take in future. But this is not the fact; you should have taken various decisions by our own heart and soul.
There is nobody who looks after you in all you life span. No wonder the operational system takes your steps wisely or ruthlessly but to achieve anything is a very daunting task. Your efforts must have through online marketing or offline marketing, whatever principle or method of work may be but the goal is ultimately to achieve the best output into market segments. Planning in every business, is like preceding entrepreneur, judges every decision on practical hand, and takes forward decision. Every body wants a good mentor who guides in every footstep you follow or will be going to take in future.
However, this is not the fact; you should have taken various decisions by our own heart and soul. There is nobody who looks after you in all you life span. So take actions amicably, that not only fits your business criteria, but also it does not hamper others. Hiring a professional is very tedious and scanning process because on this your organization depends.
What should you do when it comes to cutting cost in your company? Hire professionals from other remote countries that would give you satisfaction in terms of competitiveness, agility, strong confidence, effective work force handling, and utmost satisfaction to your clients.
Best search engine optimization company can help to improve web traffic. SEO specialist India is right destination to hire seo!!
Your efforts must have through online marketing or offline marketing, whatever principle or method of work may be but the goal is ultimately to achieve the best output into market segments. Everyone wants a good marketing campaign through mobile, internet, SME, and other campaigns. Whatever the system may be? Whatever the condition arises?
You must have the preparation before the hurdle comes so when it comes to business development you must be aware about business intelligence through software development and integration. Having this tool, you could easily get the best deal out of millions. The potential of any companies lie beneath its ethics, working methodologies, and their determination and dedication towards task fulfillment.
Planning is the backbone in every business, plan like preceding entrepreneur, judges every decision on practical hand, and takes forward decision. Every body wants a good mentor who guides in every footstep you follow or will be going to take in future. But this is not the fact; you should have taken various decisions by our own heart and soul.
There is nobody who looks after you in all you life span. No wonder the operational system takes your steps wisely or ruthlessly but to achieve anything is a very daunting task. Your efforts must have through online marketing or offline marketing, whatever principle or method of work may be but the goal is ultimately to achieve the best output into market segments. Planning in every business, is like preceding entrepreneur, judges every decision on practical hand, and takes forward decision. Every body wants a good mentor who guides in every footstep you follow or will be going to take in future.
However, this is not the fact; you should have taken various decisions by our own heart and soul. There is nobody who looks after you in all you life span. So take actions amicably, that not only fits your business criteria, but also it does not hamper others. Hiring a professional is very tedious and scanning process because on this your organization depends.
What should you do when it comes to cutting cost in your company? Hire professionals from other remote countries that would give you satisfaction in terms of competitiveness, agility, strong confidence, effective work force handling, and utmost satisfaction to your clients.
Best search engine optimization company can help to improve web traffic. SEO specialist India is right destination to hire seo!!
5 Simple Offline Marketing Methods For You To Follow
October 9, 2009 by admin
Filed under Networking
temp_168807 asked:
If you own and operate an online business, it would be quite myopic to exclusively focus on online marketing methods to promote your enterprise. Granted that the World Wide Web is home to some amazing and cost-effective ways that can help spread the word about your business, the World Wide Web remains as just one avenue for you to exploit. There is a more promising avenue that has been neglected since the advent of the internet.
This is the offline market.
Below are 5 simple but highly effective offline marketing methods that you can implement for your online business.
Distributing items that prominently display your URL. Coffee mugs, caps, shirts, and even bumper stickers. Surely, you’ve seen such items that displayed a particular URL, right? Can you remember how intrigued you were when you encountered them? Perhaps you may still remember the URL you saw back then? Such is the power of this method.
Distributing media kits for the press people. Press people are always on the lookout for things to write about. Make things easy for them by distributing press kits that consist of: an expertly written press release about your company or about an event that affects your company, a profile of your business, a list of prominent clients/customers, a list of awards received, your complete product line, and other similar details.
Conducting seminars, symposiums and workshops. What better way to promote your website – something that is often viewed with the negativity caused by the prevalent anonymity on the internet – than by providing the public with the face of your business: yours. By making yourself visible and displaying your expertise in events that call for the same, such as seminars, symposiums and workshops related to the field you are concentrating on, you’ll be able to build your name in the industry, and consequently, you will be able to build the brand of your business.
Advertise in your dailies and magazines. Yes, it will cost some money, but advertising on print publications is not as expensive as it may initially seem to most folks. You don’t need full page ads or double-paged spreads. You won’t even need a quarter of a page. You will need an eighth of a page at the most. Based on experience, the best type of print ad that you can run is a simple display of your website’s URL. Imagine white font on black background and you’ll see how such an ad will stand out. Because of the dearth in details, people will be intrigued and they will log online to check out your site to see what it’s about.
Sponsor charity events. Most of these events will prominently display their sponsors’ logos on the advertising materials they will use. Instead of your business’ logo, ask that your website’s URL be displayed instead. The exposure your link will receive via this method can potentially be immense. Imagine a charitable event on a national, if not a global, scale, and you will begin to imagine the sheer potency of this technique in action.
The Top Secret, Leave Your Competition In The Dust Way To Market Your Online Business
Joseph Ratliff asked:
We live in a world of borders, don’t we?
There is a border between the USA and Canada…between the USA and Mexico…and so forth. Yet we continue as a society to visit both of those countries all the time.
So let’s apply this to today’s lesson…
There is a border between an online business and an offline business. This exists because of a variety of factors like the types of products sold, the people who sell them, and other factors.
But should there be a border at all?
Let’s share an example…
An online membership site sells its memberships on the typical “Free, upgrade to silver or platinum membership” model. Upfront, this membership offers a free 50 page report on a niche industry to generate leads through an opt – in page. This membership site offers this report plus the “free” membership with limited benefits.
Then it sells it’s upgraded memberships with all the bells and whistles like business packages specific to the niche industry, audio’s that give the “golden nuggets” of info, and maybe even video to “take you by the hand” and walk you through business improvement techniques.
To market this…the membership site owner might use article marketing, Pay Per Click, forum marketing, etc…
All the online marketing techniques we are familiar with.
But there is a better way, and I suggest you add this methodology to your online marketing model today. Notice I did not say to stop marketing online at all, as all of the aforementioned techniques work great when done correctly.
But the most productive way to market your online business is… offline!
That’s right, offline marketing. Direct mail, newspaper editorial – style advertisements, word of mouth offline, face to face networking, public speaking, print newsletters, etc…
I cannot go into detail about how to use each one of these techniques in this one post…but look for future posts to cover these topics.
But one question that is probably rattling inside your head is…
“Why do these techniques work better than online marketing?”
Well…that answer is multi – part to which I will present three ideas here:
1. Typically, online business owners view the Internet as the end – all of marketing their online business…and it simply isn’t. It is only one media used to market a business.
2. Audience. One example…the majority that read the newspaper do so with a different mindset. They are not the typical freebie – seeking, distracted, multi – tasking (when surfing the ‘net), individual that is using the internet. Instead, they are more focused on what is in front of them.
3. Distraction. I mentioned this in part 2 of my answer, but in detail…there are a number of distractions that present themselves on the Internet that simply are not present when someone is reading the mail, the newspaper, attending a face to face conference (congrats to those online marketers that figured that one out) etc…
There are certainly more reasons in support of offline marketing for your online business. I would encourage you to leave a comment to this post one way or another.
We live in a world of borders, don’t we?
There is a border between the USA and Canada…between the USA and Mexico…and so forth. Yet we continue as a society to visit both of those countries all the time.
So let’s apply this to today’s lesson…
There is a border between an online business and an offline business. This exists because of a variety of factors like the types of products sold, the people who sell them, and other factors.
But should there be a border at all?
Let’s share an example…
An online membership site sells its memberships on the typical “Free, upgrade to silver or platinum membership” model. Upfront, this membership offers a free 50 page report on a niche industry to generate leads through an opt – in page. This membership site offers this report plus the “free” membership with limited benefits.
Then it sells it’s upgraded memberships with all the bells and whistles like business packages specific to the niche industry, audio’s that give the “golden nuggets” of info, and maybe even video to “take you by the hand” and walk you through business improvement techniques.
To market this…the membership site owner might use article marketing, Pay Per Click, forum marketing, etc…
All the online marketing techniques we are familiar with.
But there is a better way, and I suggest you add this methodology to your online marketing model today. Notice I did not say to stop marketing online at all, as all of the aforementioned techniques work great when done correctly.
But the most productive way to market your online business is… offline!
That’s right, offline marketing. Direct mail, newspaper editorial – style advertisements, word of mouth offline, face to face networking, public speaking, print newsletters, etc…
I cannot go into detail about how to use each one of these techniques in this one post…but look for future posts to cover these topics.
But one question that is probably rattling inside your head is…
“Why do these techniques work better than online marketing?”
Well…that answer is multi – part to which I will present three ideas here:
1. Typically, online business owners view the Internet as the end – all of marketing their online business…and it simply isn’t. It is only one media used to market a business.
2. Audience. One example…the majority that read the newspaper do so with a different mindset. They are not the typical freebie – seeking, distracted, multi – tasking (when surfing the ‘net), individual that is using the internet. Instead, they are more focused on what is in front of them.
3. Distraction. I mentioned this in part 2 of my answer, but in detail…there are a number of distractions that present themselves on the Internet that simply are not present when someone is reading the mail, the newspaper, attending a face to face conference (congrats to those online marketers that figured that one out) etc…
There are certainly more reasons in support of offline marketing for your online business. I would encourage you to leave a comment to this post one way or another.
Offline Marketing or Online Marketing: Which One Produces the Best Results?
October 7, 2009 by admin
Filed under Internet Marketing
Ronda Tuckness asked:
If you are wondering whether to go with offline marketing or online marketing, the answer is up to you. I would venture to say that many network marketers use a little of each. Both methods can bring promising prospects your way.
Let’s take a look at some of the offline methods first. Leaving business cards, catalogs and brochures at places you frequent; placing a web decal or magnetic sign on your vehicle; newspaper ads; flyers; business stationary; free product samples; wearing apparel that features your company logo; home parties; craft fairs; flea markets; door hangers; postcards.
Online methods can include article marketing; forum participation; online ads; social networking; pay-per-clicks; Google adwords; blogs; purchasing leads; etc.
Each and every method is not listed here, but you get the idea. I believe that every method which gets your business website out there is beneficial. Network marketers will favor some methods over others, but it essentially comes down to you.
You will learn which methods you prefer after a little trial and error. There are a few that I simply detest only because they do not suit my personality. It is important to use the methods that you enjoy and are comfortable with.
If you force yourself to use methods that you don’t like because you think you should or because someone advised you to, that will be a mistake. You will **** every minute of it, and your disdain could cause you to leave your network marketing dream behind.
Your business belongs to you. You should seek advice and counsel from the gurus, but only use what interests you. Any method that gets your name and company to the masses in a positive way is a useful promotion tactic.
Offline marketing or online does not have to be a choice. You can easily use both for favorable results. Some people use online methods exclusively and have no desire to try anything offline. That is certainly their prerogative. However, something as simple as a web decal on their vehicle is seen daily by dozens of people.
Why not employ both methods for maximum effect? I admit that I do not use many offline methods because I truly prefer working online. However, I would not discount anything that appealed to me just because I prefer working online.
The more people that are exposed to your website or your business, the faster things will go. It is all about numbers, or as some would say, “It is a numbers game.” I do get tired of that cliché, but it is true.
So, the bottom line is, “offline or online”, it is all good. Any method that suits your style, used consistently, will produce results.
