Aug. 10,2008
by Ephran Price
It doesn't matter if you are an internet only business owner or a traditional business owner. The internet should be playing a part in your marketing strategy.
There are thousands of ways to use the internet to market your business. Here are some of the more popular in order of popularity:
- email - website - classified
All involve some level of cost whether it be from a development point of view or a utilization point of view.
Let me explain....
Email can cost you nothing more than time if you have been collecting email addresses into a database. You can then use these email addresses through your own internet service provider. The alternative is you purchase mailing lists and have somebody do it for you.
Websites can be expensive to build if you don't have the knowledge on what you want or how you want it. Sadly a lot of web developers know nothing more than design and competing to create the fanciest site on the planet. I will create a lens further down the track on what to look for when employing a website developer. On the flip side if you have a bit of knowledge you can create a website very quickly using great inexpensive software tools such as xsitepro.
Classified ads are fun. You can post to these for free or pay per classified. They work quite well and most often the sites are polled out to the search engines so if you have a website they provide a great opportunity for backlinks. The best thing is you don't have to have a website to use the classifieds.
For business without a website there is still plenty of reasons for using the internet to market. The most important and easiest method is email. Email databases are amazing methods of capturing new and repeat business. Set up a promotion and instead of posting it email it. You can add file attachments to the email to enhance your promotion.
For business without a website you can still utilize classifieds to promote and sell a product or service. These too work very well as people are always looking for great products and services at good prices.
Another method of marketing your business onto the internet is using directories. There are literally thousands of directories globally. Many are free to list with and and are often industry specific. You don't have to have a website to list either.
If you can get a website, even it is just one page. People love to see a website of the company they are dealing with. You can just keep the information basic - company info, address, products and services. You can always build on it later.
So here are the grass roots basics of Online Business Promotion or Internet Marketing.
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Katherine Quirke is an Australian based business entrepreneur. She has worked in the IT industry for over 10 years and owned a number of businesses over the last 20 years. Sharing her knowledge has become a passion. Create your websites quickly with xsitepro: http://www.potentialtime.com/xsitepro.htm - Learn about backlinks: http://www.yourbusinessresource.info/backlinks.htm
