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Customers DO Exist Outside of Cyberspace!
Author : Angela Wu
This one statement might not mean much -- if anything -- to
you until you actually try promoting your business in the
'real world'. I know it didn't mean anything to me; for
years I heard 'experts' repeatedly say that the one thing
online marketers neglected was the offline market.
It wasn't until I opened up a new website where most of
the audience preferred good old postal mail that I had my
first taste of offline marketing. My worst campaign barely
broke even; my best earned me back my costs by a margin of
7-to-1!
It's easy to become comfortable just marketing online;
after all, it's relatively cheap, a big advantage for
those just getting started. Still, it's by no means
'perfect'. Some of the problems include:
* Email marketing, one of the most prevalent and popular
ways to market online, is getting harder. With the vast
amounts of spam (unsolicited email) we receive every
day in our email boxes, legitimate email can easily be
overlooked. Many people simply press the 'delete' key
if the email isn't from someone they immediately
recognize.
* Anyone can put up a web page. There's no easy way to
differentiate legitimate businesses from the 'scammers',
and there seems to be an huge proliferation of scams
online.
* It's difficult to get the *right* people to see your
website. With billions upon billions of web pages, how
do you attract people to your little corner on the web?
And once they're there, how do you keep them? Another
website is just a 'click' away!
These problems make offline marketing much more attractive!
Offline marketing has many advantages that cyberspace
can't offer. Consider this:
* You are not limited to a web page or online ad. For
instance, you can use texture and taste (ie. product
samples); or enclose stickers in your mailings to
help engage the customer in your message.
* It's something tangible that your prospect can hold
in his hands... and with things like brochures,
postcards, and business cards, although they might
initially be tossed aside, the recipient can
'rediscover' them lying on a counter, on the fridge,
etc -- or he may hand it to someone else he knows.
* You can reach a whole new segment of the population
that would never see your ads online. Some people
don't use the Internet at all (or rarely)... while
some of those who do, don't necessarily know how to
search for specific information.
* People can more easily focus on your message. For
example, let's say you're stuck in traffic behind
some guy with his URL on his car. There isn't much
for you to do or to look at, so you read his decal.
Similarly, a brightly colored postcard in someone's
mailbox is more likely to stand out (and get read!)
than an email that appears alongside dozens of others,
most of which are spam.
Granted, offline marketing isn't always cheap when you
consider the cost of paper, envelopes, ink, postage,
and much more that can go into an offline campaign.
But not all offline marketing has to be expensive; for
instance, one of the easiest and most affordable methods
I've used is a simple decal on my car ( I got mine at Web
Decals, http://buildyourhomebiz.com/rd/webdecal.html ).
The decal displays my tagline and URL, and everytime I
drive, get stuck in traffic, or park at the mall, my
business gets exposure. I keep a few brochures in my
glove compartment to give out to people who ask about
my site.
Online marketing is a wonderfully affordable way to reach
an audience. However, a combination of online and offline
marketing can help your business thrive! More ideas on how
to market your business offline can be found in the article,
'A Beginner's Checklist to Promoting an Online Business':
http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/articles/checklist3.html
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
_________
Angela is the editor of Online Business Basics, a practical
guide to building an Internet business on a shoestring
budget. If you're tired of hype and just want solid,
down-to-earth information, then visit us now -- and in
moments you can have access to loads of instantly useable
tips, specifically chosen for beginners!
http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/article.html
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