I have spent the last three years studying different web sites and the companies or people that own them. I have seen everything from the ugly sites with tons of traffic to the big flashy expensive to produce sites, with no traffic. Let's say that you are in the business of selling stereo equipment. A quick Google search shows that there are 6,110,000 web sites indexed by Google on stereo equipment. Now you want to start another one. What makes you think you can pass up all 6 million of these sites and start bringing in revenue from your new website?
That my friends is a serious question. Prior to starting a business or building a web site you must first ask: What value do I have to offer? The question some need to answer is: What is value? Can I sell the same stereo equipment the other 6 million are selling and somehow offer more value to the end consumer? Probably not.
If you already have a business that is producing value, you are ahead of the game. Your goal now is to market your company on the web and bring that value to a wider audience, which will increase your revenue.
There are a lot of theories on how one should market on the Internet. Web site marketing is really not much different than marketing by any other medium. The one thing that the Internet gives us is the ability to provide quality information. Your website marketing can be tailored to provide lasting quality and value for your consumers.
There are a lot of article that explain the need for quality content. You could probably read a million blogs with “articles” on quality content. The writer writes one or two paragraphs touting quality content, publishes it and expects to be seen as an authority on the subject, based these few sentences. Quality content is not a few sentences or a couple paragraphs of regurgitated crap. Quality content is you talking about living life and connecting life, to what you are marketing. Quality marketing and advertising is not necessarily blatant. One of my favorite examples of marketing is the TV show Ghost Whisperer. In that show the main character is always driving a brand new Jeep. That jeep is provided by Chrysler. This is very subtle advertising and it works!
Let's say that you start a website to sell antique bicycle parts. A Google search shows 570,000 sites related to this subject. How can you market your website and get passed all these “established” sites and be seen by your potential customers. It is not enough to have a quality store, stocked with quality items for sale. Have you ever heard of a company called McDonald's? Everyone has. Why do you think that when you watch TV you see so many McDonald's commercials? Do those high paid Marketing executives at McDonald's think you will forget who they are? Do they just have money to burn? No, the trick is to keep your name in front of the customer in a fun, friendly way. If they are hungry, just watched a McDonald's commercial, good chance they will go to McDonald's to satisfy themselves.
So how do you do this with antique bicycle parts? You build a blog and on a regular basis write article that people who ride, work on and rebuild antique bicycles will find interesting. Think about a magazine. We will use Popular Mechanics as an example. Why does Popular Mechanics exist? Would Popular Mechanics exist without revenue? I think not! Popular Mechanics is a business, they exist to sell advertising. They get you to purchase the products for sale in their magazine by providing quality content. The cool thing is, you actually pay for the privilege of getting this content and end up paying more by purchasing the products for sale in the magazine.
Quality content for our example of a site for antique bicycle parts can come from the basic interaction you have with your customers. If you have a brick and mortar business with the web site being used for marketing, you should be full of stories to write about. Think about it, you have customers coming into your store on a regular basis. As part of the sales process you talk to them, establish a connection, listen to their stories and problems. These stories are priceless. From the grandfather that talks about his first bicycle, the person that broke down on a cross country trip, mechanical repair tips, family outings at the national park and a million more stories.
If people are interested in your products, they will be interested in reading about the lifestyle encompassed by your products. If you are the CEO of your business, you will hire someone like me to do this for you. If you are a small business owner just starting out, you may have to do it yourself. Some people are not that good at writing and have no choice but to hire the work out. Either way, if you are not providing quality content, you are leaving money on the table.
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1 comments:
You make some very valid points
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