There are two basic aims of any web promotion campaign:
To get people to a specific location in cyberspace. It could be a webpage, a website, a chatroom, or any other location.
To get people to buy a product of service.
Most campaigns involve luring the prospective web surfer to a particular
location in cyberspace and then giving them a pitch for your product or
service. Some special campaigns send the pitch directly to the web
surfer. We will address both types of campaigns in the various sections
of this cyberbook.
Here are some of the basic tenets upon which this theory of web
promotion has been created:
Utility is the bottom line.
If it works, it works. Do what works. If you have been doing
something that works and most people advise against it, they are
wrong. By the same token, if you get some great expert advice and
it is not working for you, you need to change your tactics.
The average web surfer is more interested in information
than in widgets.
That is, most people do not go to the web to buy products, they go
there to find information or for entertainment.
Every campaign must be tailored.
What works for one site may not work for another.
Web promotion is not an exacting science.
It is quite difficult to tell which techniques are working and which
are not. You can analyze your server logs and see where hits are
coming from, but you can never know exactly what causes an
increase or decrease in traffic. For instance, if you place an ad at
site X and you get a bunch of hits from site X, you can not be
guaranteed that the same ad at site Y or another ad at site X will
be effective. All you know is that particular ad worked at that time
at that place. From there you can make educated guesses.
Do no harm!
The golden rule of medicine should be heeded by you as well.
Don't start any aspect of your campaign hastily. Remember that
you are not just trying to get people to buy your product but you
are also building an image. People will buy what they think is
good, regardless of how good it really is. If they think a product is
shoddy, they will not buy it even if it is the best thing since sliced
bread. When you start a particular phase of your campaign, ask
yourself: "What image is this creating for me and my products?"
Don't be afraid to take risks or be unconventional.
This may seem to contradict the above rule. Well, it does, but it is
valid as well. The greatest minds of history have always gone
against convention and done things that they knew were right. Can
you strike a balance between these two rules?
Web Design & Development
Internet Marketing & Advertising
English-Romanian Translation
Nicolae Sfetcu
E-mail, Tel.: 0745-526896