Basic Internet Marketing Strategy

There are several solid Internet marketing strategies. Most of them are based on community development or selling. You must follow one of the strategies if you want to succeed, few companies can create a 'hit and miss' marketing campaign and make it work.

There are three things needed to build a strong ecommerce business:

A web friendly product
A website designed to sell
A dynamic internet marketing strategy

THE PRODUCT

The first step is learning everything you can about the product. What benefits it offers, what problems can it solve, who needs it, why people want it, and how to best display it on the internet. It is also important to determine whether it can be purchased readily from a local store. This is the number one consideration.

I once talked with a man who said that drop-ship businesses are a scam. He tried to sell lighters. They were interesting lighters. He picked a product that no one needed, and if they did, they could go to a local store. The people who wanted his product were unlikely to spend $10 for a lighter. And, no one needed the lighter. The problem was not the product, or drop shipping. The problem was that he was trying to sell a 'tourist trap' product via the web.

The best web products are ones geared toward people who are constantly on the internet. They do not need to be taught that internet shopping is safe. They probably already have their own paypal account.

The product should be something that people want, but cannot buy easily. Good internet products are: a large plasma television set at half cost, an in-home theater complete with theater seating and velvet ropes, a self-paced education, or knowledge that would cost several thousands of dollars from a local college. The television solves a problem, it saves money. It is something people want, and it is not readily available. This makes it a good prospect for an Internet Marketing Campaign.

Some of the top selling products are:

Software
Businesses
Internet Services
Information

The last concern is whether people are willing to pay for the product. The web is full of products that no one is willing to pay for.

The Website

The website has two purposes. First it must pre-sell the product to visitors. Second it must rank high on search engines. However, most ecommerce business owners are so concerned with the cost of the website, or search engine optimization. They forget about the visitors and concepts like pre selling.

A good website will encourage visitors to stay, invite their friends. They will sign up for newsletters, or subscribe to news feeds.

The Marketing Strategy

The next step is to bring people to the sites. There are two ways to do this. The traditional method is by optimizing the site for search engines. This includes a link building campaign, using blogs for pinging, and building an RSS feed.

The Search Engine Optimization also include building a PayPerClick marketing campaign to advertise the product or company on other websites.

The second part is Social Networking. This part has been called 'bringing the site to life.' It includes forums, blogs, audio, streaming video, live chats, and building lenses. The most popular lenses are: myspace, facebook, gather, bebo, squidoo, and blog catalogue.

A marketing strategy needs constant care and attention. No part of it can be left to stagnate. It can take months to properly execute a marketing campaign. The results need to be analyzed, changes made, and new marketing tools employed. Only then can the ecommerce owner enjoy their successes.