Internet Marketing Tip: is Your Opt-in Box Up to Snuff?

Oops! There it was…

Or rather, there it wasn’t.

A decent looking website with a great big hole in it.

No, it wasn’t missing a results-rich headline, a thoughtfully-crafted message or a pretty photo of the hopeful (but unfortunately, in this case, hapless) entrepreneur about whose site I was shaking my head and “tch-tching”.

It was missing an in-your-face client name and email address capturing opt-in box.

Bummer. Because the high hopes and expectations of that website’s woman business owner are surely going to be all washed up before she even gets started.

Women entrepreneurs: Your opt-in box is NOT optional! It is the only thing that creates a link, a bond, a connection between you and your busy, barely-paying-attention website visitor. Think of your opt-in box as the glue that gets your new-found relationship to start sticking.

Because once you have your visitors’ names and email addresses, you have the means to begin creating close-knit relationships. Relationships where you deliver boatloads of inspiration and information in exchange for your visitors’ buying your products and services.

Okay, now that you know your opt-in box is an internet marketing must-have, let me share with you five powerful internet marketing tips to make sure your opt-in box is doing the heavy lifting it’s supposed to do. That’s the whole POINT of the Internet: get the computer to do the hard work so the woman business owner can focus on creating soul and success in her business!

WARNING: If you have a faint internet marketing heart, a couple of these tips may cause you to make a quick excuse as to why you can’t do them. Please, recognize that’s just fear of being bold and brilliant happening and yes, you CAN overcome it.

Think of it this way: you can’t make a big difference in the world if your audience isn’t completely hooked on to you as their new Goddess (guys, think Hero here) of Wisdom on your topic. So stop hiding out behind excuses and start showing up with your brilliant self!

Internet Marketing Tip: Put your opt-in box where it can be seen.
That means the top right corner of every page. Better yet, have your web designer integrate it into the “banner” (that’s the colorful part of your website design that goes across the top of the page) so it automatically appears on each page and does not take up any of the main text area real estate.

Internet Marketing Tip: Use the right bait.
Offering a newsletter as bait is sure to catch…nothing. Nowadays you have to offer a special report, information product, audio mini-seminar, email mini-course or even discount coupons for stuff your visitors want. Include an “oh, by the way, you’ll also get f’ree valuable articles every other week” message as a bonus (that’s your newsletter).

Internet Marketing Tip: Use a graphic to catch attention.
The goal is to make your f’ree give-away feel like it’s something your visitor could hold in their hand. Ask your web designer to create a mock-up of a magazine cover, CD cover or spiral bound special report then paste it into your opt-in box.

Internet Marketing Tip: Give it a price.
Even though you don’t sell your f’ree information product, give-away or newsletter you need to create a sense of value. Give it a price (mine is valued at $197.00) and include the price in your web copy.

Internet Marketing Tip: Say something provocative.
Please, no more hiding out behind the ubiquitous “download my f’ree special report today.” Yawn. Make your download invitation challenge what your visitor already thinks they know, tell them what awful soul-twisting catastrophe is waiting for them if they—gasp!—fail to give you their name and email address or dangle a carrot in front of them that is so organic, juicy and scrumptious that their fingers tumble over themselves typing in their contact information.

Okay, now it’s time to take a peek at YOUR website and evaluate the power of your opt-in box. My marketing coach challenge to you: Get it up to snuff this week and you’ll start seeing more visitors opting in to the brilliant results that only you can deliver for them!

Ubiquitous Internet

Welcome to Ubiquitous Internet. Sometimes referred to the “always on” internet, the ubiquitous Internet is not just being measured on time, but increasingly measured in space. The Internet will continue to infiltrate the world of things, as intelligence is built into everything from toasters to entertainment centers. Things will become “smart” and capable of interacting with other things.

Brief Interruption.
Need a Vacation? Click here…

Yes, the Internet will change every aspect of our lives, as it continues to have a very powerful impact on our science, our communication, and our glimpses of emerging virtual reality applications. Considering how much time the average person spends on the Internet today, soon people will be spending the majority of their time on the Internet – and most of that time in virtual reality applications. Little by little, we will merge with our technology, which has much potential for discussion among scholars and everyday folk.

The Ubiquitous Internet gathers together informative internet articles, educational internet-related videos, and lively chatter and conversation about the emerging internet and how it relates to everyday life. Thank you for supporting this important website!    

Know About Internet Marketing Advertising?

Given my present understanding of my ubiquitous lack of understanding of the world in general, I ca not help but smile just a bit when I think about my beliefs when I was around 15 years old.  I was in 10th grade at the time and good god did I ever have it all figured out. On a pretty consistent basis I would use words like “ignorance, short sighted and unaware” when talking to my mother; and I guess probably most other people that had the misfortune of chatting with me.

As you can probably guess, it turned out that I really didn t know everything. Well, here I am a full grown adult and, fortunately, I am much, much wiser; I currently know that I don t know anything. And, if I ever start to forget that, I am thankfully reminded on a consistent basis how little I really know.

This just happened about 10 minutes ago, in fact. I thought that I had the internet marketing and advertising thing pegged. I was thinking about all those annoying pop ups and all the other advertising that frustrates me , on the up side this irritating new field of advertising has given rise to an unprecedented number of new jobs, for the people that are able to create all the software that shields the rest of us from the internet advertising. So, anyways I had my mind made up that people could be divided up into two camps—the good and the bad. To know more about it logon to but, much like the Haitian Revolution, things have much more complexity than just black and white.

Let’s get back to the topic at hand. I sort of saw the internet marketers as a group that found their financial success wherever it happened to be and without consideration as to what was necessary in order to achieve it. Don t get me wrong, I don t think they are killing puppies or anything.

But, I do think that there is a certain pride that can come from contributing something positive to the greater community and those that choose to directly and consciously work in means that are in direct conflict with that are not on the good side.logon to. But, I just was informed about a little thing that is throwing a wrench in my good vs. evil dissection of the world. It is the business that does networking for the internet advertisers and marketers. Now, it seems like the companies that are behind all the banner ads and the like are on the short end of the stick from these internet advertisers for the internet advertisers, the victim of uncouth internet practices.

This changes everything for me. I am not simply talking about internet advertising, but the multi-layered complexities that are a spider web of friends and foes and who is crossing who and back stabbing who, while helping who else.  Hmm, I have a lot to think about, but for sure I understand that I definitely don t know anything.

Corporate Internet Branding Fundamentals

The Internet is a ubiquitous Corporate communications and sales channel, however many companies are still not utilizing much of its power. That could be because of loyalties to comfortable old channels or that there aren’t enough Internet marketing experts to take their brands into the digital realm.

Regardless of the hold-ups in leveraging internal or external Internet communications options, consumer and B2B channels are growing their share of the market. Resistance is futile and with this change in how consumers and B2B buyers are reached, is a change in the symbolism, voice, and style of promoting brands. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Internet can’t play a supporting role for your offline or TV advertising. For many campaigns, the Internet is just another conduit for sales videos and corporate brochures. Some are satisfied with this, however the Internet’s own power to communicate and generate business shouldn’t be underestimated.

The Internet, whether through public Web sites, search engines, Internet radio broadcasts, and e-mail are very targeted. It is shown to reach the right target at the right time with the right message. It doesn’t matter whether you use a Web friendly, or search engine friendly approach to your online advertising and promotion. You need to be there anyway you can. It’s too important to let it slide.

Internet branding is a term in increasing usage because branding can be adapted to be effective on the Internet. That’s different from broadcasting your TV video ad or showing your marketing brochure on your Web site. With Internet branding, you’re taking into consideration that viewers have searched around and seen many other products similar to yours. They may have reviewed many more product or service features than they would think about while watching television or casually reading a magazine.

Your customer’s context then is different. The splashy video display generally isn’t there and surprisingly, few people are interested in seeing it. They’re pressured for time and want to find what they’re looking for. If you understand their quest for knowledge, you can better shape your value proposition and even your sales pitch.

Active Internet Positioning

The Internet appears to be a passive marketing environment, but it’s actually very active. To stay one step ahead of the elusive customer, you have to continually position your products and Web site to meet their needs ahead of time. An Internet marketing expert helps to tell you where people are going ahead of time. You may even position your brand better with this knowledge. You have returning customers whose loyalty you want to build and you have new prospects coming in searching and enquiring about different things. It’s not easy to position a brand to meet all those needs. There are experts in the field who can help you understand Web visitors and help you build powerful Corporate Internet branding strategies.

It’s easy to say you’ll advertise to reach all the same prospects you did with your TV campaigns, but Internet audiences are different. And, advertising, such as search engine advertising can be expensive. You may not be able to afford to reach those same people. That means you may have to plan a way to reach particular segments of that audience with more specific features and benefits. Only after you bring them to your Web site and established credibility with respect to the product they’re inquiring about, will you be able to present your corporate brand. Corporate branding is powerful today and corporate Internet branding even more so. You can introduce products more quickly and even reposition them more effectively. People see corporate brands all the time though and are not necessarily impressed that your corporate brand will make this particular product relevant to them. For instance, just because Nike makes golf equipment doesn’t mean their “big mammoth driver” is the right one. The corporate logo won’t be enough and forcing the brand on them isn’t going to make them buy it.

Search Marketing

Instead, Internet branding strategies, particularly those that deliver targeted visitors to your Web site, ensure your establish credibility and relevance. Remember that Web visitors are in an intense state of consciousness. They’re very often looking for something specific. If you want to get anywhere on the Web as a user, you have to have an idea of what you want, or you’ll sit frustrated in front of your computer. Television and magazines are very different. The channels and pages in these mediums are limited and the prospect is captured. Not on the Internet. There are billions of web pages and hundreds of millions of Web sites.

With search engines, consumers can get help finding what they’re looking for. High ranking sites get first crack at these motivated/directed consumers. Your corporate Internet marketing strategy should be heavily involved in search engine visibility. It is an opportunity to present your site many different ways to many different types of consumers. The potential reach is further enhanced because you have International reach and the cost of entry is so minimal.

Searchers are looking for quick solutions too. They’re not looking for fancy graphics and complicated menus that fly out all over the place. They’re looking for specific things about your products and services. Here, you have a low cost of adapting your brand imagery and communications to suit each group of visitors. Generally, it just takes another Web page designed and written for that group of consumers. You can fashion your homepage to let current customers get to what they’re looking for as well.

After these searchers have found your products and services relevant to their search, your corporate brand will then have the power to make the sale and establish brand loyalty.

Intelligent corporate Internet branding adapts to the consumer. It de-massifies to serve each person as they arrive; yet it still delivers the corporate brand communication at the right time after the visitor is satisfied. Rather than a boastful in your face confrontation with the consumer, your corporate image becomes a helpful one and is relevant and timely. You get credit for being there when they needed you.

The Four Shifts In Marketing Caused By The Internet

No one would disagree that the Internet has changed the way we all view marketing. After 25 years in traditional advertising, marketing and brand building, most of which was spent watching the degeneration of the ad agency model as centric to the marketing process, I now wake up in the mornings with the knowledge that I am ahead.

Let me repeat. I am ahead. And for all those still in the ad agency world I just want to say, I am ahead.

Why? How?

My company has pioneered an Internet Marketing strategy, better labeled as a process known as Non Linear Internet Marketing or NLIM. NLIM is the process of delivering ever increasing, qualified traffic to a targeted website without the use of a Search Engine or Pay Per Click Advertising or Traditional Media.

We use the Internet to deliver traffic to the Internet. What has caused this to be so effective are four major shifts that have occurred in the marketing world. It is imperative for marketers to understand why their jobs are in danger or at least in danger of changing dramatically. Drive traffic to our website, is the order of the day.

Understanding why that is the order of the day comes from identifying and understanding the four fundamental shifts in marketing caused by the Internet.

SHIFT 1 From Advertising to Marketing
Marketing was the naturual evolution of a mediated nation. As media began to spread nationally with radio, television and print in the 1950s, the cost of selling goods took on national boundaries. This meant companies creating new products for sale had much higher associated costs of sales. Higher costs meant more risk. When risk increases, companies become more focused on what they are doing to make money. This focus caused corporations to employ research that told them what the American public wanted; before the product was manufactured. Once a need or desire was identified, the risk of creating a product that met the need was greatly reduced, especially if no other company was doing anything to meet the identified need.

Marketing became the order of the day. Companies who had Vice Presidents of Advertising suddenly had Vice Presidents of Marketing. After all, the number one job of management is to make things predictable according to Peter Drucker. As time evolved, all the major needs and desires of the American consumer were met. Identifying new markets became increasingly difficult. Marketing devolved into a misnomer. It became the process of coordinating sales and advertising and events and public relations. But, identifying opportunities and needs disappeared. There was nothing new under the sun, after all.

The other day, we discovered there were 130,000 searches a month for sausage pizza on the Internet and guess what? There were precious few companies competing for that traffic. A need was identified that no company was aggressively pursuing to fulfill. Our client is much the wiser now. So the circle is complete. The Internet allows us to identify pent up demands with varying degrees of competition. Find a need with relatively low competition for Internet visibility and then simply do the math of Non Linear Internet Marketing to determine how much effort is required to reach targeted sales goals.

SHIFT 2 Content to Connectivity
In the old, traditional media world, there were three television choices: ABC, NBC and CBS. On the weekends, there was one college football game, one pro football game and Heidi to choose from. Sometimes, Heidi even supplanted football. In that world, content is what attracted the eyeballs. This is no longer the case. Now, every website can sell advertising.

If it quacks like a duck, its a good chance its a duck. Every company with a website is now in the media business and every business needs qualified eyeballs. The problem is attracting those eyeballs. With 6 million additional pages indexed by the Search Engine world every day, the Internet will grow to unfathomable numbers. That means it will become harder, not easier to attract the eyeballs. To do so, content is less important. What counts is connectivity: how many places does your link show up and how many places on the Internet can people hear, see, read about you that will cause them to come to your site and eventually buy what you are selling.

Look at the shift to connectivity as a billboard advertising campaign for your city. Your city has roads and highways and intersections that have varying degrees of traffic. So does the Internet. If you could place a billboard at every intersection of your city, you would create a unavoidable awareness for your company. The Internet is no different except that you are dealing with millions of potential intersections and many of them are free and many more millions are waiting for you to create them.

Part of NLIM demands that you create your own intersections, but that is the subject of another article. This shift to connectivity can be seen in cultural phenomenas, like Myspace and Youtube. Content does not exist except for the purpose of connecting people through a common experience or a common set of beliefs.

SHIFT 3 Quality to Quantity
Spelling no longer matters. Spelling is the linchpin of the old world values which are based on the somewhat antiquated concept known as quality. What was the ubiquitous Ford slogan of the last 20 years? Quality is job 1? See where the Ford stock is lately?

In the traditional world of a few TV and radio stations, the standard of quality for what was sent out was very particular and strictly enforced. In the new world of Connectivity, the emphasis is on quantity. Why? Because its not even important whether or not your spelling is correct as long as the link is listed properly.

Email and text messaging will place things like LOL into Websters dictionary in the not too distant future. Why? Because we are able to communicate to more people more often which means we have to IM ASAP. If you dont know what I just said, you are over 35, which makes you an alien to this plan; literally.

Communication is defined in every Communications 101 class on every college campus as a message with a sender and a receiver. It was always assumed that quality was inherent in the message. No longer. Blogs are replacing traditional news sources such as NBC and the New York Times. And most of those blogs are filled with grammatical and spelling mistakes. No one cares. Ask a 20 year old if they read the newspaper and they laugh. Ask them if they watch TV while they are watching TV and they will look up at you from their computer which has 99 percent of their attention; while they are watching TV.

Multi tasking has taken root in all our communications because we are inundated with opportunities to connect to people and websites through our computers. The need for this shift is underscored when you consider the rapid expansion of the web.

SHIFT 4 From Demographics to Words
The most compelling shift in the marketing world involves the queen mother of all marketing icons: demographics. This is easy to understand. If you were responsible for marketing pools, which would you rather have, a TV commercial viewed by a woman 25 to 49, your target demo, or anyone, regardless of gender or age who clicks over to your website? Most products and services have targeted demographics but in reality, those products and services are experiencing great shifts in the targeted demographic anyway.

Take automobiles for example. Just 20 years ago, car dealers laughed at the idea of selling a car to a woman. Then, 10 years ago they laughed at selling cars over the Internet. When someone fills out a form of interest on the Internet, the car salesman doesnt care if its a woman or a man. Its a lead, period.

As our society has become more complex, as vanilla and chocolate has evolved right past 31 flavors to include whatever the imagination can create, as pepperoni pizzas have evolved to include pineapple and chicken, so has the concept of targeted demographics evolved.

In fact, if you look closely enough, those targeted demographics only exist in the traditional media. On the Internet, its about what words you want to own. Word ownership is not something you will hear much about unless you begin to explore the methodology of Non Linear Internet Marketing. All traffic moves on the Internet based on words. Those words take people from site to site. Those words are what the battle for Internet Visibility is all about.

What words do you want to own?