by Mary Johnson -- Web Site Helper, LLC
  September 30, 2004  Issue 11

• Web Sites Are Not For Everyone
• Case Study: eNewsletters - a Web Site Alternative
• a WOW! Moment

WEB SITES ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE
eNewsletters - a powerful alternative

SUMMARY: An eNewsletter (electronic newsletter) "pushes" information to your clients. Doing so provides them easy access (via their "in box") to valuable information that they look forward to receiving because they asked to be subscribers.

Is a Web Site Right For You? Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do you have information that changes a lot?
2. Do you have the budget to maintain a custom Web site with changes?
3. Is there a lot of competition in the search engines for your product/service?
4. Do you have an established client base?

Success Requires Commitment of Resources

Do some soul searching. People only come back to Web sites where the content is useful, timely and fresh -- often changed daily or even hourly.

Do you have the time, money, or both to make it happen?

Let's be frank. Small or medium-sized businesses often don't have the resources to do this. Yes, you could do a BLOG (real-time Web log) but you lose control of the content.

It may be more realistic to resign yourself to a "brochure" Web site with static content -- but then you need a way to get people to your Web site.

You could use traditional marketing -- put the domain name on your business cards, mention in your TV ads, etc. But if you want to reach a different target audience, you need to be in the search engines!

Is this expensive? Find out if your search terms are highly competitive. Generally, if the market for your product or service is saturated with competition, then they have already beaten you to the search engines and this could drive up the cost. Ask me about reports I can run to REALLY find out.

eNewsletters Are a Cost-Effective Alternative

The alternative is to couple an eNewsletter (electronic newsletter) with a "business card" Web site. This enables you to "push" information to your clients. Doing so provides them easy access (via their "in box") to valuable information that they look forward to receiving because they asked to be subscribers.

Read the next article for a case study that implements this solution.

CASE STUDY: E-NEWSLETTERS - A WEB SITE ALTERNATIVE

BACKGROUND: Positive Promotions, LLC. This promotional products company has expertise in setting up creative promotional campaigns for non-profits by effectively partnering them with for-profits in a WIN-WIN situation.

PROBLEM: They need a way to:

1. Differentiate themselves from the competition.
2. Showcase their expertise.
3. Hilight new product offerings.

ANALYSIS: Promotional products are a highly competitive area in the search engines. It would be costly to achieve visibility for a wide variety of products.

The customer has an established base of satisfied clients but desires new clients. Because it takes an average of 7 times getting your name out in front of your clients for them to gain trust in you and call, Positive Promotions needed a way to do this repeatedly as well as keep existing clients informed of new ideas that might help promote their organization.

SOLUTION: An eNewsletter coupled with a "business card" Web site (http://www.PosPromos.com) Because the solution allows them to produce and send the eNewsletters whenever they want, it provides a cost-effective, timely way to achieve all of their goals.

The really neat thing is that links to an online product catalog, provided by their distributor, were added to the eNewsletter.  This, in effect, provided the functionality that normally would be found on a Web site and put it at the fingertips of their customers.  "Push" marketing at its best!

Give it a try. Sign up for their next eNewsletter from their Web site. She'd love your feedback.

Contributed by: Katie Dieckman
Company: Environmental Doctor
Industry: Air/water purifiers and filters, air vent cleaning, etc.
Contact Info: http://www.Envirodoc.com

"Our WOW came from a client with allergies and asthma. When we left the house after doing a duct cleaning, furnace cleaning and sanitizing, she couldn't believe what a difference it made. She said her house felt and smelled so much better."

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Call me:  937-974-5539
Email me:  Mary@WebSiteHelper.com
Web me:  www.WebSiteHelper.com