Publicity
Getting coverage of your business in online and traditional media can drive huge amounts of traffic to your site. Studies at Harvard Business School prove that publicity can be 10 times more credible than advertising. That is because people still believe that a feature about your company in online or traditional media is an endorsement of your business by the media.

Publicity is one of the best and most cost-effective site marketing tools. An article in a major trade publication, a review in a magazine that covers the web, half a dozen major "cool site of the day" selections, or a mention in a national magazine or newspaper or on TV News could be worth 10,000 to 150,000 hits to your site. Without an enormous budget, it is nearly impossible to get advertising to bring you that kind of attention. But figuring out the news angle about your business requires skill and experience. In general, press releases are a colossal waste of time.

Unless your lushly funded site has just opened a truly revolutionary business, or Bill Gates has become president of your company, the fact that your site exists is not news. Figuring out what is news requires specialized knowledge, skill and media contacts. We can help!

Branding
Using the right marketing tactics will help you to brand, or create share of mind and name recognition for your business. Branding is making customers think of a certain concept or word when they think of your business. For example, your business might bring to mind service, quality, safety, rebellion, fun, speed or beauty. Branding is created by effective marketing.

The web's technology is new, but the things that make people buy have not changed. People still want to buy products and services from companies they trust and like and that they believe will be there tomorrow.

Branding begins with a marketable concept as the foundation of a business. That means giving great thought to distinguishing your business from the four or five thousand other businesses selling essentially the same products and services.

By-lined articles
Search engine placement and advertising pale in comparison to the impact of placing by-lined articles in large-circulation online media! The single best way to drive traffic to your site is with a consistent campaign of writing and placing by-lined articles in online and traditional media. The Internet is rich with media outlets. But writing ranks just below having root canal on most people's lists of favorite things. We write and place articles and interviews for our clients to drive qualified traffic to their sites.

Newsletters
Are a much-overdone form of site marketing. If you want your newsletter to be read instead of ignored, you have to give away advice of real value. Done well, the newsletter is a great medium for showcasing your expertise and persuading potential customers to do business with you.

Opt-in email
Unsolicited email is the scourge of the Internet. But email people have agreed to receive - opt-in email - is one of the most effective means of promoting your site. Response levels to professionally executed opt-in email campaigns can be as high as 18 percent. Compare that to the ½ of 1 percent you might get with banner advertising.

Value-added information
An online billboard or electronic brochure has little chance for success. When you sell a product or service online, your chances for success are exponentially increased by your willingness to share your expertise with your customers. We'll help you expand the value of your information to make your site robust enough to retain customers.

Some rules have changed!
Al Ries and Jack Trout in their classic marketing book, "Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind," said that only one company can have the top share of the consumer's mind. That is one thing that the Internet has changed.

Even a tiny online company with a great concept has the opportunity to become the biggest and the best. In that respect there is no doubt the Internet is unique.