Outsourcing Website Promotion
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, E-Commerce Consultant
Web Marketing Today, June 12, 2000
In the US there are many good companies to which you can outsource promotional campaigns. In other countries these services are still developing.
But you must realize that it's not wise to outsource the function of marketing director to some outside firm. You, or someone in your own company, must understand and direct your marketing efforts. Yes, bring in a consultant to help you strategize, but you must internalize, understand, and own the strategies in-house. Then you can outsource certain functions to others.
I'm often asked to recommend companies that provide website promotional services. Nearly all have specialties; few will hold your hand and lead you to website success. A few companies that cater to small to medium businesses offer a broad variety of Internet marketing strategy and services. One of the best is Wgi.com in St. Louis, MO. But finding success is ultimately your responsibility. A marketing company may execute a program for you, but YOU must decide whether this program will be a wise one to accomplish your overall Internet Marketing Plan.
Here are the types of companies I find available. I'm listing just a few examples of each, but there are many, many excellent companies. Use the appropriate Yahoo Directory listing to find others in each category. One general category is "Marketing and Advertising > Internet > Promotion".
Search engine registration services. Remember, don't pay much here, since perhaps only 10 search engines plus Yahoo! are likely to bring you much traffic anyway. Example: Microsoft bCentral SubmitIt http://submitit.bcentral.com/ You can do this yourself with free services such as: All4One Submission Machine http://www.all4one.com/all4submit/ and JimTools.com. http://www.jimtools.com/
Search engine positioning services help raise your ranking on the search engines. Plan on paying $1000 to $4000 upfront, and $100 to $500 per month and up. Examples: CoastalSites.com, Web-Ignite.com, and iProspect.com. Yahoo category: "Search Engine Placement Improvement."
Ad Agencies help you place your banner ads on targeted sites where they will do the most good. No is no charge to you, but the ad agency is paid through a 15% discount they receive on ads they place with a website. You may need a monthly advertising budget of $5,000 or so before an ad agency will take you on. Examples: Beyond Interactive, i-Frontier.com. Yahoo: "Marketing and Advertising > Internet > Advertising"
Banner Ad graphic artists help you design the banner ad ("creative"). Examples: LoungeLizard.com, BannerWorkz.com and GWWebDesign.com
Banner Ad Networks place ads for you on their own network of sites. Some, like DoubleClick and FlyCast, provide very sophisticated services for larger clients. Smaller networks include Microsoft bCentral LinkExchange. Yahoo: "Internet > Promotion > Banner Exchanges"
Copywriters help you write compelling ad copy for e-mail marketing. Found under many categories.
E-zine ad agencies help place ads for you in targeted newsletters within their network. See List-Advertising.com's directory. http://list-advertising.com/ad-networks/
Press Release Services send your news releases to hundreds or thousands of online and offline news media. Examples: XpressPress.com and Internet News Bureau Yahoo: "News Services > Press Releases"
Public Relations Services help your company develop ongoing press coverage in online and offline media and handle relations with the press. Yahoo: "Corporate Services > Public Relations"
E-mail Opt-in List Brokers will find appropriate e-mail lists that meet your marketing objectives. They handle the out-going e-mail and often provide response tracking, etc. Example: PostMasterDirect.com See the Lists page in the Web Marketing Info Center. http://www.wilsonweb.com/webmarket/lists.htm
Affiliate Programs allow you to pay for ads or links only when they result in a sale. Examples: Commission Junction, BeFree, and LinkShare. See the Affiliate Program Section of the E-Commerce Research Room. http://www.wilsonweb.com/research/associate.htm
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Web Marketing Today, Issue 83, June 12, 2000
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