The online world is constantly evolving. You may be thinking about outsourcing your Web promotion to an expert who is immersed in this world as their fulltime occupation, rather than trying to acquire this knowledge yourself, and cope with the pace of change in-house.

So, what should you look for in a consultant, and what guarantees can you expect?

Choosing The Consultant

The consultant should ask a lot of questions about your business and your objectives. They need to be very clear about the specific goals of your site. Do you want as many visitors as possible (as in: “We get millions of hits on our Web site”), or are you more interested in attracting qualified leads? Are you selling products? Are you looking for new customers, sign-ups for your newsletter or events, media coverage, etc.

It’s possible that there could be different markets for each of your objectives. The consultant should show that they clearly understand the demographics of the audience you want to attract. This includes whether your markets are currently online, whether they are comfortable using e-mail, etc. It’s also important to clarify any restrictions on your marketing - for example, if you’re only targeting specific locations.

The key to effective Web marketing is to have a comprehensive, integrated plan that focuses on where your markets “hang out” online. It’s absolutely not enough to concentrate your efforts on search engines - that’s a passive rather than an active approach. You want to reach out to your potential visitors, not wait for them to come to you. And, you want to ensure that your offline marketing includes your Web site - up to a third of your traffic can now come from real-world sources.

So, the consultant should propose to you a wide-ranging plan (assuming that’s appropriate for your goals) that includes:

* Search engine strategies
* Paid (bid for placement) listings
* Review sites and directories
* Linking with other appropriate sites
* Advertising / e-zine sponsorships (depending on your budget)
* Online public relations opportunities
* Integration with your real-world marketing

Effective Web marketing must also include an e-mail strategy. The consultant should include in their proposal some ideas for targeted, personalized (and fully opt-in) e-mail that is compliant with all State and Federal laws. This requires a contact database that you can use to select out the different audiences that you might have for these messages. The consultant should also be able to help you create this, if required.

And finally, the consultant should explain how they propose to evaluate the success of any marketing campaign against your goals and objectives. Marketing is an ongoing process, during which you’ll learn a lot about your site and about your visitors. This knowledge should be analyzed and used to tweak your site and refine your business strategies. A good consultant will be able to work with you to achieve this.

What Guarantees Can You Expect?

Let’s be very clear - there is a distinction, which often gets blurred, between sales and marketing. The job of a marketing consultant is to bring qualified traffic to your site (or in other words, into your storefront). Completing the sale is then a separate challenge.

Marketing is also a very gray area, in which it’s difficult to provide cast-iron guarantees of results. This is particularly true in the area of search engine optimization, since the search engines are so unpredictable. In my opinion, if a consultant promises you “top ten placement” you should be very wary - it’s possible that they are using tactics that could be classified as spam - soon if not now.

And that can really hurt you - I have a colleague who was banned from Google because he hired “experts” who used this type of approach.

Obviously you do want to check that the consultant has a good track record, and that they can provide references from other clients. I believe that good Web knowledge and proven online marketing tactics are as important as an in-depth familiarity with your industry.

In setting your contract with the consultant, it’s important to have a mutual comfort level with your goals, expectations and budget. There are many opportunities for free promotion online, but if you’re prepared to spend some money, you can potentially build your traffic faster. Since building awareness of a site takes time, perhaps a minimum six-month period would be advisable, but with appropriate get-out clauses for both parties.

Conclusion

Good Web marketing is a team effort! Hire a consultant who you feel very comfortable with, who asks lots of questions to really understand your business and your goals, and who seems genuinely interested in promoting you. But then be prepared to work with them - respect and consider their suggestions, and allow them to be creative in their approach.

© Philippa Gamse, 2003. All rights reserved.

Philippa Gamse, CyberSpeaker, is a Web strategy consultant and professional speaker. Check out her free tipsheet for 23 ideas to promote your Website: http://www.CyberSpeaker.com/tipsheet.html Philippa can be reached at (831) 465-0317.

Where do I start if I want to be an online marketer? Tough question, huh? There are lots of ways to begin your way on the bumpy journey. Just make sure you are aware that it WILL be a bumpy ride.

First things first: do a lot of research. Find out what kind of thing
appeals to you most. It could be affilate programs, mlm`s or maybe you
like the idea of selling other peoples products for a commission etc.

There are a ton of options, and 1000 times more hype. This is why it`s so important to do as much research as you can before starting out. Sure, you can go the long way round, which is how a lot of us start out, but that`s even more of a bumpy ride…hehehe

Ok, so lets say you`ve decided on where you want to start. You don`t have a product of your own, so you decide to sell other peoples information products, just as an example. Don`t make the mistake that so many people do, by trying to sell something you haven`t personally tested.

Put it this way: Who would YOU prefer to buy from? Someone who knows absolutely nothing about the product they`re selling? Or someone who has had firsthand experience with the product they`re selling? You know it`s person number 2, right?

So test the product first. Learn everything there is to know about it. If people can trust you to give an honest opinion, they`ll be back for more. Great way of getting contacts AND repeat customers.

Now you need a website. Sure, get a free site in the beginning. People might not take you real serious, but at least you get to test and play around with your site until you`re ready to pay for one. Owning your own domain name adds credibility to your site, and there are plenty cheap hosts out there, so do that as soon as you feel ready.

Make a real fast-loading splash page from which to sell the product. You don`t have long to catch a potential customers interest, so make it fast and interesting.

Don`t fill the page with a ton of waffle. Give the most important information. What can the person get from using the product? Why is the product exactly what the person needs? What is the price etc. Give people a way to pay immediately, in case they REALLY like what they see, there and then.

If you have a LOT of information, give them a link to a “more info” page, maybe with pics and payment options. Get a small popup where people can sign up for your contact list for notices on future products. Give them a freebie in exchange for their name and email address.

Oh look, you`ve suddenly built yourself a contact list! No “leads” to buy from uncertain sources, no “harvesting” email addresses, no bugging friends and family. You did it! Now you need to keep in touch with your contacts.

Why not send them a mail asking for a little more info. Maybe a poll on what type of things they`re most interested in? If you know what your contacts are looking for, then you have something to work with. You can find whatever they need, test it out, and when you`re happy with it, say “Hey, I found something I think you may like!”

Narrow your focus. Don`t try to be “everything” to “everyone”, you`ll just end up spreading yourself out way too thin. Find what works for you, what excites you, and work from there. Yes, I said “excites”. We all need a bit of excitement in life, right? So why not work with something you`re excited about? If and when it stops working for you, drop it and move on.

Remember, you can do this with all kindsa programs, not just information products. It all depends on what appeals to you most. Just give it a reasonable amount of time, and stick with it. If it DOESN`T work, then hey, you`ll have learnt some things on the way, and you`ll be more ready to carry on to the next thing. Don`t give up, be determined and disciplined,and you will find the way.

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