Part I: Present State of the Web - Who's Succeeding on the Web Today

Successful Website Marketing Strategies

by Pauline Sugarman

This article reviews examples of the successful websites and marketing campaigns that are using the principles guiding the evolution of the internet.

Different industries are finding success on the net these days.  Analysis of marketing trends & internet advertising campaigns reveal that they share at their basis a strong foundation in the website design principles.  While we reviewed these principles in some detail in Important Principles Guiding the Evolution of the Internet, we will list them here for quick reference.

In this article we will review examples of the successful application of these website design principles and the resulting marketing trends & internet advertising campaigns we see evolving today. There are many categories of business on the web, and it would be impossible in the space of this article to review all of them.   So, for our purposes we will concentrate on a few examples.

Knowledge Based - Marketing Trends & Internet Advertising Campaigns
for Writers, Magazines, Newspapers, Consultants

The web is an ideal medium for selling information to a world-wide audience. Unlike other types of merchandise, knowledge weighs nothing and is thus “shippable” anywhere in the world.  Still, learning how to generate profits in a information service based business has been tricky. 

Consultants are finding success by offering free newsletters on a regular basis with the goal of increasing their audience or “community”.  Once they have established themselves as a trustworthy, expert in a particular area of knowledge, profits can be generated through the sales of their own knowledge (books, articles, conferences) as well as the reviewing and recommending of other products (affiliate marketing).  This takes a lot of consistent effort but can reap very good revenue with time.   This is one of the marketing trends & internet advertising campaigns we see on the web today and it is primarily based in the principle of "Give and You Shall Receive".

An example of a successful consultant on the web is Susan Miller and her Astrology Zone website (http://www.astrologyzone.com).  Susan has succeeded in gathering a very large community of followers.  She started with a free eNewsletter that went out every month.  With time, as her loyal community of followers grew, she began to sell her own books as well as other like-minded books and items on her website.  Her free monthly astrology articles are now on her website instead of being sent out in an eNewsletter.  After years of building up  her audience, if she wanted to at this point she could start charging for an 'extended' monthly article.  Even if she charged a small amount $.50 per month or $6.00 per year for this service, she could see a very nice increase in her return on investment.  Her success was not an overnight event.  She worked hard for years to build up her community and gave something free - and still does. 

Newspapers and Magazines are having a little more trouble generating a profit, but are starting to become successful through a variety of strategies.  Many, such as the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com) are giving out free information and selling advertising space.  Others, such as the Wall Street Journal are selling subscriptions and still others are trying every thing in between, including giving some news for free while reserving more complete coverage for subscribers.  The New York Times is using the principles of Give and You Shall Receive and Creating Community with success - they are reporting substantial profits from the efforts.

Branding - Marketing Trends & Internet Advertising Campaigns - Companies seeking Increased Brand Identification and Loyalty

Branding sites are using the web to create buzz about their products and their company for off-line purchases. They allow customers to learn more about the products and generate brand loyalty.  One of the recent advancements on the web, with the increase of broadband connections, has been the rise in the use of rich media (video and Flash plug-ins) allowing companies to do more creative and expansive marketing campaigns. One recent example of a success campaign would be the Wedding Crashers movie promotion(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9745385/site/newsweek). noted by newsweek as one  most enticing of this genre.  The interactive promotion allows fans to insert themselves, Zelig-like, into a clip from the movie "Wedding Crashers" from New Line Cinema. Using advanced web technology fans can become part of the cast by uploading digital photos of themselves (or anyone else) so that it looks like they are carousing with stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn.

Another example is the recent campaign by Vespa (http://www.vespa.com), which recruited customers to write for its Vespa Blogs site.  It calls the effort 'an ideal way to connect with Vespa brand loyalists and encourage them to become online evangelists.'

Both of these examples are examples of strong marketing trends & internet advertising campaigns developing on the web which are based in the website design principles of 'Power to the People' and 'Creating Community'.

We have just scratched the surface of the many interesting examples of internet principles and the resulting marketing trends & internet advertising campaigns that are evolving.  By understanding these website design principles and applying them to our own website, with its unique set of goals and customer needs and we are well on our way to successfully harnessing the power of the internet.

"Next, we will explore Part II - Planning for Success. In this article we will explore the importance of defining your mission, goals and your targeted demographic, their needs and the benefits they seek...

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