Beyond the Banner: A Sample of New Web Marketing Ideas© Bonny Albo
Mar 1, 2000
The banner is today's marketing mainstay for many small businesses on the Internet. However, there are many other ways of getting prospective customers' attention. This quick little article was created to give you a taste of what's out there. Let us know what works for you in the discussion groups!
Deciding on what will work best for your home based business depends on a variety of factors, such as budget, personality, and willingness to experiment. So when looking through these ideas, don't forget that they aren't for everyone - but maybe they'll lead you towards an idea that would be perfect for you. 1) Sponsorships
Sponsor something big - really big. Like a chat on AOL, or a feature on Yahoo!. Sure, it may cost a whole lot of money, but the exposure would be phenominal. 2) Sponsor Your Own Site
Perhaps a more realistic method of sponsorship, than #1. Put up links to other parts of your site that your customers might not know about. It's free, and can really help with cross promotion. 3) Featured Sponsor
Become a "Featured Sponsor" by buying the right to be the only advertiser in your type of product/service niche. This works very well if you are advertising on a site that is directly related to your own, as the traffic is relatively targeted already for you. It makes sense to advertise this way; otherwise, you are paying to compete with your competitors. 4) Sponsor an Event
Whether it's on the 'Net or off, sponsoring an event can associate your business with a certain demographic. For example, there was a home based business chat session on a very popular web site for women a couple of years ago. I chose to sponsor it (for less than $100 US), and received over 100 leads in return. At the time, I sold children's clothing through home parties, so I was able to generate leads from both parents looking to buy and people looking for a business. This kind of targeting is invaluable - what would work for your business? 6) Have Games Link to You
Sites such as Riddler.com offer you the opportunity to gain customers by playing games with them - literally! 7) Background Branding
This technique was probably most famously used with the 101 Dalmations campaign that Disney did a couple of years ago. If you had kids then (or worked in a video store, like I did), you were innundated with dalmation spots on EVERYTHING. Even Yahoo! got into the scene, by making the background of their main page all "spotty". Now, every time I see a dalmation spot, I think of that campaign. If you can get your customers to do the same, then you have won half of the marketing battle!
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