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If You Build It, Will They Come?

QUESTION:sell more products, widen your range of
clientele, and increase your revenue without
I recently launched a website for my sportingadding overhead. Don't sell your website
goods business. Do I need to do anythingshort.  Make  it  work  for  you.
special to attract customers to my website? I
know nothing about search engines andIf you are seeking a global audience, your
marketing as such. Please tell me where tomarketing efforts will be quite different.
begin.  --  Sean  M.Attracting customers from around the world is
a more difficult task than attracting
ANSWER:customers from around the block. Fortunately,
the task is not impossible. The Internet has
Sean, that is a question that has been askedleveled the playing field in many ways. Now
by every business person who has everevery business, no matter how large or small,
launched a website. If I build it, will theyhas the ability to do business
come? Of course they will -- if you've builtinternationally.
a website that appeals to dead baseball
players.In the most basic sense, an online marketing
campaign to attract global customers should
For those of you who didn't get the "Field ofinclude  the  following  efforts.
Dreams" reference, let me put it this way:
No, Sean, if you build it they will not come,Register  With  Search  Engines
at least not without some effort on your
part.There's not enough room in this newspaper for
a thorough discussion of search engines and
Assuming that a website will automaticallytheir effectiveness (or lack thereof) in
attract customers is the single biggestdriving traffic to a website. Suffice it to
mistake that many business owners make. It issay that 95% of search engine traffic comes
this mistake that eventually leads them tofrom Google and Yahoo, so start there. It's
dismiss their website as a failure andalso important to realize that just
abandon  their  online  sales  efforts.registering with search engines does not
guarantee you traffic, but it certainly can't
I can't tell you how many times I've heard ahurt.
client say, "Well, I threw up a website, but
nobody ever came to it and I didn't sell aUnfortunately, the free search engine lunch
single thing from it! Dang thing was a wasteran out a couple of years ago when search
of  time,  if  you  ask  me  ..."engines figured out that people would
actually pay for listings and higher
Forgive me, but "threw up" is the operativeplacement. Since that time the only way to
term there. These short-sighted entrepreneursguarantee a high (or at least higher than
(God love them) mistakenly think that allothers) ranking is to pay for it. The two
they have to do is throw up a website andmost popular pay-for-placement programs are
that their business will automatically doubleYahoo's "Yahoo Express" and Google's
overnight. And when nothing happens they"Adwords." Visit their respective websites
blame it on the infallibility of thefor details on these programs. Be prepared to
Internet, on El Nino, on the Bosa Nova, onspend several hundred dollars at a minimum to
their customers... everything but their ownget  your  site  listed.
lack  of  marketing  efforts.
Exchange  Links  With  Similar  Sites
If you build it, will they come? That, Sean,
depends  totally  on  you.One free - and potentially effective - way to
drive customers to your website is through
When it comes to attracting customers,link exchanges with sites of similar
opening an online business (or an onlineinterest. Locate sites that make a good match
branch of an existing business) is noto your own and contact the owner to ask if
different from opening a traditional brickthey will link to your site in exchange for
and mortar shop. Without a little fanfare andyou linking to theirs. If you sell golf balls
a well-devised marketing plan, chances areon your website, set up a link exchange with
your website will become just another spot ofanother website that sells golf clubs. You
roadkill  on  the  Information  Superhighway.post a link to them and they post a link to
you. It's called digital back scratching, and
The first step in devising your marketingif done properly, can work well to drive
plan is to ask yourself this question: Who istraffic  your  way.
my customer? Who is it that I want to attract
to my website? Believe it or not, this is aGo  To  Where  The  Customers  Are
question many entrepreneurs fail to ask. The
identity of your customer is incrediblyIf the mountain won't come to Mohammed, then
important because if you don't know who yourMohammed must go to the mountain. One little
customer is, how can you expect to market toknown way to attract customers to your
them?website is to market your products on a
mega-site like eBay. There are thousands and
The next question concerns the locality ofthousands of people on eBay at any given time
your customer. Do you want to attract a localand each one is potentially your customer, so
or global clientele to your website? If theit's a great place to drum up business. Your
answer is local, then you will gear yourgoal is not to make a living selling on eBay,
marketing efforts toward customers in yourbut to use eBay as a marketing tool to drive
own backyard, which means incorporating yourtraffic back to your website. Go to where the
website launch with your offline marketingcustomers are, then bring them back home with
efforts.you.
If the website is the online branch of aLet's use our golf ball example. Post a few
brick and mortar business, include theauctions on eBay selling your golf balls at a
website URL in all your print materials andridiculously low price so your auction
advertising campaigns. Consider running adsattracts plenty of attention. When customers
in the local paper, on radio or TV announcingmake a purchase, add them to your client list
the launch of your site. Use direct mail orand send them an email inviting them to visit
in-store posters to announce the site launchyour website for more great products. eBay
to your existing customer base. In short,also lets you create your own "About Me" page
keep doing what you're doing to attractthat  you can use to advertise your business.
customers to your physical store, just add
your  website  address  to  the  mix.We have just scratched the surface, but
hopefully this is enough to get you started.
Just remember, it's important to considerI wish I could tell you that attracting
your website a branch of your brick andcustomers to your website is easy, but the
mortar business because that's exactly whattruth is, it's anything but. It takes hard
it is. A good business website will help youwork, creativity and above all, perseverance.



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