General
Guerrilla Marketing Online
By Conrad Levinson

I'm dazzled with the opportunity to market products or services online, but I realize that online marketing is only one of the weapons of guerrilla marketing. Unless it's combined with other weapons, it's going to be a techno-loser for you.

First of all, keep in mind that marketing online does not just mean having a Web site. It also means becoming an active participant in newsgroups and forums about your industry. It means going into and contributing to chat rooms devoted to discussing your field of expertise. It means noting names of other participants and then making copious use of e-mail. It means posting articles on the Web sites of others, most of whom are starved for content. It means taking advantage of free classified-ad sites and knowing your way around search engines. Once you're active throughout the Internet, then you should create your own Web site.

Your site must be promoted all over the place -- on the Web sites of others, in the mass media, in all contacts you have with others. It belongs in all your ads -- print and electronic. It should be on your stationery, business cards, envelopes, invoices, catalogs, postcards and in all directories. Include it in your newsletters, on all fliers, even in your on-hold phone message, in your voice-mail greeting, and on signs. The moment you decide to market online is the moment you should begin to consider how you'll market your site offline.

Once you've got your site up and running on the Web, remember that even though high-speed Internet connections are becoming more popular, people just plain hate to wait. So don't make them wait for your graphics, glitz, glamour, animation, Java or audio.

Think of your Web site not as a thing but as a place for interactive sessions with the user. Every session should be different. Every session should offer abundant interactivity. Every session should be directed right at your target audience, answering their questions before they're even asked.

Be certain that your Web site content connects directly with your overall marketing theme. Recognize that your site can serve as the voice of your company as well as a conduit for individual and extremely personalized service. Think of your business as a department store and your Web site as the display windows. Put new things in them constantly to motivate people to come back again and again.

Make your site simple, straightforward and easy to explore. Although I'm all for linking with many others, be careful you don't have layers and layers of links that woo people away from you. If you have a lot of text, break it up with lots of subheads. Keep your paragraphs short.

Not linking is not thinking. Referrals are the lifeblood of many small businesses, and links are like referrals. The idea is to link with other sites of businesses that share your standards for quality and service as well as having prospects similar to yours.

To encourage regular visits to your site, keep the content fresh, promise new and exciting things, then live up to your promises. Ask people to e-mail you -- make it very easy -- then respond lightning-fast to those who contact you. Slow response time has murdered many a marketer, online and offline. Speed and convenience are of the essence

If you're networking online, share your Web site address with your networkers. Specialized newsgroups and forums can provide a ready-made audience for your products and services. As you converse one-on-one via e-mail, make sure you attach a six-line Internet signature that includes your Web site as well as your phone, cellphone, pager, fax and e-mail address Being virtual is being connected.

To succeed online, you always remember that its essence is action, its promise is speed, and its most fertile opportunities are in its interactivity. That calls for activity on your part if you want activity on the part of your prospects. It calls for blazing speed in response time and for warmth in a cold, electronic world.