Eleven ways to market information products on the Internet.1. Web as billboard. Create a web site with two levels of access: basic information for any web surfer, and advanced information for subscribers only. Have an online subscription order form so suffers who like the basic information can become subscribers while on the site. 2. Web as premium. Include as a premium with a subscription a pass code giving access to the advanced information and features on the site. Position it as a value-added service A value-added service (VAS) is a telecommunications industry term for non-core services or, in short, all services beyond standard voice calls and fax transmissions. and a way to keep subscribers current between print issues. 3. E-alert as premium. Another way to get late-breaking news to subscribers between issues is through e-mail alerts. Position this as a value-added premium. Added benefit to publisher: you capture the subscriber's e-mail address See Internet address. e-mail address - electronic mail address . 4. Two-step. Offer an abbreviated version of your information as a free weekly online newsletter (e-zine). Get people to sign up from the free e-zine (e-mail marketing Email marketing is a form of direct marketing which uses electronic mail as a means of communicating commercial or fundraising messages to an audience. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. campaigns are perfect for this purpose), then upsell or convert to the paid print product. 5. Lead generation. Use print advertising and direct mail (e.g., postcards) to drive traffic to the web site, which tells them more and lets them subscribe via an online registration form. 6. E-mail marketing to existing subscribers. If you have e-mail addresses for existing subscribers, you can use e-mail marketing for renewals, cross selling, and up-selling. 7. E-mail marketing to rented lists of opt-in names. Publishers are beginning to test e-mail marketing for subscriber acquisition. Response is usually to click on a link to a subscription form posted on the web. 8. Banner ads A graphic image used on Web sites to advertise a product or service. Banner ads come in numerous sizes, but are often rectangles 460 pixels wide by 60 pixels high. Also 460 x 55 and 392 x 72 sizes are commonly used. . They have been tested with information products only on a limited basis, with limited success. Click-through rates for other products are often one-half percent or less. 9. E-zine ads. You can pay to place a banner and brief description of your publication in any of a number of large-circulation e-zines, such as the weekly e-zine of Egghead Software This article is about historical United States software retailer. For other uses for the word "egghead", see Egghead (disambiguation). Egghead Software was founded in 1984 as a computer software retail company. . Cost per thousand is very low. 10. E-delivery. Cabot's Internet Stock Internet stock The equity security of a company engaged primarily in a business associated with the Internet. Also called dot-com. of the Week is a weekly investment newsletter delivered only as an online version via e-mail. Subscribers can read it as a text email or pdf file See PDF. . 11. Online store. Special reports and other short to medium-length information products can be sold through e-commerce directly from your web site to generate additional incremental Additional or increased growth, bulk, quantity, number, or value; enlarged. Incremental cost is additional or increased cost of an item or service apart from its actual cost. revenues at low marketing and fulfillment costs. Bob Bly is an independent copywriter and consultant with 20 years' experience in direct marketing. The more than 45 books he has written include Business-to-Business Direct Marketing. The Copywriter's Handbook and the soon-to-published Doing Direct Mail on the Internet (NTC NTC Notice NTC National Training Center NTC National Telecommunications Commission NTC National Transport Commission (Australia) NTC Negative Temperature Coefficient NTC Naval Training Center Business Books). He also edits the monthly pocket magazine Bits & Pieces for Salespeople. published by Economics Press. |
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