19 replies to this topic

[sherrillh]

I am curious as to what people think are the top Internet Marketing forms. The list as I see it would be:

1. Search Engines
2. Email
3. Pay-Per-Click
4. Affiliate Marketing
5. Linking
6. Banner Ads
7. Press Releases/Newsletters
8. Blogs
9. Forums
10. Podcasting

I would appreciate any other opinions.

[DanThies]

Is there any way to move podcasting even farther down the list? Somewhere behind "dressing a guy up in a funny costume and sending him to the bus station with flyers."

[RyanBlank]

Is there any way to move podcasting even farther down the list?

Ha! not a fan of podcasting are we? i personally have never even listened to a podcast, but i do think the idea and technology has some potential.. it reminds me of TiVo, but for audio..

anyway, sherrillh.. you might add article writing and submission to that list?

[jspope]

Hi!

How about distributing free information (such as articles and e-books you have written)?

You could allow others to embed their affiliate program links for your products in such material.


Regards,

Stephen :-)

[Scottie]

I wouldn't put newsletters and press releases as the same thing. They are not even related.

And assuming by Search Engines, you mean SEO, I'd say Pay per Click should probably be #1.

MarketingSherpa just published the results of a study on search marketing that shows expenditures heavily favor pay-per-click marketing.

[sherrillh]

Dan, I only put podcasting on the list because I had just read an article indicating it's up and coming (supposedly) popularity.

Ryan, wouldn't article writing and submission be considered in the Newsletter category?

Scottie, I agree about maybe seperating Press Releases and Newsletters, makes sense. As far as having Pay-Per-Click on the number one spot, other than having the heaviest budget of them all, I still think organic search engine listings have a much better return (IMHO)

Great responses, thank you

[RyanBlank]

Ryan, wouldn't article writing and submission be considered in the Newsletter category?

i don't believe the two things are one in the same, however, they can be and commonly are..

Newsletters in some cases tend to contain articles (or article like information) but in others cases not at all. many of our ecommerce clients send out newsletters strictly with images of new products/sales etc.. with no advice or article styled information at all.

Also, when i write articles (to date anyway) i have never included them in a newsletter, because i don't have a newsletter. i simply write the articles and post them on the company website in our articles section.. then submit them to various sources that may spread them elsewhere.

so, to answer your question.. i would tend to think they are two seperate tools that can be used in conjuction, as with most or all of the other methods mentioned on your list.

[sportsguy]

The answers (I think there are a few) depend on your immediate goals and budget. After 5 years plus of online marketing, here's how I'd stack the list:

1. Pay Per Click - very effective given time and good copywriting
2. Search Engines - if you have good in-house SEO, cost-effective and worth the effort
3. Networks (Fastclick, etc.) - relatively low-cost approach to banner ads
4. Banner Ads - good if you can afford to test, test, test & find the right place to show them
5. Press Releases/Newsletters - good for "newsworthy" items, but not so good for general, everyday changes/updates to your site
6. Forums - you are at the mercy of those who post and their personal views
7. Blogs - again, find the right one(s) and it's worthwhile
8. E-mail - very tricky to do correctly now - use a reputable e-mail company and make, don't buy, lists
9. Content Partnerships - if you have the ability, this is a great way to get your content and name spread about
10. Affiliates - had to put this here - I personally don't like the idea of trusting others to handle our marketing - an agency, maybe, Johnny Lunchbox who just started their first website - ah, no... (BUT, this can work if YOU are willing to vet each possible affiliate yourself & provided they actually have traffic and skills)

...Podcasting is right up there with Internet Radio, IMO - please note it's not on my list - it might prove worthwhile for some things, but the bottom line is I will always put money into things which can result in traffic NOW - not something which relies on a person to remember me later, when they're at their computer. This is why newsprint, magazine and TV don't make the list (not to mention the stupid amounts of money they consume) - if it can't be tracked, it doesn't exist.

Now here is some of why my list looks the way it does:

1 - we have a large marketing budget ($100,000+ per month), so buying traffic is pretty straight forward
2 - our sites contain tens of thousands of pages of content (actual articles, etc. from the past 10 years of being online) plus, given our topic (sports), it's easy to dynamically generate data on, say, team stats...hence the large number of pages
3 - usability is our # 1 concern, so things like (my personal fav) SEO, take 2nd seat to that.

If you were starting out with a limited budget, my list above would, and should, look markedly different.

Sorry for rambling on so much, but, since this is one of my first posts, I wanted to (hopefully) at least try to sound intelligent. Comments above are based on actual experience I've had with those areas, not conjecture.

[oneofthe3lions]

Our own preferential order to date with our own 'service' sites would only include the following:

Search Engines
Linking
Newsletters
Pay-Per-Click
Press Releases

Seems we may be mssing out on lots of areas but we 'have' dabbled in some of the others and didnt have great returns, admittedly on limited budgets etc.

[DanThies]

Content distribution - through partnerships, e-zines, etc. - has been a big contributor to my online ventures. Probably more than search engines, really.

It's not that I want to discount the long-term potential of podcasting, it's just that the hype is absurd. Streaming media (I listen to SEO Radio regularly), audio (mp3) and video downloads, are very effective in the right circumstances. I just don't know what's really new or different about "podcasting."

[Dejan Bizinger]

From my personal experience, I would definitely suggest writing and submitting articles to article submission services, when you have enough articles in your portfolio create an e-book and give it away free. Of course, pay-per-click (or pay-per-sale advertising if you sell something) is always a good choice.

[globalclosers]

Hello Everyone,

My experience has revealed the following:

(1) Email Marketing: simply emailing someone directly, 1-on-1, introducing myself while providing an overview of my service.

(2) Follow-up Phone Call: Follow-up to close the sale.

(3) Publicity: To establish credibility for those who are going to perform research on me once they have received my email.

(4) SEO: To aid in my site rankings and help those find me while performing research on my company.

(5) Email Newsletter: To keep my prospects informed in order to warm-up the sales-cycle.

All my sales have come from #'s 1 and 2 but I believe #'s 3 to 5 have contributed to an easier sale. Overall, it is a mixture of internet marketing with traditional marketing.

[Jill]

Welcome globalclosers!

[globalclosers]

Pleasure to meet you Jill and fellow SEO/SEMers!

[sdumae]

Hello Everyone,

My experience has revealed the following:

(1) Email Marketing: simply emailing someone directly, 1-on-1, introducing myself while providing an overview of my service.

(2) Follow-up Phone Call: Follow-up to close the sale.

(3) Publicity: To establish credibility for those who are going to perform research on me once they have received my email.

(4) SEO: To aid in my site rankings and help those find me while performing research on my company.

(5) Email Newsletter: To keep my prospects informed in order to warm-up the sales-cycle.

All my sales have come from #'s 1 and 2 but I believe #'s 3 to 5 have contributed to an easier sale. Overall, it is a mixture of internet marketing with traditional marketing.

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Edited by Randy, 31 January 2008 - 07:01 AM.