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Does it seem strange that we write a book on the power of Internet marketing, and our first chapter on publicizing your site deals with going offline? Well, it shouldn't. We've worked for years in traditional marketing communications, and while we now
focus exclusively on digital communications, we still know a thing or two.
This chapter discusses the ways you can (and should) publicize your site offline, augment your existing advertising, and gain media publicity. Don't view the WWW as a stand-alone, view it as part of your overall marketing efforts—one tool in the
tool chest.
In fact, most servers no longer need to identify a machine as "www...." (as in www.ha.net) in order to pull up the pages, and this too can be omitted, though including this does make it clear that this is a Web address.
Let's face facts: A computer screen can only hold a fraction of the information of a printed page, even the best online streaming sound is a pale comparison to radio in both quality and maximum audience size, and TV is still the entertainment medium of
choice. It is the combination of text, graphics, and multimedia in an instant, interactive communications package that makes the WWW so powerful, not its strengths in any one facet. Therefore, you may want to look at other marketing tools to help make your
WWW project a success—you aren't compromising anything by falling back on tried and true communications methods.
If you have the time and budget, even the smallest offline campaign can provide a great return on your investment, especially if you have an existing communications list that you'd like to convert to the WWW. Part of your job in online marketing is to
help convert people to this new medium, and the way to reach these people is via traditional means.
One of the main ways to convert people is to augment your traditional advertising, and this is addressed later in this chapter. However, besides augmenting what you've already got, there are certainly some steps you can take to promote your site
specifically.
The national and international news media has done quite a bit of selling for you already. You can hardly turn on the TV or read the paper without seeing something about "Cyberspace" or "The Information Superhighway," and this is
certainly to your benefit.
Whether you are designing ads to specifically promote your Web site, augmenting existing ads and materials, or going after press publicity, the simple fact that you are now a member of the information revolution will go a long way toward promoting your
site and company.
Furthermore, many professionals are starting to feel like they're missing the boat when it comes to the WWW. A good information campaign about your own efforts will help your clients better understand this medium. If the clients are big enough, or if
you are planning to streamline certain operations by handling them online, it may even be in your interest to help facilitate your clients' getting online themselves. (See "Be the Internet," later in this chapter.)
Perhaps one of the best things you can do is involve your clientele in the creation of the site. (See Chapter 15, "Customer Service Online.") By either response mail, phone interview, or personal conversation, you
can let your existing clientele in on the (secret) fact that you are creating a Web site, and ask them what they'd like to see on it.
Obviously, this may help you design at least the customer service section of your site, but it goes way beyond that. By requesting input from your clients, you are including them in the process and giving them some ownership of the outcome. Many will
feel that they have contributed to your site and will like it that much more.
This plan can sometimes backfire. If your biggest client gives you some input which you can't or don't choose to apply to your site, the client can feel a bit jilted. The best way to avoid this is to include what they requested if possible. Your
second choice would be to plan on including their "design" in a future revision of the site, and to discuss this with them.
If there is simply no way you are going to include a big client's input in your site design (like: "I think you should give hotlinks to your competitor's sites"), you should personally contact your client and discuss this decision. Of course,
be diplomatic. Don't tell them it's the dumbest idea you've heard—tell them that it unfortunately conflicts with some of the goals of the site, and that you're working on a compromise that will meet both your needs.
Clearly, you won't be able to include everything your clients have requested, and that's OK. Fortunately, humans are pretty good at talking themselves into things, and if you include anything on your site that even remotely resembles their suggestion,
they'll take credit for it. It may help, if you think you've given someone the impression that they're unimportant, to put a spin on things. You can call them—before they call you—and tell them how their input "X" had a strong influence
on the design of page "Y." Even if they can't see it, they'll often accept credit for it.
Finally, always thank people for their input—just as you have a thank you page after a form, and for the same reasons. First, it lets them know that their input has been received, and second, it lets them know they are appreciated.
A teaser can be a great way to get people interested in your site before it exists. This can help to achieve advanced mindshare, and even get people to bookmark your site before it has any information. Many companies do this all the time for other
purposes ("On August 4th, the way you view widgets will change forever—stay tuned"), and the WWW can be well served by such an application.
It is often the case with this type of publicity that the less you say, the better—thus the name "teaser." It's not teasing if you give full details on what it is you are planning. You're goal is to pique people's curiosity. It's best to
use a permanent medium (print, direct mail, or distributed digital) for your teasers, as they can be kept by the individual for later reference. Here are some suggested steps and a sample teaser.
Teasing will rely largely on timing. You will want to nail down the exact date you will be putting your site online and work backwards from there. Therefore, you will need to set an absolute deadline for being up and running, and stick to it come hell
or high water.
Your direct mail piece should be scheduled for delivery within a window of time that is not too early (so as to keep it fresh), and not too late (where it will lose its effectiveness). In direct mail, you are lucky if you can expect a delivery window
of one week. Generally, the lower the cost, the bigger the window. (If you are placing teaser ads in magazines, you will know the exact release date—but you'll often have to nail down your Web publishing date months ahead of time.) A window between
one and two weeks prior to posting your site should be just about right.
Since you will be giving your site address, you want to have something up that will reinforce the tease. Never, NEVER say "under construction." This is the sure sign of an amateur, and will give the impression that you haven't got it quite
together.
What you want to put on your site is something that mirrors your direct mail piece (we'll be using a postcard as an example), and possibly gives just a crumb more information. This site will also serve to tease surfers that pass by, without their ever
having seen the DM (direct mail) piece. You also want to remind and encourage people to bookmark the site, so that they will have it at hand when the day of reckoning arrives. The teaser site for our example is shown in Figure 20.1.
Figure 20.1. A basic teaser site.
Note that the title of the page is "Visit this site December 21st." This will be the label for this site on a viewer's bookmark file, thus acting as a reminder to check it out on or after December 21st.
Since we have little to say, a postcard suits our purposes just fine. We'll assume that we have a list of clients and prospects that we want to work off of (though we could also purchase a list from a list broker). So, now all we need to do is design
it.
You will probably want to work with a professional designer when developing your piece, since its quality will have a direct effect on the tease. Remember, less is more in this case—all you want on the postcard is the URL, the release date, and
perhaps a little teaser copy—don't try to combine the teaser with another promotion to save a few bucks.
In our example, we want to provide only the tiniest hint of information on what we're up to. (See Figure 20.2.) Don't forget that your URL will probably give the target viewers an idea of the company they're dealing with.
Figure 20.2. A basic teaser postcard.
In this mockup, we went ahead and used some simple 3-D effects to create a door in space. You can certainly make a much simpler design that would be less expensive to reproduce (1- or 2-color).
Remember your timing, and ship out your piece for delivery during your specified window. Also remember to make sure that there will be something for the viewers to see before the specified date.
Be prepared to fend off some phone calls and e-mail. Even in our most cryptic teasers, a few people have put together the puzzle and have called us (or our clients) to see what was going on. Be vigilant, be vague, and continue to tease. Just don't let
the cat out of the bag.
Note
So, what's your current collateral? Do you have business cards and/or letterhead? Do you produce newsletters, product briefs, brochures, catalogs? Do you have T-shirts, key rings, pencils, or baseball
caps? Do you advertise in print, or on radio or TV? Do you have outdoor signage, or sponsor events? Do you produce CD-ROMs or other non-Internet digital communication?
We said before that you can include your entire brochure on your business card by just adding your URL, and this same theory can be applied to almost everything else. Once you have a Web site, that URL can appear on everything you do.
Print collateral includes everything from business cards, to direct mail promotions, to brochures, product information, and the like. It's basically everything you have printed that has to do with marketing your company—with the exception of
specialty advertising. (See the section called "Trash and Trinkets" later in this chapter.)
Once you have a site address, you should include this address on everything (EVERYTHING) you print. Your letterhead, brochures, business cards—everything. It's one line of text, and there's almost nothing that doesn't have enough room for one line
of text.
If you already have a warehouse full of printed material, and you aren't willing to trash thousands of dollars of printing just to add your address, you've got a couple of options. The first is to apply adhesive labels (stickers) or stamped text to
your materials, which give the URL of your site. Unfortunately, applying a sticker or ink stamp to a well-designed four-color piece will often reduce its effectiveness. It's not in your interest to degrade your collateral just to add your URL.
Your second option is to design a special piece that can be included with any outgoing print communications. An insert that lists your URL and gives a little hype, if designed to work with the look and feel of your existing print, is probably the
better option.
If you currently produce a newsletter for your clients (or even your personnel), the main story on your next issue should be your leap onto the Web. It should cover the background of the medium, your goals, and quotes from the top brass of your company
(even if that's you).
Print advertising generally refers to the advertising space you purchase in newspapers and magazines. Adding "Visit us on the Web at " to your display ads is usually a simple procedure. You may not even need to reproduce your pre-press art,
depending on your layout, as most design departments will be able to strip in a line of text with no problem.
If you are running radio ads, you may want to include your URL ("visit X company's Web site at ") in the voice-over copy. Though it's not likely that people are going to pull off of the freeway to write down your address, they're not likely
to do this for a phone number either. Yet, somehow, giving out phone numbers on the radio seems to work.
Television is multimedia—text, graphics, video, animation, and sound. If you are running TV ads, it should be no problem to add your URL in at least the titling (text), and hopefully the voice-over, of your existing production. Most
post-production studios will be able to do this in a matter of minutes, and the rewards from this simple exercise can be dramatic.
Since TV is a visual medium, you can even include screen shots of your Web site. Of course, you can also do this in print, but TV can enable you to show the action on your site—something more likely to gain interest than a static shot. Clearly, a
screen shot won't fit into most TV ads' themes, and you wouldn't want to cheapen your overall presentation just to make room for a screen shot, but it's something to keep in mind.
If you have on-site signage or lease billboard space, and have room for your phone number, you also have room for your URL. People often forget this in their outdoor ads, and they shouldn't.
Furthermore, if you sponsor special events (like a golf tournament, for instance), your outdoor signage may have certain limitations. Many times, phone numbers are not allowed to be included in certain recognition ads (like greens signs), yet there may
be no such rules against listing a Web URL.
Specialty advertising—like shirts, pens, Frisbees, refrigerator magnets, paperweights, and so on—can easily include a Web address. The easily recognizable format of a URL can often gain the attention of those "in the know," and a
T-shirt, for instance, with a bold URL on the back, can gain a lot of attention from more than just the wearer.
As with all of the other things mentioned, there really isn't a reason to not include your WWW address, unless it somehow detracts from the overall effectiveness of the advertising effort. If you've got it, use it!
If you are going to include the World Wide Web as an integral and important part of your complete marketing campaign, then it should have its place in your overall design efforts. This is to say that when you design future campaigns, the Web should be
considered as part of those campaigns, and their overall design should take this into account.
The news media loves the Information Superhighway, and even the smallest mention of your site in a magazine, newspaper, or on radio or TV can do more to publicize your site than 20 full-page ads. Considering the negligible investment of a press
release, you should think of publicizing your site in this way as a "must do."
Although you can send out your own news release, an experienced PR or ad firm that offers media relations services can be a great asset. This is not only because they will be able to put a "spin" on your story that can make it more attractive
to reporters, but because they will have contacts in the industry who can help push that story through.
It may be both financially and logistically feasible to put your clients online yourself. Obviously, this will require that you assess the cost of sales to existing clients, and see if the numbers add up. Furthermore, you'll need to ascertain whether
your clients will even want to go online. Think of it this way: Federal Express has been putting "shipping computers" in offices for years—there must be something in it for them. Using the Internet for your own WAN (Wide Area Network) can be
both easier to sell and less expensive than trying to set up a bulletin board system or other non-Internet data transfer.
Suppose you provide some type of consumable, or some ongoing service (widget gaskets, or widget adjustment) that clients order on a continuing basis. You have 20 major clients spread across the United States, and each client orders between $2,000 and
$10,000 a month in goods or services. You accept both phone and FAX orders, but those orders must be keyed in individually, which increases both the cost of the sale and the time to ship.
You discover that you can accept orders via the WWW and have them directly input to your database, thus streamlining the entire operation. Unfortunately, none (or only a fraction) of your clients are on the Net in any way. What do you do?
Well, first you figure out the cost. You can contact some national dial-up ISPs and assess what it would cost on a monthly basis to provide Internet connectivity to your clients. Let them know that you want some sort of discount, and ask about any
other specific features they might provide. Some ISPs can change their start-up software packages to include your company name and logo—making you appear to be the ISP yourself—which is sure to impress some clients.
Now, you probably don't want to get into the business of providing Internet access. So you need to make sure that whatever ISP you choose to work with will provide quality service and support—you don't want clients calling you continually to ask
how to use their e-mail.
Next, you'll want to talk to your clients and see if they're interested. Some people will jump at the chance to get online. Remember: Television, radio and print continually present the WWW and Internet as the future, and the fact of the matter
is that many (if not most) professionals feel that they are being left behind if they are not "Internet-ready."
Unfortunately (or, perhaps fortunately), it's rather difficult to get online. Good Internet Service Providers are difficult to find, and can be even more difficult when it comes time to ask for customer support. This has kept many people from joining
the information revolution. By providing an easy solution, you can be the hero.
You may find that some of your clients are frightened of the Internet. This is not to say that they'll actually run screaming to the hills at its mention, but that they may strongly object to using this type of service, or completely reject the idea of
their connectivity being to their own benefit. So you may have to offer incentives (which we address shortly).
Did we already mention this? No, what we're talking about here is the actual equipment that your clients have on-site. Once you've assessed your clients' interest in connecting, you'll need to find out what tools they have. If your clients already have
decent systems on-site, connecting them may simply be a matter of providing them with software and simple instructions.
If, on the other hand, your client's computer system is antiquated, or non-existent, you may need to look into providing the client with both a computer and extensive training—which would clearly force the cost up quite a bit. For some clients and
industries, this investment could be well spent; for others it could be a waste.
So, figure out both the equipment and training investments, as well as the software and service costs, and see whether it is in your interest to provide this type of service. In some cases, the client may want to just stick to the status quo, seeing
your efforts as an attempt to throw more work at their staff for your benefit. In cases such as this, you may need to sweeten the pot.
Suppose you figure that after all is said and done (figuring software, training, connection charges, savings on your end, and so on), the first year cost-of-sale for a specific client will be reduced by 4 percent. So, on a $100,000 per year account,
you'll be getting an extra $4,000. This will give you a little spending money.
The best incentive for a business might just be a discount. You may just wish to offer a 2 percent discount on all orders made via the Internet, pocket the other 2 percent, and everyone's happy. Sometimes, however, this won't cut it—especially if
the decision to go online hinges on an office manager who will never see that 2 percent personally. You may need to hype things up a bit, and you have at least a couple of options:
Trash and trinkets—"In appreciation for converting to our new ordering system, we'll send you this CD-player!" So you spend $100 on a boom box—big deal!
Prizes—"Every time you send in an order, your name will be entered in a drawing to win an all-expense-paid Caribbean cruise for two!" This may really get the ball rolling—imagine an office fighting over who gets to send in an order!
Obviously, make sure that everything makes sense on the bottom line. You may find that it just doesn't make sense to bring your clients out of the dark ages. On the other hand, it may be the best investment you can make.
In this chapter, we have discussed several ways to provide offline support for your online ventures. We've gone over ways to incorporate WWW promotion with other media, the mechanics of a "teaser" promotion for a new site, and even ways to
convert your clients to online sales.
In the next chapter, we get back online and show you how to promote your site around the world from the comfort of your own keyboard.
