GlennM
25th November 2003, 05:47 AM
Seeing as there was nothing in this section yet I thought I would open the ante. This has grown into a long post and you may fall asleep reading it. It's by no means a bible, this is just my personal experience, take from it what you will <g>
One way for you to get the word out about your store or normal website is to get involved in the online community. I see a lot of stores featured here which appear to have started from peoples hobbies, such as photography or jewellery making, and I betcha there is no end of communities out there that revolve around these hobbies (or anything else you care to think of).
When I am talking about communities I usually mean interactive ones such as forums, newsgroups. There is a number of large forum sites out there, the largest I think would be www.delphiforums.com but there is also the Yahoo and MSN communities and I am sure countless others. One of the easiest ways to get onto a newsgroup is via http://groups.google.com or if you are more net savvy use a newsgroup reader.
So, what do you do once you have signed up on these forums or newsgroups? Do you jump in there and spam the forum ramming your site down everyone's throats? No, of course not. What you do, do, is get involved. All forums will have people asking questions and for advice on just about every topic. Hopefully because you are selling your product you actually know something about it, so get in there and offer your own advice.
BUT
Don't come across heavy handed and don't be defensive if someone contradicts you, as they say, opinions are like a**holes and everyone has got one. Also don't be afraid to just get in there and have a good time, online communities are great and I have built up many a worldwide friendship through my involvement in forums over the years.
So you are on the forum, dishing out advice and coming across as an all round great person, but how does that get people to your site? Most forums allow the use of a "signature" or graphic signatures, these are something that are automatically included whenever you post something, so you don't have to write "Glenn Martin, Seller of all things good and wonderful" after every post. It is in this signature where you subtly point people to your store or site, either through the use of plain words, or a tasteful banner eg:
***
Yeah I think that this model has some really great features over that model, and in my experience this model would be better value for money for you based on what you have described.
Glenn Martin
Catchy Little Phrase
www.yourdomainhere.com
***
Some people prefer more guerrilla type marketing and instead of offering advice and leaving a quiet little signature go more along the lines of,
"We sell this model that has some really great features over that model which we also sell. In my experience selling you this model would be better value for money based on what you have described and we have it in stock now at a fantastic price and you should really buy it."
While this sort of post may generate sales, if you do it every single time you offer advice you are going to generally piss of the community as you are obviously there only to generate sales instead of just being an active member. You will also find that communities are more than willing to "support one of their own" if that person is being seen to support the community. Plus you will get more sales AND kudos by providing exemplary service instead of touting your own name at every turn, because if you really help someone out on something there is a chance they will make a post about how great that vendor is who gave them a hand, and posts like that are worth their weight in gold.
A word of caution though, forums and newsgroups can also be like the sword of Damocles, hanging above your head by a thread ready to fall on you. Just as forum members are likely to sing your praises if you do them right, if you do them wrong (intentional or not) then fully expect that to be splashed all about the place too.
Online communities tend to be fair though and will generally forgive depending on what has happened, but don’t forget how powerful the written word is. If you lash back at someone because they rip into you about your shipping prices, then you are going to look like the bad guy/girl and your response is there for all to see. If you respond calmly and coherently though, OTHERS will see that you are a stand up person even if you can’t convince the original antagonist. As I always tell people, type everything you say (especially towards bad press) with a smile and it will come through in what you say.
*phew* that is a lot of typing, so I think I will leave it at that for now. As I said at the start, these are only words of advice, they are not hard and fast rules, but they might help you out. I am sure others have their own experiences to share so don’t hesitate to jump in.
Glenn
One way for you to get the word out about your store or normal website is to get involved in the online community. I see a lot of stores featured here which appear to have started from peoples hobbies, such as photography or jewellery making, and I betcha there is no end of communities out there that revolve around these hobbies (or anything else you care to think of).
When I am talking about communities I usually mean interactive ones such as forums, newsgroups. There is a number of large forum sites out there, the largest I think would be www.delphiforums.com but there is also the Yahoo and MSN communities and I am sure countless others. One of the easiest ways to get onto a newsgroup is via http://groups.google.com or if you are more net savvy use a newsgroup reader.
So, what do you do once you have signed up on these forums or newsgroups? Do you jump in there and spam the forum ramming your site down everyone's throats? No, of course not. What you do, do, is get involved. All forums will have people asking questions and for advice on just about every topic. Hopefully because you are selling your product you actually know something about it, so get in there and offer your own advice.
BUT
Don't come across heavy handed and don't be defensive if someone contradicts you, as they say, opinions are like a**holes and everyone has got one. Also don't be afraid to just get in there and have a good time, online communities are great and I have built up many a worldwide friendship through my involvement in forums over the years.
So you are on the forum, dishing out advice and coming across as an all round great person, but how does that get people to your site? Most forums allow the use of a "signature" or graphic signatures, these are something that are automatically included whenever you post something, so you don't have to write "Glenn Martin, Seller of all things good and wonderful" after every post. It is in this signature where you subtly point people to your store or site, either through the use of plain words, or a tasteful banner eg:
***
Yeah I think that this model has some really great features over that model, and in my experience this model would be better value for money for you based on what you have described.
Glenn Martin
Catchy Little Phrase
www.yourdomainhere.com
***
Some people prefer more guerrilla type marketing and instead of offering advice and leaving a quiet little signature go more along the lines of,
"We sell this model that has some really great features over that model which we also sell. In my experience selling you this model would be better value for money based on what you have described and we have it in stock now at a fantastic price and you should really buy it."
While this sort of post may generate sales, if you do it every single time you offer advice you are going to generally piss of the community as you are obviously there only to generate sales instead of just being an active member. You will also find that communities are more than willing to "support one of their own" if that person is being seen to support the community. Plus you will get more sales AND kudos by providing exemplary service instead of touting your own name at every turn, because if you really help someone out on something there is a chance they will make a post about how great that vendor is who gave them a hand, and posts like that are worth their weight in gold.
A word of caution though, forums and newsgroups can also be like the sword of Damocles, hanging above your head by a thread ready to fall on you. Just as forum members are likely to sing your praises if you do them right, if you do them wrong (intentional or not) then fully expect that to be splashed all about the place too.
Online communities tend to be fair though and will generally forgive depending on what has happened, but don’t forget how powerful the written word is. If you lash back at someone because they rip into you about your shipping prices, then you are going to look like the bad guy/girl and your response is there for all to see. If you respond calmly and coherently though, OTHERS will see that you are a stand up person even if you can’t convince the original antagonist. As I always tell people, type everything you say (especially towards bad press) with a smile and it will come through in what you say.
*phew* that is a lot of typing, so I think I will leave it at that for now. As I said at the start, these are only words of advice, they are not hard and fast rules, but they might help you out. I am sure others have their own experiences to share so don’t hesitate to jump in.
Glenn