by Corey Rudl
From the e-mail I've been receiving lately, it's clear there Nike, Coke-Cola, Budweiser, McDonalds, Levi's, Amazon.com... These days, online branding is being preached as one of the What is branding, anyway? Branding is about building a COMPELLING ASSOCIATION A) Your company, your logo, your products, etc. AND B) An image, an emotion, or a memorable message that Effective branding creates the kind of FIERCE PRODUCT It's what compels you to walk past all of those no-name- Say "Amazon.com," and people think of "The Earth's Biggest But the slogans and taglines are only part of it. Think of And think about the Nike logo -- the "Swoosh" that It's all very impressive, right? Well... yes. But before First, let's debunk the THREE MAJOR BRANDING MYTHS I MYTH #1: TRUTH: MYTH #2: TRUTH: You'll be far more successful if you focus your limited MYTH #3: TRUTH: If you're a small or home-based business then, chances are, So let's SKIP THE HIGH-PRICED LARGE CORPORATE BRANDING -- after all, these strategies simply don't translate ... and instead, let me give you some practical information. COST-EFFECTIVE BRANDING TECHNIQUES 1) DEVELOP A STRONG UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION Imagine yourself sitting across the table from your best Your message should be clear, the language simple, and it I know this is a pretty tall order... but your hours of 2) TARGET YOUR MARKET The beauty of running an online business is that you can It's what has made it possible for small and home-based Why would you turn a blind eye to this CRITICAL ADVANTAGE by It just doesn't make sense. So I know I've already mentioned this, but it's worth saying 3) WHENEVER POSSIBLE, MAKE YOUR MESSAGE INTERACTIVE If you can compel people to actively engage your marketing One of the best ways to make your marketing message 4 ) BE CONSISTENT IN VOICE, FORMAT, AND DELIVERY In order to engrave your brand in the minds of your target * DESIGN A SIGNATURE FILE that contains your message and * Your web site design, logos, and graphics should, if * Your NEWSLETTER CONTENT AND YOUR WEB SITE CONTENT should 5) NURTURE EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS AND If they already know you, if they're already familiar with MAINTAIN REGULAR CONTACT VIA E-MAIL (it's free!), and If you play your cards right, not only will you PROFIT FROM 6) BE VISIBLE TO YOUR BEST POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS A big part of branding is obviously about getting your name Here are a few powerful ways that you can do this... * WRITE ARTICLES that contain information that will be of * PARTICIPATE IN NEWSGROUPS AND DISCUSSION FORUMS where * SUBMIT YOUR WEB SITE TO THE SEARCH ENGINES AND * REQUEST LINKS FROM SITES WHERE YOUR TARGET MARKET MEETS. * USE BANNER ADVERTISING - IN MODERATION! With well- To read an article on designing effective banners that * START YOUR OWN AFFILIATE PROGRAM. With your own To read an article on how you can start and profit from
is a lot of confusion surrounding the topic of online
branding.
these are the branding masters. Now the question is, HOW
CAN YOU MODEL THEIR SUCCESS?
big "Do or Die" marketing strategies. So everyone wants to
brand their e-business -- but no one is exactly sure what
branding is, how it's done, or where to start.
between...
embodies -- implicitly or explicitly -- the BIGGEST
BENEFIT you have to offer your customers.
LOYALTY that leaves customers indifferent to the marketing
tactics of the competition.
brand on-sale colas at the local grocery store and pick up
the 6-pack of Coca-Cola that costs three times more. It's
what makes children plead and beg to go back to McDonalds
again and again. And it's what has made the phrase "Just Do
It" synonymous with Nike.
Bookstore." Go to Burger King because you can "Have It Your
Way." Buy Energizer batteries because they "Just keep
going, and going, and going." And "When you care enough to
send the very best," send a Hallmark card.
the Hallmark commercials. These tearjerker mini-dramas are
built around love and family values, ending with someone
showing they "care enough" by giving a loved-one a Hallmark
card. THEY EVOKE STRONG EMOTIONS THAT DRIVE THEIR SLOGAN
HOME.
represents the wing of the Greek goddess Nike, the
personification of victory. While it's probably safe to say
that the majority of people are unaware of its mythological
significance, THEIR LOGO HOLDS JUST AS MUCH MEANING AS THEIR
NAME.
you jump on the bandwagon, let's take a realistic look at
the "big branding picture" to see where your small or home-
based e-business fits into this.
frequently encounter...
I need to make my company or product a household name.
You'll be most successful and most profitable if you
CLOSELY TARGET YOUR MARKET! Focus on getting your business
name and your advertising in front of your best potential
customers -- the people who have an expressed interest in
what you're offering -- as opposed to everyone!
Branding my business online means buying thousands of
dollars worth of high-visibility banner impressions.
Banner advertising just isn't as profitable as it once was.
Ads that once pulled 5% to 10% click-throughs are now lucky
to pull 0.6% to 0.8%, if even that.
advertising dollars on more performance-based advertising.
Pay for customers... not overpriced, unproven advertising.
I'll need to spend a lot of money if I want to gain
brand recognition.
There are plenty of free and low-cost techniques that
you can use to brand your e-business.
you don't have the millions of advertising dollars it takes
to build a nationally recognized brand and make your company
a household name -- at least not yet!
TECHNIQUES that I'm seeing pushed everywhere I look...
to e-businesses with limited advertising budgets --
THAT YOU CAN START USING TODAY:
potential customer. In one sentence -- one very short
sentence -- clearly communicate how he or she will benefit
from doing business with you.
should be easy to remember. There's no room for wordy
corporate mumbo jumbo here.
agonizing, writing, brainstorming, and rewriting will pay
off in the end. This will be the message that your market
will identify you by and associate you with.
reach literally hundreds of thousands of targeted potential
customers all over the world -- people who want to buy what
you're selling -- for little or no cost.
business owners like you to take the Internet by storm and
MAKE OUTRAGEOUS PROFITS WITH VERY LIMITED ADVERTISING
BUDGETS.
spreading your limited advertising dollars across the entire
web -- trying to sell your product to everyone -- instead of
focusing on those people who want to buy from you?
again. It's ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL that you target your
market.
message rather than passively hear or view it, you'll
dramatically increase the probability that they're going to
absorb it, remember it, and repeat it.
interactive is through VIRAL MARKETING. To read a previous
Marketing Tips article that explains exactly what you can do
to make your marketing message viral, visit...
http://www.marketingtips.com/newsletter/issue33/page1.html
market, you need to consistently repeat your message to
them...
attach it to the end of every e-mail you send. It costs
you nothing and it's an easy, effective way to repeat
your message to those people you have direct contact
with -- your best potential and repeat customers!
possible, VISUALLY EMPHASIZE AND REINFORCE your message.
Check out the McDonald's web site at http://www.mcdonalds.com
Does that yellow and red look familiar? Think about how
you can similarly use your web site design to further
impress your brand in the memory of your visitors.
all ultimately contribute to your marketing message.
There is no room for distractions like articles or links
that don't move you towards your main goal (to sell your
product, remember?).
SUBSCRIBERS
who you are and what you do, if they've already bought
something from you, then you should be building on these
existing relationships.
consistently remind them who you are, what you do, and most
importantly, how they stand to benefit from continuing to do
business with you.
THEIR REPEAT BUSINESS, you may also persuade them to "spread
the good word" to others with similar interests.
in front of your best potential customers, so that when the
time comes for them to buy, THEY'LL CHOOSE YOU OVER THE
COMPETITION!
interest to your target market and then offer them to
industry newsletters and web sites free of charge. Web
masters and editors will appreciate the free, quality
content, and you'll get your name and URL in front of
your target market.
your target market hangs out. This is an easy, no-cost
way to develop your reputation as an industry expert.
Simply make yourself available to answer questions and
provide participants with information that they will value.
DIRECTORIES. Also be sure to search for directories that
are geared towards your industry and request a listing.
This is not only a great way to increase your visibility,
it's also an extremely powerful way to attract large
volumes of highly targeted traffic -- yet it's frequently
dismissed or overlooked!
designed banners and a targeted ad campaign, you CAN
make money with banner advertising. Just be sure to
educate yourself on the latest, most cutting-edge banner
techniques before getting started.
really work, visit...
http://www.marketingtips.com/newsletter/issue35/page1.html
Affiliate Program, you can enlist an army of affiliates
who will spread your name and your marketing message
across the web -- and you don't pay them a cent until
they make a sale.
your very own Affiliate Program, visit...
http://www.marketingtips.com/newsletter/issue19/index.html
DON'T LOSE SIGHT OF YOUR ULTIMATE GOAL: With branding being hyped as one of *the* marketing While it's a good idea to be aware of and actively direct Given the innumerable marketing strategies that you can use Avoid being sucked in by the myth that the entire web needs You are spelling out your brand message, directly and About the Author
Corey Rudl is the owner of four highly
strategies to pursue right now, I worry that some of you
may be steered off-track.
how your e-business is being branded, remember that there is
a key difference between creating awareness and actually
closing sales.
to simultaneously create brand awareness AND draw targeted
traffic to your web site, there is no reason for you to be
spending your limited advertising dollars on branding
techniques that don't return a significant profit.
to know who you are. Focus on your target market and
realize that most forms of traffic generation ultimately
enhance awareness of your brand.
indirectly, with everything that you do, say, and sell.
successful online businesses that attract more than
6,000,000 visitors and generate over $5.2 million each year.
To check out his site that's JAM-PACKED WITH THE EXACT
INFORMATION YOU NEED to start, build, and grow your very
own, profitable Internet business, I highly recommend
visiting:
http://www.marketingtips.com/tipsltr.html