Keeping your customer informed is easier in the virtual market, but with a larger audience, you need to focus your efforts. By using emails, ezines, blogs, and press releases, you will be able to make a greater impression.
These days, it's hard to walk down the street without seeing some sort of news headline or hearing about the latest story. With instant messaging, internet on our phones, and simply talking to our friends, we are constantly bombarded with the latest updates. However, when it comes to your website, yo
need to act in the same way. Though you might not be able to report on anything catastrophic on your website, in order to be memorable, you do need to start looking at ways to keep your customers informed.
Mailing Lists Do Work
Though many websites have eschewed the use of mailing lists to inform their customers, when done right, these are highly effective reminders for customers. The key to doing these mailing lists well is to get the mailing lists on your own - don't buy them from marketing groups. While it's true you will get longer lists from the marketing groups, you might also be getting a lot of negative feedback from people who didn't want to receive your information in the first place.
On your website, create a way for interested visitors to sign up for a weekly email from you. All they should need to do is to give you their email address and their first name and they can find out what's new with your site each week. This email shouldn't be a sales letter, but more of a note about what's going on and what people might want to stop by your site to see.
eZines are Still Going Out to Customers
To extend on the idea of a mass email list, you might want to look into making a magazine for your mailing list, or an ezine. This piece of information should be longer than your weekly email, but it should also contain some sales language about things that are coming up for your business.
This is the perfect way for you to update and inform your visitors about your market, while also showing that you are knowledgeable about your chosen business. Try talking about new findings in your market, for example, if you are selling nutritional products. Think about ways to give your site visitors something that they might not have learned on their own.
Daily Blogging is a Fun Avenue
Of course, if your business is a little less formal, you might want to opt for a business blog. This can be from the point of view of yourself or perhaps a fictional worker in your company. By simply talking about the latest news and what it means for the site visitor, you can create a modern dialogue that allows you to show your casual side, while still being informative.
You can also talk about loyal customers or about new innovations to products that are in the works.
Try Sending Out a Press Release
If all else fails, the press release is still the best way to rest the maximum amount of potential visitors that want to see your site. However, since these releases are generally send to a larger audience, it's harder to target the customers you really want to target. If you can, you might want to try to submit the press release to publications that your target audience will be looking at as well as posting it on your website to help spread the word about a new product or service.
When it comes to informing your customers, you need to make sure you explore as many possibilities for doing this as possible. While you don't want to be the only thing on your customer's mind, you do want to be one fo the top ten.
About the Author Scott Oliver offers free video coaching to help you build a profitable home business FAST. Get an hour of "Website Traffic Secrets" and "Minisite Creation Tactics" for FREE -- immediate access here: http://www.InstantWebsiteBusiness.com
