Thursday, July 31, 2008

Market Your Craft Business with a Website

By Ethan O. Tanner


There are several different ways to advertise your business on the Internet. Placing banner ads, organizing an email marketing campaign and tactfully bringing up your business on industry related forums and message boards are just some of the common options for Internet marketing.

One of the Best Internet marketing strategies involves creating and advertising a website to promote your business. You can use your website in a number of ways. Some of these ways include providing more information about your business and the products or services you offer, letting potential customers know how to reach you and even selling your products and services via the website.

One outstanding advantage to using a website to market your business on the Internet is that you can place descriptions and photos of the products or services your business offers. This is significant because many consumers use the Internet when searching for products and services. This gives your business an advantage over the competition by having an online presence because consumers are much more likely to select your products or services over the products and services offered by your competitors who do not promote online.

A Profitable advantage to marketing your business on a website is you can use the website to not only market but also sell your products directly. Again this can give you an edge over the direct competition. Consumers who use the Internet to research products and services are often very anxious to make their purchases and they would be more inclined to select a retailer or service providers who offer the opportunity to purchase products or services online over a retailer or service provider who only allows for purchase in a store or via phone.

Still another advantage to using a website to market your business is the ability to reach a large, worldwide audience. The Internet essentially knows no boundaries and advertising on a website means the business owner can reach competitors around the world instead of being limited to their general location. Advertising via other medium such as television, radio and the print media is somewhat limited and may only reach potential customers in a relatively small geographic area.

Another benefit to using a website to market your business is the Internet is available 24 hours a day around the world. This essentially offers you a storefront which is open 24 hours a day. While your competitors may be limited to their regular business hours, your website will enable you to reach your customers at any hour of the day. This is especially important for reaching potential customers in other time zones and for reach customers in your own area who are simply too busy to shop for products or services like the ones you offer during regular business hours. Many potential customers work long hours and appreciate the ability to research and shop online after hours.

One other strategy to using a website to market your business is you can actually bring forth a profit from your website in other ways than through sales to customers. You can likewise use your website to generate income by selling advertising space to other business owners who are selling their own products and services on the Internet.

Caution should be taken when advertising on your website. Foremost you should not sell advertising space to direct competitors. This is important because this may make you to lose potential business if potential customers opt to purchase product or services from competitors who advertise on your website. An ideal advertiser is one who offers products and services which do not directly compete with your own products or services but would be of interest to your potential customers. You should also take care not to allow too many advertisements on your website. This is significant because too many advertisements may detract from your business and might cause you to lose potential customers. Follow these recommendations for success in selling your business using a website on the internet.

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