Guerilla Web Promotion and Marketing (v. 1.2)
The Basics

There are two basic aims of any web promotion campaign:

1. To get people to a specific location in cyberspace. It could be a webpage, a website, a chatroom, or any other location.

2. To get people to buy a product of service.

Most campaigns involve luring the prospective web surfer to a particular location in cyberspace and then giving them a pitch for your product or service. Some special campaigns send the pitch directly to the web surfer. We will address both types of campaigns in the various sections of this cyberbook.

Here are some of the basic tenets upon which this theory of web promotion has been created:

1. Utility is the bottom line.
   If it works, it works. Do what works. If you have been doing something that works and most people advise against it, they are wrong. By the same token, if you get some great expert advice and it is not working for you, you need to change your tactics.

2. The average web surfer is more interested in information than in widgets.
   That is, most people do not go to the web to buy products, they go there to find information or for entertainment.

3. Every campaign must be tailored.
   What works for one site may not work for another.

4. Web promotion is not an exacting science.
   It is quite difficult to tell which techniques are working and which are not. You can analyze your server logs and see where hits are coming from, but you can never know exactly what causes an increase or decrease in traffic. For instance, if you place an ad at site X and you get a bunch of hits from site X, you can not be guaranteed that the same ad at site Y or another ad at site X will be effective. All you know is that particular ad worked at that time at that place. From there you can make educated guesses.

5. Do no harm!
   The golden rule of medicine should be heeded by you as well. Don't start any aspect of your campaign hastily. Remember that you are not just trying to get people to buy your product but you are also building an image. People will buy what they think is good, regardless of how good it really is. If they think a product is shoddy, they will not buy it even if it is the best thing since sliced bread. When you start a particular phase of your campaign, ask yourself: "What image is this creating for me and my products?"

6. Don't be afraid to take risks or be unconventional.
   This may seem to contradict the above rule. Well, it does, but it is valid as well. The greatest minds of history have always gone against convention and done things that they knew were right. Can you strike a balance between these two rules?

Next --->

Home | The Basics | Contests | E- mail | Events and Press Releases | Linking | Awards | Content | Newsgroups
Further Study

For more great stuff, see the Internet Marketing Library and the Internet Marketing ProShop.

Copyright © 1997 Bodhi Tree
All Rights Reserved. You may distribute this report freely if left intact.

You can give it away or even include it as part of a package you sell. Feel free to post it to your website or BBS if you like. Just be sure to leave the contents intact.

You may not quote from or distribute any individual part of this report without express permission from Bodhi Tree (pubs@botree.com).