Home
>
Web Site Promotion
>
Marketing Case Study: Launching WebSiteMarketingPlan.com (2001 - 2002)

Marketing Case Study: Launching WebSiteMarketingPlan.com (2001 - 2002)

The Challenge

WebSiteMarketingPlan.com was to be a companion site to the Web promotion and marketing plan guide "How Much for Just the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing." Although the approach was relatively new -- marketing plan development integrating traditional and online marketing strategies -- the general "Internet Marketing" category was crowded and very competitive. Additionally, I had much offline marketing experience, but zero online credibility.

My initial challenges when launching the Website were:

1.) to gain online credibility and

2.) to be heard in a crowded and often hype-filled category.

By February, 2002 the site was nearly ready. I had fought through a FrontPage learning curve and had a site brimming with content but a bit hard on the eyes (let's just say I could never make a living as a graphic artist). I signed on for a basic hosting plan with Lexiconn and uploaded my Website. Within days, Alexa found the site. Rank? 17 million and some change.

With the site up but largely unknown, an early focus was to get my target audience -- those looking for strategic marketing and planning ideas -- interested enough to visit WebSiteMarketingPlan.com. Making it even more difficult (wouldn't want to make anything easy on myself), I had decided on a severely limited budget -- no consultants and no expensive marketing programs. Just a computer and a truckload of reference books.

Marketing Site Launch Case Study: The Approach

To gain credibility for both the marketing plan book and for myself, I had to show that the approach explained in the book was solid. For this reason, I developed a marketing plan for the site using the same planning process detailed in the book. When done, I had a summary page with four strategies and four to six programs under each. The 20 programs were to be implemented over 12 -18 months, revised as necessary over time.

Thinking in terms of the customer acquisition stages of "awareness," "interest," "trial," and "repeat," I focused first on implementing marketing programs that would build "awareness" and "interest."

Here are some of the marketing programs implemented February through September, 2002:

Getting Listed in Search Engines and Directories

To gain site awareness I manually submitted the site to about a dozen search engines and directories -- the large ones plus a hand full of specialty sites.

Because of budget constraints the Yahoo! directory, at $299 a year, was not feasible. I paid a one-time submission charge to Looksmart (this was before they "improved" to a pay-per-click model) and submitted two URLs to Inktomi through PositionTech.

I purposely did not submit to Google because I had read more than once that Google rankings may be higher for sites Googlebot finds on its own. I do not know if it made a difference but Google did find the site, with cheer-invoking results.

Publishing a Newsletter

Early on, I started a newsletter and continue to publish every one to three weeks. Strategically, this was both to gain personal credibility and to have my own publishing and advertising venue. The first issue was published in March, 2002 -- with five subscribers, including my mom. lol!

I am adamant about growing a targeted, quality subscriber list so I stayeded away from mass acquisition tactics. Going with slow and targeted methods, my opt-in list at end of September, 2002 was around 600 and growing by 5 -10 daily. Far from spectacular, but in line with my expectations.

Writing Articles

Also to gain both personal credibility and awareness, I wrote and distributed articles. Mostly, I added the articles to content sites. Publishers may reprint an article at no charge as long as the article remains intact and the resource box at the bottom is used. This creates a win-win situation. The publisher gets free content and I get free advertising.

Joining Organizations

I also become a member of a few organizations. Early on, I joined the eMarketing Association. This has become a mutually beneficial arrangement. In addition to the normal membership benefits, several of my articles appeared in the monthly newsletter and article of the week.

In 2003, WebSiteMarketingPlan.com was also accepted into the International Council of Online Professionals (iCop). I also joined the Internet Affiliate Marketing Association (iAfma) and the Internet Warriors.

Communicating

Personal communication with select high-level marketers and specialists garnered mentions of the site as well. Actions that have led to personal communication with several high-caliber personalities include: 1) Answering questions on bulletin boards, 2) publishing guest articles in my newsletter, and 3) publishing others' material on the site (with permission, of course).

Note that I always initiated contact by giving something of value. I did this for two reasons:

1) More likely as not, I had learned from them through their writing. In my own mind, it was a small payback for that free advice.

2) I am uncomfortable with "selling," so do not push goods/services, etc. on others. If the relationship produces revenue, hooray! If not, refer to #1.

Learning from Others

WebSiteMarketingPlan.com and its companion marketing plan and Web promotion guide are "big picture," planning resources. When it comes to implementing promotional tactics, top specialists have been a tremendous resource. I do not always take their advice, but they are indisputably more knowledgeable than I in their chosen fields. Three of my favorites, in alphabetical order:

- David Frey, MarketingBestPractices.com David's a former Anderson business consultant and top executive. He now makes his living from home with several successful information products/services.

- Paul Myers, TalkbizNews.com Paul has a rare combination of abilities. He can understand issues from all sides, develop innovative marketing programs, and write with great wit. Don't let the rough exterior fool you -- there are some smarts under that hat.

- *jill whalen, Search Engine Optimization at HighRankings.com (See note and disclaimer below.) Jill takes an ethical, common sense approach approach to search engine optimization and marketing. She is also highly visible in the search engine optimization community. Several Jill Whalen articles appear in All Info About Search Engines and other information sites. Jill Whalen interviews appear across the Web as well, on sites such as Search Engine Blog. She also runs a highly successful forum.

Other programs were in progress or "on the back burner" until the timing was right.

The Results

The initial challenges - gaining credibility and attracting attention - were well on the way to being met.

As of September, 2002 (seven months after launch), monthly visitors to WebSiteMarketingPlan.com were consistently growing and numbered about 10,300 for the month. Just over 8,000 of those were unique visitors.

The site had a top-5 Google ranking -- usually first or second -- for both "Internet marketing plan" and "Website marketing plan." The site was also in the top ten -- usually fourth, fifth, or sixth -- for "marketing plan" (all terms without quotes).

While the interest level and number of visitors to the site far exceeded expectations at that point, the conversion rates (which had not been a focus) were disappointing. It was time to move to the next stage of implementing the site's marketing plan -- focusing on "trial" and "purchase" through increased attention to improving conversion rates.

*Jill Whalen Note: I am -- as of 2004 -- one of Jill Whalen's forum moderators. So , I'm now playing "favorites" and expanded the Jill Whalen section a bit compared to the original 2002 article. - Bobette

About the Author

Bobette Kyle draws upon 12+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, Marketing MBA, and online marketing research in her writing. Bobette is proprietor of the Web Site Marketing Plan Network, jill whalen, and author of the marketing plan and Web promotion book "How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing For Small Budget Business." ( HowMuchForSpider.com/TOC.htm )

elite cleaning services Mundelein ..

In The News:

Scammers are flooding inboxes with fake tracking alerts that mimic real carriers, exploiting the holiday rush to steal logins and personal data.

The Fox News AI Newsletter brings you the latest news on AI technology advancements and the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Texas family reunites with missing 11-year-old cat Grayson after 103 days using Petco Love Lost's AI photo matching technology and community help.

Tired of AI customer service loops? These insider tricks help you escape "frustration AI" and get real human help when you need it most for urgent issues.

Unlock richer audio from your streaming apps with simple tweaks to volume normalization, equalizer settings, and quality preferences for cleaner sound.

Scammers are sending fake Facebook settlement payout emails that mimic legitimate notices from the privacy settlement administrator to deceive users.

Holiday shopping scams surge as fake refund emails target distracted consumers during Black Friday and holiday seasons, costing Americans billions annually.

The AI-powered IRMO M1 exoskeleton features four modes, including turbo, eco, training and rest for hiking, running, cycling and sports with eight-hour battery life.

OpenAI announced upgrades for its ChatGPT Images platform on Tuesday, saying the program can now make more precise edits and produce images more quickly.

Chrome for Android now turns web articles into AI-powered podcast conversations. Get hands-free browsing with Google Gemini's natural audio summaries.

LastPass faces $1.6 million fine from U.K. regulators after 2022 data breach exposed 1.6 million users. Password manager failed proper security controls.

Petco disclosed a data breach exposing customer Social Security numbers, financial account details, and driver's license information due to a software error.

Baseball teams can now analyze complete swing mechanics in normal training environments using Theia's markerless AI system that processes standard high-speed footage.

Smart home hacking fears overblown? Expert reveals real cybersecurity risks and simple protection tips to keep your connected devices safe from hackers.

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Marketing Case Study: Launching WebSiteMarketingPlan.com (2001 - 2002)

The Challenge

Marketing Site Launch Case Study: The Approach

The Results

About the Author

Web Site Promotion