Of all the advertising platforms, the Internet is one of the few on an upward trend according to Wharton marketing professor Patti Williams. Americans spend an average of 14 hours online weekly and 14 hours watching TV each week. Yet, marketers spend 22 percent of their advertising dollars on TV and only 6 percent online.

Opportunity pounds on the doors of small business owners everywhere. Is anyone listening?

New companies, including women owned businesses, without a legacy of conventional or traditional advertising and marketing, are embracing digital technology Web page marketing faster than other firms.

According to Donovan Neale-May executive director of the CMO Council, “The larger global companies, in many cases institutionalized cultures, [having] agency relationships, and media relationships are limiting them” from leveraging Internet marketing.

Recently, Mattie Mola Studio 1ne’s own Internet marketer client advocate, addressed a group of professional women business owners. To a person they believe the Internet can help business growth, yet they are unsure how to leverage Internet marketing. 

Get growing with . . .

3 Leveraging Tips for Online Marketing

First, it’s about the marketing opportunities. For example, if you are a massage therapist and more clients are coming your way because of the popular body bar workout, target a Web page that positions you as the specialist to counter the aftereffects of the workout. Promote it and test, test, test it. 

Next, fear less. A client recently had a baby and wanted to cut back on the time spent face-to-face with customers. She decided to take her original aromatherapy oils and market them online to her customers. We created an additional Web page, made suggestions to fine tune the offer and advised on testing it. Soon enough  her aromatherapy oils replaced the revenue previously generated by face-to-face appointments.

Testing your offer is key. Online testing provides feedback quickly. If your offer isn’t producing, you can change it and test again. Repeating the process and tracking results helps reduce fear and generate a state of productive action. 

Finally, test different traffic generating methods to the Web page. If a colleague writes a blog, ask that your offer be included. Test one method at a time. Track the response based on the emails sent, open rate, undeliverables, sales, and sally forth to online marketing success.

Bill Gow, Methodblogger, Online Marketing on a Dime