The Web is a wonderful thing and the best part is, it is controlled by the users. Since people are generally more open and have time to think through what they wish to express you will not get the usual 'uh…I don’t know', so it is a very good place to learn more about your target market.
The choices of information you choose for your research will range from reading what people say about a particular product to putting your own stuff online to see how people would react to it. The way you can present your product or service is also extensive, meaning that you can showcase your talent in text, graphic, audio or video. The easy availability of e-mails also makes it easier to become viral because when a person reads something they think their friend might like, they can almost immediately type out an email and copy your link into the mail. On the downside, however, is that internet savvy visitors are getting choosier than ever because they have seen, read or heard one too many 'greatest ever whatever' and learn that these are nothing more than a product they have tried before, though repackaged.
This means, if you want people to support you, you don’t only need to be more assertive and considerate at the same time, but you also have to be trustworthy. In other words you must deliver what you say you can deliver. Once you have earned that trust, you will get a following and best of all the following will recommend you in their blog, e-mails or even social network sites.
Before we get ahead of ourselves, let us look at some of the options you now have, apart from the traditional website. Journal blogs, which can be used to talk about your hobbies to your interest to news in your area, ranges from ones which can carry as many words as you can type, to those that only carry 140 characters including spacing for each entry. There are even places to put up pictures and videos. In fact, instead of molding your presentations to what tools are available out there, you can now look at your presentations, decide how you want to showcase them, then find the site that can support your choice.
That being said, making a choice out of the blue is not easy. I have gone through that process, and there was a point when some visitors told me I needed more colors or pictures for my site. I tried it, and it was awful. I hated every page I clicked on, most probably because I am not a color person (my cousin christened my wardrobe ‘London-on-a-foggy-day’). Finally after months and months of soul-searching, I realized that I love words and I love being a Sarawakian. Hence the color for my site had been reduced to white, black and dark red to reflect the traditional colors Ibans use for their ritual cloth. Doubtless you will also go down this path, but if you are very clear about what you want and how you want it then lucky you.
Obviously, if your product is specific to you, such as an art form then you must create a following. In an earlier article Self-Promoting for the Faint-Hearted I have touched on forums and e-groups so I will not explain them here. Do your research work, understand your target, know what they want, find out how to get their attention and then learn as much as you can about the tool you plan to use to reach them.
No one can tell you what will work and what will not because outliers are everywhere. Sometimes people become successful within a year of setting their goals, others will plough on for years and see no results. In fact, these articles were written to introduce options which I think are important enough to merit your attention. Why? Because a lot of people have earned extra incomes and some have become extremely rich through the internet. I have even met a lady who sold off clothes she had never worn on EBay. Not only did she clear her wardrobe, but she also made some money.
Anyway, back to your tool of choice. After you understand what kind of people you want to attract, then you can decide which tool you can use. For example, if you join a philosophical discussion, you will notice that members write long messages, and churn out theory after theory in long sentences. But when you go to a technical group, the sentences are short and crisp. Most are in point formats. However, steps on fixing a technical issue is very detailed, and every step will be explained thoroughly. This is why joining e-groups and forums are important because it shows you how your target market thinks and communicates. Once you know, then you can tailor your presentation to them.
In addition to that, most blog sites provide statistical charts or numbers to show how many visitors you get. Even if you do pay for our own website, you can still get free reports by registering with Google Analytics. Not only does it show how many visits you get, but also where they come from and you can even see how effective your presentation has been by glancing at your bounce rate (a low bounce rate means visitors took the time to click into your links) .
Imagine what Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau or Samuel Johnson would have made of this www revolution. With so many options open to us in this age, there is no excuse not to act.
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