Nike, Coke-Cola, Budweiser, McDonalds, Levi's, Amazon.com...



These are the branding masters. Now the question is, HOW

CAN YOU MODEL THEIR SUCCESS?

These days, online branding is being preached as one of the

Big "Do or Die" marketing strategies. So everyone wants to

Brand their e-business -- but no one is exactly sure what

Branding is how it's done, or where to start.

What is branding, anyway?

Branding is about building a COMPELLING ASSOCIATION

Between...

A) Your company, your logo, your products, etc.

AND

B) An image, an emotion, or a memorable message that

Embodies -- implicitly or explicitly -- the BIGGEST

BENEFIT you have to offer your customers.

Effective branding creates the kind of FIERCE PRODUCT

LOYALTY that leaves customers indifferent to the marketing

Tactics of the competition.

It's what compels you to walk past all of those no-name-

Brand on-sale colas at the local grocery store and pick up

the 6-pack of Coca-Cola that costs three times more. It's

What makes children plead and beg to go back to McDonalds?

Again and again. And it's what has made the phrase "Just Do

It" synonymous with Nike.

Say "Amazon.com," and people think of "The Earth's Biggest

Bookstore." Go to Burger King because you can "Have It Your

Way." Buy Energizer batteries because they "Just keep

going, and going, and going." And "When you care enough to

send the very best," send a Hallmark card.

But the slogans and taglines are only part of it. Think of

the Hallmark commercials. These tearjerker mini-dramas are

built around love and family values, ending with someone

showing they "care enough" by giving a loved-one a Hallmark

card. THEY EVOKE STRONG EMOTIONS THAT DRIVE THEIR SLOGAN

HOME.

And think about the Nike logo -- the "Swoosh" that

represents the wing of the Greek goddess Nike, the

personification of victory. While it's probably safe to say

That the majority of people are unaware of its mythological

Significance, THEIR LOGO HOLDS JUST AS MUCH MEANING AS THEIR

NAME.

It's all very impressive, right? Well... yes. But before

You jump on the bandwagon; let's take a realistic look at

The "big branding picture" to see where you're small or home-

Based e-business fits into this.

First, let's debunk the THREE MAJOR BRANDING MYTHS I

Frequently encounter...

MYTH #1:

I need to make my company or product a household name.

TRUTH:

You'll be most successful and most profitable if you

CLOSELY TARGET YOUR MARKET! Focus on getting your business

Name and you're advertising in front of your best potential

Customers -- the people who have an expressed interest in

What you're offering -- as opposed to everyone!

MYTH #2:

Branding my business online means buying thousands of

Dollars worth of high-visibility banner impressions.

TRUTH:

Banner advertising just isn't as profitable as it once was.

Ads that once pulled 5% to 10% click-through are now lucky

To pull 0.6% to 0.8%, if even that.

You'll be far more successful if you focus your limited

Advertising dollars on more performance-based advertising.

Pay for customers... not overpriced, unproven advertising.

MYTH #3:

I'll need to spend a lot of money if I want to gain

Brand recognition.

TRUTH:

There are plenty of free and low-cost techniques that

You can use to brand your e-business.

If you're a small or home-based business then, chances are,

You don't have the millions of advertising dollars it takes

To build a nationally recognized brand and make your company

A household name -- at least not yet!

So let's SKIP THE HIGH-PRICED LARGE CORPORATE BRANDING

TECHNIQUES that I'm seeing pushed everywhere I look...

-- After all, these strategies simply don't translate

To e-businesses with limited advertising budgets --

... And instead, let me give you some practical information.

COST-EFFECTIVE BRANDING TECHNIQUES

THAT YOU CAN START USING TODAY:

1) DEVELOP A STRONG UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION

Imagine yourself sitting across the table from your best

Potential customer. In one sentence -- one very short

Sentence -- clearly communicate how he or she will benefit

From doing business with you.

Your message should be clear, the language simple, and it

Should be easy to remember. There's no room for wordy

Corporate mumbo jumbo here.

I know this is a pretty tall order... but your hours of

agonizing, writing, brainstorming, and rewriting will pay

Off in the end. This will be the message that your market

Will identify you by and associate you with.

2) TARGET YOUR MARKET

The beauty of running an online business is that you can

Reach literally hundreds of thousands of targeted potential

Customers all over the world -- people who want to buy what

You're selling -- for little or no cost.

It's what has made it possible for small and home-based

Business owners like you to take the Internet by storm and

MAKE OUTRAGEOUS PROFITS WITH VERY LIMITED ADVERTISING

BUDGETS.

Why would you turn a blind eye to this CRITICAL ADVANTAGE BY?

Spreading your limited advertising dollars across the entire

Web -- trying to sell your product to everyone -- instead of

Focusing on those people who want to buy from you?

It just doesn't make sense.

So I know I've already mentioned this, but it's worth saying

Again. It's ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL that you target your

Market.

3) WHENEVER POSSIBLE, MAKE YOUR MESSAGE INTERACTIVE

If you can compel people to actively engage your marketing

Message rather than passively hear or view it, you'll

Dramatically increase the probability that they're going to

Absorb it, remember it, and repeat it.

One of the best ways to make your marketing message

Interactive is through VIRAL MARKETING. To read a previous

Marketing Tips article that explains exactly what you can do

To make your marketing message viral, visit...

http://www.marketingtips.com/newsletter/issue33/page1.html

4) BE CONSISTENT IN VOICE, FORMAT, AND DELIVERY

In order to engrave your brand in the minds of your target

Market, you need to consistently repeat your message to

Them...

* DESIGN A SIGNATURE FILE that contains your message and

Attach it to the end of every e-mail you send. It costs

You nothing and it's an easy, effective way to repeat

Your message to those people you have direct contact

With -- your best potential and repeat customers!

* Your web site design, logos, and graphics should, if

Possible, VISUALLY EMPHASIZE AND REINFORCE your message.

Check out the McDonald's web site at http://www.mcdonalds.com

Does that yellow and red look familiar? Think about how

You can similarly use your web site design to further

Impress your brand in the memory of your visitors.

* Your NEWSLETTER CONTENT AND YOUR WEB SITE CONTENT should

All ultimately contribute to your marketing message.

There is no room for distractions like articles or links

That don't move you towards your main goal (to sell your

Product, remember?).

5) NURTURE EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS AND

SUBSCRIBERS

If they already know you, if they're already familiar with

Who you are and what you do, if they've already bought

Something from you, then you should be building on these

Existing relationships.

MAINTAIN REGULAR CONTACT VIA E-MAIL (it's free!), and

Consistently remind them who you are, what you do, and most

Importantly, how they stand to benefit from continuing to do

Business with you.

If you play your cards right, not only will you PROFIT FROM

THEIR REPEAT BUSINESS, you may also persuade them to "spread

The good word" to others with similar interests.

6) BE VISIBLE TO YOUR BEST POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS

A big part of branding is obviously about getting your name

In front of your best potential customers, so that when the

Time comes for them to buy, THEY'LL CHOOSE YOU OVER THE

COMPETITION!

Here are a few powerful ways that you can do this...

* WRITE ARTICLES that contain information that will be of

Interest to your target market and then offer them to

Industry newsletters and web sites free of charge. Web

Masters and editors will appreciate the free, quality

Content and you'll get your name and URL in front of

Your target market.

* PARTICIPATE IN NEWSGROUPS AND DISCUSSION FORUMS where

Your target market hangs out. This is an easy, no-cost

Way to develop your reputation as an industry expert.

Simply make yourself available to answer questions and

Provide participants with information that they will value.

* SUBMIT YOUR WEB SITE TO THE SEARCH ENGINES AND

DIRECTORIES. Also be sure to search for directories that

Are geared towards your industry and request a listing.

* REQUEST LINKS FROM SITES WHERE YOU'RE TARGET MARKET MEETS.

This is not only a great way to increase your visibility,

It's also an extremely powerful way to attract large

Volumes of highly targeted traffic -- yet it's frequently

Dismissed or overlooked!

* USE BANNER ADVERTISING - IN MODERATION! With well-

Designed banners and a targeted ad campaign, you CAN

Make money with banner advertising. Just be sure to

Educate yourself on the latest, most cutting-edge banner

Techniques before getting started.

To read an article on designing effective banners that

Really work, visit...

http://www.marketingtips.com/newsletter/issue35/page1.html

* START YOUR OWN AFFILIATE PROGRAM. With your own

Affiliate Program, you can enlist an army of affiliates

Who will spread your name and your marketing message?

Across the web -- and you don't pay them a cent until

They make a sale.

To read an article on how you can start and profit from

Your very own Affiliate Program, visit...

http://www.marketingtips.com/newsletter/issue19/index.html

DON'T LOSE SIGHT OF YOUR ULTIMATE GOAL:

With branding being hyped as one of *the* marketing

Strategies to pursue right now, I worry that some of you

May be steered off-track.

While it's a good idea to be aware of and actively direct

How your e-business is being branded, remember that there is

A key difference between creating awareness and actually

Closing sales.

Given the innumerable marketing strategies that you can use

To simultaneously create brand awareness AND draw targeted

Traffic to your web site, there is no reason for you to be

Spending your limited advertising dollars on branding

Techniques that don't return a significant profit.

Avoid being sucked in by the myth that the entire web needs

To know who you are. Focus on your target market and

Realize that most forms of traffic generation ultimately

Enhance awareness of your brand.

You are spelling out your brand message, directly and

Indirectly, with everything that you do, say, and sell.

About the Author

Corey Rudi is the owner of four highly

Successful online businesses that attract more than

6,000,000 visitors and generate over $5.2 million each year.

To check out his site that's JAM-PACKED WITH THE EXACT

INFORMATION YOU NEED to start, build, and grow your very

Own, profitable Internet business, I highly recommend

Visiting: