Archive for the ‘marketing’ Category
What makes a compelling consumer online membership package?
Sunday, July 4th, 2010Many media businesses who publish content online for free are investigating subscription or membership packages as a way to drive revenue from their online content. It’s a bit easier for b2b publishers who can build research reports or databases or workflow tools, and are also dealing with businesses with a defined budget for information, research or lead generation. So is anyone succeeding in consumer markets? I’ve found a few examples, and identified five key elements that appear to be adding value to membership packages. What unites them is that online content alone is not enough. And discounts on products and services are expected to be offered as part of the deal. So here’s some ideas for how to add real value to the package: (more…)
Tags: archive, consumers, content, customised content, databases, members forums, mobile alerts, online subscriptions, paid-for content
Posted in business strategy, consumer, content, marketing
10 tips for online networking for SMEs
Sunday, June 27th, 2010Small businesses tend to win business through referrals, and are recommended by people who already know the principals. How can SMEs accelerate this natural process to win more business more quickly? Here are my top 10 tips for using online networking tools to speed up the traditional methods of making personal contacts and building a reputation. They are based on my own experience and other SME’s whom I admire or have worked with. There’s a presentation that goes into more detail on the Penmaen Media slideshare page. (more…)
Tags: network marketing, online networking, referrals, reputation building, SME marketing
Posted in SME digital marketing, marketing
How publishers can profit from digital media
Monday, May 3rd, 2010Digital editions, e-readers, ipads, mobile, video…for print-based publishers are they all a way to get sucked into creating expensive content for a small audience that is reluctant to pay? Or have some pioneering publishers found a clever route through the hype to drive real value? I chaired a meeting earlier this week with a cross-section of specialist media owners and digital media gurus that made me think there were some potentially profitable options available. I was planning the “profiting from digital media” session at the Specialist Media Show conference. Our host was Ben Greenish, MD of the Spectator, and we were joined by Graeme Gourlay, MD of Circle Publishing, Peter Houston of Advanstar, Mark Stubbs of Pixel Mags, Graham Duffill of the Digital Publishing Company, and Fiona Ryder of Stream Exchange. You can hear them all speak at greater length at the Specialist Media Show on 25 May 2010, and even question them youself, but here’s a taste of how they feel small specialist media owners can use digital media to advantage: (more…)
Tags: content, digital editions, ipad magazines, online subscriptions, online video, paid-for content, publishers, specialist media show
Posted in b2b, business strategy, consumer, content, marketing
Driving relevant traffic via referrals
Sunday, March 28th, 2010It’s all too easy to get obsessed with optimising your site for Google and imagining that all your traffic will arrive via natural search. But there are plenty of products and services where search isn’t necessarily the route that prospective customers take. This is particularly the case for professional services, where generic terms are too competitive, and your customer may find it hard to express their rather complex requirement in a small search box. Then you need to focus more on how external links in related sites can drive relevant traffic to your site in their own right, which has the added benefit of enhancing your pagerank. The trick is thinking through your customers’ purchase process, and working out which online sites they will use to gather information before looking for a supplier. Here are five ideas to help you identify these types of links and build referral traffic back to your site. (more…)
Tags: book reviews, niche forums, Penmaen Media, personal brand, referral community, referrals traffic, SME workshops
Posted in SME digital marketing, b2b, consumer, content, marketing
Building an active professional online network
Thursday, February 11th, 2010Business to business media owners planning to strengthen the community of their readers, or stand-alone networking and events businesses are keen to develop active vertical online professional networks, whether in the guise of forums, discussion groups or pure networking sites. Yet many struggle to build numbers of active members and encourage contributions. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but below are some approaches that I have seen work for other businesses or on the professional network that I run myself (it’s the Specialist Media Network on Linked in): (more…)
Tags: events, linked in groups, moderation, online networking, professional networks, surveys
Posted in b2b, business strategy, content, events, marketing
What online content will people pay for?
Thursday, February 4th, 2010All online publishers, whether they have a traditional print business or not, are busy searching for the perfect online business model. The consensus appears to be that they need a mix of free content to attract users/readers/customers, and some premium paid-for content. But how can they categorise their content to work out what can be charged for? I’ve assembled five categories, based on a range of examples from traditional and online-only publishers. I’m indebted to Miles Galliford of subhub, whose post on this topic is worth reading, and also to Iain Nicol and Mark Bishop who contributed to the discussion on the Specialist Media Network. So what content will people pay for? (more…)
Tags: content, databases, magazine iphone apps, online subscriptions, paid-for content, Penmaen Media, Publishing Expo, specialist media show, Subhub
Posted in b2b, consumer, content, marketing