Guerrilla Marketing on the Internet

The Definitive Guide from the Father of Guerrilla Marketing

Jay Levinson, Mitch Meyerson, Mary Eule Scarborough

• Publisher: Entrepreneur Press
• Year: 2008
• Print ISBN: 9781599181943
• eBook ISBN: 9781613080313
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Marketing
• Index: Business

The Father of Guerrilla Marketing, Jay Conrad Levinson, changed marketing forever when he unleashed his original arsenal of marketing tactics for surviving the advertising jungle on a shoestring budget. And now, Levinson and online marketing masters Mitch Meyerson and Mary Eule Scarborough once again show you how to beat the odds by combining the unconventional, take-no-prisoners Guerrilla Marketing approach with today’s ultimate marketing weapon—the Internet. Learn how to use the internet Guerrilla style. Level the playing field, and achieve greater online visibility. Boost traffic to your website. Convert visitors into paying clients. Capture and keep your market share, and create multiple income streams—all while saving time and money! This complete Guerrilla Marketing online guide includes: • The 10 most effective Guerrilla strategies • Case studies of the five greatest online Guerrilla Marketing campaigns • How to create a high-impact website on a budget • Low-cost tactics for maximizing traffic • The 12 biggest internet marketing mistakes and how to avoid them • Creative tactics and cutting-edge tools that inspire customers to take action • Essential information on cutting-edge technology

CHAPTER 1

THE INTERNET: The Most Powerful Guerrilla Marketing Tool Ever Created

Boy Dylan wrote his famous lyrics, “the times they are a changin”‘ over 40 Dylan wrote his famous lyrics, “the times they are a changin’” over 40 years ago, but they’ve never been truer than today, especially when it comes to the effects of the internet. The world is changing and the internet is changing the way marketers do business. The first Guerrilla Marketing book was published in 1984, more than 20 years ago, and it was followed by many more. The initial Guerrilla books provided small business owners with a clear vision of what marketing really means and how to make it work for them. Readers—mostly entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and small business owners and managers operating with shoestring budgets—learned how to master the process of marketing and convert it into honest-to-goodness sustainable profits.

Since then the marketing industry as a whole has evolved and matured, and Guerrilla Marketing is no exception. As the years progressed, we gained new insights and adjusted accordingly. Guerrilla Marketing’s strategies and tactics were updated to ensure that entrepreneurs worldwide were equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in the ever-changing business world at even higher levels.

And even though some of the specific tools we use to achieve success have changed dramatically, Guerrilla Marketing’s fundamental precepts remain intact. They will, in fact, endure long after we’re gone because they’re based on the eternal nature of the human psyche. They’re relevant today and will be far into the future.

Therefore, you’ll find that we stay true to Guerrilla Marketing’s original tenets in this book even though we will add meaningful insights into the most powerful, exciting, and revolutionary marketing tool ever created—the internet. We’ll explain why Guerrilla Marketing and the internet are a perfect match—just like a great marriage—and convince you that there’s never been a better time to get hitched.

We’ll also show you how to use your scarce resources and the internet to your best advantage. We’ll get to the heart of what every small business owner wants to know: How to harness the power of the internet to gain an upper hand in the marketing playing field.

If you follow along carefully, we promise that you’ll walk away with valuable knowledge and a deeper understanding and appreciation for ways to increase your profits, save incredible amounts of time and money, and create multiple streams of passive income using this ultimate of marketing tools.

Additionally, you’ll learn how the internet has single-handedly shifted the landscape of the business world and placed incredible power back into the hands of the world’s small businesspeople.

In 1984 very few of us imagined that in just a little over 20 years, Guerrilla Marketers would be able to:

• get instant information about their prospects, customers, industry, and competitors using worldwide databases

• operate cost-effective and easy-to-use technologies to create product demonstration videos, relationship-building audios, compelling e-mail campaigns, and digital newsletters and e-books

• expand their social and business networks to likeminded groups of people regardless of their location

• participate in global conversations via blogs, forums, and wikis

• educate their prospects and customers using podcasts, seminars, and webinars

• conduct real-time audio and videoconferences with a few or many geographically diverse people

• stay connected with customers by placing their communications on autopilot using sophisticated web-based software

• track and measure their marketing efforts and obtain up-to-the-moment results with the click of a mouse

• extend their service area to prospects and clients worldwide

• use passion, energy, and know-how to get a blog or website business up and running in no time—and for very little money

• create and deliver professional branding strategies in minutes

• read and answer e-mails over cell phones, PDAs, and other mobile devices.

Back then, these everyday realities would have sounded like a far-fetched episode of Star Trek, but today we take for granted that they’re part of our everyday lives. Guerrilla Marketers are smart to take full advantage of them, especially when you consider that over 1 billion people have access to the internet.

According to a recent Juniper Research study, the number of U.S. internet shoppers will grow at an average rate of 12 percent per year through 2010 resulting in over $144 billion in online sales.

Experts also predict that by 2010, 50 percent of traditional and e-commerce purchases will be substantially impacted by research conducted by consumers online, indicating that all retailers need to develop multiple sales channels and fully assimilate their online and offline strategies.

Over the next several years, online retail growth will not only be driven by an increase in the numbers of consumers, but by a boost in the average spending amount per buyer—predicted to be nearly $780 per consumer per year by 2008. Until now the tremendous growth of online businesses has been driven by the steady increase in new online shoppers. According to industry analysts that will change as the marketplace continues to mature.

“Today’s technology gives small businesses an unfair advantage. It enables them to do what the big spenders do without the necessity to spend big.”

—Jay Levinson

These positive forecasts should be music to the ears of current, or aspiring, Guerrilla Marketers. However, if you’re among the millions of small business holdouts who think that they can get by without hopping aboard the technology bandwagon, I’m afraid you’re going to continue to lose ground every day and, like the dinosaurs, face extinction. So please pay attention to the following four very important facts.

1. Your competitors are smarter, more sophisticated, and even more aggressive than ever before. Therefore, you must use every potent tool at your disposal and know Guerrilla Marketing like the back of your hand.

2. The internet is here to stay and will continue to play an ever-increasing role in your lives and businesses. If you’re not already techno-cozy, it’s time to become so.

3. You’re not a Guerrilla Marketer unless you use the internet and have a website.

4. Anyone with an interest can learn to be a Guerrilla Marketer and learn to use the Internet Guerrilla style. It involves understanding some very basic concepts, which are based on common sense rather than complicated secret solutions. They are not magic—but you’ll feel like they are!

However, if you don’t master Guerrilla Marketing it will be nearly impossible to master the internet. Being online doesn’t grant you automatic proficiency in the online world, but it does make it easier for Guerrillas to do their best work.

In order to compete effectively, you must be competent, knowledgeable, and just as importantly, ready for anything at a moment’s notice. That’s how the fluid and ever-changing internet landscape works; it is in a constant state of flux.

You must be on your toes and ready for whatever comes your way because change will occur faster than you ever imagined. What works well today may not work well tomorrow. Guerrillas expect change and they prepare for it. They welcome change—because they know how to manage it. You will, too.

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For example, we’ll cover the basics on writing compelling promotional e-mails in Chapter 5, which contain most of the same elements found in any good sales letter. In the offline world entrepreneurs can reasonably expect to wait six weeks or more to obtain the final results from direct mail campaigns (and by that time it’s often too late to adjust). The internet has changed all of that. Now you can test sales letters, headlines, landing pages, offers, and ads and receive valuable feedback in a matter of hours, not weeks. This allows businesspeople to change and fine-tune their marketing elements before they’ve spent thousands of dollars and wasted considerable time. What a benefit!

But with the good comes the not so good. Imagine how discouraging it was a few years ago for internet marketers to learn that their once effective pop-up ads were being blocked from their target audience by sophisticated browser software. Disappointing as this was, most adapted quickly and began using other traffic generation and conversion methods to lessen the impact and increase sales.

And just when everyone thought that was the end of pop-up ads, they’re back! They’re subtler, more targeted, and less intrusive, but they are there nevertheless and confident online marketers are using them in a whole new way. This would not be possible if they hadn’t embraced change and made it their ally, not their enemy.

Thus, we’ll begin with a crash course on Guerrilla Marketing for those of you who are just beginning your journey with us or need a quick refresher course. Please read carefully; this will serve as the foundation for all of the tips and advice we offer throughout the rest of this book.

In subsequent chapters, we’ll take you by the hand and walk you through actionable steps for transforming these concepts into profit-producing action. So hang on—it’s going to be a great ride!

Guerrilla Marketing Principles at a Glance

In this section, we offer a snapshot of Guerrilla Marketing’s basics—its core beliefs, competencies, and actions. Since many of you are more familiar with the blockbuster advertising you see on network TV and elsewhere, it’s often easier to explain Guerrilla Marketing by comparing the differences between the two. However, since we have so much new material to cover in this book, we’ll hit the highlights and provide references to other Guerrilla books for those of you who wish to delve deeper into the fundamentals.

As you read through the list, use your imagination and think of ways you can apply these principles to the internet (although we’ll provide you with lots of specific ideas throughout the book, we encourage you jumpstart the process using your own creativity).

Also, be sure to remember this very important fact: The Guerrilla brand evolved from a passionate belief that small businesspeople with limited resources can compete—and win—on a level playing field with other companies—regardless of their size or financial strength—as long as they’re armed with the right weapons and knowledge.

And the internet has redefined and improved this reality because it affords Guerrillas the opportunity to get even more accomplished—better, quicker, and with less.

If you’re already familiar with Guerrilla Marketing principles and practices, you’ll still benefit by reviewing the following eight tenets.

Guerrilla Investment: Time, Energy, Imagination, and Knowledge

Superior marketing provides all companies with their greatest leverage, or control, and should be viewed as an investment. Unlike traditional marketers, Guerrillas invest more time, energy, imagination, and knowledge (or information) than money. This is probably the single most important Guerrilla Marketing principle of them all, even though it may be counterintuitive and the opposite of what you’ve heard.

Simply said, Guerrillas recognize that they cannot buy their way to a successful com pany! They know that paying through the teeth for slick advertising does not ensure success and will never make up for shoddy products or services. So they work to achieve the best possible outcome using their limited resources wisely. As a result, they don’t worry as much as traditional marketers do when money is in short supply because they have enthusiasm, know-how, talent, wisdom, skills, and creativity to spare.

“None of us has gotten where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We got here because somebody bent down and helped us.”

—Thurgood Marshall

While Guerrillas spend their money prudently, they understand the difference between investing in disposable commodities, such as paper clips and bookkeeping services, and investing in goods and services that get closer to attaining their goals, such as reliable phone systems and company logos.

Additionally, they don’t waste their precious time making penny-wise and pound-foolish purchases or throwing good money after bad. For example, Guerrillas are keenly aware that poorly designed and written marketing materials are recipes for disaster, so they hire graphic designers and copywriters—even if it means they have to barter, lease, or pare down their wish list.

Conversely, Guerrillas are also open to investing in new skills so they can do for themselves instead of hiring others, which is much easier today than it’s ever been due to affordable software and internet technology. They also wouldn’t consider buying expensive mass media TV advertising in lieu of low- or no-cost alternatives such as referral programs, automated promotional e-mail campaigns, or revenue-generating websites. In other words, Guerrillas understand the difference between assets and expenses. They don’t confuse “least cost” with “best cost” and know that “cheap” does not mean the same as “inexpensive.”

Guerrillas are also not as afraid of failure as traditional marketers. Why? First, they understand that the path to wealth and profitability is paved with “do-over...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• CHAPTER 1 - THE INTERNET: The Most Powerful Guerrilla Marketing Tool Ever Created
• CHAPTER 2 - THE 12 BIGGEST INTERNET MARKETING MISTAKES—And How to Avoid Them
• CHAPTER 3 - GUERRILLA WEBSITES: High Impact at a Low Cost
• CHAPTER 4 - DIRECT RESPONSE MARKETING: Turning Visitors into Customers
• CHAPTER 5 - GUERRILLA COMMUNICATIONS: E-mail, Podcasts, and Feeds
• CHAPTER 6 - GUERRILLA TRAFFIC: Driving Visitors to Your Website
• CHAPTER 7 - GUERRILLA AUTOMATION: Online Systems for Effortless Follow-Up
• CHAPTER 8 - GUERRILLA MULTIMEDIA: Using Audio and Video for Maximum Impact
• CHAPTER 9 - GUERRILLA Internet Weapons
• CHAPTER 10 - THE WEB 2.0 Guerrilla
• CHAPTER 11 - GUERRILLA INTERNET MARKETING IN ACTION: Four Innovative Campaigns
• CHAPTER 12 - GUERRILLA MOMENTUM and People Power
• GLOSSARY
• ABOUT THE AUTHORS
• INDEX
• Subscribe to Entrepreneur Magazine
• Copyright Page