Don't Let Your Internet Marketing Fail ...

From Mashable.com

The death of British songstress Amy Winehouse was a stark reminder of the dangers of drugs and alcohol, but also reminded Internet marketing gurus why death is not a good marketing ploy.

Microsoft and Apple came recently under heavy fire for, as critics accused them, using Winehouse’s death to encourage the purchase of her albums on the Zune and iTunes services. Both companies offered an apology for their “tacky” tweets and advertising efforts.

So, it’s never a good idea to use any celebrity’s death for marketing a product. What else shouldn’t you have used in your Internet marketing efforts? Here are three things that are sure to set back any campaign, and that WebDrafter.com will never do:

1. Lack of research

When your SEM company launched your campaign, did they ask for your input about keyword research (i.e. what people are/you want people to find you under on Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.)? Or did they just decide the list on their own?

When it comes to search engine prominence, you should be asked for what words you wish to rank under. There should be a dialogue between you and your SEO company about what keywords are likely to best serve you, and which aren’t. If you were kept out of the loop, this is an indicator the company didn’t put much effort into researching the keywords and what is being targeted will probably not result in the best ROI.

2. Sending unsolicited e-mail

Everyone hates spam. Blog spam, forum spam, e-mail spam, Facebook spam, etc. It’s annoying, but most spam can be ignored. E-Mail spam, however, is a little different. Even though most e-mail providers (GMail, Hotmail, etc.) have great spam protocols in place, unsolicited mail will every so often make its way into our inbox.

Spam will not gain you any customers. It will not increase your search engine results. It will not result in traffic to your website. It may, however, drive away business and cost you rankings. Offer persons a newsletter for which they can sign up, so those who are interested can receive it and you won’t pester those who don’t.

3. Deception

You should never lie to your customers. If you promise savings on a product, you better be willing to come through, lest you anger buyers and cause business to take a nosedive. Your clients will want to deal with a company that is forthright and honest. If you’re not going to be true to your word, then there’s no use for customers to deal with you.