Marketing Online for Dummies (Paperback)

~ Bud E. Smith (Author), Frank Catalano (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I strongly recommend 'Marketing Online For Dummies' to anyone getting started (or starting over) in e-commerce." -- Virginia Gazette, April 19, 2000

"This is a foot in the door for businesses trying to climb through the Internet into home computers...You won't be a dummy after reading this." -- The Associated Press, June 14, 1998

Product Description

More and more businesses around the world are taking advantage of the Internet to promote a wide range of goods and services to an international online community. Why be left behind in the stampede to get online? Here's a book with all the answers and solutions to marketing your own particular business, large or small, on the Web.

Whether you're using a PC or a Mac, Marketing Online For Dummies covers all the topics you need to know in order to market your products or services over the Internet effectively, efficiently, and successfully, including sound advice and real-world examples on how to

• Create an online marketing strategy and match your customer base to the online community
• Select the best ISP (Internet Service Provider) and rightsize" your site to suit your own online business needs
• Design exciting content to bring customers to your site again and again
• Increase traffic and awareness with Internet mailing lists, Listservs, and the latest innovations in Push technology
• Use Newsgroups and Online Forums to promote your online site

Marketing Online For Dummies also features a special section of online resources to help you get more information about online marketing. On its bonus CD-ROM, this book also features a great deal of PC and Mac software that you can use for Web browsing, e-mailing, and developing your own online business strategies.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 323 pages
• Publisher: Hungry Minds (February 27, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764503359
• ISBN-13: 978-0764503351
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,491,094 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book to read BEFORE you start your site., July 6, 1999

By A Customer

I am only on page 90, but this book is worth its weight in gold. It helps you to understand the on line demographics to see how much of your marketing budget to put into a site vs. your off line dollars.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy this if you know how to use your browser., June 29, 1998

By A Customer

I considered myself a web novice, but I've since upgraded my self-regard after reading this book. This book could have been half the length. There's really nothing here that you can't find on the web marketing sites already. Much of the book explains how to use search engines to find things, how to submit your site to the search engines, how to use newsgroups wisely without spamming (and what that is to begin with)-- all of which I'm sure are helpful to people who have just taken their very first computer out of the box. This book is ground zero for web marketing, and will have very little use for people who are already marketing (or trying to) online. Chances are, if you've already tried it, it's in this book.

The Yellow Pages section at the end listing related web resource sites was helpful, but I wish I had bought the book, photocopied this part and returned it. I've found a lot the same subject matter in the book already on the web for free.

Another aspect of the book I found annoying is that it reads like a big commercial in places. The authors do a lot of cross-selling/recommending of another Dummies title, Selling Online. They also gently recommend Microsoft's Internet Explorer because it better integrates push technology, which the authors almost imply is the Second Coming, even though it hasn't really caught on with most Netizens.

The book also comes with a CD which, as I own a Mac, I have not used. There is Mac software on it, but it's not nearly as useful or plentiful as the Windows software. [The authors even go so far as to list the installation instructions and license agreement as "software" in the Mac listing of CD contents-- no such padding with the Windows list]

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book for the novice entrepreneur!, July 10, 1998

By A Customer

Do you want to earn extra income from your business? There are plenty of people today who can offer you helpful information on how to market your business online. There are also plenty of fine books available to help you market your business as well. Feel like a real dummy at marketing? Maybe you are one but don't worry. IDG Books has published Marketing Online for Dummies to offer the average person on the street the basic marketing information they need to be successful.

Marketing Online for Dummies offers a broad range of useful information about the online world, domain name selection and use, Website content, and effective Website marketing strategies. Readers should pay particularly close attention to the chapter dealing with domain name selection and use. According to the authors the selection of an effective domain name can be easily overlooked. Because the use of a domain name will have a direct impact upon the marketing success of any company, it is important to come up with the right name for a company's Website in order to successfully market the products and services they have to offer. This book offers an excellent treatment on this very important subject.

Another bright spot about this book is the special Internet directory of companies and individual Websites where readers can obtain important business information related to online commerce and great shareware software programs. There are valuable resources available on the Internet today and you will find many of them listed here.

As are other books in the Dummies series, this one is quite easy to read and understand. This book is ideal for the novice entrepreneur. The information is first-rate. The software included on the accompanying CD will get the reader online. You won't be an online marketing dummy after reading this book but you may be one if you don't read it at all. The choice is yours!