Award-winning journalist and freelance copywriter, Susanna K. Hutcheson, presents news, thoughts and ideas on the world of business, marketing, copywriting and much more.

More Businesses Turning to the Internet for New Business.

According to The Wall Street Journal and other publications that know such things, more major businesses are dropping their television budgets or cutting them way down and turning to the Internet. While traditional forms of marketing like direct mail and even radio still work well, television is no longer cutting it.

Reasons given include TIVO and other methods to bypass commercials. With radio, you passively listen and usually don't bother to turn the station when a spot comes on. As in all forms of advertising, people can bypass your message.

For example, I use a program that allows me to block out close to 100 percent of the net advertising. I don't even see Google Adword ads unless I choose to --- and often I do want to see them. All the banners on my machines are blocked and all popups.

So the challenge for Internet marketers is to figure out how to get their messages to prospective clients and customers that they will see. I have always found that my own articles made the best advertising. Ever since my early CompuServe days, my articles served to build my business. In those days, there were no alternatives to get business online. In fact, there was no "Web" as we know it. Only "libraries" that contained articles on different topics of interest to various groups.

So the business goes to those bold enough to try new methods. That's not to say that Adwords and banners and such things don't work. But if you use them, you need to plan other strategies and not depend entirely on any one method to attract new business.

And don't make the mistake in thinking you don't have competition or that your competitors aren't actively on your backend. Under estimating them is a serious, costly mistake. To stay ahead and get ahead you've got to move boldly and be incredibly willing to do new things at any cost.

Susanna on 06.14.05 @ 05:36 PM CDT [link]