A website is an invaluable tool when it comes to marketing your product or service. Here are some of the ways you can make the most of your website as an important resource for marketing your business.

1. Collect lead information and follow up by email:
   

   You should use every opportunity to collect contact information from visitors to your website who may be interested in your product or service so that you can follow up with them. The information you collect can be as simple as their email address in return for a "magnet" such as a free article or idea kit. Some businesses collect basic contact information such as name, address, phone etc. and answers to a handful of specific questions to help evaluate the prospect's needs. Expanded and more complex data collection applications, such as online applications for mortgages or requests for quotation, often require that you collect a lot of detailed information that extends far beyond simple contact data.

2. Demonstrate your expertise in your industry:
   

   Articles or tips written by yourself or others are a powerful way of demonstrating your knowledge and expertise in your industry and in your product or service. This can work effectively to build confidence in a prospect's mind as to your competence and ability to solve their problem. When the time comes to make a buying decision , having this information on your website for easy access can help to remind prospects why you are a better choice than your competitors.

3. Answer frequently asked questions:
   

   By preemptively answering questions that your experience has shown prospects will probably ask, accomplishes three important objectives.

   • You probably save at least 15 minutes of your time on the telephone with a first time caller, which can really add up, especially if your business deals with many prospects and customers every day.
   • You can control the information provided. This allows you to be sure that the very best and most appropriate answer is easily accessible to everyone.
   • You build trust with prospects and customers by demonstrating your understanding of the most common issues and questions relating to your product or service.

4. Empower people to make an informed buying decision about your product or service.
   

   People do not feel comfortable about making a decision to purchase if they have sketchy or incomplete information on the product or service. The more information you can provide your prospects and customers about the problem your product or service solves, the more you empower them and the better your chances are that they will buy from you instead of a competitor. You can provide a lot more information on your website to help people make an informed buying decision than you can provide by phone or personal consultation. Prospects and customers can absorb the information at their own pace and refer back to your website at their convenience.

5. Inexpensive and very profitable
   

   Once information is up on your website you can send 10, 1000, 100000 visitors to it and it doesn't cost your any more money unlike postage and printing. If you are using email to promote traffic to your website it costs the same to send one email as it does to send thousands.

6. It's easy:
   

   Once you begin you will find that the floodgates open up. It also doesn't take a long time. Once the site is operational, updating the information is about 1 hour per week of marketing. Any business person has time to write 1 or 2 tips per week in your field of expertise. It's easy to put a lot of useful information on your website because this is your area of expertise and when it comes to knowing where to gain access to information content related to your specialties you probably have this information at your fingertips. . The momentum and enthusiasm to improve your website builds as soon as you begin to experience the profitability of the website.

7. A website synergizes with your existing marketing activities.
   

   With a website you continue to perform all of the same marketing you do now like direct mail, tradeshows, newspapers or magazine advertising, billboards, etc. except that you add or also promote an incentive to visit your website. Your business cards, letterhead, envelopes, fax covers etc. all become marketing vehicles when you promote your website on them.