This is my presentation which I gave on Tuesday 24th May 2011 to people considering starting an Internet Retail outlet. It's a very back-to-basics show.

1. First Steps in Marketing a New Internet Retail Outlet David Edmundson-Bird Course Director for Econsultancy MSc Internet Retailing & Econsultancy MSc Digital Marketing Communications Manchester Metropolitan University Business School

2. First Steps in Marketing a New Internet Retail Outlet Get a Digital Marketing Plan Make yourself findable Encourage conversion Go and listen to your audience Go and converse with them Keep optimizing Keep socialising Keep analysing Note – this is a rapid presentation. There’s a lot of detail you’ll need to drill down to

3. Plan Rule Number 1 Have a digital marketing plan Don’t act without the plan Follow the plan Make changes to the plan as you learn Nothing is set in stone

4. If you build it they will come This statement is not true How will they find it? Sure you must look good Sure you must have merchandise But it’s only the start

5. Make Yourself Findable Key Search Engine = Google But 10 - 18% ave search traffic comes from Bing How to be findable Copy writing Pay Per Click advertising Link Building Refreshing Content Site Maps to Shopping.Google YouTube yourself

6. Copywriting Do key phrase research Tools on Google Adwords, Google Wonder Wheel Write copy for humans to read Don’t just write for Google Make sure your copy contains the key phrases Make sure key phrases turn up in links and images Make sure SKUs are key phrases

7. Pay Per Click Use PPC to drive early traffic to your new site Consider Brands in PPC keywords Use PPC to test which keywords drive traffic to your site Don’t bid on short keywords unless you have big pockets

8. Link Building Encourage others to build links to your site Bloggers Journalists Non-competitors Complementor businesses Google is not keen on bought links Your competitors might grass you up

9. Refreshing Content Keep your content changing Add new products all the time Refresh reviews Constantly optimize

10. Google Shopping Regularly submit data feed of your stock via Google Merchant Competitive marketspace Do it every 24 hours New data feed = fresh content Google Shopping helps you occupy the search space

11. YouTube Create videos of each of your products Create a YouTube channel Link to your site, embed videos in your site Helps occupy the Search Space

12. Ebay your Redundant Stock If your stock ages, use eBay to sell off occasional end-of-liness eBay optimizes best for short, true low reserve auctions eBay will push traffic to your main site Great link building Don’t use eBay in place of your main retail site Treat it as an outlet. It has a reputation for bin ends and cheapness

13. Use PayPal Have a main merchant services BUT Use Paypal to incite card-free purchase Vital for Under 18 purchases Costs similar to regular merchant services Has been known to double conversions

14. Socialize Yourself Use Twitter and Facebook to see what people are talking about Listen first Use the platforms as market research

15. Facebook Create a Fan Page Encourage people to talk about your products (reviews, praise and YES criticism) Promote new lines Get a “Like” button and link the site Keep the content fresh Encourage and reward sharing

16. Twitter Use Twitter to promote new lines Tweet regularly and humanly Use twitter to manage customer service Signpost people to products, especially complementor products Talk with your customers Answer every “mention” Follow every follower Invest in a professional Twitter platform

17. Blogging Keep a blog related to your retail Don’t just blog products, blog along the lines If you sell design-driven merchanise, blog about design concepts Use the blog to promote new lines, discuss issues and aesthetics Use the blog to communicate Don’t moderate discussion

18. Analytics Use your analytics account Review data, set goals Constantly try and understand where your audience is coming from Constantly evaluate your competitors links and performance

19. In Summary 1st Write your Digital Marketing Plan 2nd Make yourself found on Search 3rd Make sure you encourage conversion 4th Listen to your audience 5th Talk to your customers 6th Never stop optimizing 7th Never stop socialising 8th Never stop analysing

20. Say Hello E:d.edmundson-bird@mmu.ac.uk T: @groovegenerator LI: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/davidbird 0161 247 4603