How To Attract Restaurant Customers With a Successful Website

The modern business must have a Web presence that communicates its brand and basic information to target audiences. Despite that 89% of Internet users research restaurants online, thousands of restaurants still have little or no online presence. It's essential that restaurants develop and maintain a basic website. You may say that your business does not need a website, that it's too expensive or you don't have time to create or maintain it. But when the purpose of a website is to deliver value to your customers, who in turn generate business, a website is essential. In the same way you satisfy customers when they visit your restaurant, you should satisfy their informational needs online. For the restaurant owner or manager, there are many benefits of having a website. Here are a few:

1. To generate awareness, exposure and extend your brand.

Your website lets people know who you are and gives potential customers a feel for your restaurant, menu and atmosphere. You also have the opportunity to demonstrate to customers why your restaurant is the right choice for them. Remember, first impressions count. A smart, simple design will help you convey the professional-yet-appealing image you want.

You have options when it comes to creating a website. The least expensive method is to (of course) do it yourself. With some software, a reference guide or two, and your dedication, a person with basic computer skills can have a simple website up within a week or less. You may also decide to use a single provider who can handle everything from domain registration and renewal to hosting, site design, development and maintenance. Be sure to ask them if they use search Engine Optimization best practices when they build their sites and if they will help improve the search results placement of your site once it launches.

2. To provide basic information such as hours of operation, payment methods, and location.

While you most likely aren't available 24 hours a day to answer these questions, your website, aka your 'virtual storefront,' is always there to address visitors' questions.

3. To enhance your competitive advantage.

There is a good chance that other restaurants in your area have websites and are luring your potential business because they can be found more quickly. Many potential customers like to "comparison shop," researching several restaurants online before making a decision about where to eat. Without a web presence, your restaurant may no longer be considered an option for them. You may also miss out on being listed in local online directories that feature your competitors.

Before building your website, it is a good idea to check out what your competitors are doing online. It's a great way to get inspiration and ideas and think about ways that you can differentiate yourself.

4. To improve internal efficiency and customer service.

Does your staff repeatedly get bombarded by the same requests over and over again? A great way to cut down on time spent fielding issues is to publicize that information on your website. Rather than having a potential customer call for driving directions to your restaurant, they can be downloaded by the customer from your website, saving time and hassle for both your staff and the customer.

5. To promote products or services.

Many restaurants offer products or catering services in addition to their general restaurant operations. But many of your customers don't know this! Assign prominent areas of your website to address the full breadth of your restaurant's offerings and you will build greater awareness and generate more business.

6. To publish timely content such as events or promotions.

What do customers love? They love a good deal or promotion. When you publish simple promotions, such as a downloadable coupon on your website, it keeps your restaurant at the top of your customers mind, and keeps them coming back.

7. To serve the press.

In addition to serving customers, your website functions as a public relations tool. With tight press deadlines, media professionals writing about your restaurant need things like high-quality imagery and text about your restaurant. By making this information available on your website, you can make lives easier for the press and increase your chances of free media publicity.

8. To build a relationship with customers.

A website is a great place for capturing customer feedback through comments and surveys. In addition, a clean website with regularly updated content and promotions is a place where customers return again and again - just like they will return to your restaurant. You can cultivate and maintain a one-on-one trusting relationship by publishing a regular email newsletter that offers unique, interesting content and special deals to your subscribers.

9. To save you money.

Having an online presence 24 hours a day is less expensive than printed advertising, TV Spots, mailers and nearly any other form of promotion. And unlike the aforementioned materials, websites can be updated as often as you like. The only type of promotion you'll need once your website is launched is%u2026promoting your website!

10. To increase your business.

Despite economic difficulties, customers still are going out to eat. They are just being more careful and analytical in their restaurant selection.

As you may realize, a website is not something that you simply publish online and then ignore for several years. The Internet is ever-evolving and new opportunities, from online and mobile ordering to more sophisticated marketing ideas come up almost daily that can benefit your business. It will benefit you in the long run to invest in your restaurant's online presence and keep tabs on innovations and trends in restaurant website design.

There has never been a better time than right now to give your website a health check. Businesses around the country are using the start of the New Year as a great excuse for redefining goals and setting new targets, so why not include improving your website as one of your New Year's resolutions?

I'm always amazed by the number of businesses who don't take the opportunity to invest time or effort into developing or improving their websites. The end result being a shabby representation of their business. All too often, websites have been quickly thrown together without much thought or imagination, or the website is years old and out-dated.

Starting the process can be difficult, so I've put together a checklist:

Step One - Appealing to the eye

The first step is to consider whether your website is appealing to most people and whether the design is modern and up-to-date. If you are unsure, you can easily find out by asking staff, colleagues, or friends. I would also recommend that you take a look at your top main competitors to see what they are doing with their websites.

And,... if you find yourself apologising to people for how your website looks, this is a definite sign you need to upgrade fast...

The simple fact is, if people see a website that doesn't visually appeal to them, they will leave before they even get to see how good your products or services are.

Step Two - Content

How up-to-date is your content? Does it accurately reflect all the products or services you offer?
Do you have content that entices visitors to return to your website at a later stage? This is really important, if on their first visit to your site, they are early in the buying cycle, then you want to make sure they remember you so that when they are closer to making a decision to purchase, you will be number one in mind. Having interesting hints, tips, or features of your website is a good way to bring them back at a later stage.

And while we are on that note, if they are early on in the buying cycle, what can you introduce to your site to better educate them and bring them closer to making a decision?

Step Three - Usability

Is your website easy to navigate, enabling your site visitors to find the information they want quickly? For websites that grow quite quickly, it's easy to lose the right navigation structure, making it difficult for website visitors to get around the site. Take the time to map out the flow of your website on a piece of paper (for smaller sites), or for larger sites Excel can be a good way to setup the flow. Remember, if someone can't quickly find what they are looking for on your site, it is only a couple of clicks back to the search engines to find your competitors.

Usability and accessibility standards can also be an issue many do not consider. If users with disabilities visit your site, not only could you be losing potential valuable business from them, but did you know that in Australia and many other countries, it's a legal requirement to have your site accessible for disabled users?

An interesting case back in 2000 proved that these laws can be enforced, as in the case of Bruce Lindsay Maguire v Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, in which Maguire won.

Step 4 - Pages being accessible

Do all of the links in your site work? This can be a problem more frequently than you think, as many website owners are simply unaware. A free tool called Xenu will easily scan through your site and provide you with a report to verify this.

Step 5 - Your home page

Does your home page provide a simple, clear message of what your business offers? Many businesses make the mistake of cramming so much information into their home page, because they want their visitors to know everything about them the moment they visit their site. The end result, a home page that looks messy, hard to read, and searchers leave before they find out what you have to offer.

Step 6 - Your sales message

Do you have a call to action, or a strong message to "buy now" if applicable? Without reasons to buy, you are likely to see a low conversion rate throughout your site.
Placing video on your website is also a great way to connect with your site visitors and to convert new business. So if it's in your budget, I would really recommend it.

Step 7 - Website Reporting

Last, but definitely not least, what are your website analytics reports telling you about how your website is performing? Chances are, that the majority of people reading this are asking, "website reports?" Most businesses don't look at their reporting, either because they don't understand the information in the reports, or think they don't have the time.
The information in these reports can be critical to properly, and effectively managing your website. Without this understanding, you won't know how to improve your site, or worse still, you may change a section of your site that is performing really well for you.
Small changes to your site, based on this information, can have a big impact on your bottom line, which means more $$$ for you. Isn't that one of the main reasons you're in business?

Conclusion

If you've answered 'no' or 'unsure' to any of the questions above, then I encourage you to make improvements to your website a priority. Whether it's your in-house web development team, or an external web development company, making sure your website is brought up to today's standards in design and technology is of vital importance if you want to keep your business moving forward.

Think of it like this; if you walked into a shop or office, and it was really shabby, how would you feel about giving them your business? A website is no different... So what are you telling your potential clients about your business?

Andrew Seidel is the Managing Director of Quantum Web Solutions. Specialising in Web Design in Sydney, as well as a full range of web solutions through the website promotion.

Promoting your restaurant's website is an ongoing process, but if done correctly it will improve your online visibility and lead to more traffic. There are many ways for a restaurant to promote its website such as paid ad placement, link exchanges and social bookmarking.

One of the most simple and inexpensive methods is through listing in online directories. If you're an established restaurant, chances are your name and address are listed in most yellowpages directory websites. However, those sites may not include your website's url and may have outdated information. It is critical that restaurant owners regularly check these directories to make sure their information is accurate.

In addition, your website should be listed in major online local business directories, valuable sites that are jammed with potential customers. The following directories allow you to list your restaurant for free. You simply submit your url and verify your information. To create listings for all of the sites in this article should take less than a couple of hours, but it's a critical task in maintaining a popular and successful restaurant website.

Citysearch
Citysearch is comprised of local online guides with information on entertainment, shopping, dining, hotels and more.

Insider Pages
Local business reviews for about 30 U.S. cities.

Judy's Book
In addition to business listings, Judy's Book provides information on deals and discounts.

Local.com
Another directory of local businesses, products and services.

The Open Directory Project
When you submit your site here, it will be accessible both through the Open Directory Project site, as well as Google Directory Search.

Outside.in
Outside.in aggregates local news and conversations as well as business listings.

Yahoo Local
Yahoo Local provides information on businesses and services in local areas.

Yelp
Add your restaurant listing to the popular business review and social networking site.

In addition to these general online directories, restaurants can take advantage of additional opportunities to promote their websites. For example, many states have directories such as the New Jersey Dining Guide (njdiningguide.net) Cities, towns and metro areas also typically have their own restaurant directories. [see Seattle Dining (seattledining.com) as an example.] There are global directories for many cuisines and types of food such as Chinese (chinawok.com), Thai and vegetarian. Getting even more granular, you can find directories of individual dishes such as pho at PhoFever (phofever.com). Some additional places to list your restaurant's website include both city and county chambers of commerce, local newspaper dining guides and state and local restaurant association websites.

Remember, your restaurant listing may not jump to the top of search results overnight. However, maintaining accurate online directory listings is an important task in growing your restaurant's online presence.

Thousands of restaurants are using email newsletters to build and engage their customer base and promote their offerings. Service providers such as AWeber and Constant Contact enable restaurants to quickly and easily deliver email newsletters and manage subscribers. But while an email newsletter can be a highly successful marketing tool for a restaurant, creating interesting, valuable content is a time-consuming headache for busy restaurant owners. The good news is that much of the content for your email newsletter already exists within your restaurant and with your customers. In this article, I suggest ten ideas for newsletter content that are easy to create and quick to engage readers. Keep in mind that you can later repurpose much of this content on your restaurant's website.

1. Introduce your staff. Many of your staff members have interesting outside interests, hobbies or training. Did your cooks attend a culinary program? What are their favorite menu items? How long have they been with your restaurant? Having an area of your newsletter dedicated to personnel is also a great chance to introduce a new staff member or promote job openings.

2. Read any good books lately? Chances are, your email newsletter subscribers are just as interested in food as you are. Share books or articles with them that are guaranteed to be of interest. For example, if you run a regional Italian restaurant and a new cookbook is published featuring recipes from that region, let subscribers know about it. It reinforces your expertise in the cuisine and can increase customers' appreciation of it as well.

3. Share a seasonal recipe. Your email newsletter may only go out several times a year. Showcase a recipe for a simple, seasonal cocktail or dish created by your restaurant. Don't forget to include photos!

4. Sell your products. More than 57% of family dining restaurants offer retail items for sale. Increase profits by providing a link to purchase directly from your email newsletter. Subscriber-only discounts on these products also have great appeal to readers.

5. Feature photos. Email newsletter readers devour photography and even moreso when those photos depict people. Include photographs of large parties or events you've hosted in your newsletter. This can also help to promote your restaurant's catering or event services. You can even feature regulars where you include snapshots of your favorite regular customers.

6. Offer coupons and discounts. Let's be honest. The main reason customers subscribe to an email newsletter is the promise of special deals. By offering them exclusive discounts and VIP treatment, customers will look forward to your newsletter and keep coming back to your restaurant.

7. Celebrate your philanthropic work. The restaurant industry is one of incredible generosity, with many restaurants helping the community in ways their customers might not even know about. Note your participation in programs such as Share Our Strength or contributions to local food banks. You may even help attract more volunteers in the process.

8. Ask customers questions. Why should you do all of the talking? Your customers are a source of valuable information and offering a poll or survey in your email newsletter is a simple way to tap into their opinions and tastes. You may even ask them what they'd like to see more of in your email newsletter!

9. Answer customers' questions. Solicit questions and feedback from your customers. They may have questions about your food, the history of your restaurant, or other insights that you can respond to as part of a regular newsletter feature. This transforms your email newsletter from a one-way communication channel to a regular dialogue between you and your customers.

10. Promote environmental consciousness. According to the National Restaurant Association, 62% of adults are likely to make a restaurant choice based on how environmentally friendly a restaurant is. A brief article on how you are making your restaurant more environmentally friendly is always attractive to customers.

One of the biggest mistakes in website design is attempting to create a site without a strategic plan or goal in mind. A lack of planning results in misguided efforts and a less-than-ideal experience for your visitors. In this article, I list ten questions restaurant owners must ask themselves before designing (or redesigning) a website. Once you have defined your goals for the website, monitored your competitive landscape, and most importantly, understood the needs of your current and potential customers, you are ready to start designing your website. Keeping your customers top-of-mind in your development process will result in a site that successfully attracts and engages visitors.

1.What is working well with you current website? What isn't working so well? Identify the best and worst aspects of your current website.

2.What goals are you trying to accomplish with your current website? Are you succeeding?

3.What three things do you want your website visitors to know about your restaurant?

4.Who is visiting the site currently? What do you know about them?

5.Who do you want to visit your website? Describe them.

6.How do visitors currently arrive at your website? If they arrive through a search, what keywords do they use?

7.What are the most frequent questions or concerns you hear from customers in your restaurant? How can you address these better on your website?

8.What makes you different from your competitors? What do you like and dislike about your competitors' websites?

9.What information would you like to share with your customers on a regular basis?

10.How can you attract more new and existing customers to your website?

Being a restaurant owner means you are always interested in getting more people into your restaurant, whether that be return customers or new customers, hopefully always a mixture of both. Fortunately, the Internet can help you in your marketing goals and not cost you a lot of money. However, since you will be marketing your particular restaurant, even if it is a chain, you will need to include a lot of locally specific information.

Tip #1 - Directories

A great way to increase your traffic is to focus on local directories that focus on area restaurants. You can provide your information, menu, pricing guide, directions, and other pertinent information so when individuals are searching online, whether locals or visitors they will come across your link. This will allow you to reach more people than otherwise and always put your restaurants name in people's minds when they are considering where they want to eat.

Tip #2 - Links

Links are great for driving traffic, regardless of whether you want local traffic or not. For local traffic you will need to get your link on a lot of other local web pages to increase your area exposure. It does not matter where your links are as long as you have them when it comes to search engine statistics. If you have a lot of links you will get better search engine rankings.

Tip #3 - Keywords

Keywords are also important for your restaurant to get more business. Evaluate what keywords describe your restaurant and services and be sure to include your location in city and state. This will help your information to come up when people are looking for a specific type of restaurant in your area.

Tip #4 - URL at Restaurant

Another interesting tactic that works well is for you to include your domain name on your paper napkins, menus, mints, and anything else that people will see when dining in your restaurant. They will realize you have a web presence and will be able to visit the next time they are considering eating out. They can use your website to book reservations, place a takeout order, read the menu, or simply get directions. This is a great way to keep new and return customers informed and returning.

Now that you know how to get your restaurant promoted online go ahead and start today. You don't want to lose anymore business to the competing restaurants that already have an online presence. Get started immediately and enjoy your increased traffic and sales. Once you see your results, you will wonder why you waited so long to get your restaurant online.

Michael Turner reveals his foolproof way to increase website traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it free right now at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/

Many of you will shake your heads when reading the title of this article. After all, you are in the restaurant business not in the email marketing business, right?

However, let me tell you something that may shock you: you are in the sales business. If you don't sell your food and beverages, nothing else counts, so you need to apply the same marketing and sales techniques that the rest of commercial businesses use.

Email marketing is one of the most effective communication and promotion vehicles on the Internet. 90% of Internet users and 56% of all Americans use email on a regular basis (source: E-marketeer. August 2006). Restaurants can benefit from email marketing because it's fast, direct, cost-effective, and builds loyal relationships with your clients. Restaurant email marketing is perhaps one of the lowest cost marketing vehicles available to the restaurant industry to book tables and to build customer relationships. High quality email campaigns can deliver effective messages that drive action - and clients to your restaurant.

Email marketing can be a tricky proposition. People hate email spam, and often they delete email messages that they don't think are useful or interesting to them. You need to manage your email campaigns professionally and properly if you want them to be effective. This article provides restaurateurs with some practical tips for conducting effective email marketing campaigns that maximize their return on investment.

If you want your restaurant email marketing to be effective, it's important for you to develop a targeted, permission-based database. Email addresses can be collected either on your restaurant's website or at your place when your clients are visiting. Let's look at both:

1. Collecting Emails on Your Restaurant Website: Create an opt-in form on your website so that visitors can sign up for specials and promotional offers. (If you don't know how to do this, ask your website designer to do it for you.)

You may want to offer additional incentives to sign up, such as coupons, etc. In my previous article (Restaurant Online Marketing), I recommended offering discounts or gift certificates as an incentive to capture email information.

Once your visitors hit "send" on the opt-in form, they receive an email confirmation stating that they have been added to your mailing list. If they are not interested in getting your emails, they can simply "unsubscribe."You must always provide your clients with an easy way to unsubscribe from your mailing list if they decide that your emails don't have enough value for them.

2. Collecting Emails at Your Restaurant: In addition to collecting addresses on your website, you can also collect email addresses at your restaurant. Approach satisfied clients at the end of their meals and ask them for permission (on an opt-in card) to get their email addresses so that you can send them information, discounts, coupons, etc. via email.

If you have done your homework and have provided your clients with a memorable dining experience, they will most likely willing to share their email address with you.

This is very important now: Enter the client's information directly on your website form (or ask somebody from your staff to do it for you). If you follow this process, you will collect the information the same way that your clients will enter it directly in your website.

Now what are you supposed to do with all these addresses ?

When you send emails, please try not to make them an obvious sales pitch. People hate to be told what to buy or where to go for a dinner. Instead, use email to communicate with your clients as follows:

1. To promote one specific special event or item in your restaurant. Please don't abuse the frequency of the announcements or people will soon ignore your emails, even when you really have something important to say. I would recommend sending out one message a month or less. Sending more often than that could alienate many people in your list.

Some examples could be a special event or gala hosted to raise money for charity, a special wine dinner, etc. You can also announce holiday specials such as Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.

2. To send a birthday present to some clients. What better way to touch your best clients' hearts than opening an email with your best wishes and an electronic coupon valid for a free meal?

Not only will they appreciate your thoughtfulness but they will also probably redeem the coupon, and bring along lots of family and/or friends to celebrate at your place!

Please notice that if you have the mailing address of your clients, it is better (and classier) to send them a printed coupon with a personal Happy B-day letter or card. You can have these cards pre-printed and just add a personalized note with the name of your client. Use email only when this is the only contact information that you have about your clients.

3. To send interesting information about your restaurant. Perhaps you have a new chef or you've introduced a new line of dishes or desserts, etc. Again, don't abuse the connection by sending trivial information that nobody but you cares about. Always think from the client's perspective: would this information be useful for them?

4. To send discount coupons to a group of clients on some special occasion. Perhaps you've captured information about some of your clients' anniversaries. This is a great occasion to email them, congratulating them and offering a discount if they celebrate it at your place. Other special occasions may be new jobs, promotions, name-days (very popular in some countries. You can use the name dates as a good motivation to bring some of your best clients to your restaurant, or perhaps celebrate "professional days" when you attract clients from the same professions so that they can network and mingle with each other, etc.

5. To ask for feedback. Ask clients about a new dish that you've just introduced, perhaps new decor or some event that you are thinking of. Faithful clients will appreciate the opportunity to give you feedback and participate in the improvement of their favorite restaurant: yours!

As you can see, restaurant email marketing can be used very effectively to bring clients back to your restaurant and keep your place fresh in their minds, so that they will book your place instead of somebody else's when they think about their next meal out, especially if you give them the motivation via discounts or gift certificates.

With your email campaigns, you will also build stronger relationships with your clients and they will have an opportunity to give you feedback that you can act on and improve your restaurant. It is a win/win situation for both of you!

Good luck and happy emailing.

Jose L Riesco brought top proven marketing practices to the restaurant industry, making a unique contribution to this business by creating unique client-focused Strategies. You can find more about his marketing offerings by visiting his web site: Restaurant Marketing Strategies

Email marketing is one of the most profitable strategies available to the online entrepreneur (and offline business owners, too).

Consider this: About 99% of your website visitors will leave without buying anything from you on their first visit. But by creating a great opt-in offer you can at least get their contact details -- and then use email marketing to follow up, build relationships, and turn them into paying customers.

And email marketing is by far the BEST and CHEAPEST way to stay in touch with your customers and build rock-solid relationships with them -- so they'll buy from you again and again! (This is called the "lifetime value" of your customers, and it's extremely profitable.)

Email marketing just plain works! Just take a look at these statistics from PostFuture:

* There are now more than 1 BILLION Internet users worldwide -- and 90% of them use email.
* 70% of users receive opt-in email from online businesses.
* 82% of online buyers have made at least one purchase in response to an email promotion.
* 32% have made an immediate online purchase in response to an email.

With numbers like these, you can understand why I'm always stunned to hear about a business that STILL hasn't started to take advantage of email marketing strategies.

If you're stuck for ideas on how to use email marketing to ramp up your profits, here are 10 proven email marketing strategies to get you started...

Email marketing strategy #1: Develop relationships and establish credibility by offering free information

Sending your subscribers valuable, free information -- such as an authoritative eBook -- will help them get to know and trust you. Once you've established your credibility, you dramatically increase your chances of converting subscribers into lifelong customers.

You can offer anything from a free report to a free trial version of software... whatever you think your subscribers would like!

Email marketing strategy #2: Encourage repeat visits by announcing regular specials

Once you've started collecting email addresses, you can send your customers and subscribers regular updates letting them know what your specials are. Sending regular discount offers is a great way to get your customers familiar with you and your site -- and turn them into regulars who will buy from you again and again.

Email marketing strategy #3: Host "Customer Only" events

Suppose you own a restaurant, and you've been collecting your customers' email addresses. You could send each of them an email invitation to an exclusive wine-tasting evening for regular diners only. Rewards like this are one of the best ways to capitalize on the lifetime value of your customers.

If you own an online business, you can set up a special page on your site that is accessible only to customers -- and then send them an email telling them how to take advantage of the specials you advertise on that page.

Email marketing strategy #4: Include promotions in appointment reminders

If you are running a service business, as opposed to a retail business, you can still capitalize on the power of email marketing by sending appointment reminders to your clients.

If you're a karate teacher, for example, you could send your new clients an email three days before their first lesson, reminding them where you are located and when they need to arrive. In that same message, you could include a coupon that offers them 25% off their lessons if they bring a friend to enroll as well!

Email marketing strategy #5: Follow up with your hottest leads

You can use email to follow up with people you have spoken with personally, but who have not made a purchase. Offer to answer any additional questions they may have, and let them know that you are available to speak with them at their convenience. This can dramatically increase your chances of closing a sale by providing your leads with extra information they're not expecting.

Email marketing strategy #6: Offer electronic "loyalty coupons"

This is a great way to get your existing customers to buy from you again and again. Simply send each of your customers a coupon that they can print and bring with them into your store or use on your website. It is always a good idea to make your coupons valid for a limited time only to motivate your customers to make a purchase from you as soon as possible.

Email marketing strategy #7: Send follow-up offers to your customers

Follow-up offers are one of the most powerful ways to build a profitable business. because they build on the trust you've established to close the initial sale -- and turn first-time buyers into regular customers.

How profitable can follow-up email be? My team once sent our customers a follow-up email introducing them to a product that we thought they might like. The entire process of writing the email and sending it out took about 20 minutes -- and the result was a direct profit of $74,000!

Email marketing strategy #8: Encourage "Send to a Friend" referrals

Email is a great way to encourage referrals because it's easy for people to forward messages to their families, friends, and coworkers. Make sure every newsletter, offer, or eBook you send to your subscribers reminds them that they can forward your message to anyone they think might be interested.

You could even run a promotion that gives your existing customers something for free every time they personally refer a new customer to you.

Email marketing strategy #9: Deliver your product electronically

Suppose you've written a book and you're currently selling paperback copies through your site for $29 each. By creating a digital version of your book -- which is WAY easier than you're probably thinking -- you can simply email it to your customers.

And since you won't have to worry about things like printing costs, warehousing, packaging, and delivery, you can DRAMATICALLY increase your profit margin!

Email marketing strategy #10: Use email to sell your knowledge and create recurring revenue

If you are an expert on a particular topic -- and just about everyone is -- then you've got a successful business based on a paid-subscription newsletter waiting to be born.

Of course there are tons of other email marketing strategies you can put to use. And once you realize just how easy it is to use it to drive sales, you'll be thinking of all kinds of new strategies yourself!

About the Author:

Derek Gehl, Internet Marketing Center CEO and author of the best-selling "Insider Secrets to Marketing Your Business on the Internet" course, helps entrepreneurs start and grow lucrative online businesses on a shoestring budget. Get his proven Internet and email marketing strategies today.

We recommend Googling (and Yahoo-ing!) your restaurant on a quarterly basis. It will only take a few minutes and can provide you with incredibly useful information.

1. Discover where your website appears in search results based on a variety of query combinations. (e.g. "oklahoma city bbq" or "[your restaurant] gaithersburg") Is it time to optimize your website for searchability?

2. Monitor your online reputation. There's no need to obsess over this. But it's good to have an idea about what your customers are saying about you. This could help you gain valuable insights or generate new ideas.

3. Identify any outdated pages or versions of your site that may not have been taken down. It's embarrassing when you've recently redesigned your site and a visitor somehow stumbles across your homepage from 1996.

4. Verify that wherever your business information appears online, it's accurate. If it's not, provide site owners with correct or missing information about your restaurant. For example, sometimes a directory listing may not list your website url. Make sure it appears wherever possible!

5. You may have received some great press you weren't aware of. Many restaurants have "News" or "Press" sections that aren't updated nearly enough. Add links to select online press to help give a more timely feel to your site.

Bonus Tip: See who's linking to you! Enter your url into Yahoo Site Explorer to find out what websites are linking to yours.

In the past the term 'new media' has been used to describe everything from emails to DVDs. With technology moving so fast, particularly in the online world, new doesn't stay new for long. How can you keep up though and what features should you consider adding to your website? New media can enhance your website and encourage your visitors to return and purchase your products or services which is ultimately the goal of most websites. Take a look below at three features which you can add to your website with the help from a specialist new media agency.

1) Interactive online videos
Thanks to websites such as YouTube and watch again services from the major TV channels, most people have watched a video online at some point. Interactive videos can be used in a number of ways to enhance websites. You can use videos to display your products in action particularly if you sell something quite complicated or something which people may not have seen before. If you have a building which provides a service such as a gym, hotel or restaurant then you can give your website visitors a virtual tour or allow them to wander around the space by using interactive technology. Online videos can also be used for more traditional advertising purposes such as banner advertising.

2) Mini websites
Mini sites are great if you have a particular special offer or product which you want to promote only to specific visitors. They are also useful for testing a new feature which you're not yet ready to launch onto your main website. Mini websites offer the ideal solution for targeting very specific sections of your customers. Mini sites allow you to guide your chosen customers to specific offers or promotions away from your main site. You may want to dabble into the world of interactive videos or add a new element to your site but wisely want to test this first and mini sites allow you to see how well people react to a feature before it's officially launched. Mini websites are also a good place to promote online games which have been designed to create a buzz on the internet or for one off competitions or seasonal promotions.

3) 3D photography
Two dimensional photographs simply don't have the clarity and depth that a 3D image offers. Although 2D is the standard for images on most websites, many businesses are now demanding more from their images. If you sell products such as clothes or home furnishings which traditionally people like to touch or try on before they buy then this could put people off from buying online. The great benefit of three dimensional photography is that people can see a product from all angles and get a better idea of the texture and materials used to create the product. With items such as clothing for example, 3D photography is vital as often the front of an outfit can be completely different to the back.

There are many options for how new media can help you develop your website and your business to suit your customers requirements. If you want to see how it can work for you then discuss your ideas with a new media agency.

By SP Turner New Media Agency