ModCloth is cut for me!

If you can get me to click an ad that's on the side or top or bottom of my browser as I'm surfing through the interwebs, then you're doing something right.

Well, ModCloth did just that. A few years ago I was presented with an ad featuring some cute frock, and it got me. I clicked through, and I've been shopping there ever since.

ModCloth does an excellent job at internet marketing. They shower their current customers with email love and they reach new customers through well targeted ads.

For their devoted customers, they send all sorts of helpful emails, as you can see from my inbox below. They send emails with contests, emails to let you know what styles are most loved, emails when something you've liked is almost sold out or when something you've liked has been restocked, the all-important email with offers, and other emails to keep you constantly intrigued. It's stuff you like though, so you actually read the emails, unlike some other emails that just come in and you never bother to open.

For potential new customers, they will find you. Their marketing team has done a great job to direct their ads and find new business.

And, let's not forget word of mouth marketing because ModCloth has plenty. They make it really easy to share products with friends via email or social media, and for anyone who happens to come to their site from word of mouth marketing, ModCloth makes sure to greet them with bright colors, free shipping offers, and top-rated and new items first thing on the site. If you scroll down, below the fold, they have other helpful and engaging components like "Modstylist's picks" and "voice your choice."

So yeah, maybe I'm biased because I think their clothes are cute, but then again, I have a lot of friends who also shop there now, so ModCoth must be doing something right.

Alison Gresik: A Web Marketing Example for Artists, Writers, and Coaches

Alison Gresik is a writer and creativity coach currently based in Vancouver, BC, whose work I've encountered through the literary journal I work for, Image. Since many of our blog posts focus on larger companies, I thought I'd take a look at what constitutes excellent web marketing for a personal brand--and Alison's creativity coaching site immediately came to mind. I'd describe her approach as one that's perfectly tooled towards "web-based word-of-mouth."  

Alison's website (self-titled, with a byline of "Design Your Art-Committed Life") has a bifold purpose: to promote her services as a creativity coach and to showcase and promote her writing, published in Alison Gresik's Field Guide to Truth and Beauty and the upcoming Pilgrimage of Desire. As a creativity coach Alison clearly needs to gain the trust of her clients even before they make the commitment to sign up for coaching, and the warm, personal, self-revelatory blog posts she publishes on her website are a wonderful way to make a connection with potential clients. One of her most widely shared posts details her journey through what she calls "walking depression," an illness that took her longer to acknowledge because she was still functioning (in the practical sense) as normal. Alison's story of her illness and her recovery is a relatable one to many creative people, and whether online or in-person, making yourself vulnerable to others is a way to disarm them and create a bond. Plus, when you feel like you know someone, you're more likely to want to talk them up, whether in person or on the web (as I'm doing right now!).

Speaking of connection, Alison's website always shares the love with a sizable list of shout-outs and links at the end of every post. She never fails to point out other creativity coaches, artists, friends, and articles that have inspired her--which works on so many levels that I don't know why more bloggers or web-based entrepreneurs don't do it. More links is better for SEO, and it's rewarding for readers who are looking for a variety of content. Plus, giving others recognition builds relationship and goodwill with them, and builds an image of being confident, curious, and interesting to third-party readers.

Compelling Content

Men's Health has expanded their brand and their online presence significantly through their website, menshealth.com. It provides a resource for all things men's health related and updates their website throughout the day.  Various elements make Men's Health my favorite "online marketing website."  I personally enjoy their health related articles pertaining to diet.  They also provide related advertising next to each of their articles.  The placement of their advertising varies depending on the media being viewed: side bar, header and flash.  They do a great job of marketing their mail subscriptions in between pages that offers a "thanks but no thanks" button to pass the offer and move on the desired webpage (see photo).  

The video and workout content provides a one-stop-shop for all things men's health related.  They offer free content as well as paid content.  The mix provides enough to draw back daily visitors and enough paid content to draw mail subscribers.  My view of a successful website has changed since the inception of Twitter.  Twitter funnels all relevant information one would like to consume which pushes companies to provide compelling content other than "how to buy my product/service."