Attracting and Retaining Visitors
Do a quick search to see the number of web hosting companies offering their services on the internet. Make a simple chart of who they are, what they offer, their pricing, and how much they assist in creating and maintaining your website. What are the costs? How would you evolve a strategy that makes sense for you as you consider an online business strategy or a combination of in-store and online purchase capabilities?
Types of attractors
The town hall
The traditional town hall has long been a venue for assembly where people can hear a famous person speak, attend a conference, or participate in a seminar. The town hall has gone virtual, and these public forums are found on the Web. These attractors can have broad traffic potential when the figure is of national importance or is a renowned specialist in a particular domain. Town halls have a potentially higher level of interactivity and participation and can be more engaging than sponsorship. However, there is the continuing problem of advising the potential audience of who is appearing. There is a need for a parallel bulletin board to notify interested attendees about the details of town hall events. Another problem is to find a continual string of drawing card guests.
Examples in this category are:
- Tripod, a resource center for college students, has daily interviews with people from a wide variety of areas. Past interviews are archived under categories of Living, Travel, Work, Health, Community, and Money.
- CMP Publications Inc., a publisher of IT magazines (e.g., InformationWeek ), hosts a Cyberforum, where an IT guru posts statements on a topic (e.g., Windows 2000) and responds to issues raised by readers.