To market successfully you must incorporate the Internet into your business plan, but be sure to follow these 9 tips for success on the net:

1 Get Sticky
Your site is sticky if it keeps visitors looking and returning to your site. A good way to do this is to have up to date relevant information or “heroin content.”

2 Heroin Content
“Heroin content” is what web usability guru Vincent Flanders calls the information that people would crawl through a sewer for. Heroin is the most addictive drug on the planet so people will do anything for another fix. What does your website provide visitors that they just gotta have?

3 Customize
The unique quality of the internet is the ability to interact and customize content. Customized content keeps them coming back for more. Keep the connection alive by following up with useful information and news.

4 Start Your Engines
Customers that don’t know you will likely find you through a search engine. The trick is getting the search engines to find you first. Invest in good search engine software, or pay someone who knows how it works.

5 Provide Answers
People use search engines to find solutions to their problems. Is your site about solving your customer’s headaches? Most sites are self centered. Make yours customer centered by providing answers to their questions.

6 Hard Sell Vs Soft Sell
Build relationships by providing value before the sale. When it comes time to purchase, you already have an established relationship. Ask yourself what you can do for your customer rather than what your customer can do for you.

7 Navigate Straight
Don’t create a million dollar website with ten cent navigation. Simple easy to follow navigation is far more effective than nonsensical animated graphics. Think Google!

8 Be Professional
Your site reflects your work ethic and the type of service you are likely to provide your customers. Put some time, effort and money into your site to show you are top notch.

9 Don’t Be Professional
People are looking for an original and authentic voice, not the same boiler plate information. Nobody likes stiff and snobby people and they won’t like their websites either. Take advantage of the rare opportunity when someone reads your content to make a real personal connection.

Michael Daehn is the founder of marketingenious consulting and author of the book The Seven Keys to Marketing Genius: The Complete Guide to Increasing Your Marketing IQ available at http://www.sevenkeysmarketing.com and http://www.borders.com

Visit his website at http://www.marketingenious.com