Getting Ready for Marketing on the Information Superhighway

review by John Drake

Effectively mining the Internet's marketing gold mine means having the proper tools and using appropriate methods. And that is where packages like Getting Ready for Marketing on the Information Superhighway prove useful. Given the content, it isn't likely that you'll pick up this tome for leisure reading (or listening/viewing, since it includes audio and video cassette tapes). But if you intend to market and promote your products or small business by electronic means, you'll find the tips in this training program of value.

Billed as a "non-technical" training program, Marketing on the Information Superhighway is a practical resource that can inspire new ideas and approaches to marketing strategy. Course #1 (90 pages) is "An Introduction to Making Money on the Information Superhighway" by Russ von Hoelscher (dubbed "America's foremost expert in small & home business marketing" by Direct Selling Magazine). Sections one and two are appetizers that cover the Internet, major online services, and BBSes; since this material is copyrighted 1995 (the ancient era, by Internet standards), these appetizers are a bit stale. They're better read as a history of online development than as a primer on the state of the electronic world today.

Section three, though, gets into the meat of the course: marketing techniques. It covers online marketing strategies, marketing methods, effective sales materials, and successful ad copy. This section is particularly useful because, rather than dwelling on theory, it is replete with concrete examples and tips.

Course #2 (400 pages) is an international version of courseware that is marketed in the US as "The Electronic Riches." Like course #1, it starts out slowly with a basic introduction to computer BBSes/the Internet and, for those not yet online, gives tips on how to get connected. The bulk of the course, though, provides comprehensive coverage of effective marketing techniques. Especially helpful for putting the course concepts into practice are the 69 checklists. These conveniently summarize the marketing techniques of course #2, classified by general topics that range from methods and planning/strategies to copywriting tips and follow-up techniques.

The oversized binder I received for review included two audio tapes ("Introduction to Profitable Online Marketing") and two videocassettes ("Electronic-Marketing-Explosion!-Super Seminar"). The videotapes were apparently PAL format, however, since I was unable to play them (I got sound but no picture) on three different NTSC VCRs. If you decide to buy the videotapes, be sure to verify the format.

All-in-all, this self-training program could prove be useful (and profitable) to entrepreneurs and small-business owners -- assuming that the techniques covered actually work. The reason I find myself skeptical is that, after reading about the potentials for success with electronic marketing, I was eager to check the Net and see how the companies that are selling this course had put the principles into action. But there was no homepage (or even e-mail) address in the promotional materials or in the manual, and in spite of more than 10 minutes spent with various search engines, I could find no trace of Getting Ready for Marketing on the Information Superhighway or its publisher Nu Pacific on said superhighway. So, if electronic marketing is such an effective and profitable sales medium.

A case of "Do as I say, and not as I do"? That's hardly a convincing sales message.

For more information about the Getting Ready for Marketing on the Information Superhighway self-training program, contact:

In Japan
Ingram International (phone 078-857-9794, fax 078-857-2870)

In Australia
Nu Pacific International Pty Ltd. (phone +61-07-3349-6255, fax +61-07-3349-6242)