Having the email addresses of your visitors can be a great advantage, but getting this information legally can be hard so we have included, this month, a few ideas on how to get this information easily and effectively. Also included in this month’s newsletter are some links to popular websites and some interesting statistic about the Internet.

* Who is visiting your Site?
* Web sites of Interest
* Statistics of Interest
* Quote of the month

Site statistics can give you some very useful information about the trends of your site. It can also be useful to dig a little deeper into the psyche of your site's visitors so you can get a more accurate picture of who is actually visiting.

I often get asked: "How can I collect the email addresses of people that visit my site?" Well, you can't do it legitimately by automatic hidden means, but there are a few relatively easy techniques.

Here are three quick ideas that you may be able to apply to your site...

#1: Brief online survey
A lot of visitors to your site will be willing to fill out an interesting, brief survey, especially if they get access to the results. For example, the survey might be something pertaining to your industry.

#2: Special offer or competition
People love special deals and prizes. It's an integral facet of human nature. You may want to have a periodic special offer or prize draw that includes a process where your site visitors answer a few questions about themselves.

#3: Newsletter
Writing a regular newsletter can be an enormously powerful way to make contact with site visitors and to have an ongoing relationship with them. The key to a successful newsletter is creating something that is of value to your customers and prospects. During the newsletter signup process you can ask viewers for a few details.

New Zealand Internet News
Editors: Mark Rocket & Nick Butler

Websites of Interest

Every year Net Guide (www.netguide.co.nz/awards/2003/) publishes the best sites produced in New Zealand voted by New Zealanders. Here are a few of the winners from last year:

Best News Service: www.Stuff.co.nz
Public opinion: All the latest news from any locality in New Zealand – easy to use, colourful and great coverage.

Site of the Year: www.allblacks.com
Judges comments: This is an exciting site, which captures the spirit of rugby in New Zealand. It is well laid out and with the best ingredients of today's sites – including regularly updated news, audio interviews and videos together with material fans can download.

Best Employment Site: www.seek.co.nz
Public opinion: A brilliant variety of jobs, something for everyone, helpful, informative and relevant jobs sent to your email.

Statistics of Interest

Marketing Tool. The Internet has become the most affordable marketing tool for a small business, a product or a service. Inc. Magazine reports - of 214 companies, 21.5% have Web sites, 77% identified the Internet as increasing revenues, and 74% reported quicker customer access through the Internet.

Higher Revenues. Small businesses that use the Internet have higher revenues, averaging $3.79 million compared to $2.72 million overall.

Business Research. According to Neilsen Media Research, 75% of all businesses use the Internet to gather information.

Tourism Industry. The tourism industry (the fastest growing industry on the Internet) reported that in 1996 only 3 million people made their travel plans on the Web, but in 2000 59 million made travel plans on the Web.

Quote of the Month

If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.

- Robert X. Cringely, InfoWorld magazine

Remember if you have any queries or would like assistance - please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Have a great month

Kathryn and the Strobe Net team.