We’ve all had the thought of defeating our "opponent" in the name of glory and success. In the marketing "game" there are no morals. You can do whatever you like with no consequences, and the owner takes full advantage of that emotion within us.

Does that sound like smart marketing to you?

It definitely does to me. Let’s not mince words. Marketing these days is a battleground. It’s a full-scale, anything goes combat zone out there. And if you don’t agree, you are probably getting killed (or about to be).

The next time you’re doing a product launch, think about how video game marketing is done and “swipe” their marketing ideas.

The main point to take home here is that there are more ways to show proof of success other than just showing testimonials. Videos work great, even with digital products, so start using them.

Also, make sure you understand the psychology of your buyer like the people who did the video game marketing for Fallout 3  - they understood the resident “killing” emotion that all of us savages have inside us. :)

1. Know your audience.

Make sure that your audience is one that would be interested in the features and benefits of your website.  At the same time, do some research before assuming that your audience wouldn’t be interested.

2. Know your product.

Not every product should have a website based around it.  Mortuary services seems to me a rather bad idea for a website.  Cotton swabs too seem like a bad idea.  But, if you can build a character or story around the cotton swabs, then it might be the perfect way to add depth and interest to a dull product. (No offense to any cotton swab makers who might be reading.)

3. It’s expensive.

Even with the advent of Flash, Silverlight, and other technologies that vastly cut costs on design and development, it’s still no cheap beast to tame.  With artwork, programming, and interactive design, even the smallest of websites will take time and money to produce whether you do it in-house or have a website design company do it.  That being said, if customers enjoy the website and it worX, it’ll be worth it.

4. Don’t expect direct revenue.

Directly selling products and services that are not retail oriented is generally a bad idea.  Although, if you go so far as to create a fun factor around new products or services, there’s probably room for a low-cost price tag to help reclaim some costs.  The best idea is to give the website logins and membership free to your customers and perhaps, more importantly, to your potential customers.  This push of authenticity and good will can pay dividends for years to come.

5. It will be fun.

The whole point of this is to inject fun and entertainment into your brand/company.  If you don’t have fun making it, no one will enjoy playing it.

6. Thinly veiled marketing sucks.

Don’t create a website so you can stuff your product/service down your customers’ throat.  You seem manipulative and customers feel used.  No one wins.

7. They’re already interacting with you.

If customers take time to visit you're website  then you are already interacting with them.  Slap on a forum or blog and you’ve got a community of engaged people who are loyal to your brand.

***Warning*** Do not just tack on any portion of this experience.  Everything must be intelligently measured and decided on before you take any steps toward adding features.  Blundering through a campaign adding every Web 2.0 buzz word you can think of only makes you look bad.  Promise quality and deliver quality - just like you do with your products and services.

So, be cautiously optimistic about creating a website.