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10 Tips to Reach Wired Women

By the end of 2000, analysts¹ say women will outnumber men online. The Web is no longer the playground for young, male techies. If you are targeting a female audience, the Internet is the place to be. Here are 10 things to keep in mind when trying to reach women online:²

1. Women have both the greatest spending power and the most enthusiasm for the shopping experience. They make the majority of online healthcare decisions, retail purchases and financial choices for the household.
2. However, women still have big concerns about security and privacy that can prevent them shopping online. Ecommerce sites targeting women should include visible privacy statements and guarantee transaction security to make women feel comfortable closing the sale.
3. Sites with a high concentration of women tend to fall into the following categories: toy retailers, women’s portals, greeting cards, retail savings, and health sites.
4. 56% of women online are mothers and like most moms their kids are their first priority. They are looking for web sites that will help them help their children and make them smarter mothers.
5. Working women find the Internet an invaluable tool, with email being their preferred means of communication. They also go online for news, research and financial/investment information.
6. Both mothers and career women want to make every minute count - the Internet is the newest time-saving household appliance. Women-friendly sites need to be fast and easy to use.
7. Women also use the Internet to escape and take some time for themselves at the end of a long day. The 24/7 convenience of the Net is key to indulging in late night shopping for cosmetics, perfume and other little luxuries.
8. 45% of women regularly go online to bargain hunt, shop and browse for unique merchandise for themselves and their families. These opinion-leaders are eager to be the first to discover new products and immediately share these discoveries via the powerful Internet grapevine.
9. Men focus on transactions while women thrive on making personal contacts. The Internet is the first medium that enables advertisers to establish actual interactive relationships. Sites wanting to attract a loyal, female audience should include high degrees of interactive, current content and personalization.
10. Women are natural community builders. Women, much more so than men, are sharers and joiners. They love to talk and hear the opinions of others. To further cement a female audience sites should build online communities around personal interests with chat rooms, expert forums and lifestyle content.

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31 percent of the visitors to iVillage and Women.com are men!

Where do Women Go Online?

According to a November 1999 Media Metrix survey, these are the sites with the highest concentration of women visitors over the age of 18:

eMage Site of the Month

Banner Women

A banner network designed to help women-oriented web sites with limited or no advertising budgets earn free advertising/promotion that will reach women online.

eMage Tip of the Month

Use value-added extras like contests to enhance women's interest on low involvement sites or entertainment sites. According to a NetSmart Research survey, women, more so than men, like contests (51% vs. 23%) and they are much more interested in new products (79%). Only 21% are interested in games -- use them as a last resort.