Some of the world’s greatest writers and filmmakers made a name for themselves telling stories about men and women. The irony is that men and women attract as much as they struggle in their relationship. Make no mistake, men and women had always been different.

A few years ago, back in the 90s, the majority of internet marketing was, more or less, directed towards men. Statistics showed that very few women knew or wanted anything to do with the internet. And those few women, if anything, wasn’t really worth the time and effort to reach out to. Back then women internet users weren’t worth your marketing dollar.

Men on the other hand were already spending time sitting in front of their PCs running on Windows 95 or, the latest, 98 with brand new white keyboards and trackballs. In those days you’d think the Internet was designed by men and for men. Internet marketers knew they had to advertise to the male gender if they wanted to be able to sell anything.

Fast forward to 2005. As of five years ago, researchers are singing a different tune: that women under the age of 65 are as much hooked on the Internet as the opposite sex. Some of them are even more Internet-savvy than men their age! Take note this was in 2005. At the time there was no Farmville, Restaurant City, Pet Society, Cafe World. There were only a few social media sites on the Internet. “Tweet” was just a word used to describe how birds call out to each other.

This is crucial information for the internet marketer, small business owner or service professional advertising his products or services online. These days you need to put into consideration whether you’re selling to men or women when you advertise online.

Here are some tips. According to recent study, men use the Internet to…

– Download audio files
– Buy stuff from auction websites (eBay)
– Check sports news
– Buy and sell mutual funds, stocks, bonds
– Write on their blogs
– Make reservations in restaurants, hotels
– Read the news

On the other hand women use the Internet to…

– Read religious texts and other spiritual information
– Get health advice
– Join support group websites

This information is based on a 2005 study by Pew Internet and American Life. In 2007, Forrester group also noted that men still spend the most time online. But many experts expect that to change as Flash and online games have become more popular in recent years.

What does all this say about internet marketing in general?

If you wish to market to women, as a service professional or small business owner, you must remember that women prefer simple colors and personality. Your website should make them feel right at home, as if you’re simply talking to them over the kitchen table and handing them good advice. For men, your marketing efforts should be more informative, more features-oriented. They don’t care much for pretty colors, but they do care about their time and prefer to receive the information they want right away so they could move on to the next thing.

As an internet marketer, how you present information to your audience matters as much as the information itself. This is what you ought to know about men and women and the world of modern internet marketing.

Author Bio: Jon Orana is a Canada-based internet marketer and social media specialist who writes informative blog posts on the subject during his free time. You can visit his website at Calgary Internet Marketing for more info on his services. You can also visit his website Calgary Internet Marketing for more articles and tips on internet marketing.

Category: Internet
Keywords: Jon Orana, internet marketing, internet marketing for men, internet marketing for women