Interview with Hillary Bressler, CEO and Founder of .Com Marketing, by Betsy Clementson

Hillary Bressler started .Com Marketing (www.commarketing.com) in April of 1997.  Based in Winter Park, FL. .com Marketing offers services from search engine marketing, search engine optimization, and optimized press releases to pay-per-click campaigns, email marketing, and web 2.0 solutions, Recently awarded the 2011 Women’s Achievement Award for Technology by the Women’s Executive Council, Bressler is a pioneer in the field of Internet marketing. Bressler graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science degree in advertising.  She recently offered insights into her entrepreneurial adventures of the past 13 years.

1.     How did .com Marketing come about?

“ I was working in the advertising department of a TV network, The Golf Channel, in Orlando and in 1995 I read an article about the Internet. I started to get very interested, and then calls started coming in to the network about the Internet, and those calls would be forwarded to me.  Eventually I approached the network about setting up a website and they said “Great, you head it up.”  We launched the website and it became very successful.  Because I had a degree in marketing and advertising, I would write the press releases and take them to the public relations department, but since they didn’t really know much about the Internet I’d have to interpret.  Eventually, because of my knowledge of the Internet, I was recruited away from The Golf Channel at double my salary, but that position was not a good fit, so that was the catalyst for starting my business.”

2.     How did you find your first client?

“ The company that built my website gave me a referral.  The client was an antique appraiser.”

3.     Tell me about building your website.

“ I spent about $2800 or $2900 on my first website.  I wanted a website that looked bigger than the company was, so I went to a professional company to have the site built.”

4.     How did you survive the .com bubble of the early 2000s?

“ I actually was not affected whatsoever.  The companies that were affected were mainly those that didn’t have a good business model behind them.  They spent too much money and made bad decisions, like buying Super Bowl commercials when they hadn’t established themselves.  So the .com crash was really about that type of company.  I didn’t seek out venture capital, because I didn’t want that type of financial pressure.  And if you go public it really isn’t your company anymore – you have to answer to a board of directors and things like that.  My mother always told me “Partners are for dancing.”  Also, I think that advertising agencies that go public need to be cautious, because your goal must be the client’s success.  Going public presents the danger of a conflict of interest.”

5.     How did you compose your first business plan?

“ I haven’t done a business plan since I started the company.  The original one was a 2-page, 90-day plan. I used a small business center for women in business. They had a software program that guided me through the process.”

6.     What advice do you have for new entrepreneurs?

“ Spend time on research.  Ask questions.  Research the competition and their pricing.  Go out to lunch with other business owners and get their perspective.  Sometimes, though, people spend too much time in the research phase and lose interest.”

7.     When you need to find information, what are your research strategies?

“ This is not a strength of mine, but I am good with the Internet and can usually find what I need. However, most of the really good websites charge a fee for their information.  I also do some qualitative research- talking to different people, finding out what is the potential of the market and what the market will bear.  I do like using the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB).”

8.     How do you keep up with trends and best practices in your industry?

“ There are several magazines and websites that I regularly check. I can usually skim through and know what is good. There’s no way that you can keep up with everything, though.  Look at apps alone- this year there have been 11,000 travel apps developed so far.  I like Wired magazine and Inc.  The websites I regularly look at include Mashable and marketingsherpa.com.”