THE EDGE DAILY, 8 Disember 2008
By Aishah Mustapha
If you type the word “kartunis” in Google or Yahoo!, the chances are you will see at least one link to the website of Raja Ahmad Kamil on the first page. Raja Ahmad Kamil, or Ubi as he is fondly known, is a freelance cartoonist, caricaturist and designer who has clients all over the world, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the US. What is significant here is that he has not spent a single sen on advertisements in print or on television in those countries. Yet his clientele is growing by the month. This, as they say, is the power of Internet marketing.
Global Internet penetration is currently at 21.9%, which roughly means that one out of every five people in this world has access to the Internet. The Internet has come a long way from its first website in 1991 towards influencing our lifestyle and the way we do business. Its impact is expected to grow even more, and from being a social tool, it has become an important business tool as well.
In the light of this, the Women Entrepreneur Network (WENA) held its second ICT conference last week, with the objective of imparting knowledge on how to reach the borderless global market.
Currently, the cost of advertising online is still much cheaper than advertising in the media. In the wake of the current economic crisis, this is the perfect time for aspiring entrepreneurs to capitalise on online marketing.
The key takeaway from the WENA conference was that marketing online can be cost effective if you know what your niche is; what separates your business from the others can translate to what separates the winners from the losers.
According to Ubi, who was one of the presenters at the conference, there are many cartoonists who draw Muslim-based characters, but there are not many who make their presence felt online. He knew this gave him an edge he could build on. He purchased the domain UbiKartun.com for RM45 in early 2007 and at the end of that year, he got his first big break when a client from Saudi Arabia requested Muslim-themed cartoon designs. Ubi has since diversified his portfolio. You can catch his comic character — Physics Geek — in Facebook, under licence to the application Physics Geek Game.
With the advent of Web 2.0, social networking and social commerce sites have been driving the Internet as a platform for businesses. Social commerce is defined as user-generated marketplaces, such as eBay, where users can set up virtual shops and sell their products online.
Carol Fung, another speaker at the event, shared her experiences on how she is making money online. An established arts and craft retailer on eBay, Fung also holds a day job in office administration. Selling her products on eBay has allowed her to earn money in foreign currencies instead of just the ringgit. Fung markets her virtual shop in eBay marketplaces in the UK, the US and Australia. She is now accredited as an Education Specialist Trained by eBay for online sellers.
Besides her virtual shop, Fung also provides training programmes for maximising sales on eBay. She fondly calls her business on eBay her primary job instead of her office work.
It is obvious that online marketing has made the task of expanding internationally nowhere near as arduous as before. Strategising and positioning your products and services require a lot of effort but the Internet medium has made the process a lot quicker with just a few clicks. This is the time for Malaysians to soar and take full advantage of the power of connectivity. Our much-loved slogan “Malaysia Boleh!” is in need of an introduction to the rest of the world.