Q: Dear Biz Coach, after using your suggested tips on managing the boss, I got a promotion in less than three months. Thank you.

Things really seemed to turn around after I wrote thank you notes regarding our company benefits to key managers.

Now that I know how to market my services in the workplace, do you have any advice on marketing my company online?  How did you learn this stuff?  (Please keep my name and company confidential.)

A: Congratulations. While I have confidence in such tools, I like to self-effacingly tell people I’ve earned every wrinkle and gray hair. Actually, I’ve had the best possible mentors. They didn’t come to me, I sought them out. Whenever someone was successful in ways I wanted for myself, I asked for their input.

Due to time constraints, I normally can’t provide personal counsel but you’ve suggested a great Biz Coach topic.

Yes, it’s true. Online marketing is a good place to be. Internet advertising dollars totaled $16.9 billion last year – that’s a record and it represents a 35 percent increase over 2005, according to Interactive Advertising Bureau.

Forty percent of Internet advertising revenue was driven by search engines; display ads accounted for 32 percent.

The trend is continuing this year as businesses spent $4.9 billion in Q1; the increase was 26 percent over the same period in 2006.

Certainly, such data on Internet spending motivated Microsoft to buy Seattle’s aQuantitive, Inc. for $6 billion.

It’s worth considering the results of several developments:

Viral marketing. As tempting as the Internet is, however, I strongly urge you not to ignore the benefits of traditional media, which drive traffic to Web sites. Millions of potential customers watch TV, listen to the radio and still read newspapers. In fact, whether you want credit-worthy customers or those with sophisticated tastes, it would be a mistake not to utilize mediums with a strong news reputation. Today’s fragmented society demands it.

My sense is that viral campaigns – consumer-generated media or how Internet users spread messages via word-of-mouth in social networking – when coupled with TV and other mediums – build brand equity by affecting consumer behavior and direct-response buying.

A key is to make it entertaining while focusing on the marketing goals. It has to be edgy and grainy-looking, and you can’t divulge the advertiser right away.

Getting people to blog about you is another technique and interactivity with customers is another. In other words, these are all forms of online word-of-mouth advertising.

E-mail blasts. According to data from RightNow Technologies, 73 percent of shoppers want after-purchase follow-up by retailers. How can you convert shoppers into buyers? Some 42 percent of consumers want fast and easy access to information online. RightNow also says 68 percent were motivated to visit a Web site upon getting an e-mail from a merchant.

That would also seem true in order to attract repeat business.

Lyris, a subsidiary of J.L. Halsey, reports it’s true that the majority of large Internet service providers in the U.S. have a low success rate in e-mail deliveries. Readers won’t see your ad, if you use lots of graphics or images. A failure to include a legitimate address prevents deliverability, too, thanks to content filters or junk/bulk folders.

Other factors: The sender’s reputation in mailing history; including its complaint record.

A study by eROI says that attention to detail is critical for strong results. For example, a call-to-action is best when inserted in the e-mail above the fold. Study author Jeff Mills advocates using ALT tags, which are used in HTML and XHTML documents. ALT tags specify which text is to be rendered. Mills says readers are then able to see what the e-mail offer contains. I’ve found this to be especially true when using my PDA.

ROI. Being able to measure your return on investment is critical. iProspect, a search engine marketing firm, says 88 percent of search marketers are now able to track results. That includes overall business results and search metrics.

Trends in direct response. A study by the Direct Marketing Association confirms there is no longer a distinction between branding and direct marketing, and that marketing across multiple channels is in vogue.

For example, 30 percent of those marketers surveyed say they use TV. Twenty-eight percent include a call for action while 26 percent include a Web address or 800 number across all media advertising.

Online search costs. There have important search-cost findings in a study by Performics, DoubleClick’s marketing division. The study tracks the progress of search engine ad campaigns. For example, it points out that Yahoo search costs have decreased. Yahoo’s ad system, Panama, is doing well by targeting ads to the right readers.

The use of keywords is up, but the trend prompted increases in average cost-per-clicks and the average cost per keyword. That’s because the use of keywords increased by more than 50 percent this year in Q1.

Selling to tech buyers. A study by KnowledgeStorm shows 56 percent of tech buyers use three or more keywords when starting their search. Fifty-three percent scan three to five pages in their searches and 53 percent click on sponsored links or paid ads.

Finally, here’s another reason to utilize all channels of marketing: Some 80 percent of tech shoppers admit offline marketing prompts them to search for more information. Forty-three percent of them provide their name, e-mail address, and career information in registering for tech content. But many admit to supplying incorrect phone numbers because they would prefer an e-mail response.

From the Coach’s Corner, even a study by TiVo, the adversary of television advertisers, provides an insight in targeting men. While it concludes that Mother’s Day is more hallowed than Father’s Day – 86 percent of consumers spend more money for mom than they do for dad, and only 51 percent of consumers will observe Father’s Day.

However, the study also shows what dads likely will be doing on June 17: In order of preference, they’ll be watching TV, playing outdoors, working on home improvement projects or reading. The study says 75 percent of men are in charge of the remote control.

If you’re targeting men, do it on TV even though TiVo claims a 17 percent penetration.

To increase odds that their commercials will be seen by even TiVo users, savvy advertisers try to get their commercials scheduled last in the commercial break. Your chances will be enhanced if you use bookends – a 15-second commercial at the start of the break and another 15-second commercial at the end. Other success factors depend on the content of your message and sponsoring the right channels, especially local news.