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If you think you are seeing more people with gray hair and wrinkles lately, you are not hallucinating.

Consider these facts:

• Every 7 to 10 seconds another American turns 50

• The leading edge of the huge Baby Boom generation is turning 60 in 2006

• People over the age of 55 are the fastest growing demographic group on the Internet

• 42 percent of those over 55 say they've bought something online.


If you have not looked at your website and email marketing with these facts in mind, you may be missing a very large boat.

Here are some tips on making your Internet business appealing:

• Develop a relationship with your older customers. Older people will not do business with you if they do not trust you. Building trust takes time...losing it requires only an instant. Expect to communicate often and well with your older clients. Focus on serving them, not on selling them. Genuine concern for their welfare will create enormous good will for your business.

• Avoid all hype! Older people have seen it all. They do not respond to exaggerated claims or to any sort of hard sell. Do not rush them...they will not believe you when you say the world will come to an end if they do not buy your product right now.

• Become an educator. Older people love to learn. They also read...a lot. Include helpful articles on your website; make your ezine an educational piece; turn your advertising materials into vehicles for useful information.

• Make your website attractive but easy-to-read. Use sans-serif fonts such as Arial in 12 point or larger. Better yet, provide a way for readers to increase the type size or explain to them how they can adjust type size in their browser.

• Make sure that there is plenty of contrast between background color and type color. Dark on light works best but reverse type will work too as long as the contrast is right. Read an article on color contrast from Lighthouse International: Color Contrast and another about making text legible: Legibile Text

• Double check your materials for spelling and grammatical errors. Although fewer older people completed college than younger people today, their grammar and high school educations were very good. They learned to read and write correctly by studying not only English but also Latin. Most spent many hours diagramming sentences. They can spot poor grammar and spelling and usually disapprove of marketers who are sloppy.

Don't miss out on the huge market of older consumers that is coming your way. Show respect and make sure your marketing materials are considerate and easy on the eye. With a little thought, you too can ride the age wave successfully.

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