Advertising your website in online directories is a must. This is in order for your customer to be able to find you easily. However, you should not just rush in to advertise in online directories before you have done proper homework on your product and services, particularly in the marketing aspects.

Marketing is the biggest job of a CEO. Without an effective marketing plan you will have no customers. Listing your website in online directories is the final step you should do, after you have done proper marketing planning. Here are some pitfalls you should avoid in your marketing planning.

If you want to make it big in internet marketing you need avoid some common mistakes. Here a list of the top ten pitfalls that trap beginners and seasoned marketers alike.

The problem is you do not realize you have fallen into one of these holes until someone points it out. Marketers tend to be stubborn and suffer from tunnel vision, hopefully these may help you kick a few bad habits.

1. Procrastination

Putting things off is a killer where this career this is concerned. You need a plan and some kind of time management system in place. Prioritize your tasks and keep lists of everything that needs doing. And no matter how much you do not feel like doing something just get it out of the way and never leave it until the next day. Tips, use post it notes, they are low tech but work great.

2.Striving for Perfection

You will likely never have a perfect website or product but you know what? It does not matter. It is important you get started as soon as you can and make your site live. You can tweak things as you go along and improvements will come later but if you try to get everything right before you start then you'll never start. Tip, update your site daily in little ways, it save from doing everything at once and the search engines it too.

3. Wasting Money

This one is important especially if you do not have money to burn. Do not get caught up jumping from opportunity to opportunity or buying everything that lands in your in box. You will be surprised how much you can get for free. Trust me, you do not need half the stuff you see online. Try to control your emotions and think before you buy. Write a list of pros and cons, and make sure that the product or service is essential to you. Tip, look for reviews by people without a vested interest in the product and ask questions in forums.

4. Not Spending Enough

Unfortunately you have to spend a little. It would not be much starting out, but you will need more as you grow. For a start you will need a domain, a host, an auto responder, but these are pretty affordable these days. The bulk of your expenses will be on promotion, usually newsletter ads or pay per click. If you are paying someone to create your product or you are buying resell rights then this is another expense, but you can start with free affiliate programs. Tip, keep your Internet income separate and reinvest. You will be glad you did later.

5. Wrong Markets

This is a tricky one. If you are dead set on conquering a certain market you could end up on a long and expensive journey that is doomed to failure. Do some research first. A so called niche market is a good find but only if this niche will spends. Other markets, like internet marketing, are very busy but internet marketers spend money, and the drive to make money is a strong human emotion. There is a lot of them around.

Tip, find something that interests you and use a site like niche bot site to see how many searches there are for that subject. High traffic and low demand are your goal.

6. Lack of Growth

You must continuously grow yourself and expand your mind. Learning is essential. If you do not you will be stuck with the same skills and ideas and you will never even notice when you are bogged down in complacency and routine.

Tip, put some time away each day to read a few articles and browse some sites. Learning just one new idea a day can increase your potential rapidly.

7. Doing It Alone

You can do it alone but it is harder, and without support you are more likely to fail. It does not have to be much. Online forums, for example, are an amazing source of ideas and encouragement. And with other people, by forming joint ventures or starting your own affiliate program you can really leverage your efforts and do far more than you could ever do on your own.

Tip, visit forums, message boards and mail lists. Lurk for a while until you are ready.

8. Going For The Small Money

You will ever gonna get rich selling $20 items. Seriously, include some higher priced goods and services in your marketing. You will get less sales, but more profits. You would not know if they sell until you try. But do not fall into the trap of selling any old thing because you get a high commission. Integrity is important, too.

Tip, high ticket sales work better with existing customers who you already have a relationship with. Try them as a back end.

9. Separating Life and Work

One of the biggest pitfalls when working is the fact that life can encroach your activities, simply because you are at home. Try to separate the two and have fixed times when you work, and a set area to do it. Work does not have to take over your life, but neither should you let life interfere with your work.

Tip, use a spare room or a spare corner and only use it for work.

10. Be Ambitious

You would not know unless you try. Assume you can do anything, because you can. You may not be ready to do it yet, but do not set up mental blocks in advance. You can create your own profitable items, sell them well, and have others selling them for you. You can operate a range of websites, even host seminars, or teach others. You can.

Tip, recognize excuses for what they are. If you need help, invest in a good self help book.

I hope identifying these pitfalls help you look at yourself differently. Contrary to popular belief internet marketing is not an instant path to riches, but it is an achievable one.

Once you have all the above in place your advertisement or listing in online directories will be a much greater success