Today we are blessed to have a tool as powerful as the internet, but we should not overlook basic marketing techniques used in all business organizations. Marketing is critical to the success of any organization, often the chief reason for their existence, also the chief tool for their survival. How do we get our product to market? Go online and seek success.
Marketing, making sales and especially making customers is the heart of all business, and should be every businesses prime objective. It can be costly, but is mostly essential. However the costs can be closely controlled in internet businesses and that is one of the reasons why this medium is so attractive. Remember though, if you can't measure it, you can't manage it.
Have you ever wondered how can you possibly figure out how to market your Internet business when you're bombarded with so much conflicting information? Lots of "how to" advice applies to many online businesses. Great advice on internet marketing is a diverse assortment of articles written by specialists and appears at http://www.internet2market.com Don't be afraid to read everything available to you.
But avoiding common marketing mistakes will work for EVERY business. If you make even ONE of these mistakes, you're leaving money on the table:
Mistake 1: Believing, "Even a lazy man can earn a fortune, or make money while you sleep, or just two hours a day."
This mistake has a sidekick or two: These are all tempting; they're all dangerous.
But these promises aren't the most amazing part - what's outrageous is the number of people who buy into them with their time, their money and their hearts. Ignore pie-in-the-sky promises you'll have to spend serious time on a serious Internet business. The only way to succeed is to work hard.
Mistake 2: Believing, "You can support yourself online with just a small investment."
This headline captures attention, but that's all it does.
Your Internet business is just that a business. Develop a budget you can afford; don't take a risk you cannot. Almost everyone loses some money along the way to making their business successful. Plan for that. Spend a realistic amount of money to grow your business.
Mistake 3 "Get in on the opportunity you're excited about FAST before it's too late. Or price will go up at midnight tonight" For an Internet marketer, this is probably the worst piece of advice. These pyramid-like "business opportunities" sound too delicious to be true, and they are. Do your homework before you do anything else! Check out everything to do with the offer.
Mistake 4: Having no marketing plan.
With a little help, anyone can write one. The internet is full of free help on Business Plans and Marketing Plans. Outline your battle plan and follow it to the letter. Only make changes after strenuous testing.
Mistake 5: Not getting enough visitors to click on your site.
If you build your website, they will NOT come. You've got to push them there. This will be a major cost. Use as many methods as you can to drive traffic to your site. Promotion is a key aspect.
Mistake 6: Sending out sales and recruiting emails all day long.
Some say marketing is a Numbers Game. Is it? Not exactly: You can calculate the number of prospects you must have to get the number of hits you need to get the number of click-throughs necessary to end up with enough visitors who read your sales message. From there, you can determine how many visitors you need to convert one into a paying customer.
Everyone needs to know their conversion rate, but it's not about pushing tons of warm bodies to your site. It's about getting the RIGHT eyes to examine your offer. Get as many targeted leads as you can afford.
Mistake 7: Using weak headlines.
Weak headlines are deleted or ignored. If they're going to bother to read your copy, you'd better knock them down flat to get their attention first. If your headline makes someone open your message or web page, you're well on your way to making a sale. Learn how to write irresistible headlines.
Mistake 8: Not building a personal prospect list.
The mere fact that someone came to your website, and maybe even skimmed it, is a victory for you! Why let them click away? Make your traffic generating investment worth it's money. Provide an opt-in mechanism on your site so you can follow-up with every prospect.
Mistake 9: Once a prospect becomes a customer, they're yours.
Wrong! People are fickle, they constantly search for greater value, and they won't be loyal to you especially online. On the Internet, it's fast and easy to click onto the next guy's offer and then the next guy's.
Mistake 10: To yourself be true, never misrepresent the true position. Always be honest, it does come through.
This and many more issues covered in some 1000 pages of internet marketing information at http://www.internet2market.com
After all the time, energy and resources you've invested in getting them to purchase from you, don't ignore them after making the sale.
Worst Internet Marketing Strategy
In 2003, Erik brought his first laptop home without a hint of what he exactly wanted to do, except to follow what others have been doing: chat online. He was sold to the idea of online dating, and believing that chatting online is a cheaper alternative than downing bottles of beer at the local pub, at exactly 9 AM, Eastern Standard Time, he hit off his first key: www…
The rest was history.
Today, Erik owns 120 websites and a vibrant company employing 12 people in a plush condominium he also calls “home”. His online dating was a success, having found Jane, but he hit “jackpot” with online marketing. What turned out to be a pastime became a lucrative endeavor for a guy who was not computer savvy to start off with, and whose only concept of a mouse was that little pest chewing up his shoe lace.
Jason, also hit his keyboard in 2003, precisely with the same line of thought, but with a little twist: to charm an Asian. He has a leaning towards Asian women because his mother was half Taiwanese. However, when he got online, he found something he loved to do, so he ventured into online marketing, too.
Four years later today, Jason is still driving his old and weather-beaten pick-up truck, while Erik drives around town in a shiny limo. Did Erik hit the online lotto?
Of course, not. Erik merely uncovered a marketing truth, which Jason and his peers saw, but dismissed as something less relevant. They followed the trail where all others have gone, while Erik stayed and pondered on what was already there, until he found an
Internet Marketing Strategy that works!
Common mistake in marketing online is in believing that traffic is the end-all and be-all of online success. Nothing can be farther from the truth! Long queue of online visitors to your site is a good indication that you have struck the right formula in getting them there where you want them, but becoming popular is NOT the way to go. At some point it can help a lot, however, the litmus test on real online success is on being profitable (while remaining popular).
WORK ON YOUR CONVERSION.
Combine traffic competitiveness with high conversion results and it is game over – in your favor. Unless you learn how to convert as high as you invite traffic to view your site, you won't rake in success like Erik did.
Conversion is leading your online visitors from point A (just viewing your site) to point B (deciding to make a purchase). The initial challenge is on how to get them over to your site, but the killer punch is on making them buy! This is the surest way to make money.
Erik shares these two easy-to-do steps to Internet Marketing for Online Business:
1.) BUILD TRAFFIC REGULARLY. Get more people to view your site; by law of numbers, more viewers = the greater is the possibility for online conversion. Building traffic however is not a spur of the moment activity. It should be a life-long (for as long as you want to build and develop your online business, that is) process. It should have a well-thought of plan - a master plan.
2.) CONVERT AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY. Present your website in such a way that leaving it becomes difficult. Enthrall your online visitors with your designs, but do not be carried away too much. No matter how attractive your graphics are, it's content that can sustain your online viewers' interest, which will make them pay you another visit.
Content however must not only be entertaining but persuasively interesting. It must drive home the point that it is to your viewers' advantage if they follow your “calls to action”.
Build trust. Your website should not “oversell” its message, as this gives rise to skepticism. Provoke interest by providing facts they can check out with other online sources.
Is your site easy to navigate? Nothing else can drive your online visitor away faster than not being able to accomplish a particular task on your site, because of navigational problems.
Track improvements on regular basis. You will only know how far you have gone if you compare yesterday's performance to today's gain. Adjust when necessary. Flexibility has its own power.
In the final analysis, unless you convert effectively, you cannot expect to create a lucrative source of income from online business. Traffic alone, though very helpful, cannot cut the chase from online obscurity to online success.
Best Internet Marketing Strategies proven by successful people who cracked their own online success, dictate that every factor should interplay harmoniously with one another, like strings of a guitar. To focus on traffic alone won't help; in the same token, conversion can't be helped without traffic.
That's how Erik did it, which Jason had to learn, unless he loves to drive in his beat-up truck
Both Chris Biggs & Markus Skupeika are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Chris Biggs has sinced written about articles on various topics from Landscaping, SEO Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing. A long term marketer and export consultant reveals some of the secrets of internet marketing. Has done a great deal of work in the US, China, Japan and Australia.http://www.internet2market.com. Chris Biggs's top article generates over 1300 views. Bookmark Chris Biggs to your Favourites.
Markus Skupeika has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet, Wrinkles and Car Accidents. There are more ways to achieve successfulinternet marketing strategies than you know. Discover the secrets to local. Markus Skupeika's top article generates over 60500 views. Bookmark Markus Skupeika to your Favourites.
Award Winning Translation Software He most notably co-authored a book recently with best-selling authors Stephen Covey and Ken Blanchard called Blueprint for Success.