In the internet age, having an online marketing campaign should be one of your top priorities. That’s a broad, sweeping statement, but it’s a broad sweeping truth. I don’t care if you’re a Fortune 500 Company or the owner of auto shop in Podunk, Wisconsin, you need to be online, and you need to have an online marketing campaign.
The days when you could get by without having an internet presence might not be dead, but they’re definitely circling the drain. Virtually everyone has a cell phone these days, what we still refer to as a cell phone is really a mobile connection to the internet. People are constantly connected, and people are constantly using this connection to find the place and things they want to find.
If you don’t have an online marketing campaign in place, you are not going to be there to find. If you aren't there to find, you are going to watch your business eventually dry and blow away. You need to be online, and you need be online with a strategy in place. I’m going to show you how to create a simple, effective and inexpensive online marketing campaign.
The very first step is to make sure that you have a nice, professional looking website. You'd be shocked at how many businesses pay good money to put cheap looking websites online. Good, attractive design is important, and it won't cost you extra. It should also be consistent with the look of your business in general, including stationery and business cards.
The next step is to make sure that your website is search engine optimized. This is a big subject, but the basic idea is make sure that your site makes it as easy as possible for the search engines to put you at the beginning of their results for the keywords that your customers will be using. You can have a beautiful website and an excellent business, but without search engine optimization, you won't get anywhere.
The next step in a good online marketing campaign is to make sure your website is capturing potential customer’s email addresses. You'll need to set up an auto responder service to make use of this, but they’re cheap and easy to use. Just make sure you offer your customers some reason to give their email addresses. It may not be using money, but it is still a transaction, and you need to give good value.
This allows you to interact with customers and give them multiple chances to buy from you, in addition to keeping your business in their minds. The next time they want what you offer, you’re going to be the first person they think.
Once you have all that in place, you can experiment with using online advertising. There are lots of ways to this, from banner advertising, which is generally ineffective, to sponsoring a blog or website, which can be expensive, to pay per click, which is usually the best place to start. Pay per click puts a small ad related to whatever a person searching for next to their search engine results. You see this every time you use Google. You can use this to get visitors to your site, and if you have followed the above steps, turning them into customers.
There you go; you should be well on your way to you first online explode your business and put money in your pocket. Don’t wait to get started, because your competition might already be working on it.
Which internet marketing experts should you turn to? These people, who have been tagged as “gurus” by some, have more experience in the IM world than others. But, it seems like there’s a new “guru” on the block every day. So who should you trust to teach you the ropes?
Here’s a check list on how to evaluate internet marketing experts. Have they actually made money doing the things they are advising you to do?
Ironically, many internet marketing “experts” are most expert at promoting themselves. They'll tell you, for instance, to stay out of the “internet marketing” niche because the “experts” have it cornered. Instead, they'll say to go into less competitive niches. But, if you press them, they will have to admit that they've never been in any other niche themselves.
Are they transparent?
The “gurus” that I like best are the ones who will show you what niches are actually making them money. They’re not afraid they’ll lose their precious “position” to someone less experienced than they are. This transparency allows you to evaluate them wisely.
Do they give you a step by step plan?
The internet marketing experts who are best at teaching newbie and internet marketers are those who can provide detailed, step by step plans for success.
Do you trust that they have done what they say?
It’s really easy to say they made “a million dollars” from a system when you are on the internet. You don’t even have to keep straight face. You can also Photoshop PayPal and Clickbank screen shots to “show” that you have made a lot more money than you really have. So, when finding a guru to follow, you should have a gut feeling that they have done what they've said they've done.
Is their plan something you feel you can do?
There are many kinds of internet marketing experts. Some recommend setting up a network of blogs and doing a ton of writing. Others use pay per click marketing in their strategies. Some urge you to go offline and contact business owners to build websites for them. All of these strategies can work. The trick is to find a guru who can teach you the strategies you are most comfortable with yourself.
Do they say you can do it with “no work.”?
Let’s face it, there’s very little in life that you can achieve with no work. Every once in a while, someone hits the jackpot. Whether it is in Las Vegas or online. But, for the most part, making money of any kind requires work. If you see a guru promising a “no work “system, run away fast.
Is it ethical?
There are a number of ways you can make money on the internet that some can live with and others find downright unethical. Make sure you are able to live with yourself in the morning before you start any internet marketing scheme.
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