Last time in “The Macro View” we dealt with the big picture,
what the INTERNET could do for you. This week we are going to
look at what YOU can do on the Internet. You may remember that
you were left with these instructions:
Here's what you need to do to get started
1) Learn as much as you possibly can. But don't let this slow
down your involvement
2) Create or find a product or service that you can promote
wholeheartedly.
3) Jump in. Get yourself a solid Internet presence.
4) Get busy! Market that product.
Sounds rather simple doesn't it. In fact it requires a lot of
effort, but the steps are simple enough and the rewards are
certainly worth it.
Let's look at these four points in detail.
1) LEARN AS MUCH AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN
"The great breakthrough in your life comes when you realize that
you can learn anything you need to learn to accomplish any goal
that you set for yourself. This means there are no limits on
what you can be, have, or do." --Brian Tracy
We can never know too much about marketing on the Web. If you
get to the point where you think you've learned it all, just
wait a couple of days and the rules of the Web will have changed
sufficiently that you will need to relearn what you thought you
already knew.
The basics can be learned by doing a lot of surfing and
employing the search engines. Do a search using the words
Internet Basics, marketing, Web knowledge, etc. An even better
approach is to search specifically for the area of your
interest.
The public school systems offer great night school programs that
will teach you not only the basics but more advanced subjects on
marketing, web design, advertising, html, scripts, forms,
graphics, and much, much more. These courses are often priced
quite reasonably and in some cases will even give you credits
toward further education.
You can also get a good education in what's 'working on the Web'
right now by subscribing to some of the thousands and thousands
of ezines that are out there. Many of these electronic
newsletters (like this one) offer tons of valuable information
for FREE. You are also likely to see advertisements for the
latest and greatest innovations in marketing. That's okay too.
You want to stay abreast of what's happening.
I must have subscribed to 50 or more ezines. While I certainly
can't read them all I like to scan through them regularly to see
what's new and to pick up on some marketing advice.
Find a mentor or buddy who won't mind helping you out in your
efforts. These days many of the domain providers or their
representatives offer ongoing assistance to their customers.
This is just good marketing sense. Chat rooms and newsgroups are
also a great way to tap into other people's knowledge. Joining
an affiliate program can also give you the unexpected benefit of
great marketing advice that can be universally applied.
There are certain subjects that you may have to reach into your
pocketbook to acquire specific knowledge on. I offer two
suggestions regarding this: 1) be careful, there are a lot of
sharks out there, and 2) don't be afraid to spend a little money
to save you a lot of time in learning.
This may seem slightly contradictory but what it really means
is; if you need to know something and you've found a reputable
source with whom you are comfortable then it does make sense to
spend a couple of dollars. “Formal education will make you a
living; self-education will make you a fortune.”-- Jim Rohn
2) CREATE OR FIND A PRODUCT OR SERVICE THAT YOU CAN PROMOTE
WHOLEHEARTEDLY
“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of
creative effort.”-- Franklin D. Roosevelt It's a very good idea
to have a keen interest in what ever it is that you are selling.
It's really not advisable to jump into some affiliate program
simply because of the promise of riches. All of the great
marketers enjoyed what they were doing long before they achieved
noteworthy success.
The best product or service to offer is one of your own creation
or at least one that you personally had a hand in developing. If
you are not able to do this then take the program that you are
with and make it personal to you. Try to be unique. Find a niche
area that most people are not already covering.
“There is one thing stronger than all the world, and that is an
idea whose time has come.” --Victor Hugo
3) JUMP IN. GET YOURSELF A SOLID INTERNET PRESENCE
"You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done.
It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message,
therefore, is clear. Do it! Develop an appreciation for the
present moment. Seize every second of your life and savor it.
Value your present moments. Using them up in any self- defeating
ways means you've lost them forever." -- Wayne Dyer
A solid Internet presence does not include one of those free
pages with address’s that read something like this
www.imtoocheaptogetmyown/members/freepages/myname.htm. Now I may
be exaggerating slightly but not much. My very first webpage
address was 48 characters long. Yes, the page was FREE, but the
results reflected that too (one $5.00 sale). They’re okay for
personal pages and fooling around, but not if you want to be
taken seriously. You really must acquire your own domain. No
ifs, ands or buts about it!
Once you have; decided on a product or service, reserved the
site name, and made your best deal on domain space, you’re ready
to start marketing. The next order of business is to start the
design of the site. Should you do it yourself or hire a
professional? This is a tough question to answer. Some people
have a natural artistic inclination, some don't. Some budgets
don't allow for anything but doing it yourself. In that case the
decision is simple.
I am a big believer in having the best possible first
impression. You might consider hiring a professional to do the
default page and create a template for further pages that you
will make on your own. That being said, there is also a huge
feeling of satisfaction in doing the job yourself from scratch.
My personal experience included learning how and doing it all
myself in the beginning when I could afford the time, and later
hiring a professional (who did a fabulous job), after my time
became better spent focusing on the marketing.
Another absolute necessity for the serious web marketer is to
publish an opt-in newsletter or ezine. This is how you stay in
touch with your prospects and of course remind them to come back
to your site. It could be something as elementary as alerting
people to changes on your site or simple price updates. Or you
could produce a full blown Electronic magaZINE. Again, you
should be subscribing to other ezines for ideas and information.
Sidenote: Always seek out and obtain an authors permission
before using all or part of their work. Plagiarism does not pay!
A lot of EZINES offer the reader information of great value for
FREE. This accomplishes two things.
1) It establishes you as an expert, or at least a source of
expert information.
2) It encourages the subscriber to keep reading your ezine
regularly. Of course when they read the information they can't
help but see the ads for your products or services.
Many successful ezine publishers will accept paid for ads from
related non competing businesses. This can add a very nice
profit center to your online business. A popular variation of
this is to swap ezine ads with your competition. This will
increase your exposure to other readers who may not have found
your site otherwise.
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." Walt Disney
4) GET BUSY! MARKET THAT PRODUCT.
"The first requisite for success is the ability to apply your
physical and mental energies to one problem incessantly without
growing weary." --Thomas A. Edison
The number one priority above all else is to get traffic. You
can have the prettiest site, the best ezine, the most education,
and the most fantastic product on the Internet, but it will gain
you nothing if people don't get exposed to it. ‘Build it and
they will come’ might work in the movies, but on the Internet
you need TRAFFIC!
There are many more aspects to managing a successful Internet
presence and we will discuss them in future issues. These are
the basics, the starting point, the Micro View.
You probably have figured out by now that I am a big believer in
motivational quotes. I‘d like to leave you with my all time
favorite.....
“DESTINY is... not a matter of chance, it is a matter of CHOICE;
it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing ...to be
ACHIEVED” William Jennings Bryan
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