For close to a year I quite literally spent every spare moment at my computer - nothing had ever caught my attention - and held it - like internet marketing. I bought enough ebooks and software to drown a hard drive! I listened to endless interviews, attended seminars and yes, I 'had my fingers burned' and lost money along the way.
But then I hit upon the REAL deal. Hold on... I'm not about to send you off to purchase this or download that....I've come across many marketers who will tell you 'I just like to help people', right before they push some 'can't live without' product under your nose, along with a price tag you Can live without!
I'm going to share with you some of the pitfalls I've fallen prey to and learned from genuine honest marketers, when it comes to running an online business. No hype, no crap. If I think there's a tool, book or resource out there that really Would help your business, I'll tell you about it - and if it's not free, it will only be here if it's of exeptional value and worthwhile digging into your pocket for.
Does that sound OK to you? if that's a yes, please read on, if, however, you don't want to know any shortcuts for your business, or where to get hold of 'secret' resources the 'gurus' and 'experts' don't want you to know about, then feel to pass on to another lens without the nagging feeling you're missing something...
The Essentials to your ToolKit
The Tools you need to help your business become successful!
There are tools your business just cannot do without and others that aren't strictly essential, but sure do make life easier. You have to add a certain amount of 'hands off' automation to your business, no matter how concientous you are, besides you want more time with your family and for leisure - you don't want tying to your computer, that's what we're all trying to get away from, right?
You must have heard by now 'The Money's in the List!' - that's no word of a lie, you're going to have to work on building a solid responsive email list (prospects, or potential customers, who opt in to recieve information and offers from you by email). If you haven't got started yet, take look at 'The Smart Marketer's ToolKit' below, for list-building tools and resources.
If you have some experience with building a simple webpage and FTP, you could try signing up to one of the many Joint Venture Giveaway Events that are springing up all over the internet and are a great way to build your list. (See links for the latest).
You must have heard by now 'The Money's in the List!' - that's no word of a lie, you're going to have to work on building a solid responsive email list (prospects, or potential customers, who opt in to recieve information and offers from you by email). If you haven't got started yet, take look at 'The Smart Marketer's ToolKit' below, for list-building tools and resources.
If you have some experience with building a simple webpage and FTP, you could try signing up to one of the many Joint Venture Giveaway Events that are springing up all over the internet and are a great way to build your list. (See links for the latest).
The Autoresponder
The 'BackBone' of your Communication Network
Now you're on the way to building your list, you need a tool to send out your automatic responses when a prospect signs up - you need the services of an autoresponder.
There are two main types of autoresponder, the first you upload a script to your server and host it yourself - problem being, if your server's down, then your site's down and you've no way of communicating with your customers! There are of course ways around this - using several hosts for example, but this can become an unecessary expense.
That's why I choose to use a web-based autoresponder service. There are, and have been for some time, two services which, in a lot of marketer's opinion, stand head and shoulders above the rest. The first is GetResponse and the second, which is my personal preference, Aweber (see links). Using a third party site ensures support when you're having problems and a more than respectable track record for reliability.
There are two main types of autoresponder, the first you upload a script to your server and host it yourself - problem being, if your server's down, then your site's down and you've no way of communicating with your customers! There are of course ways around this - using several hosts for example, but this can become an unecessary expense.
That's why I choose to use a web-based autoresponder service. There are, and have been for some time, two services which, in a lot of marketer's opinion, stand head and shoulders above the rest. The first is GetResponse and the second, which is my personal preference, Aweber (see links). Using a third party site ensures support when you're having problems and a more than respectable track record for reliability.
The Smart Marketer's Blog
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byThe Key to your Domain...
...is the right words!
On the internet, keywords are terms or words that relate to particular topics. Keyword research will involve various aspects, such as finding sales oriented keywords or keywords that attract high volume searches.
There are numerous tools available which will help
you identify keywords that are suitable for search
engines, such as nichebot, keyword suggestion tool, overture, Keyword analysis tool and many more.
The challenge here, is to determine which keyword is the best to generate traffic and then, and only then, try purchasing a domain containing these keywords.
For example, you're creating a site all about Border Collie Dogs. You surf to your favorite hosting/domain registrant site and, using their domain availbility tool, type in 'BorderCollieDogs.com' If your first choice is already taken, try making minor changes, eg. by using hyphens or changing one of the words, 'Border-Collie-Dogs.com' or 'BorderColliePups.com' Alternatively, you could register another domain extension - 'BorderCollieDogs.net' or 'BorderCollieDogs.co.uk', depending on your target audience.
When satisfied with your choice, from available domains, purchase from your choice of resitrant. To save cash long-term and if your budget allows, consider purchasing your domain for longer periods of time - one year is usual, but many registrars will give you a discount for two, three or more years in advance. This may seem at first glance to only save a couple of dimes over a couple of years, but if you have many sites on different domains, it can add up to quite a saving!
There are numerous tools available which will help
you identify keywords that are suitable for search
engines, such as nichebot, keyword suggestion tool, overture, Keyword analysis tool and many more.
The challenge here, is to determine which keyword is the best to generate traffic and then, and only then, try purchasing a domain containing these keywords.
For example, you're creating a site all about Border Collie Dogs. You surf to your favorite hosting/domain registrant site and, using their domain availbility tool, type in 'BorderCollieDogs.com' If your first choice is already taken, try making minor changes, eg. by using hyphens or changing one of the words, 'Border-Collie-Dogs.com' or 'BorderColliePups.com' Alternatively, you could register another domain extension - 'BorderCollieDogs.net' or 'BorderCollieDogs.co.uk', depending on your target audience.
When satisfied with your choice, from available domains, purchase from your choice of resitrant. To save cash long-term and if your budget allows, consider purchasing your domain for longer periods of time - one year is usual, but many registrars will give you a discount for two, three or more years in advance. This may seem at first glance to only save a couple of dimes over a couple of years, but if you have many sites on different domains, it can add up to quite a saving!
Smart Marketing Links
Tools and Resources for your Internet Business
- The Smart Marketer's Blog
- Smart Marketer's regularly vistit The Smart Marketer's Blog to find dozens of useful tools and tips for online business and the latest news and reviews from around the globe.
- The Smart Marketer's ToolKit
- The Smart Marketer's ToolKit is a huge resource center for Webmasters and Internet Marketers with many ebooks and software to download free.
Available resources include list-building tools, a growing article bank with titles available for reprint and the opportunity to add your own articles, training materials in the form of ebooks, reports, audio and video, auction resources, offline marketing ideas, free and low cost advertising sources.
You'll also find some cool bonuses, for signing up to 'The Smart Marketer's Newsletter' - The Smart Marketer's Autoresponder
- Learn About the Most Reliable, Easiest, Cost Effective Tool to Capture Visitor Sign Ups. Send Unlimited Follow Ups and Newsletters Increasing Your Profits.
Join Thousands of Others Who've Discovered AWeber's
Unlimited Autoresponders, Follow Ups, Newsletters, and Toll-Free Expert Customer Service with 8+ Years of Experience.
You can even take a Free Test Drive! - The Smart Marketer's Article Writing Success Guide
- Article Marketing is a great way to drive traffic to your website and increase your popularity. Writing articles isn't as difficult as you may think.
'The Smart Marketer's Article Writing Success Guide', reveals tips, tricks and secrets the pro's use to build high ranking backlinks, boost web-presence and transform You into a viral advertising machine, using the power of article marketing! - The Smart Marketer's Resale Solution
- Are you new to Internet Marketing... or have you been around a while, failed to make money, maxed out your credit cards and feeling wholly disillusioned?
'The Smart Marketer's Resale Solution' brings you the most cost effective solutions to aquiring the newest and the best products available online for resale. - The Smart Marketer's ToolBar
- A valuable addition to your 'screen estate', The Smart Marketer's Toolbar places social media resources, free web tools, audio, video, ebook and software downloads at your finger tips.
Plus every month you'll receive a brand new software title - at least a month before general release. Each title comes with either giveaway or master resale rights and on occasion branding rights.
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mymillionmentor2011
Jan 18, 2011 @ 10:45 pm | delete
- Thanks for the informative lens.... Now I have another idea on how i can further improve what i have learned from My Millionaire Mentor 2011
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Junyuan
Jun 16, 2008 @ 1:53 am | delete
- Hey there! Great lens you have got here on Internet Marketing. I find the information very detailed and comprehensive. Great stuff! ;) I've given you a 5 star rating for your lens. I've got 2 lens setup on Internet Marketing - one of them I'll answer all a>, while the other I've covered the 5-steps for newbies to make their first dollar online. Feel free to take a look and let me have your comments. ;) You may also want to add your lens to my Internet Marketing Directory to get more traffic to your lens. Cheers!
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Bill Vick
Aug 30, 2007 @ 2:51 pm | delete
- Very good comments and thoughts. Something I've bookmarked and Stumbled.
Bill
http://www.jobsforseniors.net
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by Riquochet
Riquochet
"No matter where your talents lie, if you fail to motivate yourself, success will never be yours"
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