Internet Disconnect - Taking The Mystery Out Of Successful Internet Marketing
Ever wonder why so much that goes on online seems so detached from the real world
? It's not, really. It's just that so many marketers have put a faade over what is really going on. The truth is, doing business online is no different from doing business in the street.
If you have become frustrated marketing online, join the club. I tried earning an income online for three years before I finally found out what really works. You name it, I tried it. It took me awhile before I discovered that much of what I had been told or lead to believe was a half-truth at best.
Through all my stumbling and bumbling, I finally decided to stop doing everything that wasn't working and look at how successful people built businesses before anyone ever heard of Internet marketing. What I discovered came as a bit of a surprise!
So what was my earth shattering discovery?
Doing business online is no different from doing business on the street! The medium is different, of course, but the same principles still apply! Despite all the hype about SEO, back links, magic software, magic systems, etc., I found out that what worked before the internet came into being still works. In fact, the big boys and girls in internet marketing are masters at using the same basic "old school" methods!
Principle #1 - Branding
Through my research I began to see the importance of branding. Take a look at some historic examples of successful business branding from the past: Sears promoted and branded Sears. J.C. Penney promoted and branded J.C. Penney. Henry Ford promoted and branded Ford. Sam Walton promoted and branded Wal-Mart! The name became synonymous with the product. And guess what? You'll find that most honest internet marketers will tell you that this is a vital key to on-line success!
Now consider this: Every Internet Guru brands himself. Every Internet Guru has his or her own website and marketing platform. Every internet Guru puts their own name ahead of whatever it is they are offering. Get the picture?
The bottom line is this: If you don't brand yourself and put your name out there ahead of your product or opportunity, there is nothing that will separate you from all the Mary's and Joey's out there doing the same thing!
Principle #2 - Advertising
Are companies still advertising? You bet they are! Do they advertise on the internet? Of course they do! And the truth is, all the modern methods employed in internet marketing (SEO, etc.) are nothing more than advertising tools that are designed to fit the medium. If you have been involved in online marketing, I'm sure you have noticed that there is a lot of stress placed on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). However; the reality is that all the keyword research and SEO tools in the world won't do much for you unless you actively and purposely drive traffic to your business.
Now here's what separates the winners from the losers when it comes to online advertising. It's called brand name recognition. You'll notice that when top marketers are promoting a product or service, their name appears somewhere in the pitch for the product. It may be their own product, or they may be an affiliate promoting someone else's product. It doesn't matter. Somewhere along the way they make sure to associate themselves with the product. In fact, the most successful marketers use the product to leverage attention to themselves in one way or another. If you want to be successful doing business online, branding and advertising must go hand in hand.
Principle #3 - Establish Business Relationships
Successful businesses, both past and present, have established good business relationships with their customers. The most important first step in this process is to capture information about your customer! Back in the "good old days", offering a mail catalogue or a mailed sales notice was one method businesses used to capture their customer's information.
Where internet marketing is concerned, not much has changed in this regard. Capturing your prospective customer's information is still a vitally important part of on-line marketing. I'm always amazed at the number of people who use mailers trying to sell a product or promote an opportunity, while completely disregarding the importance of introducing themselves to their customer and capturing their customer's information for the purpose of adding them to an opt-in mailing list.
Ask any on-line Guru, and if they are honest, they will tell you the same thing. If you aren't building a mailing list, your chances of success are very slim. With no mailing list you're only making a small fraction of the sales you could be making and you're leaving 95% of your profits on the table.
Every Internet Guru also has a network of JV ( Joint Venture) partners, business associates and affiliates that help them promote whatever it is they're promoting. I'm sure that if you have spent much time online, you've had a Guru or two show you how they made overnight fortunes on one Click-Bank product or another. What you aren't being shown is the huge number of affiliates and partners they have driving traffic to their business. That's right. The real Gurus have learned how to network with other marketers. That's the part you never hear! They built networks of contacts and built business relationships that enabled them to succeed!
Principle #4 - Persistence
The big guys in internet marketing got big because they never quit. They have been at this for at least 10 years. They continually set out to purposely research what works and what doesn't. They educate and inform themselves. They stay updated on the latest trends. If you look at any success story, persistence is a large part of it. The world simply doesn't reward quitters. The world rewards those who have focus, determination and persistence. It doesn't matter where you start. What matters is where you finish. And where you finish is largely determined by what you do with your time.
I used to work for a self-made millionaire. His name was Floyd Ganassi. Maybe you never heard of him, but you may be familiar with his son, Chip. Just google Chip Ganassi Target Racing. You see, I got to see firsthand how successful people get things done. They work hard, they do their homework, they don't quit, and they learn to build real business relationships.
Principle #5 - Give Something Back
I'll let you in on a little secret. If you really want to be successful online, just become as serious about the success of those you partner with as you are about your own success. It's not about selling the product. It's about selling you. When people realize that you are genuinely concerned with helping them succeed, they will become faithful followers because they know they can trust you. And they'll spread the word for you. This is how real business is done in the real world. It's also why the vast majority of those trying to make a living online never make it. They've simply never mastered the art of identifying with their audience.
It's important to find out what your customer wants and needs. This information is of vital importance when it comes to building real and lasting business relationships. Once you have that information, offer them something of real value. Don't try to sell them something just for the sake of making a sale. Put yourself in your customer's shoes. Ask their opinion. If you offer a product or service, ask them for feedback. You'll be surprised at the positive response you'll get when you let people know that what they think is important to you!
Principle #6 - Get a Coach
The number of people who get lucky online and accidentlally fall into a fortune is very small. The chances of this happening to you are less than the odds of your winning the next big lottery prize. Why? Because when you get involved with internet marketing you are dealing with professionals and those professionals are your competition. Let that sink in. You are dealing with professionals and those professionals are your competition.
If you want to be successful in the highly competitive online marketplace, you must find a mentor. Get yourself a personal business coach. This could easily be #1 on the list, but I've saved the best for last. Finding a good mentor who has had success at this will save you tons of frustration. A good mentor will be a teacher at heart. You don't need someone whose only interest is to sell you another product. You don't need a mentor who only wants to see how deep they can get into your pocket. A good mentor will recommend useful marketing tools as an aide to help you grow your business, but they will never promote these as a substitute for a real education in online business.
So now what? STOP buying the latest download gizmo and START learning. Get coaching. Find a mentor, someone you can trust. Let them teach you how internet marketing really works. Don't just go buy a book. Find a real live breathing human being that you can relate to and have them teach you how to conduct your business. If you visit my blog it won't take you long to find out who my coach is. I'm just grateful that I found her!
by: Timothy Miller
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