Weaving The Right Web
First things first: decide on your starting point. What business do you want to promote? Some people think you don't need a website for everything; I disagree. A website helps get your information out to people who you would not normally come into contact with. Then your reach expands via those people you don't even know. You can check your Reach by going to www.Alexa.com and seeing your traffic ranking (hits on your website).
Make sure you put a Free Newsletter with Bonuses form on your pages (autoresponder Form Creator puts a form on the page with a link back to your autoresponder, which then gathers the names and email addresses onto one List for you). It's a Win-Win situation; the person on the list gets free stuff, and you get their contact information so you can market to them.
Determine your target market and start advertising to that market. Sit down and make a list of all the categories of people that would be attracted to your website. Aggressively go after your market, by writing informational articles that will help them...leave them wanting to know more about you and what you do.
You might have heard of Niche Marketing; this is where you 'mine' the field for prospects. If you are the one of the few people in the world who have a website or store that services the Niche Market, you are likely to have some pretty good success. If you are one in a few trillion, you need really good advertising!
The 'formula' that many successful Niche Marketers use is this: build the website, focusing on the Niche Market, and offer a bunch of free stuff of interest to those in your market. Write your articles pointing back to the website and gather email addresses via a Free Newsletter with Bonuses (free goodies) for signing up. Via your Autoresponder, broadcast special offers or news to the list of people who have signed up.
When you have a good list built up, start marketing to that list with special promotions and some information about a special membership that will be upcoming. Start to develop your sales campaign for that membership...detail the benefits of the monthly membership (value vs. price), including free teleconferences, videos, consults--whatever you want to give members to make them feel special and a part of what you are creating.
Make sure you have a Blog on your website so people can read about what's new with you and your efforts. If you think no one is interested, just think about how popular reality tv shows have become! By sharing your insights and good news via your Blog, you are sharing information that may help others. Your readers will appreciate your help.
Once you have your website the way you want it, and have your other necessary pieces lined up, it's time to really ramp up the advertising...radio interviews, tv spots, and referrals from other websites, are all good PR. There are lots of internet radio shows around that give you free exposure to their audience, or at least low cost. You can get on a lot of them for less than $100 and the shows are archived.
Affiliate Marketing is what used to be called Joint Venture business. With Clickbank, you can just add your unique Clickbank ID to the affiliate's products so when someone on your website clicks to buy the product, you automatically get a percentage of the profits (amount varies with each vendor or affiliate program). Why would they do that? Because then they can reach YOUR market, which would normally be unavailable to them. Why would you do that? Because it gives you someone else's product lines to sell and you don't have to carry inventory or collect money from buyers. All in all, a pretty fun proposal.
Attitude
How you approach Life and anything new matters more than you may realize!
What kind of person are you? Do you look at something new and wonder if it will work for you and if it will be fun and profitable? Or are you the kind who just wants obscene amounts of money and thinks you shouldn't have to put forth any effort to get it? Are you one of those who wrinkles up your nose in distaste if someone suggests you try something new? (OMG...you might actually LIKE it...THEN what would happen to you???)
Let me give you a hint as to how to overcome your FEAR about trying something new: JUST DO IT. Quit whining and worrying about it, and just freakin' do it, for cryin' out loud! Especially when you are contemplating something such as I am suggesting with the internet, it can be risk free (for all you worry-wart types out there). Go find the free things on the net, and try it out.
Avoid the ones where you have to pay outrageous "shipping and handling charges" for your supposed free item...that's an internet marketing trick that loads of 'gurus' are using. Do you really think it costs $6.95 - 14.95 to mail a CD??? Use your brain. Also make sure you read the fine print...many of the 'free' offers include (in very, very tiny print) the notice that you will be charged the nominal fee for access to the information (usually $1 to $5, noted in large print) AND THEN $39.95 per month for a subscription unless you cancel it within 7 days!Yow!
Maybe you are afraid that your credit card information is at risk when you order something over the internet. That was very true when it all started, but most places use Secure Socket Technology now, and will safeguard your information. Legitimate internet businesses are in business to make money legitimately...not to steal your information. Are there still scam businesses out there? Sure, but there are plenty of those in the 'brick n' mortar' arena too. It still amazes me that some people think PayPal isn't safe. Here's a clue: it is at least as safe as your banking institution (which a really good hacker can get into and steal from also).
In short, there is no such thing as 'safety' where your money is concerned--get over it. Open up an account that you use only for the internet and you'll be safer. Check your charges religiously. If you need to, dispute your charges through the service. Merchants do not want to get in trouble with the pay services they are using, and will usually do their best to satisfy their customers. Note: this does not apply to crazy people. If you try to scam a merchant, the pay services WILL KNOW by your behavior, and will side with the merchant.
So, examine your Attitude regarding what you want to do regarding your new internet business. How do you know if you will like it, if you haven't given it a fair trial?? If you really want to break into making money on the internet (and don't want to tap into the porn market), you will have to learn how to make it all work. Put your Fear aside, and chunk the learning down into little pieces that are much more manageable.
If you want to get a jump-start on it, hire someone to teach you the basics, or set it up for you and teach you how to run it--like ME! (go to http://www.V2200.com or contact me via email at precisionadlink@gmail.com ) (This is known as the shameless self-promotion 'Call To Action" portion of the website, which you will also want to have on YOUR website...if you want business).
