Are you a good or bad planner? Do you cringe at the very mention of the word ‘plan’? If you do then you are not alone. Thousands of online (and offline) marketers find themselves in the same position.

A good many of these people may well have never considered a plan of action as part of their daily marketing activities. Others may think they are too busy to spare any time for planning. Still others may feel they do need to plan, can see the benefits to be gained from planning, but don’t think their skills or personality are suited to this task.

It seems perfectly clear to me that without planning, the long term success of any business,large or small, is unlikely to be realised!

A plan need not be elaborate. It need not be detailed, but you should at least commit something to paper.

Start off by taking a positive view of planning. Don’t just look at it as ‘another boring chore I’ve got to do’. Say to yourself ‘This is my plan for success.’

Also consider the following benefits to be gained from good planning:

* you can meet deadlines

* you can meet or even exceed your targets

* you can create a feeling of achievement for each step you fulfill

* you can monitor and control your marketing activities to greater effect

* you can initiate improvements

* you can achieve personal growth and success

Once you have accepted that planning for success is a positive thing, it is then time to think about your goals. And just what do you want to achieve? Why are you marketing this or that product in the first place? Do you know what your short term and long term aims are?

Answering these questions accurately will enable you to take a big step forward to achieving whatever goals you ultimately set yourself. So what are your goals? And how do you plan to achieve them?

The great thing about targets is they give you a way to measure your performance and give you a sense of direction – you are going somewhere. It is important also to consider that in order for your goals to have substance and meaning they should satisfy the following criteria:

* they should be achievable

* they should

be measurable

* they should be challenging though NOT impossible

Here are THREE achievable, measurable and challenging goals that Bill, an Ezine owner, has set himself:

* to get 200 subscribers within the first three months following launch* to ensure that AT LEAST 70% of subscribers are still in place after 6 months* to increase the number of subscribers by 800 in the year following the initial 6 month target

What three goals relating to your business can you think of that meet the above criteria? Write them down.

Now let’s look more in depth at each of Bill’s goals to see how he can evolve an Action Plan that will enable him to meet each goal in a systematic, cost-effective way.

In order to work out the Action Plan he should consider a set of specific questions he should ask. These questions are:

When should this happen?How is it going to be carried out?Who is going to do it?How much is it going to cost?

GOAL ONE:To bring in 30 subscribers

WHEN: Within the first 30 days

HOW: By advertising in Ezines, on PPC Search Engines, via opt-in email lists, and via other media such as Classified Ad sites and also offline via magazines and periodicals

WHO: In the first instance Bill himself and then by others as the subscriber base grows

HOW MUCH: The budget is under $50 a month

Bill’s next step is to start to put together the Action Plan in more detail. This is a very important stage of the overall plan because it focuses on specifics:

* how many hours is he going to devote?

* which specific advertising media is he going to use and how often?

* which advertisements is he going to use?

When getting down to the nitty gritty of executing his plan, Bill will try to keep in mind:

* his daily advertising routine (stick to it)

* whether he is keeping to the budget

* his target

When considering your own marketing campaign always think to yourself that EVERY day you follow your Action Plan is a step closer to the achievement of your goal!

Copyright 2005 Robert Evans

Bob Evans has been doing business online since October 2000. He utilises a powerful marketing action plan of his own to generate targeted traffic to any website: http://www.market4profit.net/marketing-action-plan.php

Setting up your own online business can seem extremely daunting. Whether you’ve already got a business and want to sell products and services online or want to start from scratch with a new business, there is a great deal to think about.

However, despite the economic doom and gloom, there is real money to be made from web-based businesses. But where do you begin?

If you’re starting from scratch, the first thing you need to decide is what you’re going to sell and who you want to sell it to. The Web is a global marketplace, but that doesn’t mean your business has to be international. Some of the most successful internet businesses target tight niches. When making the decision about what type of business to start you’ll need to research the types of products and services that are in demand and the competition for supplying those to customers. The ratio of demand to supply will give you an idea of the likely profitability of any business idea. After all, there’s no point in starting a business that’s not going to make a profit, is there?

If you have expertise in a particular subject or area, then that’s a great place to start. If there’s a subject you’re passionate about then start there. Focus on what you can offer that’s unique. It’s much better to offer something unique in a small niche market than try and compete with a thousand other companies in a huge market. Remember the bigger the market the more competitors you’ll have. And on the Web, the chances are high that they’ll all know more than you about the techniques associated with marketing and selling on the internet.

If you’ve already got an offline business that you want to promote on the Web, or have products or services that you want to sell on the internet, then you’re a good part of the way there.

However, whether you’ve already got a business or have a good idea for starting one, there’s a great deal to do to be successful on the Web. You have to come up with a domain name and register it, build a website (or get someone to build it

for you), and find someone to host it. If you want to sell products or services directly from your site, you’ll need to build-in online shopping facilities, and if you want to accept credit cards, you’ll need a merchant account .

Then there’s the promotion. It’s all very well having a website out there in cyber space, but if no-one knows it’s there, you won’t get any customers. So you have to promote it, on and off-line.

How do you get visitors and how do you ensure they are in your target market? The most cost-effective way of generating targeted traffic on the Web is by ranking highly in search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN for keywords related to your business. Unfortunately there are thousands of Web marketing professionals out there who are intent on making sure their sites rank highly, meaning that the chance of a relative newcomer getting a top 30 ranking in a search engine is small. Without a ranking in the top thirty on the major search engines you might as well be invisible.

Finally, and most importantly, once you’ve got traffic, how do you convert a reasonable percentage of it into income? How do you build the kind of trust and credibility online that keeps visitors coming back and spending money?

Phew! If you weren’t daunted before, you will be by now. Fortunately, none of the problems outlined above is insurmountable. It’s hard work sure, but very rewarding. And you don’t have to do all the work yourself, there are plenty of solutions which will do lots of the hard work for you, like the one I use.

The important thing, as with any project, is to start and then to keep going. Imagine your website as a snowball running down a hill. It starts off very small and has no momentum. It takes hard work to roll it and help it grow, but once it reaches critical mass it gains a momentum of its own, starts to roll by itself and grows exponentially very quickly. Your web business is that snowball.

Kenny Hemphill is a website owner and marketer. His current http://www.the-hdtv-tuner.com/about-this-site.html- snowball is gaining mementum fast.

This article can determine the success or failure of your internet marketing strategy. You see, there is ONE question anyone getting started with a home based business opportunity NEEDS to have the answer to:

“How do I make money on the internet in the fastest, easiest and most effective way? How can I do this while working with what I love and helping the people I like to be associated with?”

The answer is simple. You follow these 10 steps:

1. You must focus on a specific target market that you love and want to work with for life.

This makes it easy for you to stay motivated, it brings you more fulfillment in life, and it lets you make a very nice living in the process. Target a market that you would love to work with, even if you didn’t get paid for it. Pick a group of people you can relate to.

2. The purpose of your home based business should be to help your customers, not take their hard-earned money and run.

That’s useless in the long term, and if you’ve been thinking about it you might as well drop the project. Please make sure that you understand this universal truth deeply enough. If you do have a sincere desire to help your customers, everybody wins and you’ll be a lot more successful.

3. Your main goal is to build a big database of lifetime customers from your market who trust you, feel grateful to you and value your recommendation.

A one-time sale is worthless. A good relationship with loyal customers is worth a fortune in your internet marketing strategy. That’s the most valuable thing any business can have. The key here is to build your large list of “lifetime customers who trust you.” Achieve this and you’re set for life.

4. You do this by selling your prospects something that solves their common problems and helps them achieve their dreams.

It doesn’t have to be a full-length book, it doesn’t have to be complicated, but you must have your own product to build this relationship. Reselling someone else’s stuff is not enough. Giving something away is not enough. By having your customers pay YOU for the solution, you will gain their trust right away and they will listen to you from there on. Your front-end product must make your customers extremely satisfied.

5. You need to create a proven, optimized sales process and automate as much as possible.

You need a powerful sales letter that converts the maximum number of prospect to paying customers. If you don’t want to lose money, it’s vitally important that you test each step of your sales process to reach the best results. You need to test the effectiveness of your sales letter, your ads, your price and your back-end strategy. Once you know which ones are winners you can easily optimize your results and pyramid your profits.

6. You should start a reseller program and let other business owners recommend your product to their lists.

Many have a great relationship with a lot of people, and you can tap into that relationship. All you have to do is contact these business owners personally and offer to make a joint venture deal where you split

the profits. Many will be thrilled to accept your offer, and it will bring you a ton of new customers in a very short time.

7. You want to build your valuable lifetime customer database fast and free.

You can do this in several ways, but there are a few easy methods that you should combine: free publicity, viral marketing, joint venture deals and advertising on a large scale. The key here is that as long as you break even or make a profit on the first sale, you can basically build your database of loyal customers as large as you want instantly and for free. From there on it’s all profits.

8. From here on you simply continue to build your relationship with your customer list by helping them solve their problems and achieve their goals.

Do this by recommending information, products and services that will help your customers. All you have to do is create joint ventures and reseller agreements with other business owners to make money in the process – you split the profits. This is your back-end strategy, and this is where you make the REAL money.

9. Always, always over-deliver on your promises. Take extremely good care of your clients and subscribers.

Treat them like you would treat your best friend. Again, your main goal here is not just to “make money” but to actually HELP your clients. Never recommend a product to them that you wouldn’t recommend to your best friend. Keep their interests in mind always and satisfy their needs and wants. Do this and you must succeed.

10. Continue with this process from here on and you’ll make a fortune.

Keep selling your front-end product to add new lifetime customers to your list for free. Keep helping them reach their ultimate goals by recommending additional good, related products. You’ll make a very nice living and enjoy life to the fullest, all while doing what you love. And you’ll make a lot of new friends in the process.

That’s it.

Do you realize how powerful this system really is? Follow it, and you cannot fail. Take your time to think about it. It may sound simple, but that’s really all there is to it.

A lot of people try to complicate things too much, only to end up confused and frustrated. Don’t let the simplicity fool you – When you have all these steps in place, you MUST succeed.

Now, it does take work to set everything up. No business is easy to start. However, if you follow this plan you will have a great time in the process. And the rewards are MORE than worth it.

Remember my friend, the hardest thing is always getting started. So do it now! You’ll remember this day for a long, long time.

Think big.

A great future filled with freedom and a richer life lies ahead… Go for it!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

© 2005. Reprint freely, with this resource box included. Martin Franzen is the author of The Internet Marketing Master Plan: How To Turn Your Hobby Into $100,000 A Year Online. If you’re interested in making a lot of money from your home based business while doing what you love, read his exciting FREE report now at: http://SiteSelling.com

If you have been in a web business for quite sometimes thenyou probably know about the never ending tasks of makingnew improvements on your website, this is actually a veryexciting things to do for me to know which improvementsmaking me more sales or loss. From that experiences welearned to become wiser and be able to work smarter and notharder, it’s all about innovative thinking my friend

Now let’s start:

1. You can put a “P.S.” at the end of your ad copy.

When people don’t have much time to read all of your adcopy, sometimes they just jump to read the P.S. Because alot of businessman put the urgency or summarize all thebenefits on their P.S.

2. Create a free e-book and give it away to your visitors.

Better yet, if you can create a re-brand-able e-book, I’msure that a lot of people will put your e-book on theirwebsite to give away also for their visitors. This is oneof the best proven ways to generate traffic virus.

3. Create multiple streams of profit with your website.

Don’t just rely on one product/service to sell, but you canalso sell your competitors products, join affiliateprograms or even sell advertising space. This way you cantarget a lot of visitors from range of various interests.

4. Create new products or services when it’s necessary.

In point 3, I’ve mentioned about multi streams of profitfrom several products or

services on your website. Butremember to add new products or services when you have astrong need for them, too many choices can overwhelm yourvisitors and they won’t buy, don’t fill your website with aproduct or service which is not related to your websitetheme.

5. Sell a backend product on your website.

You can do this by taking them to a “Thank You” web pagethat includes other products you sell. Sell otherproducts/services that will add more values orfunctionalities to your main product.

6. Add a “human touch” on your web site

People will be reminded that you’re a human and not just aweb site, you can also add your photos, a profile, familylife, even an audio/video files. This will make people morecomfortable to do business with you as a person and not awebsite.

7. Add a “Contact Page” on your web site.

On your contact page you can list your phone number, emailaddress even postal address, you must give your visitors asmany options as possible to contact you. Remember that aweb business is all about CREDIBILTY! This will help you togain more credibility!

=======================================================

Author’s Bio

=======================================================

Samuel Indrajaya is the leading expert on building

a profitable online home based business from scratch.

He is also the author of the best selling e-book

“A Step by Step Home Based Business Roadmap to Massive

PROFITS!”

You can visit his website here:

http://www.Home-Based-Business-Roadmap.com

Oh no… are people leaving your site without buying?

Get used to it! In fact, an average of 99% of your first time visitors to your sales pages will leave without buying or even contacting you.

But don’t get upset. Get richer!

Use what’s called an exit pop. Now, I know pop-ups can be incredibly annoying. But they WORK. Almost all the people I know doing over $1 million each year online use exit pops in strategic ways to seriously boost their bottom lines. Here are four ways to make money from people leaving your website, using exit pops:

1. Get them on your list.

Because most people will not buy from you at first visit, it’s extremely important to have a way to follow up with them. After all, they’re already interested in what you have. That’s why they’re at your site! So these people are worth their weight in gold to you.

But how to follow up? Well, here’s where your ezine comes in. Your ezine list is your key to ongoing income and guaranteed future earnings.

One of the best places to get people on your list is actually as they’re leaving. It’s kind of like the “Columbo” strategy of your website. (What did he used to say on the way out the door? Something like, “By the way…” or “Oh, one more thing…”)

These exit pops often work BETTER than a pop-up that appears as soon as someone lands on your site. Why? You give the visitor a chance to get to know you first, before you ask them for their email. Let them take a look around, grow to trust you and your website.

One of my exit pops says, “Congratulations… You’ve Won a FREE Subscription!” It has an eye-catching graphic representing my ezine and gives a raving description of it as well. Also the opt-in form is right in the box, which you always want. Don’t make folks have to click around to sign up. If you’d like to see what mine looks like, go to EzineQueen.com. You’ll see it when you leave.

From what other marketers are sharing, the “congrats” exit pop is one of the all-time best performing exit pops for building your list.

2. Ask them WHY they’re leaving.

Why not find out the reason they’re leaving in the first place? For example, one of my exit pops says, “WAIT – Can I ask your advice? Please tell me the biggest reason you’re leaving without giving my ‘Boost Business With Your Own Ezine’ system a try. I’d really appreciate it, and your answer is completely anonymous. Thanks.”

I looked for the most popular answers and then made some adjustments to my sales page. For example, several people said, “I don’t have a website yet.” So I revised my sales copy to include the fact that you don’t need a website to get started publishing an ezine.

Knowing this kind of information will help you make a LOT more sales down the line!

There’s a great tool that makes doing these exit surveys super

easy, and you can see a demo at their site: www.askmyezine.com

3. Offer a down-sell or alternative.

Yep, that’s right. Offer me something for less money. After all, I’m leaving anyway, with my wallet! Example: My “Boost Business With Your Own Ezine” system is a physical product, but for several months I tested a down-sell of a digital version at a lower price with less bonuses. I also configured the exit pop to appear only if the person had been on my sales page for at least 30 seconds, so I knew they were serious about the product and not just on my page to take a peek.

The tactic did pretty well, making me about an extra thousand bucks a month that otherwise I would not have gotten! That won’t make me rich, but it sure helps cover my take-out sushi habit. I’ll be testing some other down-sells like this one too. (Remember, it’s all about trying new things and seeing how they work for YOU. That’s what’s so fun about Internet marketing!)

4. Send them to someone else’s site.

Really! But not just anyone’s site. Send them to a site with products or services that are related to yours, AND that will give you commission on any referred sales! That’s called an affiliate program, and there are millions of companies doing it on the web. If you don’t know of any websites that are related to yours and have an affiliate program, search the two biggest directories: ClickBank and Commission Junction.

Just remember to check out any company before you start sending people there. You don’t want to taint your reputation by sending folks to a site with shoddy products or lousy service.

I’ve made several thousand dollars a month simply by referring my readers and web visitors to other websites. It’s just one of my tactics. But some internet marketers make all their revenues with affiliate programs – they don’t sell any of their own products! It really works.

Don’t Get Blocked!

It’s a fact that almost half of all Internet users now have some type of pop-up blocker. The good news is, whenever a new technology comes out, there’s one close behind it that will make it obsolete.

There are several scripts for making pop-up boxes that cannot be blocked. Of course, they have to keep evolving to keep up. Right now, my friend John Reese, who makes millions of dollars each year online from dozens of different websites, recommends this one.

Just remember to please use these tools ethically! Don’t drive people crazy with 10 different boxes appearing as they leave.

Choose one, use it strategically, and test, test, test. I guarantee if you try just ONE of these tactics above, you’ll see your income rise!

© 2005 Alexandria K. Brown

Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” is creator of the award-winning ‘Boost Business With Your Own E-zine’ system. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for her FREE how-to articles and FREE audio class, visit http://www.EzineQueen.com

Hoo boy, I am sticking my neck out here! Ready for the chopping block I am – but it needs to be said and here it is: “Marketers – wake up! Get back to basics and get original”

So what is this all about?

The other day I got an e-mail from a marketer: Intriguing subject line, but also a little disconcerting. “Leon, Don’t ever trust me again”. Wow, this is really thin ice stuff. I must say it really intrigued me. A powerful statement and unique. Methinks that this marketer had a lot of faith and kudos’ to him for a very original opening headline.

So what did I do? Of course I opened the mail and had a look!

Why did I open it? It was a mail from one of my trusted marketing acquaintances in the marketing world. It was from someone that has built credibility and trust with me over a period of time. And yes, the headline or subject hooked me – why should I now suddenly not trust this marketer?

Yes it worked

Now comes the crunch – why, o why must everyone copy – likesheep, I tell you.

In the next 24 hours I received another bunch of mails with the same heading/subject from other marketers! O dear me – how un-original can you get – A flock of sheep following a leader! My unsubscribe button worked overtime. It now was becoming an irritation – not an attention grabber.

Come on marketers – it worked for the original creator of this headline. It is a unique headline – like a signature, but for the originator only. Not for copycat purposes.

What has happened to

creative marketing? What has happened to re-packaging? What has happened to original thinking? What has happened to you, dear fellow marketers? I am using a specificexample of an e-mail in this article, but unfortunately ithappens all the time. I see this happening continuously – the same marketing messages/headlines/subject coming through from different marketers. It is so obvious.

The originator of this created a great attention grabbing headline/subject for the marketing e-mail. It also worked forhim because he had already built a trust relationship with his customers. Because it was so unique, it stood out – like a brand.

Other marketers that copied this – word for word I must add – fell flat on their faces – it worked against them as it was obvious that there was not even a hint of originality in their thinking. By all means copy the method, even the manner,but copying the exact words as well ?

So please marketers – be wary of what you copy. And when you copy someone’s message please check the spelling.

Please marketers – be original, be yourself, take a little time to be creative – repackage the message to fit your style andyour list.

Please marketers – be aware that you have customers on the other side and not just a list of names that needs to be fed regurgitated copy.

Please marketers – stop copying and start marketing to your customers!

Leon Williams has been involved in corporate internet marketing for many years. He is passionate about the psychology behind web marketing and has now decided to live and work his dream by training entrepreneurs on the applied techniques of web marketing psychology.

Are you a business owner that plans to market on the internet? Perhaps you wish to start selling things on Ebay that you don’t really need anymore. Maybe you want to start selling things at an online auction for profit. If you are going to start selling things on the internet, you may want to get some internet sales training first.

Internet sales training is a must for anyone who wants to make a profit with any type of online sale. It doesn’t matter if you are a business owner, or if you just have a lot of stuff to sell such as: antiques or household items. Internet sales training will teach you how to sell from online sites (Ebay) or from your own business website.

With internet sales training, you can learn how to make a tidy profit through different techniques. One of the main techniques is marketing and advertising. With internet sales training, you will learn how to promote you product or business and get it noticed. This way you can make a sell easier. This is through good marketing and advertising! You will also learn how to make your advertisement seem more attractive and learn how to market it better through creative ad lines, slogans, and designs. You will also learn how to take attractive photographs that will make customers more interested in what you are selling.

Internet sales training will also teach you to

build a profile as a person with good feedback from previous customers. An example of this can be found on sites like Ebay. Anyone who sells on Ebay has a profile of their ratings and customer comments, both positive and negative. People are more likely to buy from a seller with positive feedback. You will learn how to get only positive feedback and how to build good customer relations with the proper training.

You can take courses on internet sales training online. There are also some short seminars offered from time to time at various locations throughout the United States. Some college campuses even offer short courses on the topic of internet sales. All of these courses can vary in price so be sure to do your research. Lastly, you can research the topic at your library or purchase a book on the subject.

Internet sales training can mean huge profits, but a lack of training can mean total failure. There are a lot of people who use internet sales to supplement their income. Many people have found it to be a successful endeavor and have made a descent income with it. Before you try to sell on the internet, give training some thought.

Jay Moncliff is the founder of http://www.manualdeventas.net a website specialized on Marketing, resources and articles. This site provides updated information on Marketing. For more info visit his site: Marketing

The concept of residual income or passive income is probably one of the most important concepts you will ever learn in your lifetime.

I know. This is a pretty big statement.

Well, it’s a pretty powerful concept.

Anyone that can master the concept of residual income is on their way to a pretty comfortable lifestyle. Simply put, residual income occurs by building a system one time that can produce a recurring stream of revenue once the system is set up.

This income arrives on a regular basis. It can occur on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis. The frequency depends on the business system itself.

What’s so great about this is if you are willing to work hard and build a residual- based system in the initial phase, you can reap the benefits from this one-time labor for years to come. If you look around you, you will see examples of residual income all over.

For example, when you pay a internet service

provider, web host, telephone bill, or cable TV bill; they are receiving a regular recurring income for providing their service to you. The valued members of a website provide the owner with a regular, recurring monthly income. In return, they are provided with valuable information.

Residual income is what you want. Unfortunately, there are many opportunities available that really do an injustice to this concept.

Seriously speaking. Doesn’t it make sense to make a recurring sale of a product rather than a one time sale?

Of course it does.

Yet so many people just don’t get it.

Master the concept of residual income and you’ll master your destiny.

Copyright 2005 Romel Wallace

Romel Wallace, Jr. is the founder of http://www.makeachange.com – “Make A Change by Associating with Programs that Really Work”. Subscribe to Make A Change Success Tips (MAC) at subscribe@makeachange.com to find out how. You may freely distribute this article if left intact including this notice.

What does the internet owe me for all my hard work? What am I entitled to in return for the money I spend advertising my business every month? What, in the grand scheme of things, do I rightly deserve for giving 100% of myself to the success of my networking ventures? Not a single thing.

Don’t misunderstand me here. The question is not “What would I like to see in the way of profits from my efforts?” Clearly, I hope and work for the best possible results.

However, my projections and anticipations are an entirely seperate issue for the moment. The matter at hand is the ideal the we deserve success because, after all, the internet “levels the playing field”.

I read a lot of forum posts made by people who “just don’t know what to do” or “are almost out of money (sob)”. I can almost hear the whine in their voice as I read their little pity rant.

I’m sorry to see people struggling with money issues, and I know it can be very frustrating to work so hard at a venture and make zilch after months of perseverance. I’ve been there before, and I’ll probably be there again because that’s life for everyone but the Rockefellars.

Business is risk, and there is no guarantee. I chose to write about this because it’s something I need to continually remind myself of.

This past week, I was throwing my own pity party, and I invited a friend via IM. After a brief exchange of “How’s

it going?” type stuff, I let fly with the moaning and groaning.

“I don’t understand it. I’m spending hours a day on this thing, and I’ve dumped $400 into advertising within the last four weeks. Why am I not seeing the results I want?”

The victim of my energy sapping whimper fest casually told me he had spent $6,000 on one of his ventures in 2004, and that things were starting to go pretty well for that project. There was a brief pause in the conversation as I realized I was being cordially told to quit with the whining.

It was a nice reality check for me. What had I been thinking? Did I honestly expect to make a fortune in a month’s time just because I had been working really hard and spending a decent amount of money on advertising?

After all, my online business is a long term commitment. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new endeavor. A tremendous amount of hard work and the wise use of one’s resources will usually pay off, but it may take a while for this to manifest.

To borrow a few of the words used by Clint Eastwood in his film Unforgiven: “Deserve’s got nothin’ to do with it…”

Tim Whiston has enjoyed network marketing on the world wide web since April of 2003. He publishes a monthly ezine, and is the author of an informative ebook that offers a refreshing look at theTruth About Net Marketing

Are you totally overwhelmed with all the confusing information about marketing your business online? Do you want to advertise smarter and not lose your shirt? Marketing your business online can be a daunting prospect if you don’t have the tools to work the system in your favor.

I am not going to promise to show you easy strategies to making millions on the internet. If you are a regular reader of marketing articles, you have probably learned by now that what they mean by ‘easy’ is either spam or unethical ways to make some money online. What I am going to show you is the best way to spend your advertising money and how not to get scammed. I am going to show you how to do the work yourself and put your advertising dollars to work doing what they should be doing, advertising your business, not lining the pockets of others making promises they never intended to keep.

Having a good marketing plan can not only build your business in a solid predictable way, but it can save you hours of struggling and thousands of dollars in lost revenue and poorly spent advertising dollars. Ask any professional marketing expert. The most important way to keep more of your profit where it belongs, in your pocket, is to start with a solid marketing plan. Solid does not mean complicated. Set some goals. Daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals will help you to keep your focus on whats important for your business. This can simply be a journal with some lists, you can make it as simple or as complicated as you like. I suggest keeping it simple. Use the K.I.S.S. method and keep it realistic. How much money do you have to spend on advertising? Write it down and stick to it.

Google adwords and adsense are an invaluable advertising tool. Google has rapidly taken over the online search engine world. You simply cannot run an online or a brick and morter business without considering using Google as an advertising tool. Google adwords can bring traffic to your site overnight. It can also drain your bank account if you do not take the time to learn how keywords work. Take some time to use the Google search, research what words are being used to search for what you are selling. What businesses are using Google and how they write their ads. Google is an invaluable tool not only for advertising but for reasearch as well. Take the time to read everything in the FAQ at Google, don’t just throw money at it and expect great business to mysteriously come your way. It takes time and research, if you take the time to understand how Google works, it can take your business to the next level.

Yahoo advertising can be as much of a drain on your funds if you are not careful. The system works a little differently than Google does. With

Google you pay as you go whereas with Yahoo you have to pay them up front. You still pay per click with both systems depending on what you bid per keyword and this means that the research you do for Google can be extremely helpful when putting together ads for Yahoo. Keywords are the key so to speak. Understanding how the public searches for what you offer and using keywords effectively will keep your advertising dollars in check.

This brings us to link exchanges and search engine rankings. I put these two together because they feed off eachother. The more places your site is linked to, the more the search engines see it. In the case of search engines that use spider bots, this means higher rankings as they crawl your site more often. You may have heard the term ‘content is king’ the best way to be sure your content is relevant is to use the keywords you have chosen from all your research for Google and Yahoo. Choose 4 or 5 keywords that are the most relevant to your site and use them all over the page. Do not simply list them repeatedly as good spider bots recognize this as an attempt to fool them, and they will work against you. Rather, use them within the content. Writing good content is not difficult, make it personal. Open up the doors for your readers so they feel welcome as though they are invited guests into your home. This is when it is time to do more research. Find other sites that are relevant to yours. Not necessarily the same products but similar or complimentary and ask to exchange links with them. Start a blog and write about your site and others, linking from your blog and getting links from other blogs. Do not be taken in by companies offering to get you linked to every site on the internet. You can do this yourself with a little effort.

I have shared with you some important lessons in the world of online marketing. We have learned that Google is probably one of the most valuable tools you can have, it can also be a huge drain on your budget if you do not do your research. I have shared with you how to research effectively and use keywords strategically. I have also discussed with you how to work link exchanges without hiring someone who is merely going to do the same thing you can do for yourself, or do nothing at all but drop your money into their bank account. Internet marketing is not a big mystery. It takes patience and research. Anything worth doing is worth doing right.

©November 29, 2005Authors Bio:Katy is owner and proprietor of http://www.katysboutique.com Working and living in southern California with her four children. She can be reached for questions or comments about this article or her site at katy@katysboutique.com