By
Robert Smith
©
2000 All Rights Reserved
MARKETING
SUCCESS = A Lot of Time and a Little Money
Everyday
I get messages from frustrated marketers who are not earning
what they had hoped for in the beginning. It's hard for some
to hear, but if you don't want to be in the 98% that fail you
have to spend enough time to develop a workable plan.
Today,
I want to help you understand exactly how to get started.
The
Business Plan
I
have never spent a dime on advertising. I attract traffic by
developing free resources to help develop your own successful
home-based business. It doesn't happen overnight. My business
has been built over 4 years, and it represents thousands and
thousands of hours.
I
spend at least 40 hours a week finding, and developing, this
content. When someone finds useful support resources on my
website they are more inclined to buy business support
services from me. That's my plan in a nutshell, and it's also
my passion.
Lately,
it seems everyone is either a self-proclaimed marketing
expert, or claiming to be one. The market for home-based
business support is totally over-saturated now. I wouldn't
suggest anyone just starting out to follow in my footsteps.
Develop
your business plan from your own knowledge and passion. Share
what you already know. Over time - years not days - you will
be successful.
The
100-Hour Investment
Nearly
everyone who gets on the Internet will sooner or later find
himself, or herself, involved in some kind of home-based
business, usually within the first 3-4 months on-line. Most
will not earn nearly as much as they expect.
It
requires at least 100 hours to learn the basics of Internet
marketing. It will take even more time if you also need to
learn how to use the Internet and your computer. If it's not
worth 100 hours, don't bother. Keep your day job. Internet
marketing is NOT the easiest way to earn money, and it's not
for everyone.
If
you have been working part time for a while, and still aren't
getting the results you expected, it might be time to step
back and take a break. Spend at least a 100 hours to
understand what successful full-timers are doing to earn
money. Develop your own business plan based on your own
knowledge, skills and passion.
Find
& Develop Your Own Product
A
good place to start is the library. Get several past issues of
a magazine, or newsletter related to your own special area of
interest. Pay attention to the ads that run month after month.
They wouldn't keep running them if they weren't selling. You
will learn what is selling, as well as what solutions are
needed in your specialized niche.
Big
companies like Microsoft, Apple, HP and others, were started
by small groups of friends with simple ideas and lots of
energy. Bill Gates didn't develop the DOS operating system. He
capitalized on the need for a common set of rules that could
operate all computers. He didn't write the DOS operating
system himself - he capitalized on the need for a common Disk
Operating System and contracted for the programming.
In
the long run, you want to develop your own product. Don't try
to re-invent the wheel. You can combine some the best features
of several of the best selling products into your own product.
Look for an unfilled need, or at least a type of product that
could be easily improved on and marketed more effectively.
Pay
special attention to information based products. They are the
most profitable Internet products. They can be developed
nearly free of cost and can delivered electronically for next
to nothing.
Earn
While You Earn
If
you are not ready to develop your own product, you can choose
one to three existing products within your special expertise
that you can resell for a profit. Concentrate on getting
duplicate results with one or two products.
Don't
join every affiliate program you find. It only confuses
everyone. It's better to focus as narrow as possible.
Never
stop learning. Learn enough to create your own product - one
in which you will have total control. Market it for the first
few months on your own. After you have had some success, you
can duplicate your success through others. You can build an
associate program and work on getting other people to help
sell your product - they get 10% to 50%, and you get the rest.
Educational
Tools and Resources
The
following URL address details several of the best marketing
courses. They range in cost from $17 to almost $300.
Generally, the higher the cost of the marketing course the
more useful it will be. If you are just starting out, consider
getting the "Make Your Site Sell" course. It's
priced at $17 US and it is quite a bargain.
If
you have been working on-line for a while and are not getting
the results you expected, you might want to consider "The
Insider Secrets to marketing your business on the
Internet" developed by Corey Rudl. Or The Internet
Marketing Challenge's members only website. They are all 100%
guaranteed by the developers.
Internet
Marketing Training Courses
http://www.smithfam.com/training.html
Once
you have developed a product that is selling, consider
starting your own affiliate program. An Associate Program is
the least expensive way to acquire new customers in the
shortest period of time. You pay advertisers only when a sale
is made.
Start
Your Own Affiliate Program
http://www.smithfam.com/assoctrac.html
Best
Wishes
Bob
ROBERT
SMITH helps thousands successfully market their
Internet based home business. You'll find tons of free
marketing tools & resources on his Internet Marketing web
site at: <http://www.smithfam.com/>.
You
can reach him by phone at: (541) 689-1847 PST, and by email
at. <mailto:bob@smithfam.com>
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Additional
Resources:
Make
Your Knowledge Sell
Make
Your Words Sell
Make
Your Site Sell
Make
Your Price Sell
Free
Courses:
Affiliate
Masters
- FREE Intensive
5-Day Email Course from the creators of Make
Your Site Sell. Learn how to maximize your affiliate
profits!
InfoProduct
Masters
- FREE Intensive
5-Day e-mail course on creating, producing and selling your
very own Infoproduct.
Affiliate
Programs:
LinkShare.com
- 500+ programs
represented
CommissionJunction.com
- 1000+ programs
represented
OnResponse.com
- 100+ programs
represented
Read
Other Free Articles about Online Success........
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