I have subscribed to, purchased, interviewed and tested the ideas that top Internet marketers, small business owners just like you, are using today to earn more than a living online. I have taken those steps and mapped out a process that will work for any small business.
Why for the Small Business Owner?
Because the small business owner has finally wrestled control away from an IT department, we are no longer waiting a month or two for simple changes to show up on our websites. The creative geniuses don’t want us to muck up their fancy interface and snazzy graphics.
Whoever is ultimately responsible for generating revenues from the website has the control! If this is not the case in your small business, the time is now. Ask yourself a simple question, “If your website were a salesperson, would you fire it?”
When businesses really started getting involved with websites it was the information technologists who ruled the roost. Technical gurus worried about web servers, bandwidth, firewalls, feeds and speeds and expensive software solutions to manage all the data and the hardware and software was the mantra of the technical gurus. We need java server pages, and big databases to take care of this flood, let’s build a robust technical solution that makes it easy for us to manage. The “sales and marketing types’ were just happy to have a site.
Companies reasoned that the robust technical infrastructure and a logical presentation of all the information would give the smart and well-educated buyers all they needed to make an informed decision.
Larger companies sunk tons of money into preparing for the windfall of traffic and sales. You may have heard a saying in the high tech industry, “if we build it they will come”.
With the advancing technologies came the web designers with cool implementations of bleeding edge graphics and design. Every site turned into an attempt to do something bigger and better than the competition. Flash animations, landing pages, complex navigation hierarchy and a highly graphical interface became the rage.
A company was often judged by the “look and feel” of its site, not by the value that it provided. People in the marketing department finally had a say in what happened on the website, except it took a month before they saw anything change. Then it took a creative artist and the technical department to manage the site.
We all know what happened for most Internet businesses that followed the standard evolution.
1. They raised a ton of money.
2. They hired or contracted out a big technical firm or web development shop to build a really cool site.
3. Next, they made sure that the infrastructure was prepared to handle the avalanche of money that would flow from the site.
The companies that did not learn fast enough are gone. The ones that did make it got big enough to turn into a big business with traditional big business advertising and marketing budgets. And then there are the small businesses.
They do not have the money to sink into large advertising budgets. They do not want to give outside experts control over part of their business. They are willing to experiment continually until they find what works and they have a passion for what they do.
Forget about “Build it and they will come”!
Good Looks vs. Good Results
I am asking you to make a decision right off the bat. You can pay to have a site that looks good and does not sell, or you can follow the steps in this program, create, and manage a website that earns you money.
The first time I went to see a motivational speaker he talked at great length about how some people choose pleasing methods over pleasing results. If you have a goal of earning money with your website then follow the steps. If you are more interested in looking good and being on the bleeding edge of technology then this program is not for you.
Internet marketing is the process of carefully testing the market with measured-results strategies until it “clicks” and makes a nice profit. When you have the right strategies for your business, you simply duplicate the process over and over and over.
Think of it as fishing. You try different “bait” until the fish start biting like crazy. Then you stick with what you know is working. At that point, it is up to you to decide how many times you want to cast your line.
Most web developers do not want the sites that they create for you to be measured by sales results. Can you imagine that? A web development and graphic artist wants to win awards for “art” – they created with your time and money – that may or may not sell anything. If you think otherwise ask one if they would accept payment through the proceeds of the website sales.
Internet marketing for small business is meant to be effective. It is not designed to win artistic awards. It is simply created to work as your “virtual salesperson” and make you rich. So the approach that we’ll learn in this book is more like this: Build it, then publish valuable information about your area of expertise, send specially formatted e-mail and sell your products and services online.
Selling online requires an investment on your part. You have to be comfortable around a computer.
You have to invest a little bit of your money. There are some costs involved. Internet marketing is not free. However, it can be inexpensive to start and maintain. We will look at great ways for you to leverage what you already know and do, and convert that valuable information into customers.
You have to invest some of your time. Your website will work 24 hours a day 7 days a week, yet that doesn’t mean you have to spend that much time with it.
Recognize that the more time you do spend, the faster you learn what works for your business.
Let’s Clear Up Some Misconceptions First
1. You have to be technically competent: You do not have to be a technical guru to create, alter and manage your own websites. If you can write a letter with a word processor, you can design and manage your own websites.
2. Everyone is getting rich online: Not everyone is getting rich with Internet marketing. In fact, the opposite is true, especially if you try to follow the footsteps of the big businesses you surf and read about. There is a special Internet marketing process. The business’ that are actually earning money online use it and that is what we’ll cover.
3. You need a web designer to create websites: I have heard it thousands of times. Create a sticky, interactive site to build community and a relationship with your visitors. Make sure the site is interactive. Build a brand and then customers will come to your e-commerce catalog and order online. Rubbish! All you need is a simple, clean content-rich site that captures e-mail addresses and search engines.
4. All you have to do to sell online is become a member of one of those “Small Business e-commerce Malls”: Your ISP has a large portal with a small business marketplace. As part of your monthly Internet access fee, they give you a free e-commerce enabled spot in the mall. Do not join the mall. The only ones who are making money with online malls are the mall owners. Joining a virtual marketplace with other small business is a no-no. Not only will you be billed for the privilege, not all the traffic that is promised to be in the mall is going to end up in your shop.
Will it work for you?
Yes! It’s a process that can be duplicated and works for sure. Every small business that I looked at used the same steps. How each business implemented the steps was different. That part is up to you. I will provide you with the tools but it is up to you if you want to use them.
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