Archive for the ‘Internet Marketing’ Category

Lead generation companies really don’t want you to know these facts when you are trying to build your own lead generation web site.  There are a couple of simple tips that you need to know that will help your marketing and list gathering tasks if you really want to build your business online.  Here is a video, that shows you the proper elements of building a lead generation site.

I am throwing out another blog post because I think I have something important to say, I want you to know.  I think one of the greatest things on the Internet is You Tube.  Now, I understand that you enjoy watching ridiculous stuff on there that’s funny, because I do it too.  There’s nothing more hilarious than watching a cat getting thrown from a fan( Providing that no harm was done to the cat. I am an animal lover, but gee, sometimes they do stupid things that you just have to laugh at.) . Don’t believe me?  Watch this:

Well, here is another tip for you.  You can learn an awful lot about how to do Internet Marketing, Time Management, Success Principles or whatever by using You Tube to educate yourself. However, there are a lot of people on here selling their expensive wares and courses, so watch out.  They will sometimes tell you just enough to get you to want to buy their ebook, course or whatever.

I’m not saying to not buy their stuff, because some of it is good information, but there is a lot of it out there that is a rip off and a mere regurgitation of books that these folks bought from Amazon.  Yes, they buy the books related to what they are writng about and rewrite the material and then sell it as a course for much more than what you would have paid in a book store.

However, there are many marketing and success gurus that are very worthy of attention and you can get a lot of material from them on You Tube.

My favorites are:

1. Dan Kennedy – My favorite
2. Jim Rohn – Great speaker and funny too
3. Seth Godin – Believes in giving away free stuff
4. Zig Ziglar -  Zig has been around forever
5. Jeff Johnson -  Has a large amount of You Tube stuff to watch on Internet Marketing
6. Gary Halburt -  Ad copy expert
7. Dave Kamanski – How to use Video
8. Dave Ramsey -  Christian financial counselor  you can listen to his show on his Website – archived

I have others that I watch and listen. you have to constantly learn from people that are success oriented.  Education is always an ongoing thing that never ends if you want to be successful.

Peace Out

Mark

P.S. I got the “Peace Out” thing from from Kip in Napoleon Dynamite. See? You really can learn important stuff from You Tube!

Christmas is fast upon us again and for some reason we all feel like our lives and businesses are on the back burner until the new year starts up.  Anyway, I have taken it upon myself to forge on, no matter what happens, to help you stay on track with your business and goal, because, Lord knows, we just can’t have too much of a good thing.  So, here is my latest bit of wonderful advice concerning business and I hope that you can glean something useful from it.  As a matter of fact, this post kind of enhances the last blog post I did wherein I quoted the great ad copy writer, Gary Halbert.

Like a popular song says, “1 is a lonely number” and in business it is a deadly number.   Several years ago Google based its method of determining search relevancy on an algorithm that only Google’s top secret, Area 51 wizards understood.  For those of us that need plain language to understand what I just said, if you typed a word into Google’s search engine like the word “boat”, Google had a formula that it would use to determine which web page with the word “boat” should be first.  Internet marketers were pretty sure that they could crack the code on how Google determined what page should be first, second, etc.

Search engine gurus knew that if there were loads of links coming into a site, that Google rated you higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).  That meant that if you had loads of links pointing at your site then you would rank higher.  Also, if you had a keyword like the word “boat” on your site a certain number of times, then you were also ranked higher.  You got points on Google’s scorecard if you had your keywords in bold print or if you had your keywords in the title bar and a host of other “top secret” factors that Google used to determine where you would come up in the SERPs.

back in 2005, Google decided to change all of that in an effort to make sure that it had the best search engine results on the planet.  Google knew that people were paying other people to buy links from all over the Internet.  If you wanted a higher page rank and to show up high on the SERPs then you needed tons of links into your site and you could easily get them.  So, with this sort of thing in mind, Google decide to change its algorithm.  Google created what is probably one of the most brilliant, yet complex algorithm on the planet.

However, for some  people’s businesses on the Internet , the change was  was catastrophic.  For one thing, Google now wanted RELEVANT links.  In other words, just having links wasn’t good enough, you had to have a site or web page that was relevant to your content pointing to your page or site.  If you had a website about boats, then a site or a page that was about water skiing would be relevant.  However, if someone pointed links back to your site and they were a site about casino gambling, then Google wouldn’t pay much attention to them.

I remember how bad it all went down, because I saw so much weeping and gnashing of teeth that it would blow your mind.  The online forums were loaded with people in multi-million dollar businesses that started losing their shirts and shorts because they were no longer at the top of the SERPs.  I remember one computer parts business owner blaming everything and everyone for his plight, to include his poor dead mother.

Well, all I can say about that is 1 is a lonely number, or as I said before, a deadly number.  You see, if you make the monumental mistake of believing that the Internet is the only method of acquiring new customers or business for yourself,  you are in error.  Anyone that makes this type of mistake will sooner or later find out that this is a gross miscalculation.  For one thing, every business owner should clearly understand that if you are using only one method of marketing or you are selling just one type of product, then you are not only hanging your wienie -roast out to dry, but you are missing out on all sorts of great opportunities that could help you weather any kind of business downturn that you might have.

Looking back on the computer parts man that was whining earlier, I asked him in the forum he posted to whether or not he kept up with his customer database.  (I never got a response, probably because he was still busy blaming the entire universe for his situation. )  However, whenever I talk to new clients and people I am trying to help out I usually run smack dab into a wall.  Yeah, they have been keeping databases, they just never use the darned things.  So a real good idea would have been for Mr. Computer Parts Guy to market back to his customers through email, direct mail and any other method he could think of.

This whole scenario actually reminds me of a factory that I used to live next to when I lived in Central Virginia.  There was this bus parts factory several blocks from my house and one day while I was driving past the factory I saw a whole crowd of people that were wearing signs, protesting and virtually worked up into what would appear a riot.  the reason?  The owner of the business was forced to shut down the factory because he could no longer compete with cheap foreign labor.  He did not want to shut down his business, but he was forced to due to economic reasons.  The people that worked for the man called him every name in the book and he was forced to leave town because his life was in danger.  This is a man that, by the way, employed all of those people fore years, gave them their livelihood and this was the thanks he got.

Now, let me ask you a question.  Who told those people NOT to better themselves?    You can get a Master’s degree for the price of a used car and take all of the courses over the Internet, so why didn’t these people better themselves?  If you aren’t book smart, you can always go to a cheap trade school and get more skills.  The point I am trying to make here is, that if you are a business owner and you are only using one method of marketing yourself, then  you are making a huge error.  If you are someone’s employee and you can only do one specific thing, you should acquire more skills so you can better market yourself.  As a matter of  fact, if you are making all of your money from only one source or direction, then you are making a terrible mistake.

Here are a couple of points that I think are real important to your economic survival:

1. Always better yourself.  I am a self taught composer, web designer, writer public speaker.  If I did it,, anyone can.
2. Never, ever rely specifically on one method of marketing your business.  You need an entire arsenal of  marketing weapons to complete your mission.
3. Always keep in mind that one of your marketing methods or income streams could become obsolete in the future.  Remember telemarketing?  It has been greatly diminished by federal laws.  Don’t think for a second it can’t happen to the Internet or email.

Peace Out

ELMO

I was out sick last week, so I have a lot of catching up to do with my blog posts, but I feel much better this week so I can actually start writing again.

Whee!  Where do I start? I thought that this week I would try to approach the subject of  Internet marketing from the common man’s view rather than to try to come off as an Internet marketing Guru, which I am not anyway.  I have been involved in Internet Marketing for the last 10 years or so and have seen a small amount of success with it.  I do enjoy reading and writing about it, but quite honestly, I have not achieved a great level of success from it.   Perhaps it is because I have not achieved the level of success that many of the online gurus have because I’m not smart enough. Another possible reason why I haven’t been so successful at it is that I can’t seem to find the right product or niche, but whatever the case, I have not made enough money from it to call it significant.

Now, I’m not saying that marketing your business on the Internet is not an important and viable marketing medium for you to use.  Quite honestly, I can’t imagine a business owner that wouldn’t have a website these days.  It is almost the equivalent of carrying around a business card, you just can’t imagine a business owner that wouldn’t have one of those. So, for any business to not have a professional web presence is pretty neglectful for both businesses on and off the Internet.

The problem for most people to understand is how to use a website effectively in order to generate interest in your business.  If you have an offline business, then you shouldn’t have to worry as much about generating customers online as a purely online company or business would.   You would simply make sure that you would put your Web address on your card, your car, your kids forehead and any other creative place you can think of to include your yellow page ad.

However, and I really want to reiterate this point, that Internet marketing by itself and used improperly, will get you nowhere fast.  Used correctly, it can generate a lot of business for you, insure an easy way for your customers to do business with you and give you a world – wide presence for pennies on the dollar.  In that vein the Internet is incredible!

Gary Halburt the famous ad copy writer, used to tell people at his seminars that if you could rank the most effective methods of marketing from top to bottom, face to face selling  being the most effective that here is where the Internet would rank:

1. Face to Face Selling ( The absolute most effective method)
2. Selling on the Phone
3. Public Speaking
4. Referrals from Friends
5. Direct mail Campaigns
6. Advertising on TV and radio
7. Advertising in printed media
8. The Internet ( To include Email)

As Halburt put it, The Internet is actually way in the gutter, as far as effectiveness goes.  The reason?  Massive competition for one thing.  On the Internet, there is literally no new thing under the sun.   So many people that get into affiliate programs or begin to sell their wares on the Internet suddenly will find themselves absolutely overwhelmed by the vast number of people involved in just about every niche that you can imagine.

(As a side note, finding a competitive niche is a pretty good indicator that the niche is viable and the ability to make money there is a strong possibility.)

If you are just getting your feet wet in Internet marketing, here is what I would suggest: First of all, integrate it into your business marketing efforts.  Get your site address (URL) onto the side of your car, letterhead, business card, etc.

Second, get into your database and see if you can acquire or ask your current customers for their email addresses.  offer them something because if they give you permission to send them email then send it as often as you can. You can connect with them every day and that’s about 365 days of pure advertising and branding that you can’t beat. Don’t try to sell them something all of the time, just send out email to them and let them know you are thinking about them.

Third, learn every thing you can about maximum exposure, like online video, email marketing, blogging and all of the stuff that goes along with these mediums.  Sound like a lot of stuff to keep up on?  Well, look at it this way, most high paying executives that make 5 times more than the average working person reads at least 5 books a month.  So, any education that you can give yourself, can really help out.

Time is up for today! I’m going to wind this little act with a clip from one of Gary Halbert’s best videos.  pay close attention students, this is important stuff, ya know!

Peace Out!

ELMO