Basic Marketing Strategy

If you're thinking about working with internet
marketing for a living - or even just to make
a few extra dollars, here's some ideas that
will help.

First off, I want to say that marketing is
basically the same - by my own experience -
whether it is done offline or online. Or even
in a combination of the two.

There are 3 important points that should
be applied in order to make this type of a
business succeed. They include quantity of
advertising, persistence (including the concept
of repetition) and good, helpful service.

I'll take up these three points one at a time:

1. Quantity of advertising - I've included
a post regarding this exact point, with the
subject of volume. Fundamentally speaking,
it requires volume - always - to have any
type of marketing be effective. Even if one
single ad is placed, volume also includes
the idea of, "How many people will see this
ad?" In this way, if it is the right ad in the
right place, many people will see it and the
response will be high.

2. Okay, persistence. This is a real stickler
in the Internet Marketing world, and the lack
of it is the main reason so many people give
up trying to make money online. Here are some
statistics that may help to clarify this point:

* It generally takes 7-8 views of any promotional
ad before the average person will respond in any
way - even if it's just a question.

* With one promotional campaign being done
(for example an email campaign done to a mailing
list), it will take anywhere from 6 weeks to 3
months to really notice any kind of respectable
level of response.

* When promotion is done, but not consistently
it can appear that the advertising is doing
absolutely no good. The problem is that to the
average person, they are seeing different ads
more often than not, or in different forms and
the lack of repetition fails to fully capture
their attention.

3. Service - This topic is more along the lines
of how to keep a business successful after it's
become lucrative, but applies all along the line.
For those who are involved in online network
marketing this also means helping your team
to succeed.

Example: A customer or team member/affiliate
emails a question but it takes 4 days for it
to be answered. The result: Frustration and
a lack of security about the whole thing.
(This may be unspoken, but I can guarantee
it exists.)

The way to make a business successful for the
long term is to earn trust with good communication,
good service with the intention to provide some
help on the other end of that line.

My friends, internet marketing is one of the
most enjoyable (and sometimes even exhilirating)
careers out there. It can be a lot of fun even
as a past-time, but as a business it's a total
blast.

When these principles are thoroughly applied you
can count on success.


About the Author:

Tonya Brisnehan is a work-at-home mom and
successful internet marketer.

Online Marketing - Volume Counts!

In my first blog entry I discussed the subject of persistence
and its relationship to internet marketing.

Along with the willingness to hang in there, there is another
subject of importance – volume. When we’re talking about
internet marketing then, we’re talking about quantity of
advertising.

If you think of marketing in terms of numbers, here’s what can
commonly be noticed: A relatively small percentage of people
will actually respond to an ad or offer (my experience has been
about 5 to 8%). Of those people, another percent will actually
follow through and work to grow their business (I’ve noticed
that this falls at about 15%).

If you think of these numbers while you are placing ads, sending
emails, making contact calls, etc., you will have a good idea
of how much advertising should be done to match your goals.
If you use the right volume along being persistent, you will
likely get the results you’re hoping for!

To your success!


About the Author:

Tonya Brisnehan is a work-at-home mom
and successful internet marketer.

Integrity in Internet Marketing

How important is integrity when it comes to the field of internet marketing? Is this something that one can take sort of semi-seriously?

I don't think so. Integrity is quite necessary in any field of endeavor, but it occurs to me that it might be especially important within the Internet Marketing industry.

The reason?

Easy - from my observations there is a pretty good amount of "slippery" activity in this particular field. Once can get pretty duped if not careful.

Here's a few tips on being able to spot what's really valid, and what is maybe not so honest:

1. Does the opportunity advertise that it's "free" but it doesn't quite make sense how it can be? Some sites advertise the "free" thing without it actually being true - for example, if you sign up for something that is advertised in this way find out first what the actual expenses are before you bite. My experience has been that when you sign up for something that is not actually being direct up-front that it's going to be tough to be successful with it in the long term. (That's based on my own experience and does seem to apply as a general rule.)

2. What do other network marketers think of it? You can find this out by looking at posts on internet marketing forums. (See my notes in the "...Watch What you Step In" post on this blog.) If people have been duped by the program, you'll find out there and will also get all of the details.

3. What are the credentials of the site? When you look at a business opportunity website you can usually find out the credentials of the site at the bottom of the main page. Take a look - if it says "BBB..." or something to that effect, it's probably fine.

4. Does the opportunity sound to good to be true? It probably is. If someone will lie to you up-front (or maybe just not "tell the whole truth") do you think they'll lie later on too? You bet.

OK, that's pretty much what I would do if I were looking for a new opportunity or wanted to check out one that was being advertised to me.

Here's a unique sort of a "flipside" look at this concept of integrity - If you work in an industry that appears to be very untrustworthy but you know that you are honest, helpful, etc., what do you think that might do for you?

This is an interesting look.

I believe that someone who upholds high moral and ethical standards will likely do well in any field in the long-term. But what about IM?

If one is maintaining his/her integrity in this business, I can tell you that that person will do very, very well. This is because of the number of pitfalls people have fallen into - when they find out that you are not a "pitfall" they will work with you and maybe never leave your side.

What can that do for your business?

Think about that. :)


About the Author:

Tonya Brisnehan is a work-at-home mom and successful internet marketer.

Online Marketing - Watch What You Step In

When one first becomes interested in working online, one of the first things that is usually done is a search on Google for something like - "Working From Home". The number of listings that come up are astounding. (I just tried it and got about 794,000,000 results.)

Wow.

There are a an almost infinite number of opportunities out there. I won't be a pessimist and tell you to watch your back, but I will say, "Tread carefully."

Before signing up for an opportunity, do research on the company, history, credentials, etc. The best way that I know of to do this is with online marketing forums. The members of these forums are internet marketers themselves, and are there to help others who are already in the industry or just getting started. You can post a question and you will get honest answers on whether the opportunity is valid, not or even if no one has heard about it. (If that's the case
by the way, I would skip it.)

In fact, I would do research regarding working from home from one of these forums, rather than starting with something like Google. You can sign up for the forum (free), look around at what others have posted and find the opportunities that appeal to you.

The most informative and helpful online marketing forum is Conquer Your Niche. Here's my link to this site:

http://www.conqueryourniche.com/forum/tonyab

Working online from home is a pleasure. Sometimes getting started is a bit of a nightmare - unless one finds out the facts ahead of time.

Find out for yourself what these money-making opportunities are about, then when you're sure that you want to give it a go, go for it! :)

Another note: As I mention on my first post, a potential "risk" of working online is the number of actual valid opportunities that are available. A number of the marketing techniques involve exposure to other opportunities. You might think, "Wow that one really looks good too - I think I'll sign up for it."

Warning: Do not spread yourself so thin that you don't have enough time to work your business/es.

That's important.

Good luck!



About the Author:

Tonya Brisnehan is a work-at-home mom and successful internet marketer.

But... Isn't That MLM?

I've heard other internet marketers who were involved in network marketing programs (MLM companies) say that they had been discouraged to work their business because it was MLM. This had not happened to me, until just very recently.

Yesterday someone that I know well asked me regarding my online business: "Well, isn't that MLM?" Then proceeded to inform me that I shouldn't count on that as my main source of income. (As a note, this person did not have any real experience in this industry.)

Apparently the network marketing industry has received a bad reputation - at least in some circles.

Okay, what is MLM?

MLM (as most people know) stands for Multi-Level-Marketing. When you strip off any stigma involved in it, it's simple definition is: "...a business model that combines direct marketing with franchising" (from Wiktionary Online Encyclopedia). So -- it's marketing with the right of a franchise for a particular business product.

What's wrong with that?

As long as the product being dealt with in the franchise is of good quality and the franchise owners are compensated fairly - nothing.

Many companies are adding MLM to their already-successful marketing techniques, because it is actually a completely valid, relatively inexpensive and successful way to get their products into the general public.

Here is the main message that I want to relay about this: If an opportunity presents itself to you, look it over for yourself and don't allow your decision to be swayed by any type of stigma attached. Great opportunities can be missed by listening to others' opinions rather than acting on your own!


About the Author:

Tonya Brisnehan is a work-at-home mom
and successful internet marketer.