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.

Making a Living from Home

A few months ago I made the decision to work strictly from home so that I could spend more time with my child (who is almost 4 years old now). Since that time, I've been studying up on internet marketing and the various ways that one could make a living online.

Here's the main thing that I discovered: The main trap of working online is not the "scams" (I'm sure that they do exist and have come across a few myself), but rather is the number of actual opportunities that present themselves. A person can spread themselves so thin by investing time and money into too many areas, which takes away the ability to be able to promote their programs/products effectively.

Although I am relatively new to the internet marketing industry, I have successfully worked in offline marketing for years, and have learned a few things that apply to any kind of marketing, across the boards. I also have learned some things about internet marketing in the few months that I've been involved. Here's some "from the heart" tips, that always apply:

• Persistence - This may be the most valuable concept in the marketing industry. I believe that no matter what someone is marketing, and how they are marketing it, if one continues the same marketing strategy for a long enough period of time (working on it regularly) more often than not it will pay off. This is what I call the "Golden Rule" of marketing.
• Patience - This closely relates to the info above. I think that this is best illustrated with an example: Sally Marketer begins an internet marketing venture, let's say with pay-per-click ads from her own website. She finds a few places to market her site and puts some ads up. Within a week she only has one response from all of the ads combined. She gives up and changes her strategy, removing her ads from the various places, or changing them to something else. This is lost time and lost revenue. Give the advertisements about 6 weeks to be out there, as they are before changing them. If after 6 weeks there is little to no response - then is the time to make some changes. (My experience has been that in about 4-6 weeks the inquiries and sales really start to pick up.)
• Quantity/volume - The amount of income is directly proportional to the number of people who view your site/ads. Seriously. Although the quality of the website is important, it takes a back seat to the amount of communications to your audience. Combined - you have a goldmine! Here's an illustration: If you're interested in getting ads onto classified ad sites for example, don't get onto 1, 2 or even 5 - get onto 30! Instead of signing up for 1 traffic exchange site, sign up with 20 and work them daily! 10,000 emails to opt-ins are much better than 50. There are services available out there that can post your ads, sites or send email to many different places/people at once - this type of marketing really works. Think BIG on this! Sometimes it takes 50 people seeing your site to even generate 1 click. This may sound a bit grim, but if you know this information you'll have better control over your income and a much better chance at success!
• Focus - Think about all of the income you could make if you could just work all of the opportunities at the same time! Wow, it's tempting and I've been there. How this winds up - your head ends up spinning, you're working almost 24/7 and spinning your wheels. Really, pick you your favorite opportunity (ensuring it is valid first) and work it, work it, work it. Apply persistence, patience and consistency. You'll be amazed at the amount of response you'll get from doing this. Stay on top of it - you'll get there. Once that first thing is off the ground you can invest in "automating" it with various services to advertise, auto-respond, etc. Once it's on "autopilot" THEN move on to the next mouth-watering opportunity!
• Service - This is another "Golden Rule" of marketing. I never market a company or product that disappoints. Make sure that what you're marketing is of high-quality, answer any questions about it that come up. (In MLM, this translates to actively helping your downline.) If you care about those who are on the other end of your services and products, you will truly flourish in the long term, and your business will continue to grow.

For whoever reads this information, I hope that it is helpful. Best of luck to you - I wish you all the success in the world! :) Feel free to post any comments.

About the Author:

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