The Problem With Internet Marketing

I've recently discovered something that may be considered a tiny problem with Internet marketing. Bear with me as this is a bit long, but it's not a long list of complaints, just observations.

Have you ever showed up for work one day to find out that someone, in another department no less, was out sick and they want YOU to cover for them? This is an all too common occurrence at least in the veterinary industry, but I'm sure it exists in countless other professions as well. Having worked as a vet tech for a number of years I can vouch for how it feels to be pulled in multiple directions on a daily basis.

As a veterinary technician, you are expected to do everything: take care of the animals, clean up bodily fluids, check in clients, answer phones, carry sick/dead animals into the clinic, carry sick/dead animals and heavy bags of food out to clients' cars, chase the doctors around to get permission to refill prescriptions, listen to clients complain to you while you sit there with a smile on your face pretending you're not thinking about how you want to tell them that you're sorry, but actually no, they're not the center of the universe. In the meantime, the receptionists just have to check in clients and answer the phones. If the reception area is short-staffed, one of the techs is expected to go up front and help out. If one of the techs is out, you're screwed. Receptionists are RARELY asked to help in the back end.

This is pervasive throughout every animal hospital I have ever worked at. Technicians are required to be well-rounded, agreeable, 'able to do it all' kind of workers. It occurred to me the other day, Internet marketing, well, it's not so different. It also occurred to me how lucky I am that working as vet tech prepared me for this.

Now please don't think this is a "How Internet Marketing is Like Being a Vet Tech" article. I just want to iterate the point that being an IM'er, even if you are outsourcing a lot of your work, requires that you be a well-rounded, 'able to do it all' kind of worker. As an Internet marketer running your own business you pretty much have to do everything. You are the:

Creative department: You have to come up with all your creative ideas for your business. As the creative department you must be able to brainstorm about your skills/interests before finding a profitable niche, create your own product (if you go that route), think of all the features and benefits of a product you own, design your website, think of things to write about, actually write about them, and write and design sales letters.

Exception to the rule: You can always outsource your sales letters and articles, but as most successful Internet marketers will tell you, eventually you need to do some of this at least once so you have an understanding of how it's done.

Customer Service: You have to know how to deal with your customers, aka, your purchasers and subscribers. You have to know how to deal with rude comments, refund requests, and complaints. You also need to know how to build good relationships with people; not only your subscribers, but other marketers. This is just a no-brainer. No successful marketer is an island.

Exception to the rule: You may have reached the point where you can outsource customer support. If so, congratulations! You have proven you are quite capable. But you still need to maintain good relationships with other marketers.

Research Department: You must be able to conduct basic research in order to find profitable niches, see what other successful marketers are doing, look up 'how to' tutorials, and check the stats of your own marketing methods. You may do this through an A/B split test, or some other method of tracking where most of your leads and sales are coming from.

Exception to the rule: Sorry, but there's really no exception to this. You, at a minimum, must be proficient at researching a profitable niche, even if you outsource the rest. This is a fundamental, basic first step in Internet marketing.

Tech support: As the tech support department, you have to be able to set up a website or blog, utilize an autoresponder, upload a squeeze page, use a cPanel or FTP server, know at least a bit of technical terms, and know how to backup all your stuff in case something happens (which as we know, is not a case of 'if', but 'when').

Exception to the rule: You may know someone who is technically inclined that can walk you through the set-up of all this or you can pay them to do it for you. If you're resourceful, you may think about utilizing your research department to look up video tutorials on how to set all of this up. The good thing is, you don't have to know why it works, just that it works.

Human resources: As the HR person in your business, you have a huge responsibility. You maintain the ebb and flow of every part of your business. You must make sure that all of your departments are doing their job correctly, keep them all motivated with rewards and bonuses, make sure they get holidays and sick time (but not taking advantage of them), and of course find the right outsourcers for the job at hand. If you want, you can assign the task of finding potential outsourcers to your research department (once again, that research department is coming in pretty handy. You may think about giving them an extra bonus).

All jokes aside, as the HR person, you have to hold yourself accountable, pat yourself on the back, make sure you're not overdoing it, and make sure every part of your business is flowing correctly. The HR department, hands down, has it harder than any other department.

Exception to the rule: If you can outsource your HR department, you're not an Internet marketer, you're more likely a Corporate CEO Tycoon. Really, if you're outsourcing your whole business, you probably don't need to be reading this, but thanks for taking the time to!

Now, is all of this that I've just talked about really a problem? It depends. Are you the kind of person that can handle being all of these things? How much can you outsource right now? Even if you have reached the point where you can have a large part of your business done for you, you didn't get to where you're at by NOT rounding a sharp learning curve. At some point you worked in every department of your internet marketing business. You still have a basic, fundamental knowledge of how everything works. In other words, you understand how all of this comes together.

It's like weaving a fine tapestry. Or better yet, like building a car. If you were going to pay someone to build a car from scratch, you would need to tell them all the features you want your car to have, right? And to do that, you would need to know what features are available, or even possible. You would at least need to look at other cars to see what they have (research department), decide on the best features to suit your needs as well as a good color, and type of fabric for the interior (creative department). You'd have to know how to go about finding the best mechanic for the job (research department and/or human resource) and then hire them (human resource). Once your car is built, it would be a good idea if you knew how to check the oil and change a flat tire (tech support). I think you get the picture.

Is this a tough part of Internet marketing? Yes, sometimes. Is anyone capable of doing it? No. If you can't handle having to do all of these things at some point and recognize that it's just part of the job, you're probably not going to make it.

Now, I bet I know what you're thinking.

"Geez, Liz. This is all kind of depressing. Is there a point to this? Is there any good news?"

Why, yes there is! Thanks for asking! The good news is, it's really not all that hard to be all those things, most of the time. And here's why: once you weigh the pros and the cons of all of this to having a real J.O.B., you will realize that as an Internet marketer you have a lot of benefits that include not having to commute, no workplace drama, no boss breathing down your neck, you can determine your own schedule, and the monetary rewards are huge (if you do it right).

And of course there is the exception to all of this: You can get a push-button software system that will handle the automation of all of this for you in as little as 2 hours, 49 minutes and 16 seconds, and be making money right away!!

Yeah, good luck with that!

If you found this article helpful please feel free to visit my blog at http://www.lizbradshaw.com and leave a comment!

Sure Fire Internet Marketing Tips

Now, more than ever, internet marketing is a vital tool for your business. Failing to do this may give your competition an advantage and make you miss out on new customers. Here are several key tips to Internet marketing.

Current content is very important on your website. Visitors to your site that see outdated information may believe that your company is floundering and that getting in touch with you would be a waste. An up-to-date site is sites that people enjoy visiting.

Find ways to utilize Facebook and Twitter throughout your Internet marketing. Your site will be visible to your customers at all time if you use social media websites, this will give you the opportunity to send out quick promos. Yet you should exercise restraint and not overdo it with promotional tweets and remarks. Try to give valuable and helpful postings with an occasional marketing message appearing here and there.

Consider what your customers and visitors want to see when visiting your site. If you can give them what they are looking for, you will see your marketing efforts pay off in more sales for the product. Consider asking your customers for unbiased opinions about your website. You could ask your family and friends to comment and give you their opinion. Engage in a lot of research in order to develop a site that truly has value for the people visiting it.

You can do Internet marketing in several ways; one of the easiest ways is to put ads on the Internet. Many companies use AdSense for this. The benefit to you is that the company you are paying does most of the work.

Avoid spam as much as possible. It might seem good to use web crawlers to spam, but this won't give you the results that you desire. When you fail to add personal touches to your advertising people recognize this and are less likely to give your business.

Try to find a niche and stick with that to hone in on what your clients desire. Why not? In this way you can locate similar problems in need of solutions. By finding out what sort of problems exist in an area, you can come up with some answers. If you make use of this method, it may enable you to locate a good niche within your market. It may also help you in devising an excellent mission statement.

Have your site filled with original and interesting content. Search engines will rank your website higher if it contains unique and valuable content in the articles and your customers will be more favorable to your site as well.

Instead of marketing your site as a business, market it as a group or a social site. Using this technique will generate more traffic because your customers can communicate with one another. This will also make your site more memorable for consumers. Create interesting logos related to your company that customers can place on their website or blog to help get the word out about your product or service.

Keep yourself informed with all of the different things available on the Internet. Things change quickly and constantly in the online world, and vast numbers of potential customers can suddenly flock to a site or a service that didn't exist a week ago. Keeping tabs on where the users are will allow you to market more effectively.

Try and be as knowledgeable as you can be about anything you market on the Internet. This will make you seem credible, as you will offer relevant, correct information. You can easily lose your credibility, should people be able to tell you really don't know what you're talking about.

Try using banners on your site that don't look like your typical banners. If they appear to be links to valuable content, there is a greater chance that the customer will click on them. Many people find banners a real turn-off, so this practice may entice them to click where they otherwise would not have.

Do you have a product that no one else offers? If you can offer a unique, exclusive product, it can make a dramatic difference in the amount of traffic you receive. The increased visitor numbers not only get more eyes on your products, they also add legitimacy, which will increase your page ranking.

If you have a place on your site people can comment, it might help you market your products. Seeing feedback from genuine customers can be very persuasive to those trying to decide whether or not to buy. The extra content is also great for increasing your site's visibility!

If you use your website to its full potential, you will be successful at Internet marketing. Experiment with designs until you find a pleasing layout and color scheme. Then add the features and elements that will allow you to effectively present your product and communicate with your customers. Just remember that the website's appeal to your visitors can make them stay or go away.

Use image searches to your advantage when dealing with internet marketing. When you have relevant photos on your site, the interest in your site can be increased since you are not relying on text searches only. People who are searching for other things might wind up at your site because they were searching for a particular image. It also gives the customer a visual that will make them more likely to remember your product.

Source respected leaders in your field or industry and ask them to provide interviews for your website. You can provide a written interview or do it as an audio or video. The interviews do a great job of increasing your reputation as more people will be driven to your site the more people you interview.

Now that you've come to the end of this article, you can see the need to effectively employ Internet marketing within your own business. Adopt these practices to improve your sales, customer relations and your company's recognition.

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Twitter in Internet Marketing

The MLM industry is certainly growing very quickly. This may be because many people are looking for business opportunities that present great compensation plans and alternative methods of marketing. People nowadays are looking for opportunities to earn money that do not ask that much effort from their part. As such, a lot of companies are emerging over the horizon to answer the needs of the society and appeal to people with amazing compensation plans and reward systems. Network marketers are rewarded for their individual sales. More so, they can easily organize a network of individuals composed of those they have successfully brought into the company. Having a downline also entitles you to various bonuses that will help you get the most out of your every effort. Because of everything that multi-level networking businesses has to offer, individuals eagerly step into the shoes of being a network marketer. Most novices to the network marketing industry experience several different problems that may hinder them from fully experiencing the advantages of being a network marketer. Here are some of these common problems and the solutions you can use to find success in the thriving MLM industry.

One often weighs every aspect of each marketing strategy and looks into the pros and cons of using each. Traditional marketing methods are very easy to use even for those who are new to the industry. However, using such methods may reflect heavily on your pocket. More so, not that many people spend their time ogling at flyers or banners displayed and promoting your business. Personal communication and relationship with the clientele also hinders you from reaching out to a lot of people. Internet marketing, on the other hand, is also easy to use and offers you with countless ways to promote your business online. People nowadays solely depend on the Internet for the facts they end to find whatever products and services they may need. Communication between you and the clientele is made much easier when you make use of the Internet since the constraints once set by differences in time and location have become eliminated. As such, you can easily build harmonious relationships with them, something that often leads to repeat business transactions. Choosing the multi-level marketing campaign you will employ in your business should also depend upon your lifestyle and the nature of the business itself. Some businesses are ideally marketed offline while others seem to prosper more when promoted online.

Social media has absolutely captured the attention of the public, which is evident in the fact that nearly everyone has an account in a social networking platform somewhere. Indeed, a lot of social networking sites have emerged to satisfy everyone's need for communication. Twitter is among the most popular social media platforms that keep people busy. Twitter is successful in connecting millions and millions of people together. However, this can mean more than plain communication for a crafty network marketer. As such, several MLM business owners are utilizing Twitter to aid them in their Internet marketing campaign.

Most people are looking for a way to earn money. Some of these people may have lost their jobs to the economic decline, while others desire to become self-employed and attain some sense of freedom and independence by venturing into their very own business.

Since multi-level marketing is a booming industry, more and more MLM companies are coming out like mushrooms every day. As such, the overwhelming desire of marketers to discover promising business opportunities is growing by the minute. This is so because MLM industry promises great results in terms of earning money. Generally speaking, MLM operates on the principle of leveraging whereas people utilize other people's resources, efforts, and time for maximized result. They do this by acquiring individuals known as distributors to do the leveraging as well as sell their products and services.

In turn, these distributors are paid through commissions that they made from their sales, varying from 25% to 50% from the retail sales. The income earned from this is apart from what they could earn when they build a downline organization to maximize the sale of the company's products and services. In addition, there's the compensation plan, which payment scheme vary depending on the MLM company's system. Active distributors enjoy lucrative income whereas the network marketers who are not serious in doing the business receive less compensation. The type of compensation ranges from money, cars, cruises, and trips abroad among others.

A lot of things that we may have gotten used to has changed. Technology has changed the thing we have come to know, and for the better. Everything has become virtually much easier and convenient. We are able to keep pace with the changing times and meet the changing demands of society. As such, in order not to be left behind in the network marketing industry, you should know of the many innovative ways through which can promote your business and head towards success. Online marketing is one such technique, and social network marketing is one of its most popular options.

Social media marketing has indeed become extremely widespread, and Twitter has become an essential tool for Internet marketers who wish to have access to as many Internet marketing strategies and methods as possible. This is a great move for MLM business owners because Twitter actually has a number of advantages when used in Internet marketing.

The most obvious and essential advantage of using Twitter in Internet marketing is its wide and extensive reach. The Internet is accessible by everyone who has an Internet connection, and nearly everyone has access to it. However, the chance of getting found online can be quite miniscule. Using Twitter gives you a much better chance and puts you on the mainstream of the online community. It helps you gain prospective prospects by providing a series of relevant and useful tweets that will attract them to your business. Also, it's a great way to maintain communication and build lasting relationship to your already existing market base.

Internet marketing is generally cheaper than other conventional marketing methods. Using the Internet as a marketing tool also does not require the employment of individuals, saving you from having to pay salaries. These savings will reflect on your earnings, reducing the amount of costs and adding to your income. Establishing a website or a blog can be basically free, though fees has to be paid in order to develop it further but maintaining them can be quite difficult and expensive. This is when Twitter becomes handy. You only have to create your account and follow as many popular users so as to help you get noticed by others. You only have to constantly Tweet, and you have already maintained your Twitter account that has the potential of leading people to your business.

Internet marketing is really important for MLM businesses. You can use different methods, but using Twitter can prove to be of help to top your campaign for success. Don't know where to start? 7DigitBluePrint will teach you how. Learn how to dominate the market by learning what only the top 3% of this industry know!

Alternatively, you can visit Michaelangelo Flores' Official Blog to find out more tips and reviews on more upcoming opportunities and strategies regarding network marketing and other home-based businesses.

Internet Marketing Basics

To be successful at internet marketing its important that you understand the basics of this subject. If you type in internet marketing into Google you are bombarded with websites trying to sell you the latest techniques and products that claim you will earn thousands of dollars a week.

Well the truth is you can actually make thousands of dollars a week with internet marketing but not over night. It's a skill like being an electrician or a car mechanic, you need to learn the trade.

So how does internet marketing work?

Well the basic idea is to sell a product to someone online and if they buy the product you then get a commission, JUST like in real life. A sales person earns a commission if he sells a car, or another example is if a person refers someone to a gym and they sign up that person who did the referring gets a commission.

In the online world its the same, for example if you're searching for dog training techniques on Google you will retrieve many results.
Once you go to a website that you like the look of from the results its possible that site might have an advert displayed on their website for an eBook called SUPER DOG TRAINING TECHNIQUES.

If you click on that advert you will be redirected to another site selling that eBook and if you buy that book a sale is made and the website who referred you to that site gets paid a commission, this is the basics behind internet marketing and there is money to be made.

When you are ready and want to tackle internet marketing you must choose an easy to spell and easy to remember domain name related to your website, visit GoDaddy.com and experiment with some names.

Do some research so you know who your target audience is going to be and cater the website to your target audience.

Things don't happen over night and can be months before you will be making any money but you can easily speed things up with the correct knowledge.

One important thing is learning how to drive traffic to your website, this is a skill in its self but can be easily achieved with the correct research and if you have the correct mindset to learn these new skills

There are many ways to drive traffic to your site, some of them is using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, link build and so much more.

If you want to learn these skills here is a great place to start.

If you are interested in internet marketing then you can view a free video course accompanied with a free eBook on building a one page website which is the starting block for a career in internet marketing and will surly speed up your process.

Tips on Implementing an Effective Email Marketing Strategy

Introduction

An email marketing strategy plays a major role in ensuring that you attract the attention of as many customers `s possible and you increase traffic to your website. Note that email marketing is considered to be among the most efficient marketing strategies. In addition to that, it costs much less than other forms of marketing. However, you may find that your email marketing is not as efficient as you would like because your strategies are not working. Below are some methods that can help you implement an effective strategy.

Get an email market provider

Getting the ideal email marketing provider is very important. The provider will assist you in the management and sending of emails. There are several available services that you can rely on, and they will help you get rid of bouncing emails that fail to reach the recipient due to invalid addresses.

Build an email address list

Another effective strategy is building an opt-in form, which collects customer's emails and prospects. You will simplify the work of your marketing providers as they use the form builder if you add your email details and messages. The service providers will build a code that you can embed on your website. Remember that it is important to give those subscribing to your emails valuable gifts that act as tokens for letting you have their email addresses and names. In addition to that, it is necessary to add the opt-in form in all pages of your website.

Create a newsletter

When it comes to designing email campaigns, you can decide to come out of the ordinary. You can send your campaign messages in newsletter form. This is an effective email campaign strategy and your email marketing providers will help you with it. You just need to make the newsletter as interesting as possible. You can include your business headers and logos to help the subscribers recognize you easily. You can also add your discounts, offers and probably the links you would like your customers to click.

Send emails and get them opened.

Nowadays people are very busy and they receive many emails that they do not have time to open. Most likely, they will start by sending unfamiliar emails to the trash. It is therefore advisable to make yourself known to your subscribers. You should also make sure that the message is valuable and interesting since recipients will not waste their time reading a boring message.

Test and evaluate

Evaluating and testing is another important strategy. Note that, in email campaigns the number of emails opened varies according to the nature of recipients, size of list and time of sending among others. It is therefore necessary to evaluate and test. For instance, it is not wise to send important email campaigns during holidays because the probability of having them opened is very low. It is also important to evaluate interested subscribers and new subscribers.

Include social sharing

Another effective email marketing strategy is to build up social network pages for your business such as Twitter and Facebook since it will help you reach more prospects. You can do this by including them in your newsletters and encourage your customers to join you in those forums. In addition to that, make an effort of ascertaining your customers' preferences. It is important to ask your subscribers if they prefer your email and newsletters on a weekly or monthly basis.

Conclusion

Using the right email marketing strategy goes a long way in making you a successful email marketer. This can translate to more sales and profits for your business. Any given strategy will enhance your email marketing and enable to you to achieve a good return on your investment.

Todd Martin owns and operates a local marketing firm. As well as blogging, he works weekly in ministries to the underprivileged, active hiker, biker and racquetball player to mention a few items.
Come and visit his Internet Marketing Consultant web page or visit Marketing tips and strategies blog. Thank you.