|  12-Step
Online Marketing Plan
by Lynn Terry, author of
Self-Starters
Weekly Tips
Also See: Holiday
Sales
- Networking
Email Discussion Groups and Discussion Boards are a great place
to meet potential clients! Join the conversations, use proper
‘netiquette’, and include a professional and compelling
signature line with every post!
Have you read Forum
Profits, "How
to Cash in On Forums: The Foolproof Formula That Attracts Traffic,
Ezine Subscribers and Sales Immediately!", by
Rebekah Nahai? You'll definitely want to check this one out!!
Rebekah's methods are guaranteed.
- Press Release
Submitting a Press Release, both online and offline, can earn
your website some serious exposure! Is your product or service
unique? Do you have an interesting story to tell, or something
newsworthy related to your business? See: Press
Release Templates & Examples
- Website
If you don’t already have a website, its time to get started!
With all of the
free
resources available, you can design
your own website relatively quickly!
- Newsletter/Ezine
Publishing a Newsletter can be one of the most profitable aspects
of your online business. This allows you stay in constant contact
with your clients (for repeat sales) and potential clients (to
encourage them to return to your site and purchase). You can then
promote your website through the many newsletter directories available
online for increased exposure.
See
Lynn's Free Newsletter Publishing & Promotion Resources!
- Write Articles / Reviews
If you're looking for a powerful way to get FREE publicity
and build your credibility at the same time, then writing articles
may be your answer. This article is jam-packed with great tips
and information and excellent resources to set you on the road
to publishing your work right away! See: Write
for Publicity
Also, try submitting to these article mailing lists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WriteitPublish_Announce/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/netwrite-publish-announce/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aabusiness/
- E-books
Ebooks can provide the Internet marketer one of the best promotional
tools online. With its vast variety of uses, just one quality
ebook development and distribution can produce an on going viral
marketing tool that will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week
and multiply itself by leaps and bounds. Your ebook can literally
be viewed by millions simply by giving it away. See: Viral
Marketing Ebooks
For the absolute best resource on publishing your own Ebook, grab
this free download:
www.webservicenetwork.com/ebooks/SelfPublishing.htm
- Start Your Own Affiliate Program
Consider a fast-moving, high-sales Affiliate Program for your
product! An Affiliate Program puts thousands of people to work
for you as your Personal Sales Team – and you don’t
have to pay them until they make a sale! My personal recommendation
would be to list your product at ClickBank
– it is by far one of the most popular programs to use,
with an exceptionally high success rate. Put them to work for
you today & increase your sales dramatically this Holiday
Season!
- Pop-up Windows
Used correctly, Pop-up windows have proven to dramatically increase
newsletter subscribers and/or purchases (great place to post your
special offers!). Place the script on the front page of your site,
and be sure to use cookies so that the window only opens once
per session for someone viewing your site.
Note: If your visitor subscribes, they are then taken to a ‘thank
you’ page for confirmation – this is a great place
to add links to make back-end sales! If you need the pop-up window
code, email me
and I will send it to you!
- Testimonials
Publishing your clients personal testimonials on your website
increases your credibility to new clients. When you receive a
compliment from a client, ask permission to publish it on your
site! Offering them a link in return is a great incentive.
Writing Testimonials can be a Powerful Advertising Technique!
Be sure to send your testimonials to vendors when you are pleased
with a product or service, and include permission for them to
publish it (along with your byline). You can also publish Product
Reviews and Testimonials in your own Newsletter or on your website
– using your affiliate links!
- Search Engine Optimization
Make sure you have Meta Tags embedded in your web pages which
include keywords and a website description. Your content also
matters! Make sure that the content on your webpage is rich with
keywords and relevant information… also look at image names
and “alt tags” – these can be used to optimize
your site for Search Engine placement as well! Be sure to exchange
links with reputable sites that are complimentary to your target
market – Getting listed on high traffic sites is a major
plus! (Forget FFA and Free Classifieds!). You might also consider
Pay
Per Click options.
Using a service such as WordTracker
allows you to discover which keywords are frequently searched
by your target market... but are not being used by your competition.
Click
here for a free trial Discover the right keywords,
and you'll see your traffic skyrocket!
Then...
put your site directly in front of customers who are searching
for what you're selling! Receive
a $10 credit at Overture by clicking here! You
set the price you're willing to pay for each sales lead and
pay only when your customers click through to your site, leading
to a high return on your investment.
- Create Your Contact Lists
Consider everyone that you know, that you have done business with
in the past, or that has requested information from you…
Send an email out to your contacts, and invite them to view your
new website, subscribe to your newsletter, etc. DO NOT continue
to send email – it might be considered “spam”
– just a friendly invitation or announcement would be advised.
You might also consider the “Follow Up” approach.
Example:
”Hello, we haven’t spoke in awhile. How are things
going for you these days?” etc etc
… and end your Follow-Up email with a compelling Signature
Line!
- Online Auction Sites (eBay)
Listing products on the online auction sites is also a great marketing
tactic! While you cannot blatantly promote your website on most
auction sites, you can create a Profile (or About Me) page and
add that link in your
auction description. Also, if you are selling products that you
offer on your website, this is a great opportunity to reach a
wider market and gain new contacts. Don’t Forget your Signature
Lines in the correspondence with potential bidders – along
with you Follow Up emails to winning bidders!
For more information, see: Getting
Started & Making Money on eBay
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to Self-Starters Weekly Tips by emailing
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