Internet Marketing blog on creating a legitimate online business

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The internet marketing tool you must have is an autoresponder. You can either pay a monthly fee for accessing one or run a script on your own computer. Aweber and GetResponse can ensure your emails and newsletter get delivered because of their relationship with ISPs. Others may now claim this too.

There are 5 benefits for you of using an autoresponder.

Firstly, you can run your own newsletter or ezine on a regular basis. This will allow you to build up a relationship with your subscribers, give them valuable information to help them, and make them offers which they might not normally see.

Secondly, as its name suggests, it automatically responds when asked, so that if someone signs up for your ezine by filling in a form and clicking the submit button, it can start to send  messages at set times, and starting immediately. As with the ezine you can have done the work once, set up your messages and their times, and it’s all automated.

Thirdly, it can ensure that your subscribers really are interested in what you’ll send them and that they have a reliable email address. This is done by double opt-in. They opt in once by filling in the form and pressing submit, and they confirm they want to opt in by clicking the link in the confirmation email they receive as their first contact.

Fourthly, you’re able to use a broadcast to all of your subscribers or a section of them. You could send your ezine this way too. This means that if you have a special announcement, for example, for all subscribers, including those not ezine subscribers, you can reach everybody. Or the announcement might be just for particular types of subscribers, such non-ezine subscribers.

Fifthly, if you were just starting your business and couldn’t yet set up the download of products, such as ebooks, you could attach them to an email instead. This still allows you to make offers or send freebies.

So, besides hosting for a landing page or a blog, you only need the key internet marketing tool, an autoresponder.

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I’ve noticed a bias, if you like to call it that, in information you get on internet marketing.

The usual emphasis when this sort of stuff is being covered is on, basically, planning. That is, having goals, strategy, tactics and so on. Personally, I’m not too sure about the use of goals, at least the way they’re taught.(Can there be a specific way teaching about goals – do A then B then C ? I’m not too sure.)

Anyway, leaving the rest aside, you’re told to have a strategy (people interpret this as a plan of action or actions) and specific tactics to use as part of that strategy.

OK. All seems fine and dandy as far as it goes – especially the logic.

But then, what about the how?

This is where you need systems and processes. I’m not sure I’ve ever come across the first pair linked with this pair, in terms of internet marketing.

And, of course, it can be vice versa: there’s talk of setting up systems, but nothing on strategy. In fact, often they fall between. Here’s a mindmap, you’re told. Great! You look at it – is this a strategy or systems you need to set up?

Without being able to set up the systems and processes (“physically”, if you like), you have nothing. It’s useless.

On the other hand, if the claim is that this is “a system”, what’s the (larger) strategy it’s part of?

In either case, people are left in the dark! It looks good and can be useful but you’re still left having to fit things together.

So, when anyone sets out a strategy for their online business, it’s needs underpinning with the systems and processes that will bring that strategy alive. The questions are:

- What’s the system or systems that will operate?

- What processes will go on in those systems?

- What tools are needed to make the processes work?

- How will the tools fit together so you have a complete system in operation?

How often do you find any of these things explained? Not much, I fear.

I’ve just added a page telling visitors about my free ecourse they get when the sign-up for my GoldVaultZine, at Want An Ezine That Won’t Waste Your Time?

This is going to be the main squeeze-type page and opt-in place for the ezine. That is, I’ll be sending traffic specifically to this page.

I’ve considered split-testing with, for example, System7Gold, but I want as much long-term traffic as possible to this blog. In any case, I could change the page on here after a certain number of sign-ups, such as change the headline, and compare results.

If you haven’t subscribed yet, you get more information than I can put on the blog and regular freebies I’ve created that you can sell or give away. That is, no ad hoc  ”offers” thrown at you day after day with which you get nowhere. I look forward to talking with you in there.

Thanks for reading!

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• 51 Internet marketing myths http://bit.ly/bUN5Xt #
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• 51 Internet Marketing Myths http://bit.ly/bUN5Xt #
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• 51 Internet marketing myths http://bit.ly/bUN5Xt #
• RT theomobrian 5 Critical Steps to Protecting Your Computer on the Internet Free Article http://bit.ly/18zaqe #
• 51 Internet Marketing Myths http://bit.ly/bUN5Xt #
• IN THE NEWS: Mrs. Baxter, who went deer hunting with her husband, is proud that she was able to shoot a fine buck as well as her husband. #
• When On An Elevator: Crack open your briefcase or handbag, peer Inside and ask, Got enough air in there? #

Yes, you can make money on the net, but you need to take it one day at a time. It cannot be done by sticking up a website on the internet, doing a litle bit of advertising – and hoping for the best. That won’t work, no matter what the sales page said that you bought from.

Internet marketing is something that takes time to learn and if you don’t give it time, then your Internet marketing career could be very short lived indeed.

Preparation is a key in internet marketing. Most people think that you can just jump online without knowing anything and be a big success. Now it does happen sometimes, but it’s a rare occurrence. People who have instant success many times never see it again and that is why preparation is the key if you want a long-term paying business. When you are fully prepared for success you have a much better grasp of what’s needed. For example, what if you had a sudden success, thousands of people coming to your site wanting to buy (or what if you built up to this). Could you and your systems you’d set up, deal with it? You won’t if you haven’t prepared before you even upload a website.

The right tools are an absolute necessity. These include good hosting, an autoresponder and preferably an HTML editor . The autoresponder is probably one of the most important things that you will need. An autoresponder sends automatic messages to your customers, so it gives you more time and helps you to work more effectively. If you have nothing else you should have a good autoresponder to communicate with your lists and to make offers. A tracking tool would also be useful to at least track clicks on your links – otherwise you won’t know which are your most popular offers.

Persistence is vital. Without the right attitude, it’s almost guaranteed you won’t last very long. Strange to say, but anybody can put up a money-making type site. This could be their own or one they’ve bought. It may make some money or it may not. The question is: what do you do then? If you’ve bought into this type of site, then lots of other people will have it too – and they’re your competition, all with the same site. So, why should anybody buy from you especially? If you put it up yourself, you’ll need to test what works best on it. You may get some traffic but are they buying? You’ve hardly even started to scratch the surface of how to make money on the net.

Being organised will make or break your business. You could have done all the above, even well beyond the basics. But if you (and therefore usually your business processes) are disorganised you will stumble in no time. How will you organise: your autoresponder? the materials on your computer? how you collect payments? respond to a request or complaint? You must have processes in place, preferably automated as much as possible, so you’re not forever behind yourself.

Sign up on the right to get more in-depth information in my free and original ecourse.

It could just save you a lot of hassle and start you off in the right way to your own business, not just trying to put up a money-making site.

Thanks!