Breaking into Online Marketing

Want to get into online marketing? If you want to do it right
(and make money at it), here are the steps I recommend.
–Robert Middleton, Action Plan Marketing

More and more Independent Professionals want to jump into online marketing. I’m seeing it everywhere, including in my Marketing Action Groups. They want to develop and sell e-books, e-courses, teleclasses and other information products.

My business has been online since 1996 and I’ve been selling online since 1998. I’ve had a lot of luck with it, but it certainly hasn’t been easy. It takes a lot of work and knowledge to be successful.

There are also many models for successful online marketing. Some prefer the “stand-alone sales letter page” that you drive web traffic to. I prefer a comprehensive web site with various products and services that I promote through this eZine.

If this is something you want to add to your business, here are some of my recommendations for getting off on the right foot.

1. Get a good web site and learn to update it yourself. You need to have the flexibility to make changes and add things on the fly. You need to be comfortable with the basic technical aspects of the web. And you need to have a site with good content. From there you can add pages for specific online products.

2. Build your email list. Perhaps nothing is more important than this one. You can’t build a big, responsive list overnight, so might as well start now! You need to know about keywords, article placement, Google AdWords, and the best way to convert web visitors into subscribers (some resources below).

3. Send out an eZine regularly. No, make that weekly. This isn’t the only way to do it, but you will grow your list much faster if you send out your eZine more often. The best subscribers actually come via word-of-mouth. And the more it gets out there, the more it is passed along. EZines drive online sales. Period.

4. Develop an online product. I’ve had the most success with the Infoguru Marketing Manual (an e-book), and TeleClasses of all kinds. You need to have solid information that conveys real value. The manual is more than an e-book, as you know. Those who buy get a lot, and as a result, it’s still selling well five years after launching. What will your online product be?

5. Write a good online sales letter. This is the big key to success. Most letters either don’t tell enough or they go over the top. You have to powerfully communicate the value of your offering in no-nonsense, benefit-oriented copy. I recommend getting some help with this from an experienced direct mail copywriter. I had help from one of the best. It really paid off.

6. Commit to mastering the ideas and principles of online marketing. Read books, ebooks and attend seminars. The best Internet seminars are expensive but they are worth every dime. I’ve invested over $10K in Internet Seminars. This has been my best overall business investment in years.

This is my model and it works brilliantly. The only drawback is that I can’t develop products fast enough to meet the demand and that I don’t have enough time on my calendar to lead more Marketing Action Groups. I guess those are good problems to have!

Below are some of the best resources for online marketing. Some are mine, some are from people whom I trust. Check them all out and jump in.

The Web Site ToolKit - A comprehensive tutorial that explains what you need on your web site to build trust and credibility. Contains dozens of resources to help you build a great web site.

http://www.actionplan.com/wstk.html

The TeleClass on TeleClasses – Gives you everything you need to know to create, launch, conduct and profit through leading TeleClasses. Tons of value for a very low price.

http://www.actionplan.com/telcontelc.html

Boost Business With Your Own eZine – This ebook by Alexandria Brown is the place to start if you want to create a successful eZine. Tons of great information and very specific how-tos.

http://tinyurl.com/8hlt8

Make Your Site Sell and Make Your Knowledge Sell – These two massive e-books by Ken Evoy really helped me when I was developing my online marketing. Tons of great ideas and also very affordable.

http://myss.sitesell.com

The More Clients Bottom Line: If you’re going to get into online marketing, make a commitment to give it 100%. Don’t be a penny pincher – invest in the tools, resources and professional help that will get you off to a fast and successful start.

Do you have some good resources for online marketing that are appropriate for Independent Professionals? Please share them on the More Clients Blog at:

http://www.actionplan.blogs.com

By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit Robert’s web site at http://www.actionplan.com for additional marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional service businesses.”