By Dianne Humphries
When you first start out on your Internet Marketing journey you are full of hope, full of enthusiasm and can hardly wait to get started. You build a website and they will come… maybe!
Most people start out blindly in Internet Marketing jumping from one shiny object to the next. If you don’t take the time to follow the 8 strategies I have listed below, you will still be spinning your wheels for years to come down the road.
1. Build your email list from the start. I cannot stress this one enough. If you don’t have a list, you don’t have customers. If you don’t have customers, you don’t have anyone to share all of your great knowledge with and who in turn will want to share with their readers. The gold is in the list.
2. Have a scheduled plan for any product launches. I have gone through many phases of “researching” a market for too long without creating anything significant. A plan helps to keep you focused. When you get to this phase of your business, you will want to develop some great products for your customers. Take the time to accomplish this step in an orderly manner. Your product will be in much more demand if it is done professionally instead of thrown together.
3. Learn to take the fear out of:
- People hating me
- People not liking my content
- People unsubscribing from my list
No matter what you do, how you behave, what you give, you WILL have people that will disagree with you. But, you can’t let that be a roadblock to your success. Don’t be scared of them, use them as a motivational factor to build a better you, a better product, a better company and a better industry.
4. Create a REAL physical brand.
Register your business, have an office, get a landline, build rapport and network. Branding is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. This is not something that you have to do right away, but start thinking about how you want people to know who you are. It will come to you as you start working your business.
5. Stick to one or two methods.
Before you take off and learn 15 methods on “How To __________” (you fill in the blank), learn one or two methods fully before you race off to the next method. This is not a race! If you don’t take the time to learn things fully, you know a bunch of nothing and it will show.
6. Learn copywriting. You don’t have to be an excellent writer, but it helps to know how to pull together an outline, do research on a given subject and keyword research. If you want to write decent copy, learn a little bit about copywriting. You will need these skills to write posts such as this one on your website or blog.
7. Stop trying to be the “guru” on every Internet Marketing subject out there. As you make your way through this Internet Marketing maze, some things will appeal to you more than others. For heaven’s sake don’t try to become a pro at it all. Know when to surrender and let someone else take on the task for you. That is why sites like eLance.com are there. There are plenty of people to hire at great rates to assist you in completing tasks.
8. Find a Mentor. All of the great success stories out there can tell you that they had a mentor. A Mentor (or Coach) is someone that you can look to for help. This person is someone who will take the time to answer any and all of your questions and give you the guidance you need to succeed.