Internet Marketing

The Hottest Skill-Set In Online Home Business

Is it any wonder that the fastest growing companies in the current recession are web based and for the most part rely on internet marketing?

With even rudimentary skills simple websites have produced millions for people with PHD’s as well as for 20 year old dropouts. Why?

Internet marketing is a skill that can be mastered by anyone. That may sound like a bold statement but I’ve heard the same story from far too many technically illiterate people…

“I could barely send emails and now…”

“I never owned a computer until I started doing this and now…”

Or…

“I was retired and wanted to try something new and now…”

The ending is always the same and I have a few suspicions why so many people from such varied backgrounds, education and experience are able to do this:
1.    More people are using e-commerce every day
2.    There are dozens of techniques that all have great potential which makes finding one or two you like easier
3.    The tools are easier to use, more abundant, more powerful and more accessible than ever before

What Can’t Be Bought Or Sold Online?

Entrepreneurs not only create amazing new products and offer cutting edge services but they’re making it even easier for others to use e-commerce.

One of my latest fascinations is with voice over work. Someone was smart enough (voices.com) to use the internet to bring voice over talent together with every radio, TV, ad agency, marketing company in addition to solo entrepreneurs who want someone to read their E-book in a way that is just way too easy to follow.

Car dealerships, real estate agents, big pharmaceutical companies and the guy who created the plastic gadget that spaces your fingers perfectly to play power chords on guitar… yeah they all use internet marketing and their campaigns just keep growing.

What Is Internet Marketing?

Simply stated it is using the internet to introduce products and services to the people who want them.

The reason why it’s so cost effective? You don’t have to waste time and money advertising to the general public.

If done correctly online home business owners can use internet marketing to reach a very specific niche group or a micro-niche group within that niche. Of course done incorrectly it can be costly and even devastating.

Who Needs It?

Almost everybody who does business with the public needs internet marketing.

My journey into internet marketing began because I couldn’t afford to pay for the services my online business desperately needed so I was forced to acquire an education.

That education led to the end of several online business endeavors and to the launch of an internet marketing company.

Hottest Job On The Market

The funniest thing I see in the want ads from employers looking to hire internet marketers is the requirement for 3 years of experience.

I know people with 10 years of experience who had to relearn everything a year ago because Google changed their rules. I’ve also received inadequate service from companies that were still doing things that stopped working over 8 months before the service date on my contract.

Entrepreneurs are mopping up because they’re tightly connected in support networks and have their fingers on the pulse of the internet. Larger companies are going to continue missing the warning signs unless they can streamline processes between large departments and not lose momentum in board rooms.

It’s a great season for online home business, and it’s empowering to understand internet marketing.

Organic VS Paid Advertising

SEO isn’t necessarily free although most people associate using the organic search results as free compared to paid advertising. Even the use of micro-blogs, web 2.0 sites, social media and other content based methods for traffic generation require another component to make the marketing funnel work; a site you own.

You don’t have to pay for the process of SEO or SEM but they have the intended result to bring your traffic to your home. That home can be a blog, capture page, squeeze page, landing page, sales page or fully developed commercial website.

Having said that let’s look at the two methods of generating that traffic.
•    Developing and publishing online content that links back home
•    Placing ads that lead to your home

We Recommend Both

Having valuable content online is important for branding yourself, your business or the products and services you offer. Placing content is typically a once and done process that has a timeless potential to continually attract visitors.

Placing ads is immediate. More importantly placing ads online can be as exacting a science as you’re willing to make it. Remember you only have to focus on those who are already interested in what you offer.

Social media sites have begun to realize that they have the potential to offer both forms of traffic generation. Not only can you post content and reach people with specific advertising campaigns, you can form relationships at the same time.

Always Know Where You Are

One of the greatest paid advertising services I’ve heard of involves placing your ads on specific sites. If your business is related to gardening you can have your ads appear on specific gardening sites you think are worth your investment.

Most sites will only allow ads that are congruent with the message or theme of the site to protect their own site and page ranking. But every site is unique and crafting a specific ad for a specific site increases the chances of people clicking it.

We talk a lot about what not to do on social media sites but there are so many places to advertise now that specific placement is as important as style and design. Taking the extra time in research to understand the mindset of people visiting a specific site will usually unlock exactly what you would need to say or display in order to lead them away from that site.

It Always Involves A Click

Whether your ad appears in the sidebar of a page displaying search results, in the margin on Facebook, or as a banner on a site you chose, unless someone clicks it, that ad hasn’t performed the first primary role. Typically the more clicks an ad generates the less it costs.

Pay per click advertisers always have to monitor the performance of an ad based on how often it gets clicked and what the average cost per click is. That way they can measure the ROI for each ad based on the revenue it produces.

Paying for impressions is a different calculation but the goal is the same. It must generate clicks consistently. Having a banner that appears before a million eyes sounds great but only if it leads to clicks and sales.