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Due to the explosion of the Internet and modern technology over the past few years, marketing for solo-entrepreneurs has moved more and more into the virtual (online) world. Entrepreneurs all over the world have made the Internet their vehicle to deliver and market their services to dominate their market.

Here are the top seven reasons why you must "virtualize" your marketing:

1.To establish credibility and an expert reputation - There are millions of small businesses vying for attention. To stand out in a crowd you need to be "top of the mind" so that when someone has a need they think of you or someone recommends you to them. A great way to do this is to write and distribute your free reprint articles to hundreds of online directories, ezine publishers and webmasters eager for fresh content. This is an excellent strategy to drive traffic to your website.

2. To maintain visibility by keeping in touch - A starting point is to create an ezine (electronic newsletter). Ezines are an excellent and inexpensive online marketing tool to help you create and nurture client relationships. It gives you a way to continuously stay in touch with your existing and potential customers. If you provide quality information and publish on a regular basis, you will build credibility and trust which will grow your business. An ezine can also increase your income potential through advertising and promotion of your services and products.

3.To communicate your marketing message more effectively - When marketing in a virtual world, your messages need to be concise and you need to get the attention of your prospects quickly. For example, learning how to create an effective website will help you define your image, identity and brand and your uniqueness. Crafting taglines, headlines and even email subject lines will help you hone in on your target market and speak their language.

4.To avoid expensive marketing mistakes - Virtual marketing allows you to test, track and analyze the effectiveness of your efforts. Many marketing 'gurus' will tell you that they failed many times and that failing was the key to their success. They learned what didn't work and what did and then focused on the things that were working. With online marketing, tracking is very easy and you can find out the answers to questions like: Which audiences are interested in and qualified for what you offer? Which ad is creating the most subscribers, referrals, downloads? Which campaigns are losing money and should be dumped? How many visitors viewed my website and where are they from? Which email signature is working? What are my ezine readers interested in?

5. To create multiple streams of income - By promoting your business via virtual mediums you can create residual income that can create financial freedom for you. Did you know that there are things your clients want to buy from you that you aren't selling them yet? Some examples are virtual speaking (teleclasses, webinars); selling information products on your website (ecourses, ebooks, audio files). You can automate the sale of your information products and earn money while you sleep!

6. Sell more by email and phone - You don't have to meet with prospects to close the sale anymore. As we have seen in this article, there are several components of virtual marketing. Your clear marketing messages, excellent website, virtual talks, online articles and your ezine pave the way to warming up a prospect. The only thing that will be left to do is to convert a warm prospect to a paying client - and that can be done over the phone!

7. To grow your business exponentially with viral marketing - On the Internet 'word-of-mouth' is known as viral marketing. Viral marketing encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's influence and exposure. Some examples are giving away valuable information like an article, report or ebook for free to attract attention; email marketing; placing your message in existing communication between people (online networks); online affiliate and referral programs.

Need another reason?

Virtualize your marketing because it's fun! Do you enjoy marketing? How does the thought of marketing make you feel? Unfortunately, many people don't enjoy marketing and get overwhelmed by it. They don't get the results they hope for and therefore find it hard to do. Without bringing a spirit of "play" to your marketing efforts, marketing will seem difficult. Having a spirit of "play" means that you approach marketing as an adventure, a great opportunity to discover and learn, you feel challenged by the risk and just being in the moment of it all.

A few things could prevent you from having this spirit. You may have preconceived notions about what marketing is or what it should be. Some think marketing is about manipulating people, stretching the truth and overcoming objections to which you may not know how to respond. But in fact, marketing is simple. It's about sharing value with others and in that process, discovering your uniqueness and the difference you can make in the lives of others.

You went into business for it to be profitable, right? And as a small business entrepreneur everything seems to demand your attention: administration, marketing, bookkeeping, customer relations - it never ends! It just makes good business sense to market more effectively and have fun at the same time. Get started with Virtual Marketing today! Copyright 2006 Michele Hanson-O'Reggio. All Rights Reserved.