![]() "Your Online PR and Free Content Source" Submit Your Articles, Press Releases, and Books/Ebooks, Get Free Content |
|
|
Featured Books
Communicate with Potential Clients
Create Relationships Through Workshops
|
Internet Marketing For Small Businessesby Mark Satterfield Send Feedback to Mark Satterfield Marketing Planning & ImplementationMore Details about Marketing Planning & Implementation here.
Books by this Author
"Sure it sounds like something that could help me grow my business and get more new clients, but it sounds far too complicated. I wouldn't know where to begin." If you're an entrepreneur or small business owner, I'm here to tell you that Internet marketing does not need to be complicated and that when implemented correctly, it can fulfill the promise of making your business life a lot easier. One of the problems is that Internet marketing covers a wide range of topics thus it can easily overwhelm anyone who isn't immersed in the topic. At a fundamental level, internet marketing is a system for 1) driving traffic to your website 2) capturing data on who is visiting and then 3) automatically communicating with these prospects to build trust, credibility and ultimately motivate them to take action. So let's begin in the beginning. Step one is to create some sort of offer or free report that will entice people to give you information about who they are. Although it would seem that free reports have been done to death, the reality is that they still work extremely well. The key is to make sure that your report targets a very specific group of visitors. For example "Time Management" probably won't elicit much interest. However, "Time Management Techniques For Busy Dental Offices" is likely to have a high curiosity among the target audience. A second key point is to make sure that your report has a compelling title. Remember that people won't know about how valuable the information is until after they read the report. Thus what will motivate them to request it in the first place will be the title. One important point to keep in mind is to emphasize the benefits that one will get from reading the report in the title. The report is made available on a one-page website whose sole purpose for existence is to get people to sign up. This could be a free-standing one page site or just an additional page to your established website. Either is fine. The important point to keep in mind is that they internet is a very fast medium. That's both good and bad news. The positive aspect is that people can get to your site in the blink of an eye. The bad news is that they can click off your site in the same amount of time. By offering free reports you are slowing down the process and increasing the likelihood that your visitor will remain with you for at least a couple of minutes. That's why your page should heavily promote your report and not have the "call-to-action" be put in some obscure part of the page. Naturally in order for people to get the report they need to give you their contact information. I've found after years of testing that just asking for name and email is will yield the highest response. By stating on the form that "The information you requested will be sent to the email address you provided" you will eliminate people giving you bogus email addresses just to get your free information. You can also add a page after they have signed up stating that you have additional information that you would like to send them if they provide you with their mailing address and phone number. I've found that around 25 percent of subscribers provide me with this additional information. If you think of internet marketing as following these basic steps you can start to use electronic tools to grow your business without getting overwhelmed.
Mark Satterfield is the founder and CEO of Gentle Rain Marketing LLC. Since 1992 he has advised consultants, financial advisers and owners of small businesses on marketing strategies, and strategies for developing new business relationships. In addition to his consulting work, Mark has written over 250 articles on professional development which have appeared in publications including the Atlanta Constitution, the Los Angeles Times and numerous professional, trade and technical journals. He is also the author of five books, including Power Prospecting: How to Gain Access to Key Decision Makers, How to Negotiate the Raise You Deserve, and Career Etiquette. Find out more at www.gentlerainmarketing.com
Keywords: marketing strategies, business development, marketing implementation, marketing planning and implementation, money talks, get more clients This article has been viewed 336 time(s).
Does this article infringe on your copyright?
IdeaMarketers.com
|
|
SheLovesGod
| Books
| Create A WOW
| I Am Joyful
| SyndicatedWriters |
ReadyToPublish |
EzineBuilder |
Good News |
LocateACoach
|
|
Media Room -
For Writers -
Writer Signup -
Get Content -
Info Desk -
About
IdeaMarketers is a Project of Pehrson Web Group |
Please Note: IdeaMarketers is a free-forum where
anyone may sign up for a free writer account or publisher account and post. It is always up to the
discretion of the visitor to decide about anything mentioned on the service. We do not personally
endorse any company, person, product or service listed on our site unless we explicitly say we are endorsing them.