Let’s take a few minutes to focus on perhaps the most important principle in creating a successful online business: your strategic marketing plan. Many people are intimidated by Internet marketing because there is a lot of competition in many large niches such as network marketing, coaching, consulting, and information marketing. As an online marketing coach, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard statements like:
- I just don’t feel like there’s a place for me.
- Who would want to hear what I have to say?
- I can think big, but I have no idea how to take appropriate action
- I have a website, but I only have 20 people on my list
- I have a website; Isn’t that enough?
What I’m about to share with you will give you an incredible competitive advantage and serve as the definitive answer to each of these statements, so you never feel lost in the online world again.
Yes, the internet is teeming with business owners competing for valuable real estate online. In fact, many industries are saturated with websites and blogs trying to compete for their fair share of traffic, leads, and customers.
But here is what you really need to understand: Less than 5% of online marketing entrepreneurs have a strategic marketing plan that they consistently take action on.
As internet and network marketing guru David Wood says, “The internet is full of people with big dreams and poor work ethic.”
Because this is true, you really have very little competition other than the one that takes place within you. Your only real competition is the excuse you may be giving yourself as to why you can’t/won’t consistently take action to generate massive online exposure. That, my friend, is what you want to expose first. Don’t worry about your external competition in the online market. The only real problem is how willing you really are to keep taking action until you get the results you want.
That’s why your mindset is such a critical factor underlying your marketing plan. Sure, you can map out a marketing strategy that looks good in theory. But the plain truth is that very few entrepreneurs stick to their action plan. Why is that so, especially when marketing is by far the #1 activity that earns the most money in their pockets? Here are the big 3 I’ve seen:
- lack of immediate results– I can relate to this one, as many online sellers can. We all want to see an immediate reward for our efforts. In my experience, one of the greatest virtues of successful entrepreneurship is the ability to keep pushing without seeing an immediate return on our investment of time and energy. Call this faith, emotional maturity, or discipline; the point is that many of us were not taught this virtue and instead seek immediate gratification. This is a killer when it comes to online marketing, as it usually takes time to see tangible results.
- impulsive and reactive tendencies– This is often the result of not seeing immediate results. One of the hardest things about internet marketing is that you have a lot of incredibly smart marketers basically preying on your hunger for results. They draw you in to their offers and solutions, keeping you constantly searching for the latest and greatest product or program that will calm your frustration and fuel your hope. What ultimately results is a lack of consistency or real pacing, making it impossible to build momentum in your marketing efforts. You keep jumping from the marketing strategy to the new program, to the new idea, to the new guru. This becomes something of an addiction for many people trying to make money online, and there are plenty of savvy traders who absolutely take advantage of this weakness.
- lack of inspiration/laziness/disconnection from real purpose in life-– This can take many different forms, but the bottom line is that you lack the real drive and desire to take effective action because you are unclear on what you really want from your marketing, your business, and often your life. in general. Many people turn to the internet because (I hate to say it) they have no idea what else to do with their lives.
Before creating a strategic marketing plan, you want to honestly assess whether you tend to be vulnerable to any of these 3 obstacles (99% of us do). Clearly seeing your obstacles is always the first step to becoming an empowered and successful entrepreneur. When you see your blocks for what they are without judging them, a door opens where you see that you have the option to change whatever is holding you back.
Once you’ve done some of this internal work, you can probably create an external action plan that’s accessible, effective, and even fun to implement.
When it comes to online marketing, what you want to do is create a marketing process that you can engage with literally every day, especially in the early phases (the first few months) of launching your product, service, or business.
Your marketing plan is determined by 3 factors:
- your budget
- Your set of knowledge and skills
- your motivation
If you have a good marketing budget, then you’ll want to spend some money on online advertising, as this is the fastest way to start generating leads for your business. Google AdWords is really the best way to start. Depending on your business, you may also invest in classified ads and ezines, or banner ads on other websites. Google AdWords is a big learning process, so make sure you get the proper training before you go and spend thousands of dollars (this will often turn out to be a generous donation to Google). I recommend getting Perry Marshall’s Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords as a starting point.
If you’re on a tight budget or don’t want to learn AdWords, you’ll want to do some free marketing strategies. Let me share with you my daily marketing process. This should really help you see how this is done. Keep in mind that I am very strong in factors 2 and 3 above-I have a lot of knowledge in online marketing because I have been doing it for a few years and I have a high level of motivation. If your knowledge and/or motivation isn’t that high, you’ll want to take just a fraction of my process and implement it consistently. Only bite what you can chew and be honest with yourself.
Here is my daily marketing strategy:
1. Write a blog post (you’re reading today’s efforts)
2. Make a video of that blog post and distribute it via video syndication software that sends it to all video sharing and podcasting sites – this is an amazing online marketing tool any serious online marketer would Should use.
3. Distribute the post to 27 social bookmarking sites.
4. Distribute the publication to 250 article directories using article submission software.
5. Post my blog content on ping.fm so it goes to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.
6. If I really want to compete for a specific keyword (such as if I really want to rank for the keyword I’m targeting in this post, strategic marketing plan), I’ll create a squidoo lens and/or page central.
7. If I choose, I will send a mass email to my list to let them know about the post.
I do this as often as possible because it is an incredibly effective FREE way to get my content on the internet. Of course, this strategy is based on delivering real value to the online community, not junk or spam. I only send content like the one I’m sharing with you here. You just want to distribute your best stuff; don’t be like so many dumb sellers and just promote your business and spam people. Give people things that really make an impact, and you’ll see a huge difference in your online marketing results.
The essence of a strategic marketing plan is that it be implemented consistently over the long term. Your goal should be to be as methodical, inspired, passionate, and consistent with your marketing a year from now as you are in the start-up phase, where it’s easy to get excited. It’s like trying to lose weight and get in shape. The first week you go to the gym every day and you are totally excited about your commitment. Then, for whatever reason, your enthusiasm begins to wane and other priorities take over. Eventually, you forget about all that commitment and your mind has taken you to a new approach entirely.
To be successful in online marketing, you need to keep that vision of what you want firmly in mind at all times and never let it go. Do you really want freedom, passive income, a huge downline, or thousands of people on your list? Then you need to harness the virtue of entrepreneurial tenacity. Keep your eyes on that prize and don’t let anything distract you, especially your own mind (this is the biggest danger, that you convince yourself that it’s not possible or that you value something else even more).
When you implement your marketing plan consistently over the long term, there is no competition because very few business owners actually do this. I know it doesn’t sound as romantic and over the top as many of the promises you hear online, but I’ll tell you this: if you stay consistent… if you stay tenacious… if you stay focused on what you really want… and take action on it every day at least a little… you can have it.
Online marketing can take you to that place of incredible freedom and success. Just be willing to do what so few others do: drop the hype, drop the need for immediate gratification, and treat this like your child: daily nutrition and care. Keep fueling your business through strategic marketing, and sooner or later, you’ll reach your financial goals and have a lifestyle most can only dream of.