Seven Golden Rules Of Internet Marketing

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." How many times have we heard that Golden Rule? And certainly it is golden, and a good rule to live by! But with all due respect, God never had to market on the Internet! And there are probably more than seven solid principles we should all be following, but these seven should get you well on your way down the "Golden Path to Prosperity." So let's get started!

Golden Rule Number One: Be willing to talk to "real" people. Come on, now, what are you afraid of? Don't you have a unique product with a large appeal? And didn't you make sure and get something you'd be proud to have your name on? Then open your mouth! I'm not saying you should be obnoxious or pushy about it, but don't be afraid to mention it, either. I guarantee you that one "yes" will make up for all of the "no"s that came before it. Tell your friends you're trying something new, and wouldn't they like to check it out just to be nice to you? Talk to telemarketers. Talk to wrong numbers. Talk to your mother. Ok, be careful about talking to your mother, but you should still consider it! Make up business cards and pass them out to people who smile and nod as they walk by. So what if they drop it as soon as you're out of sight? Maybe someone else will pick it up and be interested.

Please allow me to get on a soap box for a minute. I am sick and tired of hearing "I don't like to sell, I'm not good at selling, and I hate sales people!" Successful people in ANY field are people who realized early on that all of life is a sales pitch. When you apply for a job, you are selling yourself to the employer. Why do you think there's such emphasis on a good resume and a well-groomed appearance? When you debate issues that you care deeply about, you're making a sales pitch. You are doing your best to convince someone that you are right! Sales ability is something that everyone has to some extent. How convincing is your son/daughter or nephew/niece, when they want something you have? Do you think they went to school to learn that? NOPE, they were born with it!

So if you've used any negative phrases about your own ability or willingness to sell, I want you to give yourself a sharp slap on the hand and sternly say, "I am a natural at sales!" If you ever want to make money on the internet, you're going to have to develop that ability. Period.

Golden Rule Number Two: Be willing to make use of free and paid advertising sources. Advertising is the life-blood of the retailing world. Now YOU are a retailer. You have a product to sell! But nobody will ever know or care unless you advertise. On the internet, there are probably more free sources of advertising than there are paid sources. And when it comes to free advertising, the secret is quantity, not quality. If you want quality, pull out your wallet, and we'll talk about that in a minute. (Just kidding!) But when it comes to free, all you have to do is pull up your favorite search engine and type in "free advertising." More on that in another chapter.

Golden Rule Number Three: Be willing to invest a significant amount of time and effort. Meaning, you are going to have to SWEAT! Oh no, you won't be out digging ditches and getting sunburned, but by the time you've stared at a computer screen for eight or ten hours, you may wish you had. Marketing on the Internet takes work, commitment, and patience. It's a shorter road to riches than some others, but it still isn't a free ride by any means. If you want to make money on the Internet, be sure you're prepared to spend almost as much time in front of your computer after work as you spent at work. It may pay off quickly, but then again it may not. Make sure you're in it for the long haul, and you'll be more likely to succeed early.

Golden Rule Number Four: Be willing to learn from your experiences. Just as all of life is a sales pitch, every experience in life can be a lesson learned, if you'll look at it that way. Never allow yourself to believe you've "arrived" and there's no more left for you to learn. The world of technology is moving way too fast for anyone to ever be content without taking a class or two, but for those of us who can't afford to stay in college, the next best thing is to glean lessons from your life experience. Listen to people who know. Read articles, read books, read sales solicitations. All these are sources of knowledge that will add to your ability to market your own product. Click your heels together three times and then repeat this to yourself over and over: "I WILL NEVER STOP LEARNING... I WILL NEVER STOP LEARNING... I WILL NEVER STOP LEARNING..."

Golden Rule Number Five: Be willing to form relationships with other marketers. One thing I wish I had more time for, and probably should MAKE more time for, is the building of friendships with people who are making money on the Internet. The reason is because I understand the principle of association. You tend to become like the people you spend time with - not because you're easily influenced, but simply because that's how human beings are designed. Once in a while, I open my mouth and hear my father speaking. I HATE that! But I realize the simple truth, that we absorb the habits and attitudes of other people in our lives. SO, if you want to learn success in marketing, form a solid habit of association with successful marketers. Join and attend forums where these types of people hang out. Get access to phone numbers and conference calls where you can speak with these people and absorb their knowledge and experience. The fact is that you will not regret the time you spent "shooting the breeze" with someone who, without even realizing it, gave you secrets to success that you were able to put to work in your own life.

Golden Rule Number Six: Remember the principle of increasing returns. In other words, what comes around, goes around. Or in more traditional words, you reap what you sow. How does this apply to marketing, you ask? Let me explain. I believe that it is a basic law of the universe that you get back what you put into it. If you live your life with honesty and consideration, then it will pay off in dividends of trust and beneficial relationships. In the Internet, it's a small world even though it's a large universe. People who market tend to associate with other marketers. If you run your business with integrity, you will be known as such, and people who respect integrity will send business your way. But if you don't, believe me it will get around, and your name will be mud. Unless it already is mud, and then it'll be something worse. Just don't do it. Remember that it all comes back to you one way or another, sooner or later.

Golden Rule Number Seven: Be willing to deal positively with disappointments. This actually goes well with other Golden Rules, but I think it's important enough to be discussed separately. Life is full of disappointments - if you're over the age of 12, you should already understand that. But in the world of marketing, you may actually suffer quite a few failures before you succeed. But remember this - THE ONLY WAY TO TRULY FAIL IS TO FAIL TO TRY AGAIN.

There may come a point where you decide it simply isn't what you want to do, and you'd rather pursue other possibilities. But unless or until you reach that point, don't give up. Don't give up. Don't give up. And let me emphasize to you, DON'T GIVE UP! If you give up, you will never know whether you would one day have made it. So - don't give up!

But it's just as important that you determine to learn from your mistakes and disappointments. A lesson learned turns a failure into a success, because you actually gained something positive from the experience. Determine to come up fighting every time you fall, and then look at what made you fall so you can figure out how not to fall again. This is how we learn, and this is how we get strong - through falling and getting up, taking a hit and learning how to duck or block the next one. One more time, just so you can remember... DON'T GIVE UP!!!

This article excerpted from "Internet Marketing In A Nutshell" The FREE course offered at http://www.fightforyourfreedom.net By Gene Ballou

---

My 7-Step Secret Formula For Cashing In On Content!

Copyright 2005 Kurma GroupContent, content, content - everybody's talking about it! Are you lucky enough to have a ton of content - maybe from an ezine you've been publishing for years?Then realize this:... Read More

Niche Marketing - The Way to Succeed Online

If you think that all money to be made online has already been made then you have not heard of niche marketing. As internet marketing evolves the one thing you must do to... Read More

Building Community Websites = Success Online

In this article I will discuss how important is it to build community websites rather than straight forward sales pitches. Selling online is about bringing people together, not about stuffing products down your... Read More

The Most Profitable Product In The World You Can Ever Sell!

Thank goodness, the most profitable product in the world you can ever sell... also happens to be the easiest product to create.Can you guess what I'm talking about?Give up?Well, that product is..."Information"!Let me... Read More

How To Use the Multiplier Effect in Web Marketing

One of the most exciting things about doing business online is the Multiplier Effect. It's the principal factor behind some of the fortunes that have been made on the Internet.How does it work?The... Read More

Relevancy - The New Black for Online Marketing?

Information OverloadWith information overload rapidly killing traditional forms of online advertising - today the key to effective marketing is relevancy.Smaller businesses with a niche or limited product range are more often than not... Read More

The Most Valuable Asset in Marketing - Do YOU have It?

The single most important attribute for a successful Network Marketer is often lacking, and yet it is the easiest to possess. Do YOU have it?INTEGRITY - The quality of possessing and steadfastly adhering... Read More

Internet Marketers and Two-Year-Olds: Just Toddling Around Asking Lots of Questions

I recently noticed that my friend's two-year-old, Conor, is getting to be quite the big boy. For one thing, he has suddenly morphed from a pudgy baby into a mini version of her... Read More

Boost Your Sales Copy With One Simple Tweak

Do you want an amazingly simple trick to move far ahead of your competition and increase sales? With this free, no- software little tweak, you will be able to put customized information into... Read More

Online Network Marketing 101B - Basic Must Steps to Follow to be a Successful Marketer

In my earlier article, "Online Network Marketing 101A", I wrote the first three things that you have to do in order for you to start your career to be a successful marketer.We are... Read More

Writing An Effective, Profit Producing Ad

One of the biggest challenges for most Internet Marketers is writing effective ad copy. This is hardly surprising. Most marketers are not professional writers and writing ad copy is a difficult skill for... Read More

Time is Money in Online Marketing

We all do it.Spend time and money sourcing those vital pieces of kit to get the best from our endeavors.On the final day of 2004 I engaged in a little exercise, the results... Read More

Kaizen in Online Marketing

Many people throughout the life of online marketing have utilized the use of Kaizen. As a matter of fact I would venture a guess that almost all successful businesses in today's markets are... Read More

A Better Mousetrap

Conventional wisdom says find a niche. Don't go where the market is saturated. And that makes a lot of sense. But for every rule there are exceptions.I remember when Google first came onto... Read More

Internet Marketing Guide

If you are considering launching a website for your business or entering the lucrative world of e-commerce by starting an online business, there are a few things you need to keep in mind... Read More

Income Producing Tasks and The Fluff!

Think about everything you can do in your business that would contribute to bringing money into your bank account.The most important thing is 'Building Your List!* Running split tests to see which one... Read More

How To Win The Marketing War, Capture Your Prospects Mind

As a marketer you are engaged in a "War" with competitors where the ultimate prize is capturing the mind of prospects and claiming their purchase dollars.What you are about to read shows you... Read More

10 Explosive Ways To Turbo-Boost Your Sales

1. Design your web site to be a targeted resource center. Choose one subject and build on it. You'll gain repeat visitors that are interested in that topic.2. Offer something that is really... Read More

10 Sure-Fire Viral Marketing Strategies To Increase Traffic To Your Website

"Viral Marketing" is giving something away for free and allowing people to pass it on to others. The main purpose of viral marketing is to spread your message to as many people as... Read More

How To Identify Ideal Money Making Web Opportunities

I was winding my way up the levels of a very crowded parking garage the other day. The line of cars desperately seeking a spot ahead of me kept turning to the right.So,... Read More

Yanik Silver Asked Some Questions That Peaked My Curiosity

It's so simple! I wish I'd discovered it a year ago!There are a few marketers that stand out from the crowd. One of the hippest guy's on the internet scene these days is... Read More

The Google Toolbar & Search Engine Optimization

Like many other useful toolbars out there so is the Google Toolbar. I consider this toolbar a must have for any serious search engine optimizer and anyone who searches the internet on a... Read More

Interactive Content ? Blogs, Forums, and Feedback ? What Does Your Web Site Need?

The business principle of continued contact and online relationship building has given rise to the popularity of online business blogs, forums and feedback opportunities. Interactive online communication define the web site owners as... Read More

Online Marketing Law! Whats Happening?

You read that right. There's a new law in California for online marketing. This law is thanks to the California's Online Privacy Protection Act.Who does this affect the most? This affects anyone online... Read More

Collective Courtesy

I don't know what you are promoting, or what methods you prefer, but I'll bet I know one thing for sure. When you post an ad, display a banner, or enter your site... Read More

Enough With the Upsells Already!

It happened twice during the same week. All I wanted to do was make a purchase, and they were making every effort to keep me from it (or so it seemed). Why would... Read More

Harness the Power of the Internet

Whether you're a service business working to obtain clients, a manufacturer selling products, or a non-profit organization selling your good works, you must spread the word. You must speak up to be heard.... Read More

The Paradigm Shift of Internet Marketing

There is a trend going on in the world of internet marketing. If you truly open your eyes and pay attention to everything in the internet marketing world, you will notice this specific... Read More

Sneak Up On Your Competition

Dear Internet marketers: After going through a couple of months of frustration, I finally came up with ways to "sneak up" on my competition. I thought I would save you a... Read More