Internet Businesses

Can I Make Money with Internet Marketing?

There isn't a single or simple answer to this question.

Internet marketing used to be pretty simple however, it can be tricky and frustrating today. Your web page can be drawing thousands and overnight the search engines change their programming and you are drawing zilch.

There are ways to minimize this with internet education and by building internet traffic for your web site but before you look for internet marketing solutions you need to be sure you really want to market over the internet.

Do I Really Need a Web Page?

Do you have a web page? If so can you change it easily? If you are an affiliate the page you are provided may be very limited and that is fine as an affiliate. We'll discuss the advantages/disadvantages of being an affiliate later.

If you have your own business and want to market over the internet you need a web page, shopping cart, autoresponder, newsletter, etc. You also need to drive traffic to your internet site through search engine optimization or with pay-per-click traffic and other techniques.

However, even if you don't market over the internet a web site gives credibility to your business. In fact this is one use of the web that is not direct marketing but is still essential for most companies.

• If your page is for current customer information, be sure your current customers can actually get information from it!
• If the page is a backend sales piece for other marketing such as brochures, radio, television, etc. be sure the web page is set up to market you.
• Know what you want your web page to accomplish and design it around that goal.
• Be sure your web url is on your business cards.
• This is a business, be professional.

I work with small startup businesses. For a small startup I recommend a templated web page. It is easy to learn and you can change it in 5 minutes. You don't need to know html or need any additional programs like Dreamweaver to use it.

I have Dreamweaver and use it for this site, however, Snapmonkey is a template site that I have put numerous clients into specifically because they can do a site exactly like this one themselves, easily.

And if you are a teckie type, please remember to keep your fun stuff for other teckies and your general site simple for less computer literate people (unless you're selling teckie stuff, then go for it!).

Snapmonkey is an easy site to learn and they have great customer support. I've used them off and on for years and I have to tell you, they are much easier than using dreamweaver! So why spend the money for software when you can just use a template for the same result?

As I mentioned earlier, I work with small startup businesses. It breaks my heart when I hear, once again, about a small startup businesses really great web site that they can't make changes to and can't use as it is.

Invariably they went out and hired a really good web designer who did a truly great job on their site. Unfortunately they spent too much and could no longer justify the money for their web person. Pretty soon the site is out of date and useless and the business owner cannot access or change it because they have neither the software nor the skills.

Even worse, the site may actually belong to the web designer!

First cashflow, then specialists. Until cashflow is reliable use an inexpensive templated site.

You can utilize specialists in an advisory role until there is cashflow. For example an advisory roll might be to help you optimize your site, to produce graphics for you that you can upload, or to produce sales copy you can utilize.

Utilize the skills on a piecemeal basis as you need them and maintain control of the site yourself until you can afford full support. (Of course there is always barter of skills too :-))

Learn what you can even if you plan to hire a professional. You have to manage your business and need a general background to manage effeciently.

By all means utilize professionals in an advisory capacity but do not let yourself become hostage to their knowledge. Then when you actually have cashflow you can hire an internet/web design professional full time, however, beware.

You need a simple site that is easily understood and navigable by people browsing the web, not the most technologically impressive site that doesn't bring sales.

Derek Gehl is a great resource for internet marketers. He has great products for educating you about the internet.

Mr Gehl provides step-by-step solutions to internet marketing and internet traffic generation problems. Good quality information is a requirement for being successful.

If you are serious about internet marketing and want to get a quick start check him out. Trying to market over the internet without the kind of help Derek Gehl will give you is business suicide.

Decide you are going to be successful and get the information, education, and mentoring you need.

If you want to key in on web traffic Michael Cheney is great and cost competitive. He has information on your site setup also but traffic is the key to any website success and that is his main focus.

I absolutely agree with his premise that without traffic it doesn't matter how good your website is.

And I also agree with his premise that knowledge alone is not power. "Knowledge applied is power." Post that over your computer.

There are other courses available and many are good. Select one and focus on it until you are successful.

When you jump around trying to do too much all at once nothing gets completed.

Confucius said "The man who chases two rabbits catches neither." That's good advice.

I'm recommending either Derek Gehl or Michael Cheney. If you prefer someone else go with him or her but focus on one and stick with it until you are successful on the internet.

What about affiliates?

Being an affiliate can be great. There are many people who make a lot of money as affiliates and many more people who don't make any money as affiliates.

So what's the difference? Even as an affiliate you have to sell the product or service.

If they provide a standard web page for you, you have to drive web traffic there. If you just have a link, you have to have a sales page and get traffic to your sales page or send it out in an email to your list.

How well you drive traffic to your page and sell the product or service will determine how much money you make.

A major traffic "secret" is newsletters. I'm sure you get one or a thousand newsletters in your email every day. I know I do!

Almost every newsletter will tell you about the newest great product or service they just found out about and there is your handy dandy link to go straight to it. That is the affiliate link.

If you get multiple newsletters in the same general subject you will notice many of them recommending the same product/service at the same time. That means that the company with the product being recommended went out to people with lists and set them up as an affiliate so everyone on the affiliate's list would hear about the product.

Most of the internet gurus make major money by using other people's lists. Pretty slick.

What if I Don't Have a List?

Building a list is what all these newsletters are about.

Have you noticed most sites have a pop-up so you can sign up as soon as you log onto their site? It can get pretty aggressive.

Many sites are starting to use what's called a "squeeze" technique. If you want to see the site, article, whatever, you have to sign up. They are one of the newer listbuilding tools.

I personally prefer to have a signup along the side or periodically throughout the web site. Then the people who do sign up are a more targeted market. It is a slower way to build your list but a much more targeted niche in the end.

Have you noticed I don't have a newsletter along the side and haven't asked you to sign up for one? That's because I'm not building a list.

I do a lot of work on the web, help startup businesses get a web presence set up, and absolutely recommend they do a newsletter to start list building but I prefer to make my money in Real Estate. It's just more fun for me.

Whatever business you do, go for the fun or joy. As you go through these pages you will see that I am absolutely serious about that.

I don't want to set up a bunch of articles on an autoresponder and manage a list. I don't want to pay someone to write articles for me under my name. Then it wouldn't be mine would it? I don't care what they tell you, these things need to be updated and take time. Maybe later but not now.

That means you will not be hearing from me. If you want to find this web site in the future put it in your favorites, say in a folder labeled "cool sites." I do update it when it feels like a fun thing to do.

And when I can figure out how to do a newsletter that promotes your staying focused and working your business I may start one. There are so many helpful tips and products I haven't mentioned but the bottom line is when you have too much to work on you work on nothing.

Pick one, take action, stay focused.

Can I Make Money Without a List?

Sure, use other peoples lists.

Of course that means you need a product or service they are willing to put out on their list and you need to have a really good affiliate program so they want to put your product or service out on their list. In addition, anyone from their list that responds is now on your list. Pretty slick list building.

You can also be an affiliate with a company that provides you a web page and drive web traffic to your site.

Yahoo or Google ads work for this but please be very careful. They can be very expensive. They can also be extremely cost effective. There are a number of very good training sites for Google and Yahoo ads including in Mr Derek Gehl's and Mr Michael Cheney's courses.

If you are new to internet marketing or have never been successful at internet marketing do check out Derek Gehl. There are numerous other places to go and I'm signed up with many of them but Derek Gehl's products give you a very good overview of internet marketing. The education about the internet and the help building internet traffic is invaluable.

If you already have a web site but need traffic and want to just key in on that check out Michael Cheney, one of the most-respected names in Internet marketing, he has been online since 1995 and is the man behind the 6-Figure launches of AdSense Videos and 11 Days To List Profits.

There is no way I can give you enough information in one page on the web and I'm not the internet expert, Mr Gehl and Mr Cheney are. I highly recommend either of them.

But pick one and use the information, then look at another. Don't turn into an information junky and end up applying nothing.