THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF INTERNET MARKETING
(PART TWO - UPDATED)
by Craig Lock
"How will you ever know if you can paint that picture, run that
business, sell that vacuum cleaner, earn that degree, hold that
office, make that speech, win that game, marry that girl, write
that book, bake that souffle, build that house - unless you try it!"
- Richard M. DeVos, founder of Amway
6. Do not launch your product before the market is ready for
it. Test the market first by doing a survey. Ask yourself: Is
there a NEED for your particular product? In what way is it
distinctive (and superior) to the competition (world-wide,
remember!)? Have all your systems in place to market it... then
always remember, all products have a definite life cycle...and
some are relatively short.
7. Take the business of internet marketing seriously. The
world online population is exploding daily and exponentially
(big word, eh...but what does it mean?). I'm not sure how many
people are online world-wide, but think it may be in the order
of 150-200 million at present and increasing daily. In
addition, I "guess" there are a similar number of web sites
(and many more pages) "up there in cyberspace". So the
competition is "pretty stiff"! As the "cyber-revolution"
gathers momentum, imagine if everyone is online one day? Impossible
perhaps, but who knows! What will that do for your
business and you? An unlimited target market for your PRODUCTS
- if you are still going strong by then. VERY EXCITING!
8. Have an effective web presence. Your internet site should explain
immediately what the visitor will get for their time online. If
it is not clear WHY they should stay, they'll leave before they
try to find out. Therefore make your site as interesting and
informative as you can. I've seen many sites, where I don't
know the webmaster's objective, their PURPOSE. Are they purely
for information, or trying to sell something? Make sure your site loads
quickly, because people soon get tired of waiting in
today's fast /instant (coffee) world.
9. Always remember MARKETING YOUR PRODUCT EFFECTIVELY is the
key to the success of your business. If you don't get adequate
results, you'll soon be out of business... as recurring bills
in the post-box without income to pay them soon take all the
fun out of your venture into "cyber" self-employment.
I spend at least an hour a day purely on internet marketing: mainly through
my various article submissions. Most effective!
Don't forget to use traditional methods of marketing to
promote your business, as in advertising (radio, news- papers,
brochures, and the most effective of all, word of mouth in your
local community). The two strategies (both on-line and
off-line), I believe, work best together in your marketing
plan. I plan to do more off-line advertising, by allocating a
portion of revenue to marketing, as it comes in.
Even if you have the greatest product in the world, you will never sell
anything if you don't tell people about it. It's
like having a billboard in the middle of a forest or a desert.
An example: Just because you have a phone number in the phone
book, doesn't mean that a stranger will call you. So it is
absolutely vital that you advertise effectively to bring people to your
site; because without advertising, there will be no
TRAFFIC... and without prospects there will be NO SALES. And
without sales there will soon be no business!
..and finally and most importantly,.
* 10. Use the Internet to build a better world. We are at the forefront of
one of the most innovative and far-reaching
inventions in human history. The net is the most cost-
efficient, INSTANTANEOUS, EXCITING and effective way of marketing products
and services around the globe through modern
telecommunications. We live in one of the most exciting times
in human history; so exploit the AMAZING POWER of the internet
to reach hundreds of thousands of people and perhaps even millions around
the world. Use your creative energies and
imagination to the fullest, by thinking of new ideas of how to market your
particular products. I keep a notebook by my
bedside and leave to my creative subconscious mind just before
I go to sleep. And we all have great powers of imagination as
the source for creative ideas, through the amazing power of the
human mind (that's the subject of my next book, btw).
SUMMARY:
I believe INTERNET MARKETING is the KEY to internet success,
especially if you have a limited marketing budget, like us. As
mentioned, I allocate at least an hour or two a day purely to internet
marketing, through submitting my articles on numerous
subjects to various ezines and publishing resources. I find it by far the
most effective way of free advertising to get
traffic (= SALES) . Always remember to have a resource box at
the end of each article, together with your web site address.
Carefully monitor what's working for you and what's not on a regular basis.
REVIEW YOUR STRATEGIES REGULARLY.
FOCUS ON WHAT ACTIONS GET THE BEST RESULTS.
Remember Bill Gates's wise words: "There'll be two types of business in the
year 2000: those online... and those out of
business. And that was some time ago!
A few final words to summarize...
There are no 'magic secrets', and there is nothing mystical about making
money online. Other than the advertising budget,
it's a level playing field around the world and anyone, like
the self-employed entrepreneur working from home, like you and
I, can compete with the "big guys". And we have ONE BIG
ADVANTAGE: These corporations are too unwieldy to react swiftly
to changing circumstances and markets. So we "one and two man
bands running our technology through number eight fence wire*
have got the jump on them".
* Only joking, but Kiwis (New Zealanders) have a reputation for ingenuity
(big word) - mainly caused by our geographical isolation near the bottom of
the world.
(Note correct word order!)
It just takes a four letter word to be successful online: WORK.
With heaps of hard work, dedication, discipline and a little
perseverance (+ heaps of patience), I believe absolutely anyone can achieve
online success, even taking on the big corporations. At Eagle
Productions, working in association with Bill Rosoman,
together with Stefan Van Lingen in South Africa (http://www.bridgeniche.com)
and Barbara in the "US of A" (http://kompuwiz.com/kompustore and
http://soulful-writer.com), we've
done it all on an absolutely "shoestring" budget (no-one could
believe the story!), lots of hard graft and heaps of pure
faith. We have been reasonably successful to date (the
past seven years), but have hopes of far greater success in the
future. No matter, we are enjoying the journey in a totally
new field and are having great fun innovating, learning and extending
ourselves each day. I hope you too take pleasure and have great
success as you travel along your very individual journey in
"cyberspace marketing".
No matter where you may live on this planet, cyberspace can
produce income to so many "budding netrepreneurs" . The www
gives 'ordinary people' without much capital, like you and I, a
great BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY: the opportunity of self
employment (and of a life-time) by reaching out to a GLOBAL
market-place. Each one of us has a responsibility to ourselves
and our families. It is up to each one of us to reach out and
help many people around the world through being innovative and
original in our ideas... and the money we earn from selling our
array of unique products and services can be used for many good purposes,
like perhaps even helping others achieve their dreams. In
doing that, WE WILL BE MAKING THE MOST USE OF OUR UNIQUE
(God-given) ABILITIES.
The successful cyber entrepreneur of today could well be the
equivalent of the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Kennedy's, Paul Getty's
and Henry Ford's of yesteryear, especially in the new
ENTREPRENEURIAL (nice big word) AGE, which I believe, is even
more important (and a more appropriate term) than the
information age.
What you do today could repay you a hundred-fold
tomorrow...and there is just one rule:
If you really BELIEVE in your product, then get onto the
playing field (or perhaps you Americans call it "the
ball-park") of cyberspace. Then as the famous shoe ad says,
JUST DO IT WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT AND BE HAPPY ALONG THE JOURNEY!
Have great fun travelling the "cyber-highway"*of life.
"total non-techno" Craig Lock
http://www.craiglockbooks.com
http://www.craiglock.com
* that's a metaphor, btw!
P.S:
Happy marketing online and "learn as you go"
I hope this information may be helpful to you.
* "We can all use the internet to reach out to the
"global community" and build a better world in this new
"Information Revolution" that is upon us. Let's use it wisely, respect our
diversity and unique cultures; but celebrate a new
world in union. One where, like your founding forefathers in
America, you can first celebrate the Independance Day of the
strong burning creative spirit that lies deep within every one of us. If
this spark is set alight, it is a flame that will
burn long and brightly for future generations and make your personal VISION
of the future a REALITY... and perhaps even
fulfil YOUR UNIQUE DESTINY on this planet."
"You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm."
- Colette
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and
leave a trail."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
About the author:
Craig is a writer and "internet pioneer" (or "infopreneur"), who believes in
sharing information, as well as encouraging and helping others to find
their talents and gifts, to strive for and accomplish their
dreams in life - whatever they may be.
"Inspirational Books"* by Craig Lock are available at:
http://kompuwiz.com/kompustore and http://www.bridgeniche.com
* Hard copies and e-books - fiction and non-fiction:
self help, personal growth, inspiration, travel, humour,
novels and money books.
All proceeds go to needy and underprivileged children - MINE
P.S: Don't worry about the world ending today... it's already
tomorrow in "little" scenic and tranquil New Zealand
