Marketing An Online Business: Your Time or Your Money?

Marketing An Online Business: Your Time or Your Money?
(c) Copyright 2003, Angela Wu
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We've heard it time and time again: starting a business on
the internet can be very affordable when compared to the
traditional 'brick-and-mortar' business.

Unfortunately, this can be taken too far: people sometimes
believe that they can do everything for free... or they
try to cut corners just to save a few bucks and end up
paying for it later, in time, aggravation, missed
opportunity, and so forth.

Businesses obviously have to watch their spending. But
how far do you take it -- how much should you attempt to
do for "free"? Generally speaking, nothing is truly free
... if you don't pay for it in dollars, it will cost you
in time.

Here are a few time-saving strategies for the long-run.
It doesn't mean you won't have to put in some time
initially, but making a few wise investments can free
up more of your time later on for more productive
purposes.

* Set up a pay-per-click campaign. The initial research
and set-up of a PPC campaign can seem daunting, but
once done, the workload eases tremendously. Your PPC
campaign can provide you with a steady stream of
targeted traffic -- for a price, of course.

* Hire one of the numerous firms or individuals that
specialize in search engine optimization to work on
your website. Many fledgling businesses find these
services rather costly. However, a good search engine
rank not only gives you traffic, but it also makes it
easy for other businesses to find you -- they may be
interested in cross-promotion, even if it's as simple
as a link exchange.

* Hire a proven copywriter. You can write your own sales
copy, revise it as required, and test it to see how
well it performs... or you can hire someone with
experience. Definitely not cheap, but a good sales
letter can earn you back far more than you paid. Ask
to see samples of his or her work before making a
decision.

* Purchase or rent a targeted email list. We're not
talking about those cheap lists that are primarily
marketed through sp^m, but real, reputable, and
responsive lists such as those that can be found at
Postmaster Direct, http://www.postmasterdirect.com/ .

* Use an autoresponder. Autoresponders are versatile
and can be used for many purposes, including emailing
reports, software, lists of frequently ask questions,
download links, and customer follow-ups. ListMailPro
is an excellent option:
http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/listhost.html

* Purchase quality materials to help minimize learning
time. Lots of people balk at buying materials because
a great deal of the information may be available
elsewhere for free. That's fine, if you have the time
and the willingness to sift through this information.
However, investing in good materials can help your
business start earning profits (or extra profits)
more quickly while also helping you to avoid common
pitfalls (which may also prove to be costly).

The following are options who prefer to save money
up-front. As your business grows, you will have to
consider investing in tools or services to help you
better manage your time instead.

* Get your online education for free. There are numerous
places to get excellent information on marketing - for
instance, forums, newsletters, and article feeds are
just a few places where you can find information. It
takes time to sort through everything in search of
great information... but it -is- available.

* Add content to your site: fresh, original, quality
content that gives people a reason to come back and
a reason to recommend your site to friends. And while
you're at it, consider allowing other sites or
publications to reprint your content in exchange for
a resource box and link back to your site. This can
help you build credibility, traffic, and even sales.

* Learn how to do your own search engine optimization.
There is a wealth of information on the topic,
including http://www.searchenginewatch.com/ .

* Set up a linking strategy. The more relevant, inbound
links you have, the easier it will be for visitors to
find you. For instance, you can trade links, encourage
links to your site, submit your site for review, and
more. Search engines also love popular sites.

* Build your own list. Publish a quality newsletter,
offer product updates, send out a quote each day...
there are many options for creating a list. Use your
list to build trust and credibility as well as to
boost sales of your product or service.

* Set up joint ventures. Find complementary businesses
and determine how you may be able to work together for
mutual benefit. Send a personalized message to the
appropriate person with the primary benefits and
details of your proposal. Although it can take a fair
bit of time to locate appropriate JV partners, joint
ventures have the potential to produce a pretty profit
with little or no out-of-pocket expenses.


Fledgling businesses usually lean towards strategies to
help them save money. Then, as sales start to come in,
they progress to strategies that can help them save time
and make tasks easier. A balanced approach works well --
one that allows you to spend your time most productively
on the tasks that will yield the best results.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Angela is the editor of Online Business Basics, a practical
guide to marketing a business on a beginner's budget. This
guide offers loads of instantly useable tips and links, in
a down-to-earth style that even marketing "newbies" can
understand! A helpful Online Business Dictionary is included
too... visit: http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/article.html

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