How Does One Begin with Online Marketing?
How Does One Begin with Online Marketing?
I was recently asked which marketing strategy would I prioritize if I were to take an existing professional services business online: creating a website, a shopping cart, a newsletter, or a blog?
I think that is an excellent question. "A website, of course!" would have been the unanimous response from the majority of Internet marketing experts five years ago. After that, they would pitch their services to build a complex website with all the trimmings.
This week, a reader emailed me with an intriguing question on the cost of website design. I am not very knowledgeable in this field. However, this reader possesses a high level of intelligence. Why? He is aware from my online presence (website, ezines, and blogs) that I have been generating a respectable living online for some time.
He is been a counselor for many years and is a rabbi. Now that he is thought it through, he plans to start coaching individuals and use the internet to attract customers, sell ebooks, and launch other programs.
Inquiry as the Initial Stage
His concerns center on prioritization, the best use of his marketing budget, and the best way to set everything up to run automatically and without him having to lift a finger.
I will not pretend to know the solutions to his specific inquiries, but I will stress the points that matter. He seems quite curious!
Common sense or intuition leads many people. The story basically goes like this:
I am in need of an internet people-finding tool. Therefore, I require a website. Can you recommend someone who can build me an affordable website? Is that so? A mere $1,000. Sure, I can see why that would work. Just do it. "
In the future, when they intend to launch an ezine, blog, or sell an ebook, they will come to understand that a website alone is insufficient. At that point, the web designer's hourly rate becomes relevant.
To my knowledge, no coder has ever said they are unable to do something. Every time you hire them, they will assure you that they can handle every detail, including collecting email addresses, sending out newsletters, building blogs on your site, and even developing a safe system to accept payments. The sad truth is that web developers and designers can automate all these chores for your site, but they will charge you and it will not be perfect. Their hourly rates (and availability) will bind you indefinitely.
Getting back to the original question posed to me at the article's outset.
While my business partner and I advise going for the unified approach and connecting all the pieces at once if your budget allows, there are other options.
You can not expect to make sales of your goods and services without a database of potential customers. So, to get things off to a good start, we suggest delivering an ezine or free material to attract customers to your business and create your database. And you must have an online presence for individuals to discover you and sign up for your updates.
If you are just starting out and on a tight budget, a blog and an e-commerce platform with an autoresponder system should be your first two pieces of software.
Platforms for Third-Party Shopping Carts
When you work with a third-party shopping cart system, you sign up for an account with a web host that focuses on things like affiliate programs, automated database administration, credit card processing, online merchant accounts, and email broadcasting.
Using autoresponders to distribute your ezine and automated emails is all that is required at the beginning. A basic shopping cart account is available to you. Additional capabilities, like digital delivery and affiliate program management, can be added to your shopping cart as your business expands and new products are developed.
You can handle your newsletter using one of the many online email broadcasting systems. Be mindful, though, that a shopping cart application or other all-in-one solution will end up saving you both more time and money.
Having a shopping cart software that also handles database management and newsletters is a great place to start. Having a single source handle all of your automated marketing operations is preferable than having a separate company handle your database and newsletter.
You can read a series of articles that provide thorough information and questions to ask while choosing a shopping cart system: Here is the link: http://snipurl.com/Pick_a_Cart
Then what?
What comes next now that you have your shopping cart system? In our upcoming piece, we will go into the comparison between websites and blogs.
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