A Marketing Plan to Combat 7 Costly Errors
What to say? Absence of a 'Marketing Plan' is the no.1 mistake most start-up marketers seem to make. This writer was no exception.
Now is the chance for you to 'wake up', and learn from the real life mistakes that I committed. I really wish, I could turn back the time to 2003, when I started 'On-line' with my "MLM" promotional efforts, and apply the knowledge and skill that I have now!
This could have saved me tons of money... But time and tide wait for no man. So be vigilant and read every bit of information I am providing on this page.
A well thought out marketing plan is essential for any business to survive in this world of severe competition.
Important Topics Covered on This Page
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Not all Traffic is Good for You. Know which one to Go After!
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Do not Spend if You Don't Know What You are Blowing Your Money on!!
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Why You Need a Marketing Plan?
It all starts with your 'Marketing Plan'. And if you are wondering what a marketing plan is, it's nothing but your action guide to carry out specific actions to introduce your product/service to your targeted audience, make them interested and persuade them to buy the product/service that you offer.
It will also include action steps to bring in sustainability and growth to your chosen “Home Based Business” or any business for that matter.
When I started with my 1st 'MLM Business', I had no clue, let alone a plan, as to what I am supposed to do, to get people joining my business, or buy the products.
I had no marketing strategy or a promotion plan to promote my "MLM Business Opportunity".
I got next to little, attending all the product training and marketing provided by my MLM program. I burnt myself out starting all wrong and ending up loosing heaps of cash in the bargain.
Joining a good "MLM Business Opportunity" plays a vital role in your success. But, that is a story for some other time....
Right now, our focus is on the need for a 'Marketing Plan'.
Marketing Tools for Your Business Plan
That said, let us now take a look at some of the errors committed by most of the beginners to the 'Online' marketing world. These are the very same mistakes that I committed when I started with my online marketing to promote my MLM.
You will also see the appropriate actionable steps to be incorporated into your 'Marketing Plan' and followed diligently to address these errors.
I strongly urge you to read to the end of this page, and you will be wiser to have avoided all the newbie errors and saved a ton of money and desperation. >Top< For marketers who does not have a 'Marketing Plan' yet, or are seeking to improve on their plan and to grow their 'Home Based Business' exponentially, grab this golden opportunity to pick the 'Top Marketing Brains' for the fortune companies , 'FREE' of cost...A Sound Marketing Plan is What YOU Need to Avoid These
Common Errors!
Marketing Plan:
Absence of a Plan or Poor Planning
Again it all starts with a 'Marketing Plan'. Without a plan, you will get distracted and off-tracked by just about every "new" thing that comes along.
Like for example, hopping from markets and niches, in the search for 'Hot' markets or niches, without doing a proper research or any research for that matter.
And ultimately when you get burned out, you're shocked, spent, angry and frustrated.
You must've sensed it. I am echoing my own feelings and experience when I first started online in 2003. I realized after spending much time and energy, that, I was in a bunch of niches where people only were information seekers and not really any buyers were there.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail, as simple as that. And the way to avoid this problem is to...PLAN!
And you obviously don't need the best of the 'Marketing Plan'. You only require a simple plan, that, YOU can execute. And remember this, there is no 'One-size-fit-all' plan. Your plan may not suit my business purpose, and my plan may not fit yours, and so on.
>Top< But, here is a run down of a simple and a generic plan that covers the basics.
---> Plan of Action:
1) Pick a market/niche that you want to target. Do a 'Market Research'. I will talk about "Market Research" separately, where, you will learn all the strategies and techniques to do this properly.
A thorough "Keyword Research" is where it all starts. This is also the 'KEY' point, that can 'MAKE' or 'BREAK' your 'Marketing Plan'.
2) Choose a business model, let's say as your "Home Based Business", that you want to use to target them. You can start with "Affiliate Marketing", "Google Adsense" "MLM" etc. Go to "Make Money From Home" page for more business ideas.
The point is, there's no one right or wrong answer. Just pick ONE.
3) Decide on your marketing choice. This website will provide you with a wide range of "Marketing Strategies". Choose a strategy that fits your need and create a single, simple, relatively low-cost product/service to offer to your target your market. It doesn't have to be fancy. Just keep it real and relevant.
>Top< 4) Now you need to focus on that ONE product in that ONE market, until you turn a profit, or safely conclude that you cannot profit from that niche/market.
Marketing Plan:
Buying and Spending With no Return
This is closely related to above. If you don't have a 'Marketing Plan', this is what you will end up with. Seriously. Ask me. I spent lot of time and money on so many 'Internet Marketing' materials and eBooks, that, I was only spending and spending, without actually benefitting from it. Now, you don't want to go that route, do you? Here is the thing. At first you will need to get some training and coaching from an 'Internet Marketing Expert'. You 'MUST' get this.
Internet Marketing Training From Big Boys >Top< And if you are just starting out, then, I understand you will be hard-pressed for money. Therefore, I strongly suggest, that you take a serious look at this 'FREE' offer from Rich Schefren, the guru of marketing. He is offering a coaching/mentoring program, put together by the top marketing brains ever. You now have your opportunity to learn some high-end marketing stuff along with some incredible business strategies, that you can immediately put into actionable steps for your 'Home Based Business'.
This way you will have a clear direction for your 'Marketing Plan', and you will not spend time and money buying and loading stuff.
The next thing for you to do is, to start learning the various strategies that you need to adopt and put it into action.
You need to take action....mere learning is not going to get you anywhere.
Marketing Plan:
No Email List
Remember:
"The Money Is In The List"
AWeber proves it to thousands of businesses every day.
Learn how email marketing software
can get you more sales, too.
But, I was totally ignorant about this for nearly 3 good years. This is a very common mistake that a new comer makes. I did not have an 'Email List', even when I was making a reasonably good amount, with my "Affiliate Marketing". It was a huge loss, that, I wish, I could have recovered somehow.
Remember, an email list is what will make you successful. It gives you opportunities to sell to your list of presold people, time and again. An important benefit of relationship marketing and therefore a 'must have' on your 'Marketing Plan'. So, again, without a list, you're really hurting yourself. Trust me.
Here are a few tips to start and grow your Email list:
--> Email List Management:
Without a good 'Email Marketing Software', there is no email list, whatsoever.
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The only 'Email Marketing Software', I know of and use, is Aweber, that is known for its quality, reliability, delivery success rate and an outstanding support. Take their $1 trial offer and test drive this software. One thing I can guarantee you is, you will not regret this decision.
By the way, click here to learn more about "Email Marketing".
OK. So now you know which email marketing software to use. Let's discuss how you can setup your 'Marketing Plan' to capture the emails and to grow your 'Email List'.
Ready? Here you go.
Marketing Plan to
Grow Your Email List FREE Video Lessons: How to Build a Website to “Pull-in” Visitors Through Your Opt-in Squeeze Page
a) Email Opt-in Page Builder: You will need a website for this. It's quite an expensive process if you outsource the job.
>Top< NEVER put up a website that doesn't have a way to capture your visitor's email address.
How will you do this? Easy.
Let's say you're selling a product/service, through your website. You just create a free eBook with a topic related to what you are selling, and offer it 'FREE' to your visitors, under one condition:
The visitor should provide you with his/her name and an email address, so that you can send the eBook to him/her.
You see, this is a very simple, yet effective concept. Make sure that your eBook is relevant to your product/service, and is of reasonable quality. The method is often known as a 'Squeeze page' or 'Opt-in' form. A must've in any 'Marketing Plan'.
And, if you want to introduce "Viral Marketing" to your marketing plan, then, you must seriously take a look at the below. >Top< Go beyond the simple opt-in/squeeze page concept, and create a fully automated sales funnel process, to milk out to the maximum extent possible from the visitors to your site, then, you need to look into Mike Filsaime's 'Butterfly Marketing' strategy. Here is your once in a lifetime opportunity to explore the viral marketing power and the butterfly effects of this process, now, fully automated and integrated, and made available to you, 'FREE' of cost...! Here is a small tip:
You can place your opt-in form prominently on the sales page for your product/service, or even on a squeeze page, in front of your sales page. This will build your 'Email List', which in turn, will build your business over time. A crucial part of your 'Marketing Plan'. Here is another tip:
Always use a third-party autoresponder or 'Email Marketing Software'. You should never host your own scripts on your own web server. Why? You can often get autoresponder scripts at very low cost, and you might be carried away, thinking, you're saving a ton of money, signing up for a monthly service. But you're not. Trust me. I wasted SO much time struggling with script issues, getting poor delivery rates, and being blacklisted by ISPs. It's definitely NOT worth it.
A third-party service like, Aweber, might seem to cost more, but it's actually a bargain when you consider the advantages it gives you. It also helps you focus on doing what you need to be doing, not struggling with technology. Marketing Plan Traffic Lesson: Bad Traffic = No Traffic
First things first. >Top< Traffic is the life-line of your business. Agreed? But, get this, it has to be targeted to your niche/market, otherwise it's simply a waste of time, money and effort. Therefore, all the more, a need for a 'Marketing Plan' that addresses the traffic issue.
Learn from My Mistakes:
When I started with my online marketing, I made 2 big mistakes:
---> Targeting super competitive niches/markets.
---> Driving untargeted traffic, freebie hunters and tire kickers. Not all traffic is good. I had to learn that lesson the hard way. Good traffic is high-quality, targeted likely buyers, whereas, bad traffic is everything else.
I will not beat this point to death, but let me tell you something; "If you intend to spend time on safe lists and traffic exchanges, DON'T. They are only a waste of time and money.
Why? It's simply because, you'll ultimately end up with a few thousand subscribers (at the most) who sit there and never buy because they are trying to sell to YOU. Safe lists, traffic exchanges, and other gimmicks can build a list quickly, but the list won't do anything. >Top< FREE Traffic Lessons:
Having said that, let's see the various training options out there to fit in your budget. Get High Quality Traffic Lessons for FREE:
Instead, here is what you should be doing:
> Take a serious look at the link that I have provided above, that offers 'FREE' training and tools to generate the kind of traffic you need. This is something that has to go on your 'Marketing Plan'.
Other methods:
* Write keyword targeted articles on your product/service and submit to popular article directory sites. Read the page on "Article Marketing" and "Writing Articles" to get a hang of this.
* IM-friendly social networking sites that can help you build a loyal following (like Twitter and Facebook). Read "Social Media", "Twitter" and "Twitter Marketing" pages, for actual strategies and techniques.
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* Other Web 2.0 sites that can give you great free traffic from search engines (like Squidoo). I will discuss "Web 2.0" on a separate page. Look out for my updates...
* Strategic "PPC Advertising", to attract immediate traffic to your website. Definitely a sound 'Marketing Plan' here, will help reduce the initial losses. Start with a great research first, implement some cool strategies for "Google Adwords", and then split test your ads and offers until you know what works. Go to "Google Adwords Tips" and "Make Money Online" with "Google Adsense" to learn more.
* "Viral Marketing" and relationships that can bring you "warm" traffic, looking to buy what you sell. Adopt Mike Filsaime's 'Butterfly Marketing' techniques to generate viral effects. An extremely good strategy to go on your 'Marketing Plan'.
When I was just starting, I wasted literally years on bad traffic. Now I spend ALL of my time on joint venture partnerships, solid article marketing, well researched PPC ads, and other "Marketing Strategies" discussed on this website, that reliably bring me great traffic.
This is what you should also do.
I will provide you with all the essential traffic generating courses and tools in my next update. Watch for my updates on "Internet Marketing Course" and "Internet Marketing Strategy (Tools4Success)". >Top< Marketing Plan: Spending with Poor/No Returns
Before spending money, you need to properly plan for it and also track your spending and performance. Another key point on your 'Marketing Plan'. I have spent a good amount of money towards paid traffic, especially, "Google Adwords". "PPC Advertising" is undoubtedly, the fastest method to generate targeted traffic, if you know how to do this properly. That was the problem with me, when I started with adwords.
I also invested money in training and tools. Problem was that, I did not have any clue, as to what and why I was spending money for? An important process to be had on your 'Marketing Plan'. You need to get the proper training from somebody, who has done this very successfully.
I will recommend, Keith Baxter's Traffic Strategies Seminar, for explosive Traffic generating techniques, that you can join for FREE! >Top< Marketing Plan: Building Trust and Relationship
Trust and relationships are the backbone of your business. They build repeat customers and repeat sales. Your 'Marketing Plan' should have strategies for effective 'Networking' both online and offline.
In the beginning, I stuck to myself and didn't do as much networking as I should have done. But I learned that I needed to be a lot more open to establish relationships with people.
Build relationships that will last. This is where the big profits are, and where the big opportunities are.
Trust & Relationships are Build Using:
Marketing Plan: Giving up Easily
This is BIG one. When I first started, I felt like quitting almost every day. But I didn't. This is one thing that I did not do. I was steadfast and relentless.
Have you heard the saying, “When the situation gets tough, the ‘TOUGH’ gets going….that was me!
One thing I have seen, people quit too soon. They fail to realize that, 'success takes perseverance'. Refuse to quit, no matter what, until you make your first sale on the Internet without spending yourself into debt. >Top< That's why you need a "Marketing Plan', to follow the process. You can now develop your marketing plan based on the topics that we have discussed on this page and put it into action.
I am sure, if followed properly and diligently, you will save tons of money that, otherwise you would spend without a clear direction and end purpose in mind. Also visit the links below for relevant strategies and techniques that will form the basis for your 'Marketing Plan'.
Book mark this page, or subscribe to “Marketing Strategies Blog”, so that, you are always in sync with the current “Marketing Strategies”.
And in closing, stick to your plan and work your plan until you hit success. Remember, success takes patience and perseverance. It's very easy to quit, and only YOU can decide NOT TO.
Here is wishing you all success,
CHEERS!!!
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