The Ten Commandments of Internet Marketing (Part Two)

Article Title: The Ten Commandments of Internet Marketing (Part Two)
Author: Craig Lock
Category/Subject: Internet Marketing, Internet, WWW
Other Articles:nhttp://www.articlesbeyondbetter.com/profile/Craig-Lock/270n(Writing, internet marketing, personal growth and words of inspiration)

Publishing
Guidelines: We hope that the following article (formatted to 65 ncharacters) may be informative and helpful to your e-zine nreaders, or on your web site. If it helps others "out there" in any way, nthen we're happy. This article (as with all my articles) nmay be freely published, electronically or in print.
If you do not want to receive my articles as a member of an article list, you will have to unsubscribe from them, as I do not have your email address. If a lot of you do that, I'll take the hint and rather not send out my articles! Thanksn n "We share what we know, so that others may grow."n n *
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF INTERNET MARKETING n(PART TWO) n
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to use nthe Internet, and he won't bother you for weeks." n- anon n(Sorry men... however, I presume this principle also applies to our women-folk!).

Introductory Thoughts:

I hope that the following article based on our experiences may nbe informative and/or helpful in your online marketing. n
To continue (from Part One)...

We've had a lot of fun, learning as we've gone along and this article has been written in the spirit of helping others around the globe through sharing our experiences of the www. (after all, we have all been "newbees" at some time)

"How will you ever know if you can paint that picture, run thatnbusiness, sell that vacuum cleaner, earn that degree, hold thatnoffice, make that speech, win that game, marry that girl, writenthat book, bake that souffle, build that house - unless you try it!"n- Richard M. DeVos, founder of Amwaynn 6. Do not launch your product before the market is ready for nit. Test the market first by doing a survey. Ask yourself: Is nthere a NEED for your particular product? In what way is it ndistinctive (and superior) to the competition (world-wide, nremember!)? Have all your systems in place to market it... then nalways remember, all products have a definite life cycle...and nsome are relatively short. n n 7. Take the business of internet marketing seriously. The nworld online population is exploding daily and exponentially n(big word, eh...but what does it mean?). I'm not sure how many npeople are online world-wide, but think it may be in the order nof 150-200 million at present and increasing daily. In naddition, I "guess" there are a similar number of web sites n(and many more pages) "up there in cyberspace". So the ncompetition is "pretty stiff"! As the "cyber-revolution" ngathers momentum, imagine if everyone is online one day? Impossible perhaps, but who knows! What will that do for your nbusiness and you? An unlimited target market for your PRODUCTS n- if you are still going strong by then. VERY EXCITING! n n 8. Have an effective web presence. Your internet site should explain nimmediately what the visitor will get for their time online. If nit is not clear WHY they should stay, they'll leave before they ntry to find out. Therefore make your site as interesting and ninformative as you can. I've seen many sites, where I don't nknow the webmaster's objective, their PURPOSE. Are they purely nfor information, or trying to sell something? Make sure your site loads quickly, because people soon get tired of waiting in ntoday's fast /instant (coffee) world. n n 9. Always remember MARKETING YOUR PRODUCT EFFECTIVELY is the nkey to the success of your business. If you don't get adequate nresults, you'll soon be out of business... as recurring bills nin the post-box without income to pay them soon take all the nfun out of your venture into "cyber" self-employment. n
I spend at least an hour a day purely on internet marketing: mainly through my various article submissions. Most effective! n
Don't forget to use traditional methods of marketing to npromote your business, as in advertising (radio, news- papers, nbrochures, and the most effective of all, word of mouth in your nlocal community). The two strategies (both on-line and noff-line), I believe, work best together in your marketing nplan. I plan to do more off-line advertising, by allocating a nportion of revenue to marketing, as it comes in. n
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 nlike having a billboard in the middle of a forest or a desert.
An example: Just because you have a phone number in the phone nbook, doesn't mean that a stranger will call you. So it is nabsolutely 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 nwithout sales there will soon be no business! n n...and finally and most importantly,.n n* 10. Use the Internet to build a better world. We are at the forefront of one of the most innovative and far-reaching ninventions in human history. The net is the most cost- nefficient, INSTANTANEOUS, EXCITING and effective way of marketing products and services around the globe through modern ntelecommunications. We live in one of the most exciting times nin human history; so exploit the AMAZING POWER of the internet nto reach hundreds of thousands of people and perhaps even millions around the world. Use your creative energies and nimagination to the fullest, by thinking of new ideas of how to market your particular products. I keep a notebook by my nbedside and leave to my creative subconscious mind just before
I go to sleep. And we all have great powers of imagination as nthe source for creative ideas, through the amazing power of the nhuman mind (that's the subject of my next book, btw). n
SUMMARY:

I believe INTERNET MARKETING is the KEY to internet success, nespecially if you have a limited marketing budget, like us. As nmentioned, I allocate at least an hour or two a day purely to internet marketing, through submitting my articles on numerous nsubjects to various ezines and publishing resources. I find it by far the most effective way of free advertising to get ntraffic (= SALES) . Always remember to have a resource box at nthe end of each article, together with your web site address. n
Carefully monitor what's working for you and what's not on a regular basis. REVIEW YOUR STRATEGIES REGULARLY. n
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 nbusiness. 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, nit's a level playing field around the world and anyone, like nthe 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 nto changing circumstances and markets. So we "one and two man nbands running our technology through number eight fence wire* nhave got the jump on them". n n * 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. n(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 nperseverance (+ 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 of the
New Zealand Enterprise Centre and Nugrow Technologies, ntogether with Stefan Van Lingen in South Africa and Barbara in the "US of A" , we've ndone it all on an absolutely "shoestring" budget n, lots of hard graft and heaps of pure nfaith. We have been reasonably successful to date (the npast seven years), but have hopes of far greater success in the nfuture. No matter, we are enjoying the jou
ey in a totally nnew field and are having great fun innovating, learning and extending nourselves each day. I hope you too take pleasure and have great nsuccess as you travel along your very individual jou
ey in
"cyberspace marketing". n
No matter where you may live on this planet, cyberspace can nproduce income to so many "budding netrepreneurs" . The www ngives 'ordinary people' without much capital, like you and I, a ngreat BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY: the opportunity of self nemployment (and of a life-time) by reaching out to a GLOBAL nmarket-place. Each one of us has a responsibility to ourselves nand our families. It is up to each one of us to reach out and nhelp many people around the world through being innovative and noriginal in our ideas... and the money we earn from selling our narray of unique products and services can be used for many good purposes, nlike perhaps even helping others achieve their dreams. In ndoing that, WE WILL BE MAKING THE MOST USE OF OUR UNIQUE n(God-given) ABILITIES. n
The successful cyber entrepreneur of today could well be the nequivalent of the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Kennedy's, Paul Getty's nand Henry Ford's of yesteryear, especially in the new
ENTREPRENEURIAL (nice big word) AGE, which I believe, is even nmore important (and a more appropriate term) than the ninformation age. n
What you do today could repay you a hundred-fold ntomorrow...and there is just one rule: n n If you really BELIEVE in your product, then get onto the nplaying field (or perhaps you Americans call it "the nball-park") of cyberspace. Then as the famous shoe ad says, n
JUST DO IT WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT AND BE HAPPY ALONG THE JOU
EY!

Craig Lock

P.S:
Happy marketing online and "learn as you go"
I hope this information may be helpful to you.n n* "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 nworld in union. One where, like your founding forefathers in
America, you can first celebrate the Independance Day of the nstrong burning creative spirit that lies deep within every one of us. If this spark is set alight, it is a flame that will nbu
long and brightly for future generations and make your personal VISION of the future a REALITY... and perhaps even nfulfil YOUR UNIQUE DESTINY on this planet." n- craign n "You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm." n - Colette n
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." n- Ralph Waldo Emerson n
About the author:
Craig is a writer and "infopreneur", who believes in sharing information, nas well as encouraging others to find their talents and gifts, nto strive for and accomplish their goals and dreams in life - whatever they may be. nhttp://www.craiglockbooks.com and http://www.craiglock.com nn* Hard copies and e-books - fiction and non-fiction:nself help, personal growth, inspiration, travel, humour, nnovels and money books.

Uplifting, encouraging and empowering people through the power of words and thought energy. Change YOUR world and you change THE world."

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