Relationship Marketing | Build Your Online Business

If you are fairly new to internet marketing and consider yourself a newbie, there are certain things you can do to determine for yourself how well you are progressing in your internet marketing career.  I use the word career, because this is how you should view it so that it has a place of integrity in your mind.  This post is not intended for the person who is just toying with the idea of having an online business, but for the person who is serious about providing products of services for their market and is interested in creating the right mindset and building their brand.

You must have a framework in which you are able to identify where you currently are, and where you would like to be in three to six months, and even in a year's time.  Within this framework here are five of the many questions you can ask yourself:

• How much money are you currently earning, and how much would you like to be earning in six months?  It's important to be realistic.  Set achievable but realistic goals.
• How do you currently make your  money online? Are you using Affiliate Marketing?  If so , are you using effective strategies? Is this something that you will continue to do in the next six months? (more…)

The face of internet marketing has undergone significant changes over the past few years giving rise to the demand for effective online marketing tips and strategies.  As a result, opt-in e-mail marketing or permission marketing has seen an upsurge.

What is opt-in marketing? It is marketing or communicating through e-mail with a group of persons who have willingly given permission to be contacted by subscribing to your materials through an opt-in box or a landing page.  This has given rise to the statement, “The money is in the list.”  Savvy marketers know, however, that there is more to it than just having a list.  It's  important to build a targeted list of people who liked what they saw when they first visited your site, want to see and learn more from you, and are also willing to purchase your product or service that's offered on your website.

In order to make this effective, here are three critical things you need to do:

1) Create a squeeze page or landing page so your visitors can visit in a focused environment.  Many online marketers create a form on their blog or blogs for visitors to opt-in to.  While this may be good in the short term, a more effective strategy is to have your visitors go to a landing or sqeeze page.  Usually your blog has a lot of information and it may be difficult for your visitor to keep their focus; instead their eyes may wander to the different articles and offers on your page.  Make your landing page informative and inviting so that they want more.

2) Give something – a report, an e-book, a video, an e-mail course etc. or combination of these tools to thank your visitors for trusting you with their personal information.  On the “Thank You” page or on the “Download” page you then invite your visitors to your blog to learn more about you and what you have to offer.  You will  want to stay in touch with your list with autoresponders.  My favorite autoresponder is Aweber.
3)  Provide excellent customer service and products: Satisfied customers are more likely to share information with their peers and word of mouth advertising is best because these new visitors will be referred by people who already know, like and trust you.

Working full-circle is working smart and not hard.  Building your targeted list takes work but work that will pay you big dividends in the long run.

Please feel free to add your comments.