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Go Long With Your Web Marketing If you've ever done any investing, you're probably familiar with the term "going long". In a nutshell, going long means investing for long-term profits. And it's probably the safest, if not surest way to make money in a sometimes volatile arena, the stock market.
Today I'd like to show you how to apply this powerful strategy to your Internet marketing campaign.
As I'm sure you are aware by now, there are a multitude of ways to invest in your Internet marketing. Many of the strategies will yield immediate results, however the results will be short-lived.
An example of a short-term marketing strategy is buying advertising. While you DO need to purchase SOME advertising, if you rely solely on this strategy you'll see a disturbing trend develop at your site -- whenever you advertise less, your site traffic will come to a near stand-still. And if you run a small business, you may not be able to afford advertising every month of the year.
Another example of a short-term Internet marketing strategy is bulk email. Here's why...
When you use bulk email, you blast your message to thousands of email addresses, filter the myriad of complaints, and hope for a few sales mixed in. There is absolutely no positive long-term effect on your business. Perhaps you make a few sales but you've made zero long-term investment in your business.
So how does one diversify their Internet marketing portfolio and GO LONG with their promotion strategies?
Perhaps you already know the answer. Let's test your knowledge, shall we!
Of the following low-cost Internet marketing strategies, which TWO would have the longest positive result on your website traffic?
If you guessed number one, you're.... Wrong! If you regularly make INTELLIGENT and HELPFUL posts to targeted bulletin boards and newsgroups, you can generate some traffic. However most boards purge posts frequently and with the growing number of boards out there users rarely take time to search archives for answers.
If you guessed number two, you're.... Wrong Again! Top ten search engine rankings are great, but unless you have time to maintain the listing you'll find that the long-term benefits are hard to measure. I've found that a do-it-once and forget about it strategy works best. (See http://www.bizweb2000.com/confess.htm for details.)
If you guessed number three... you're... Wrong Again! As I mentioned at the top of this piece, you DO need to purchase SOME advertising, and banner advertising and exchanges can be a part of that. But if you rely solely on paid ads, you'll see less site traffic whenever your advertising slows.
All in all, items one through three above are good ways to promote your website... IF you have the right components set up at your site. If not, you may be wasting your time and money.
The first component you MUST have at your site in order for those (or any) efforts to pay of is...
Item number 4 from above. An opt-in email list building strategy! If no. 4 was one of your guesses, you are right on! Growing your potential client base should always be a priority in ANY business. The best way to do this on the web is to grow your own opt-in email list(s). Ask for your website visitors name and email address and give them something of value in return. It is as simple as that. Then treat the growing list like gold.
So that leaves us with the other correct answer. Number five, sharing your web content with others. Simply put, you write about your area of expertise and pre-license the content to other editors and webmasters in your type of business. This strategy is sometimes called "submitting articles", but it doesn't even have to be articles that you share. Tips, lessons, hints, secrets, anything that would help a particular group of people. Share your knowledge somehow! The web is ideal for this strategy and yes, content is still king! See how I use this strategy at http://www.bizweb2000.com/articles.htm - it is still my cheapest promotion method (free) and by far my longest lasting.
I can say without reserve that the two strategies above are THE premium ways to GO LONG with your Internet marketing. How can I make such a bold statement?
Simple. Here's proof of each:
Last week I was contacted by a subscriber that had been on my subscriber list for, get this... four years! She had finally decided to start her own business and wanted help from someone with a track record of getting results. As one of my original subscribers I naturally offered her a deep discount on my services.
Example two: When I started using my article writing and pre-licensing strategy back in 1997, I used an address called sub@jdd-publishing.com for new subscribers to receive my gazette. I used that address for only a short time until my website http://www.bizweb2000.com was complete. Now, a full three years later, I still get new subscribe requests to that address every week. How's that for longevity.
So in closing, I'd like you to consider the Internet marketing strategies you are using. How many of them could be considered "going long". After all, if you plan to retire or even work less some day, you'll have to invest in the future of your website now. And believe me, it's nice to see the website traffic continue to come in, even when you don't!
JIM DANIELS of JDD Publishing Company, Be sure to visit BizWeb2000's top 5 URL's... 1. Free "how-to" CyberMarketing Lessons: 2. Our "home-grown" books, manuals and software 3. The Commish report: Opportunities & Results! 4. FREE Software: Grow your website traffic! 5. The Private Challenge Area: Experts only.
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Click Here to Email Bob Smith
