The Lazy Man's Way to the Poor House
I am sure you have seen all the marketing secrets being proposed by the so called marketing gurus of the internet. They usually start offering their so called secrets for some outrageous price at the beginning of the sale and then try to close the deal with a discount price of around $47.00. (Sounds a lot like a used car salesperson's pitch). Is their real marketing secret that they know the public is too lazy to do some thinking or homework on their own? In fact, part of their sales pitch is that they have spent years discovering the secret and now in less than 15 minutes they are going to sell it to you for the unheard of price of forty seven dollars.
As I recall from Marketing 101 you must first do some research to see what the consumer's needs and wants are and what is being purchased in the market place. After completing your research you develop or acquire the product or services that will satisfy the consumer's needs. You then must communicate to the consumer that you have the best solution for his or her problem and assist them in acquiring your product or service. Oh yes, let us not forget the follow up where you ensure that the customer is satisfied and ask for referrals.Pretty basic stuff and I have personally witnessed this process being applied successfully in all different kinds of industries. And I am sure you have too if you stop and think about it.Now let us apply this marketing process to the internet and see how creative we can be and if we can discover the marketing secrets for ourselves without spending a fortune. I remember a wise Madison Avenue Marketing Executive once telling me that creativity was simply turning over another rock. That thousands of years ago when the world was created it was complete and if anything was missing all you had to do was start turning over some rocks and you would soon find the answer.
Ok, the first thing we need to know is what are the customer needs and wants. This information, believe it or not, is readily available if we follow the money. For instance, Click Bank and Commission Junction are two of the largest sellers of e-books, software, and other downloadable products on the internet. Both of them have a directory of the "authors of product" listed in rank selling order. So, we now have access to what is being purchased on the internet.Now we need a product. Something that we can develop ourselves or we can acquire products that have already been developed. Again we can go back to the two directories and see who the authors are and also how they are ranked in amount of sales. These authors of product usually offer affiliate programs where they are looking for people to help them advertise and sell their products. All you have to do is advertise and deliver the consumer to their landing page. You receive a commission once the sale is completed, and the author of the product handles the inventory and delivery of the product. Pretty neat so far?
Well it is here where you have to start doing some work and spend some time and money. In business it is called advertising. You must find the buyer and guide him to the product or service that will provide a solution for his need or problem. Your advertising choices are many. You have pay per click, pay per lead, pay per sale, ezine ads, articles, and many more ways to communicate to your prospective buyer.
Remember if you want to communicate you must first have credibility, so be careful in how you advertise your product and/or services. Do not exaggerate your offer, it must be believable. The days of getting rich quick are gone, everyone uses testimonials and guarantees to the point that they have become highly suspect. So, be careful and tell it like it is and you will build more credibility and have more success in getting the consumer's attention, interest, and desire to do business with you.Remember you want to build a relationship with your customer that is based on trust and respect. And if you are not honest with your customers they will soon find out and you will lose them and never be able to get any referrals to build your business. The internet business is a business just like any other business - there are no secrets. If you are lazy you will become bankrupt chasing marketing secrets every day. If you are committed to working at building and developing your business you will become successful. Remember it is a journey and not a race. Good Luck!
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About the Author:Donald N. Lombardi
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