Ash Summerville – Internet Marketing

Building Successful Businesses Online

Posts Tagged ‘Marketing Opportunities’

Assessing a Business Opportunity

November 21st, 2009

Scam artists, unfortunately, are very opportunistic people. When they see a chance to take advantage of someone, no matter how small or insensitive, they usually do. The tough economic conditions we’re currently experiencing have left many people searching for opportunities, additional income streams or just to replace the job from which they were retrenched, which leaves them open to becoming potential victims of scammers in manyways.

Knowing that many people lost their jobs in the past year, scammers are sending out mailings, making phone calls and sending e-mails to sell phony business opportunities. Usually, they make an offer that sounds far too good to be true. And they usually are.

So, what can you do to protect yourself?

Well, the first thing is to be wary of anything you get that tells you how easy it is to make all kinds of money from the comfort of your home. Generally, scams will say you don’t need any skills, you won’t have to do much work and you’ll make all kinds of money. They’ll say you should take immediate action and that you’ll be taking on virtually no risk. Basically, if it sounds too good and perfect to be true, it probably is.

You probably should also ask yourself, “how did they get my contact details”. I, for one, hate telemarketerers. Not only because of thime they usually ring, which is between 5.00pm and 8.00pm here in Australia. For me, this is when we are getting the kid fed and ready for bed, & I have jus come home. (Our solution is to let our 2 1/2 year old daughter answer the phone. I can tell you they don’t stay on th eline very long).

If you’ve read the offer and think the business may be a safe bet, do some research on the company. Go online and look for any negative reviews, or contact the FTC or Better Business Bureau to learn if the business has any complaints against it, or it if it’s been flagged as a scam.

Learn exactly what you’ll have to pay, what your job will be, who will be paying you, when you can expect to get paid and all the details that are central to any business or job. Be sure not only to ask these questions, but also to get it all verified in writing. When you have this information backed up on paper, you’re giving yourself some insurance. Clearly, if the company can’t answer these questions to your liking or refuses to send you a contract, stay away.

Remember that there are always scammers out there looking to take your money. Although you may be desperate, it’s important to look closely at any business opportunities you may receive. Failing to do the proper due diligence could leave you in deep trouble.

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Tags: Marketing Opportunities

Shifts In Society That Should Not Be Ignored.

November 17th, 2009

Over the last few years, there has been a noticable and fundamental shift in how and where people get information. Things have changed and if you’re marketing isn’t changing too, you and your business will be left behind.

For many businesses, it’s already happening. Here’s the top 11 ways things have changed.

Social Media has fundamentally changed the way people pass the time. Many who used to spend hours watching TV now spend it on Facebook and Twitter.
Communication devices are changing at breakneck speed. Smart phones are taking over, with more and more people are checking Facebook, email, text messages, etc. while waiting in line, etc. Some people are ditching their landlines altogether and strictly using cell phones.
Web 2.0 sites have made the web interactive. Web pages are no longer static. Clients and prospects can interact with your blog, Youtube channel, Facebook fan page, etc.
Bad news can travel fast, and be hard to get rid of. Sites like RipOffReport.com have given unhappy consumers of info products an effective way to “get back”. Twitter can spread negative messages quickly as well. Local businesses are now having to contend with the “new yellow pages” – Google’s local listings – allowing comments from happy AND unhappy customers.
Pre-purchase research on Google and Amazon has become a “way of life” for many prior to purchasing practically anything. Bad or good consumer reviews can instantly make or break the sale.
Local search is fast replacing the Yellow Pages. Soon the only place you’ll see the Yellow Pages will be the Smithsonian.
Email deliverability is going down. And people who used to communicate via email now communicate via Facebook, Twitter & text messages.
An entire generation of pre-teens and teens are coming of age who have learned to communicate ALMOST exclusively via text messaging.
Newspaper and magazine readership continues to plummet.
The Top 1000 Alexa sites are mainly Web 2.0 sites – video sites, blogs, social media, social bookmarking, etc. Businesses that embrace web 2.0 strategies are being ranked higher, faster, leaving their Web 1.0 competition in the dust.;
People are beginning to expect practically ALL websites for businesses to contain video(s).

How does this affect your business?

Are you looking at your marketing strategies to move with this shift in society?

Remember that this does not just effect the Internet Marketing businesses. All offline businesses that have a web presence will also be effected.

Do you think there is a business opportunity there……hmmmm

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Tags: marketing Marketing Opportunities Marketing Tools

The Marketing Plan

October 26th, 2009

There are some things that should be avoided when putting together your marketing plan. Keep in mind that a good marketing plan is a collaboration of good strategy and tactics, and you cannot do either one effectively without the other.

In formulating a sound marketing plan here are some things that you should at all cost avoid:

Relying too much on creativity – I am not saying that being creative is wrong, it is actually okay. However as an aspiring entrepreneur you should not rely too much on this aspect. Sometimes when we write our marketing plan we see too much creativity that we tend to overlook tactics which will of course hurt the business in the long run.
Not paying attention to numbers – business in general is all about math and math is about numbers. So in short your marketing plan has something to do with numbers as well as it is part of your business. If you do not know your numbers that well then rest assured the results will not be good. Creating any marketing plan without knowing how much it will cost to acquire your customer, what your average sale needs to be, what is the required profit margin will result to failure. If you are going to invest $500 on advertising alone, how many leads and sales will you have to make in order to cover for the cost of the ad and at the same time profit?
Filling your marketing plan with unnecessary stuff – of course unnecessary stuff will just confuse you, so let it go. Generalities are also qualified as “unnecessary stuff.” Stating that your target market is “everybody” or “adults 50- and above” is not explicit enough and will result to problems down the road. Instead of doing this, start thinking of a niche. Narrow it down to “young males 16-plus who play video games and ride skateboards,” instead of stating “everybody.” While writing your marketing plan, keep in mind that marketing is all about buying your customers. Imagine going into a supermarket and buying everything that your heart desires. The question is, “Can you buy everything you see?” Let us face the harsh reality that, your resources would never allow it. In marketing terms, this means buying your ideal customer with the resources you already have. A sound marketing plan should mention exactly how much you are willing to spend to acquire your ideal customer.

A sound marketing plan should adhere to balance, and it is also important to show risks are being acknowledged. Like a business plan, a marketing plan is a vital guide. There are many entrepreneurs who do not understand the value of a marketing plan, and still others are clueless as to exactly what a marketing plan is. Every start-up venture and existing business needs a business plan, yet many entrepreneurs choose to forgo with that hence they throw away possible success. A marketing plan is required if you want your business to become a household name. Your marketing plan provides structure to the marketing efforts of your business.

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Tags: Beginners marketing Marketing Opportunities Niche Niche Market Niche Marketing

How To Best Select An Affiliate Program

September 23rd, 2009

Marketing products and services through the Internet is unquestionably easier and more rewarding compared to traditional marketing methods. With the millions of people worldwide getting online each day, there’s an enormous possibility for a merchant to sell his products and generate huge income.

However, merchandisers are not the only ones who can benefit from online marketing. A booming industry nowadays, provides great opportunity as well to individuals as affiliate marketers. In affiliate marketing, an affiliate marketer doesn’t need to have his own products and services to sell. All he needs to do is to refer people to the merchant’s business site for them to buy the products and thereby, earn a commission.

The key to an affiliate marketer’s success is to choose a good affiliate program and to employ excellent marketing techniques in promoting or selling the products to consumers. Why good and not the best affiliate program? There is no “best affiliate marketing program,” as one program might make one affiliate marketer a millionaire and the other a frustrated marketer. In other words, it can be a success to one and a failure to another. But there certainly is a good affiliate marketing program to start with. How to make it best would now depend on you.

But before you think how you are going to make it best and financially rewarding, first think about how you are going to land on a good affiliate program with the thousands of affiliate marketing opportunities abounding in the Internet today. Try to look into the following tips and suggestions on how to best select the affiliate program that’s right for you.

Information, that’s you need in order to make the right choice. It is helpful when you have already focused your search to a specific interest, which may be the theme of your website (if you already have one). In this way, you would be able to direct yourself towards a program that really matches your needs, wants and resources. It would be easier for you to eliminate options that are not suited to your own criteria for a good affiliate marketing program. You can join affiliate forums and learn some tips and get suggestions from experienced affiliate marketers. However, be wise enough to weigh their ideas before you buy them.

The Internet Affiliate marketing program networks are good places to look for choices. Here, merchants and affiliate marketers like you meet. The merchants advertise their affiliate programs to interested affiliates who sign up in the network for free. Third party affiliate program networks are helpful since they provide you with access to a large number of advertisers (merchandisers) simultaneously. You can easily track and compare their sales records, performances, benefits, products and services.

So now you have choices, the next question is which among those options is the right one. Here are some things to consider in deciding which to take and which to reject. First is the quality of the products and services. As an affiliate marketer your goal is not only to make visitors of your site click the link to the business site; but more importantly, to promote the product so they would buy it. If the customers are not convinced upon going to the business site, then you don’t earn. Make sure the products you are endorsing are worthwhile or in the business context, saleable. Ask yourself: if I were the customer, would I buy it? Would I recommend it to my family or good friend? If you can’t convince yourself or your family and friends to buy it, take a look at your next option.

Another is the affiliate program or the merchandiser’s history. Look into their previous and present sales data, their proven and tested affiliate marketing systems and their partners’ experiences with them. Although, success of the program really depends on you, this one is still very important. The sales records don’t only show how good the affiliates are, but they speak about the products’ reliability, market availability and the company or the merchandisers’ reputation as well. Moreover, look into and carefully study the company’s compensation plan. Your purpose for joining the program is to earn, so make sure you’ll be paid for all your efforts fairly.

If you do not have much time to promote intensively the affiliate products by creating banners, graphics and articles, choose affiliate programs that help you create these for your web site. It would be great if the company provides training on how to effectively market products online. Remember that affiliate marketing is a partnership, so make sure your partner is able to support you as you help him promote his products and services.

Take down all the advantages and disadvantages of each program you are considering so you can clearly see the difference among your options; then later, compare the advantages of the programs with your own checklist. Take time to gather all the info you need to choose the right program. Remember an informed choice is the best choice.

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