With any aspect of human endeavour it is rather important to know exactly what you are doing and why. This is true whether you are dealing with personal finance, family issues, travel arrangements even painting the house. Your preparation needs to be thorough, your thinking needs to be focussed and you have to make sure that all the ground work is done before you begin. You need to prioritise the project, whatever it is, if you want it to go smoothly. This is equally true of Internet Marketing strategy.
We have the wonderful technology of the modern computer and the worldwide web as our playthings but it is the way that we use them which will dictate just how successful we are. In the term “Internet Marketing” the really important word is “marketing”. Having the internet at our disposal doesn’t, in itself, guarantee any level of success. We might own a piano, but that doesn’t make us a pianist. It is only through understanding, commitment and practice can we ever hope to become a pianist.
There is a much told story amongst musicians of a music student carrying her cello case around the South Bank in London, thoroughly lost and beginning to panic as she was late for a concert she was wishing to hear that evening. In desperation she approached a gentleman walking confidently along and looking like he knew the area well. He was, in fact, an orchestral conductor of international fame. She spoke to the gentleman; “Excuse me , Sir, but how do I get to the Festival Hall.” He took in her cello case on her shoulder and her Royal College of Music scarf around her neck at a glance; “Practice, my dear, practice!”
That is the same in the world of online business. “Practice, my dear, practice” could be our axiom when developing a business. In order to know what to practice we need to understand what is important and what isn’t. Internet marketing is not complicated but it does need the correct approach. Is there any particular secret to succeeding in online sales? The answer given by most marketers would be a resounding “yes!” They would almost certainly qualify their affirmation with another much quoted axiom, “The money is in the List.” The list in question is, of course, the opt-in list, your customer database.
It is far easier to sell to those who are already customers than going out into the great wide world of the internet to try and find new customers all the time. Your list is a group of people who have given their consent to receive emails, or other communications from you. Many will be people who have visited your website and enjoyed the experience to such a degree that they have signed up by completing your opt-in form, often in exchange for a free gift of some kind. Others will be customers who have bought from you before and are still interested in what you have to offer. Once on your list, it is your responsibility (and in your best interests) to keep providing interesting information, diverting video links, etc. to build a relationship with your list members.
To put it very simply, your opt-in list is your most valuable asset As time goes by your list will grow and with it your income. So long as you nurture your list with lots of quality information and helpful emails you are likely to get a very positive response when you send out details of a new product for sale; – the bigger your list; the bigger your profits. Treat those on your list well and they will reciprocate.