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By Terry Dean In most of the articles
on the web, probably 97% - 99%, you will read about the technical aspects of building a
profitable business online. Most of the information I cover deals with that arena...but
what most people forget to mention to you is that the technical aspects are ONLY half of
the equation to your success on the internet.
When you really get down to the nitty-gritty of making money online, it all starts with
your strategy. Even if you know exactly how to achieve top positions on the search engines
or know exactly how a link campaign should be done, it still won't let you achieve the
level of success you want if you don't know how to develop the strategy for your site.
To put it simply, tactics are your day to day actions in building your website. A strategy
is your overall plan and goal for exactly what you would like to have your website and
business accomplish for your customers.
The Random House College Dictionary defines strategy and tactics this way... "In
military usage, a distinction is made between STRATEGY AND TACTICS. STRATEGY is the
utilization of all of a nation's forces, through large-scale, long-range planning and
development, to ensure security or victory. TACTICS deals with the use and deployment of
troops in combat."
Have you ever stopped the day to day battle of trying to achieve top positions on search
engines (And believe me...This is a battle) long enough to develop your long-term
strategy? What is your overall vision for your site? In the Bible, Proverbs 29:18 states,
"Where there is no vision, the people perish..."
I know some people who are brilliant strategists about online marketing who have achieved
amazing success even though their actual tactical skills are only so-so. They hire out the
web site design, the search engine registrations, the linking campaigns, and the
copywriting. As a matter of fact, one of these brilliant minds once mentioned to me that
"The Concept is Greater than The Copy."
In other words, the right marketing strategy can overcome slight problems in the
copywriting or even the carrying out of the plans. Even the best copywriting on the planet
won't make a success out of a poor business strategy or concept.
No contractor would ever consider starting work on a project without having a detailed
blueprint already done and in their hands. It also doesn't matter how good they are at
following the blueprints if the blueprints are all wrong. For many people, their internet
businesses are in this exact state. They have many of the internet tactics ready, but they
have yet to develop a powerful strategy to empower the whole process.
So exactly how do you choose the strategy for your Internet Marketing Empire? Below you
will find a three step process in helping you develop your overall strategy. I don't want
to over-complicate the process by any means, but I do want to help you create ideas
through this. Your actual day to day internet marketing tactics will then flow out of your
overall marketing strategy.
STEP ONE: Create Your Overall Theme to Your Online Business
You can't develop a business around a single product. Even if you are promoting a single
product upfront, it is not the product that people want. They want the BENEFITS they
receive out of the product. When designing your site, think about an "Ultimate
Benefit" to build your site around.
I first heard the phrase "The Ultimate Benefit" through Dr. Jeffrey Lant and it
has stuck with me ever since. It is that ever abiding "WANT" or
"GOALS" that your prospects have with them continually. Ultimate Benefits are
things such as: more money, weight loss, online success, being sexually attractive,
self-defense, etc.
Ultimate benefits are what your prospects are really seeking after. So, don't base your
business just on products. Base your business on this Ultimate Benefit. This will be the
theme that binds everything else you do at your site together. It is what you want your
site to become known for. It is why people will return to your site over and over again
forever.
What is it that your prospects ultimately want?
More Money
Better Health
Weight Loss
etc.
Once you have defined your "Ultimate Benefit," that's where the products can
come in. You will want to provide multiple products that all fall under the same Ultimate
Benefit. This will help you to create "Multiple Streams of Income" all generated
from one web site.
What mail order or internet company do you know of that only has one product? There aren't
any really successful ones. Even the sites which seem only to have one main product still
have dozens of different profitstreams which all come out of the backend of that product.
Your mission online is to help people reach their ultimate goals, and that cannot be done
with just one product. It takes a variety of products to accomplish this goal.
One warning I do want to mention here though is that your site will be more successful if
you have one LEAD product. By testing both multiple product sites and sites which focus on
one lead product, I have found that the lead product sites will outsell the multiple
product sites by a long shot in most cases.
So, the absolute best set-up is to focus on a main product, and then have many different
backends or supporting products which will help your customers to further their goals.
This type of system is often referred to as a marketing funnel. You may be selling a book
about Ad Copy on your site, but you will also have consultations, seminars, audio tapes,
and ad writing services which all support your theme.
If you are selling web sites as a primary lead product, you could also sell books on
internet marketing, web design services, CGI programming, etc. If your theme is weight
loss, your primary product may be a nutritional product. You could also sell weight loss
and exercise books. A newsletter could be started. You could also do personal one-on-one
consultations for specific individuals.
You also don't need to come up with all of these products yourself. Many of them can be
found through Joint Venturing with other companies which have products you know your
customers want.
STEP TWO: Develop A Unique Aspect to Your Business...Your USP
Your business cannot just be a me-too business online. You need to develop some type of
uniqueness to it...something that sets you apart from all of the rest of your competition
online. You need to create a "Unique Selling Position" which makes you stand out
from the crowd online...
For example, everyone is selling books online. How did Amazon.com becomes the most well
known bookstore on the internet. They developed a USP which basically states "The
World's Largest Bookstore" which is exactly what they are. They have stated in one
phrase exactly what makes them unique from the rest of the bookstores in the world.
How can you develop your own USP? You probably aren't going to own the largest selection
of anything in your business since most of us have started out bootstrapping at home or in
our small business. Let me give you a simple little formula you can use which will help
you immensely in the creation of a USP for your business.
To find your USP, pull out a blank sheet of paper. At the top of the paper, write
"You know how most __________..." Then, halfway down the page, write "Well,
What I do is..."
I want you to write how most of the businesses in your market are in the first section.
Then, I want you to write what sets you apart from them. Avoid using words such as quality
or better service, because those types of things don't really mean anything UNLESS you are
more specific in your description. This may take you a while to do.
You probably will have to study your competition online for a while. Give yourself a few
days to think it over. Then, write it down.
Next, I want you to boil down that entire sheet of paper to a single phrase or sentence.
This takes some work. Write it out in a sentence or phrase as many times as you need to
until you get just the right words. Again, if this takes you a few days, let it. Think
about it when you are driving, eating, etc. Mull it over. Then, once you have just the
right wording, that is your NEW USP which you will use to separate you from all of the
competition.
Use it on your signature file online...Use it on your website...Use it in your ad copy.
Let it become a guiding force to your online business that sets you apart and defines you
as the person to deal with in this area.
STEP THREE: Concentrate on Building Relationships with Your Prospects
To fully develop an online business, you need to maximize your relationships with people.
Although your goal in your internet business may be to set it up on auto-pilot, you have
to remember at all times that you are dealing with real people. Credibility online is a
major issue because there are many fly-by-night get-rich-quick operators on the internet.
To help you develop this credibility with your prospects, your overall strategy has to
include such tools as ezines, message boards, chats, conference calls, dealer programs,
etc. Many people keep asking exactly why does it seem ezines are popping up
everywhere...It is simply because they work. They help you to develop the relationships
you need with your prospects. You are able to contact your prospects over and over again
providing them with good useful information.
The same thing is true of the message boards. Once you have worked them up to a certain
level of traffic, the same people will keep coming back day after day learning from you
and the other experts you may have brought to your board.
Use your imagination and develop other free services such as these to help you develop
your website and relationships online. How about doing JVs with other businesses? How
about running a monthly conference call on your subject? Your business online is
only limited by your imagination!
GET STARTED TODAY IN DEVELOPING YOUR ONLINE STRATEGY!
Don't let this report just sit there in your email box. Print it out. Start today in
putting these strategy building tips to work for you. It is a proven fact that if you put
this off for more than 24 hours, you will probably never come back to it.
Developing Your Internet Strategy can be the most important key to creating the internet
business you dream of. Take action today and at least start thinking and working on it!
Terry Dean is the webmaster at
http://www.bizpromo.com To find out what I use to develop each of my $10,000 a month
interent ideas, go to http://www.bizpromo.com/internet.htm
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