I’m guessing that since you are reading this, you are ready to find a way to increase your leads and customers by doing a bit of online marketing.  By now you realize that advertising doesn’t always work out the way you expected, and you have to pay for it whether you get results or not!

A while ago, I was in the same position, having blown a wad of dough on ads, and watching my business go down the tubes.  I didn’t have any money left for hiring professionals, and believed that it was time to take things into my own hands.  After all, I’m an entrepreneur and had mastered skills to create three successful businesses.  How hard could Internet marketing be?

Well, I was about to find out, the hard way, how much I didn’t know.  I had developed marketing and advertising skills over twenty-seven years of running professional services businesses and stores, but they were inadequate for what I wanted to do online.

I considered myself a fairly advanced Internet user, but as an Internet marketer, I was a rank novice.  I ended up wasting months floundering around on MySpace and social sites, and got absolutely nowhere.  I thought that I had a good website, but even though I could tell that people were going to it, I got no business from it.

When I stood back from this and examined what I was doing, I realized two things:  I didn’t have a clue what I was doing wrong, and I didn’t know what was wrong with my web site!  Yuck!

Well, it’s been a long road since then.  I got an education in how to market businesses online, and have turned the results dramatically.  Along the way, I learned some of the complexities of website design and lead generation, and also determined a few very simple steps that anyone can do to promote their businesses online.

Here are three free ones:

1.  Write press releases about anything newsworthy pertaining to your business or industry, and post them online to a free directory.  One I use is 24-7pressrelease.com. The releases can be as simple as describing new merchandise, announcing a new employee, or describing how you are at the forefront of an industry trend.  Online press releases often show up in searches for YEARS after they are posted, and using them puts you in control of your company’s image.

2.  Writing articles is another good way to get lasting publicity.  There are many article directories to post them on, for free.  One of the larger directories is EzineArticles.com.  Different from press releases, the articles are not about news or events, but can be reviews of products, “how-to” tips, or anything of interest to your potential customers.  Like press releases, these articles will often show up in searches for you, your business, or your industry.

3.  Make videos and post them for free on YouTube and many other video hosting sites.  Get in front of the camera and talk for a few minutes about anything of interest to your potential customers.  Make a series of related videos.  For example, if you’re a Real Estate Agent, talk about neighborhoods, condos, housing styles, etc.  These don’t have to be slick to be effective.  The whole idea is for people to get to know and like you.

In all of your marketing, include a link to your website, and a call to action.  For example, a simple one is “Go to my web site and get more info on XYZ.”

If you want to get leads, you need some way to collect the information.  Don’t rely on people going to your web site, picking up the phone and contacting you.  Your web site needs to be constructed to capture lead information (name, email, phone, etc.)  The simplest way to do that is by getting an email service (called an auto responder) and adding a lead capture form to the site.

You can offer a free report, or a consultation, newsletter or something in return for opting-in.  This establishes a relationship, and gives you something to reference when you contact the lead.  For example, if you gave a free report on seagulls, you could start a phone conversation or your follow-up email  with “Did you find that seagull report interesting?”

Without getting technical about lead capture forms and auto responders, all you need to know is that’s an easy thing for you to do yourself or have your web designer add it for you.  There are many auto responder services out there, and you’re probably getting emails from businesses using them right now.  One popular service is Constant Contact.
Whichever one you choose will provide the capture form and some basic installation instructions for you.

What I have listed here is the basics of an internet marketing campaign.  If you post one press release, one article and one video every week, you will achieve publicity which would cost you thousands of dollars if you paid an agency.

These very steps have been proven to work for many different types of businesses.  Of course, your marketing will be most effective if you get some additional instruction on how to structure your presentations and fine-tune your marketing, but the important thing is to actually start doing it.

Before I even turned on my computer, I had made up my mind that the only thing out there was eBay-type sales. Mass-marketing. That style of direct sales was totally easy to understand. After all, I had been shopping all my life! I understood that the merchant’s job was to find and stock products, and my job as a consumer was to buy them, and pay a higher price than the merchant did. The profit on the sale was a simple concept. So I spent hours and days and weeks trying to figure out what I could buy wholesale and sell online at a profit. That’s when my search took a twist.

I felt stuck. Everything I found either had too much competition online already, or else I just couldn’t see how I’d generate thousands of sales to make money on a product with only a tiny profit on each sale. So what was going to be the solution?

A friend of mine had started working with a network marketing company, and showed me how that industry worked. She was selling stuff that had high quality, some brand recognition, and didn’t have a lot of competition. “So why aren’t you rich?” I asked.

You should have seen the look on her face. I got an earful of how the markup on each sale she made was only a few dollars, but she’d soon be making money not only from her personal sales, but she’d get an override on the sales of every new salesperson she got working for the company. It made sense, until…

As you can guess, I signed up and tried it. Sales were a lot harder than I thought. Even though the company gave me a web site, it was really difficult to get new prospects to go to it. I soon found that the only sales I was making were to people I knew personally – not a single one from the internet! My hopes of an internet-based business were dashed. But there was a bright side.

All my efforts to sell online actually exposed me to a world of sales I never envisioned. I think it’s comparable to being a “door-to-door” salesman (except the doors are all online.) To start in that industry I had to buy my “sales kit” but the investment was small. And when I made a sale, the profits were about a thousand times bigger than a sale in my network marketing company. Why?

This was the hook. Profits. And an endless supply of product to sell without me having to stock them and pay for them in advance. And no sales- teams to build. (I really liked that aspect). And because the profits weren’t all being shared among a team, there was a whole lot more going to the one who made the sale. So who are they and how do they do it?

People who work in this industry were called “Affiliates” instead of “salespeople” and what they do is (duh) sell stuff for a company, and get commissions for doing it. They accomplished this amazing feat by a variety of straight-forward means, which mostly come under the heading of advertising. Advertising, as you know, is nowhere near as mysterious as marketing (which often seems like complex magic.) Affiliate sales were attractive for another reason, too.

Affiliate commissions can be HUGE. And the idea of not having to make thousands of sales, like in network marketing or mass-marketing (small profits) made immediate sense. At least it made sense to me…

When I told my network marketing sponsor (remember her?) about what I discovered, I thought she was going to blow up. Well, as I said, this made sense to me – but it didn’t make any sense to her.

She reminded me about all the money we were going to make sometime in the future, and how network marketing would keep paying us on our team’s efforts long after we stopped selling things ourselves. It would be sweet. Hmmm.

Well, so far I hadn’t seen the “team” residual money she kept harping about. But what became obvious — when she finally stopped quietly reading me the riot act — was that we’d be parting ways. The lesson from all this is simply that no one form of online sales will meet everyone’s needs and expectations. So here’s what I found.

Mass marketing and eBay-style sales may be great if you can figure out how to get and sell tons of stuff. Network marketing might be for you if you can figure out how to get lots of people to sell along with you. And affiliate sales may be your ticket if, like me, you’d rather get bigger (up-front) profits for your marketing efforts, and not have to build a team.

You can see the solution I’ve been happy with at http://www.youraffiliatelifestyle.com

Advertising in newspapers, radio, television and magazines was my idea of marketing. Sure, every so often I’d send out a press release, if there was an event to publicise, but aside from that I didn’t have a clue.

Then the Internet blossomed. I looked at it as just another kind of advertising vehicle, and that impression was bolstered by the reps from all of the media I had been advertising with. They all were flogging online ads on their respective websites. Some even offered “online marketing plans” which were almost entirely composed of different styles of paid ads, bundled together.

Results from my offline ads were slowing down. Even ads in the papers which used to bring immediate results stopped producing. So, I dove in and spent thousands on Internet advertising. I should have thrown the money into a sewer. I had no idea what I was doing, and tried to use the same approach which once worked in my offline ads. The results were nonexistent.

In desperation, I tried one website after another, tossing dollar after dollar and watching the business in my stores grind to a halt.

That is when I knew that there had to be another way. I went onto the Internet looking for a better site to advertise on, and ran across an article about Internet marketing. It was full of terms like auto responder, SEO and social media, and it also mentioned a magic word. “FREE.”

My curiosity was piqued. I made a project of getting educated on “Internet marketing,” and found a variety of sites which all gave the best marketing tips for small business professionals. Eventually I was able to get glimpses into what techniques were free, and which ones cost money.

It did take a while, and a lot of effort, to sort things out. It seemed that some of the “gurus” I found were having a blast making every tip and technique convoluted and “secret.” And it was also glaringly clear that they were all either self-taught or hiding the source of their own Internet marketing education.

After months of digging, I discovered a single source for all kinds of Internet marketing education. It is perfectly suited for professionals and small business owners, and was exactly what I was looking for. I signed up.

At last I was armed with the ability to find new business leads online without spending a fortune to get them.

However, I had to adjust my expectations when it came to the timing of results. You see, when I relied on advertising, I expected quick response from the customers. I still like direct response advertising for that. But with online marketing, things were different. It was like watching a slow motion movie of a flower growing.

The closest analogy I can think of is that Internet marketing is like planting seeds. The marketer cannot expect to harvest a crop until it has grown. And notice that I say “seeds.” Plural. Planting one seed will not yield a crop.

That was a difficult lesson. For Internet marketing to work for any business, the marketer must do a lot of it, over a period of time, consistently.

Eventually, intelligent marketing action will start to yield the desired results, and make all the effort worthwhile.

It all starts with getting a solid Internet marketing education.

With all of that raw commerce and entertainment, one thing I remember quite clearly, and often, is a chant that permeated every visit.  It turns out to be one of my first lessons in marketing, and it came from a very unlikely source.

Wandering among the throng, there were several “independent operators” who hauled loads of  almost anything saleable, approaching buyers with lines like “need a watch?” and “Tube socks here.”  Some were shy, others brazen, but one tall black man had his whole act together.  Over his shoulders was a load of bright white cloth, and in both hands he hand he held aloft a full-size draw-string heavy-duty brand-new laundry bag.

With a gleaming smile he called out, over and over, the one line which still shapes my copywriting: “You KNOW you NEED a LAUNDRY BAG!”

The line is pure music.  It is direct, and speaks to a hungry crowd. It asks a question, but it’s a command which makes you think. Every time I heard him, I wondered, “Do I? Could I use one of those?”  and then realized that he was selling those things all day long because everyone else was wondering if they needed a bag, too!

The experience stuck with me, and yesterday I remembered it as I was writing headlines for some new ads.  You KNOW you NEED a NEW BUSINESS!

Have you ever wondered why so many people drop out of network marketing? I think I know the answer, and it may not be what you expect.

If you have engaged in prospecting and recruiting for an MLM/network marketing business, why did you do it?  Was it for immediate profit from signing up new bodies, or to build a team so you could get residual income?

What happened to your downline?  How many people dropped out once they got a whiff of work?

Did you ever get the residual income and stability you expected?  Do you wonder why?

When prospecting, did you present materials (websites, DVDs, CDs, brochures, etc.) provided by your company?  Did you give an exciting version of what it is like to be associated with the company, highlighting all the glowing benefits of distributorship?  Was your pitch worthy of an infomercial?

Most companies give their representatives slick, commercial materials, and advise that the reps maintain an upbeat energy level when introducing the company.  Newbies usually go too far in that aspect, and it’s easy for them to mask their inexperience by slipping into excited obnoxiousness.

Very few companies give realistic, behind-the-scene views of what it actually means to market their businesses effectively and succeed.  And who can blame them?  For MLMs to survive as businesses, there must be volume in both the numbers of representatives, and in product sales.

It is little wonder that network marketing companies mask the facts, and rely on constant recruitment rather than seeking out quality recruits.  Since “populating the grid” is usually the goal, they appeal to everyone in an idealistic way, expecting that dropouts and attrition will be overcome by massive signups.

So why do new representatives drop out?  I believe it is because of the unrealistic expectations set up by the companies and their sponsors.

Consider this: When was the last time you recruited a business professional or small business owner?  Here I am talking about someone who has achieved success in a profession or small business, and is looking for another venture.  Did any of them comment on the “hype” presented in your corporate materials?  Did you adjust your presentation to talk about what it takes to actually operate in your business?  Did you find that these prospects were less interested fancy lifestyle claims, and more interested in the security of operating a viable business?

Compare that presentation to the average one which tries to recruit people who have never before experienced either success or their own business.  These prospects are presented with glitz and glam, and glowing reports of success.  They are encouraged to see themselves reaping the benefits of operating a successful business, and that vision is never balanced with the less glamorous picture of the work it takes to get there. They are not sold a business.  They are sold endorphins, emotions and dreams.

Given the two types of prospect, which one would you expect to drop out?

You most likely understand this point intuitively.  MLM/network marketing reps drop out because they started in a business with unrealistic expectations.

It is a sinking feeling to watch your hard-built downline disintegrate.  But what are you to do, if you absolutely need hundreds of signups to make a check?  Your choices are simple:  Either become a master recruiter and perfect your ability to appeal to peoples hopes and dreams, develop a way of signing up fewer but targeted leads, or find a new company which you can promote in a realistic fashion and does not require heavy recruiting.

“Under-promise and over-deliver” is a great motto to keep in mind when recruiting.

In both cases the confusion is rooted in the dominance of print media and television over the last half of the Twentieth Century. Offline media is dominated by advertising, and advertising has been the method of choice for disseminating marketing messages.

When the same messages are conveyed via Internet marketing, the effect is often less than desirable.  Rather than attracting qualified customers, online advertising can become a source of “repulsion” marketing.  As an example, one very effective albeit dubious advertising technique rampant among online network marketers is the use of the word “scam” coupled with the name of competitors.  Similarly, many ads feature negative or sensational messages in an effort to draw attention.

Attraction marketing aficionados generally abhor the word “scam,” since it attracts paranoid and skeptical customers.  Attraction Marketers also seldom use paid advertising at all, since its messages are often ignored by jaded online surfers.  They have learned that it is difficult to make money on the Internet when customers pay no attention to the ads, and when the only prospects drawn to the ads are afraid or reluctant to spend the money they have.

As an alternative to online advertising, these Attraction Marketers have learned to harness the power of the information super-highway, using everything from videos to forums and a myriad of social media sites like  Twitter and Face Book to get their marketing message across.

So what is an Attraction Marketing message?  The very nature of the message is as exotic as the concept.  Each marketer first defines who their ideal customer is, and then crafts an internet presence to attract that customer.  As you can see from this definition, crafting an internet presence would be very difficult to achieve through advertising alone.  That is why Attraction Marketers rely on other, more fluid messages which can be constructed via social media.

For example, an Attraction Marketer may decide that his ideal customer is a baby-boomer professional with a high income.  To attract such professionals, the marketer could make videos on subjects which appeal to the target group, and also make a Face Book profile showing how the marketer himself has an affinity for the same things which his target group likes.

The secret to making money on the internet with attraction marketing techniques is to very subtly ask for the sale.  This is what separates it from blatant advertising.  Ninety-nine percent of attraction marketing efforts involve building rapport with the customer, and demonstrating that the marketer is worthy of respect.  The other one percent is asking for the sale.

An attraction marketing training program for network marketers who want to make money on the Internet can be found at http://www.PrimaryBusinesses.Net

The view from my hotel window in Vegas.

I just returned from two back-to-back marketing and financial education events at the Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.  The first was an elite four-day, all inclusive wealth conference hosted by Wealth Masters International for their M2 members.  It was four days of intense education on the economy and how we can amass wealth while most people are going down the tubes.  And it had NOTHING to do with picking stocks or opening a brokerage account.  Refreshing stuff, considering that I’m totally burned out on mainstream investing and following the greedy wall street deceivers.

Okay.  Off the soapbox.   Let’s just say that I know something you don’t know, unless you were there… or you have some very savvy connections.

The next event was a one day Internet marketing event for Carbon Copy Pro members. CCPro is an educational program which focuses on teaching small business owners how to market any product or company online.  They are turning out some of the world’s best Internet marketers, including yours truly.  (I am both a perpetual student of marketing and a trainer.)

Lena Bjorna is a member of my mastermind group. She has great style online and in person!

The information at these events was totally outstanding, but the best part  of attending is getting to meet new associates, and being able to connect with old ones.  Those of us who work online look forward to these events as a counterpoint to what can be a very solitary occupation, no matter how many tweets and phone calls we make throughout the day.  Let’s face it, the energy of being face-to-face with someone is totally different than an instant message!

That said, here’s some photos of me and the people I spend the most “electronic” time with, masterminding on the phone and emailing and webinaring, etc.  It’s always fabulous to be with them.  If you’re an Internet marketer, I hope you have such a great group, too!

Justin Woolf, Anthony Busciglio are part of my mastermind group and Greg McMahon is a great buddy.

Todd and Cheryl Davis and Tom Johnson are new members of my WMI/CCPro team.

It's great to get together with Gregg Davison, but impossible to keep up with his hair style!

Brian Fanale is my best artist-friend in the group.

Kirk Patterson is a fun member of my mastermind group. We compared marketing techniques and tequila.

James Hickey is one of the first people I met at a CCPro event in Dallas. It's great to stay in touch!

In many households, including mine (and maybe yours), newspapers are subscribed to out of habit and embedded tradition. However, most of the editions stack up unread and end up in the recycle bin, or in the fireplace.

There is no way, if you have been in business longer than a week, that you do not know about internet advertising.  Have you ever tried it?  Got any results?

As owner of several stores, my original thoughts on internet marketing all centered around having a great website.  Eventually I had several.  The shops had websites, but it seemed that only our existing customers visited them.

I had no idea how to drive traffic to the sites, and the professionals I consulted with only knew about web site design and advertising, not marketing.

You see, there is a huge difference between advertising and marketing.

What I learned is that having a great web site is a form of advertising. But it’s like advertising in the middle of a newspaper which is never opened.  If no one goes there, what’s the sense?

It takes marketing to get new customers to your website.

If you advertise, and the business traffic doesn’t pick up, it’s time to learn about marketing or to hire an agency to handle the problem.

How’s traffic on your websites?  Is anyone finding them?  Have you considered hiring a professional internet marketing company to help out?

Before You Hire A Marketing Company To Handle Your Online Presence,

Ask Yourself A Few Questions:

1.  How many thousands of dollars will you spend on marketing each year if you contract with an agency? (Not advertising, just marketing)

2.  Do you know the difference between marketing and advertising?

3.  Are you willing to trust the future growth of your business to “professionals” who are not specialists in your industry?

4.  If you do not market your business, what will happen?

5.  How can you grow your business on a tight budget?

6.  Are you willing to learn a new skill set which can easily save you thousands of dollars and get new customers for your business?

Internet marketing can be easily learned.  It is not rocket science, and several online training courses are available for small business owners who want  a do-it-yourself solution to promoting their businesses.

One training program can be found here.

There are many network marketing companies to choose from.  Most follow a multi-tiered compensation program, and are commonly referred to as MLMs.  And, the majority build their teams using traditional methods, offline.

The reason for the focus on traditional prospecting techniques is obvious.  The people who started the companies modeled them after companies which were already successful.  It is the business model they are familiar with.  It is their strength.

Until recently, there was no alternative to the tried-and-true traditional methods.  There were no companies formed by internet marketers, simply because there was not a precedent.

However, that situation has now changed.  Several new MLM companies have sprung up which operate exclusively on the internet.  They are mavericks, but their training programs usually range from rudimentary to excellent.  They are mostly strong on product, and weak on internet savvy.

But where does that leave network marketers who do not want to jump ship and join one of the newer online opportunities?  Many of them are totally intimidated by online technology, so if they are looking for a change, it will most likely be a lateral shift into another traditional MLM.  Others who are trying to find a way to market their traditional companies online, really have very few options.

The proliferation of self-professed gurus also confuses their choices for learning online marketing.  Usually the gurus have set up shop, it seems, as a ruse to lure unsuspecting followers into a network marketing company they covertly endorse.

On the surface, the only choice for network marketers to succeed online is to jump ship and start over.  However, a  handful of new companies have emerged which provide expert online marketing training and a generic platform which can be adapted to any marketing company.

The new training-oriented generic marketing systems can remove the fear of online marketing.  The best programs explain every step in terms which newcomers to online marketing can easily understand.  They offer video tutorials, live training, and in-depth instructions.

The new training sites are a major opportunity for traditional network marketers to expand their lead generation efforts and move their team-building efforts to a new level in their current company.

The generic marketing and training company which I use is PrimaryBusinesses.Net

When I closed the stores I had operated for seventeen years, I went looking online for a legitimate home based business. Something that would not be really hard to learn, and would give me money fast.

Well, what I found online was a lot of things that I really didn’t resonate with. There were a lot of low-end business out there promising quick returns and no learning curve.

Suddenly I realized that I was recoiling from the pain of closing my stores. I forgot that when I opened my stores it took three to five years for each to get into profitability mode. I forgot that one has to work, if one expects to get results. There is no fast and easy ride. At least there isn’t one in retail, so why would the internet be any different?

I realized that all the offerings I was seeing were simply not for me. I didn’t rally believe them, when they said that everything would be really easy and the money would just start coming in. I have to admit that I lost a few dollars by joining one or two small little deals which promised fast returns. I went into them thinking “If this works it will be great.”

Here’s the deal: What it comes down to is that I thought there must be something better, and I did a bit more looking. I kept looking until I saw something which pretty-much matched what I knew must be out there.

I found a new internet business model which is not a get-rich-quick scheme, and it doesn’t promise to be easy. It doesn’t promise anything – other than the same things which franchises promise – a standardized way of doing business, and great training in how to operate this particular business on the internet.

Those two things really resonated with me, and then I saw an aspect of the business which completely got my attention: They offer the option of selling high ticket items.

I like selling high ticket items. My paintings sell for thousands of dollars. The furniture I sold in my stores was also expensive, with an average ticket of around a thousand dollars per sale. At last I found something which would yield me that kind of return on the internet.

This business model changed everything for me. It had the capability of replacing the income that I had from all of my stores when business was great.

And what I gave me was the training on how to operate on the internet. Honestly, when I first considered doing business online, I knew how to write emails and do searches, and a few other modest things, but I was no wiz.

I knew that there was advertising online, and thought it must be like the advertising I was used to, magazines and newspapers. I quickly learned that some aspects of advertising are the same in all media, but without specific training in internet marketing, business owners are sunk.

This company that I found actually gave me great training in how to market online. It was the start of a great, liberating adventure.

To learn more about how this can work for you, sign in here.