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Newspapers Are For Burning.

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

Are You The Owner Of A Small Business? What happened when you last advertized in a newspaper? Did it get the results you expected, or not?

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.

Posted in Business, Marketing | 3 Responses »
Tags: internet business training, internet marketing, online marketing, small business marketing

Why Network Marketers Are Afraid Of Working Online.

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

Why are many network marketers afraid of the internet? Working online could make their teams grow, right? So what’s the problem?

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

Posted in Business, Marketing | 1 Response »
Tags: home business, internet business training, internet marketing, online marketing

Starting Business Online When My Stores Went O.O.B. (Out Of Business)

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

Have you ever had a business fail, gone out of business and been faced with starting over in a new industry? I have been faced with that situation many times, and have always found a great solution. Here’s my story:

I am an artist and an entrepreneur. When I graduated from art school (MFA, School of The Art Institute of Chicago) over twenty-five years ago, I had no marketable skills, so I went to work at a job. That lasted about two years, and I realized that I had I really had to be an entrepreneur and make my own way by having businesses of my own. I have not had a real job since then.

What I have done is start many brick-and-mortar stores and other traditional types of ventures. Some thrived, some tanked. Some went through the entire cycle from startup to success to expiration. The last ones were a small chain of art galleries and upscale decorative accessory stores which I operated in Southwest Michigan and Chicago for seventeen years.

Of course, the economy slowed down and with that my businesses slowed down. I slid deeper and deeper downhill into debt just trying to meet payroll and finance the inventory, and finally I was forced to close them.

I tried MLM (multi-level-marketing) and was extremely disappointed with the results. After years of dealing with upscale merchandise and professional clients, selling low-cost items to masses of people held no appeal.

I went online looking for another business to start, but ended up disappointed. What I found were new versions of old-style MLM.

Then I changed focus. I began to realize that there were successful online businesses which did not follow that model. They also were not new versions of inventory-based enterprises like online stores.

I discovered a new internet business model.

As soon as I found out about it, everything started to change. Of course it took re-adjusting my ideas about how to do business, because I was used to brick-and-mortar. I didn’t know how to operate on the internet. But what I found was a solution to all that. I found training which allowed me to learn how to market successfully on the internet, and how to thrive.

I found a business model which was capable of restoring, and even going beyond, the income I was getting from all of my stores when they were going at full-speed profitability.

This new business model allowed me to start again in business without prohibitive startup costs like a franchise, without the limitations of territorial restrictions, without the problems of overhead, employees, inventory and debt and expenses which had dragged my stores into the ground. The new internet business model got me started in business again.

Information on the new internet business model can be found by signing in here.

Posted in Business | 1 Response »
Tags: internet business model, internet business training, online business, starting business online

Generating Free Internet Leads For Network Marketing/MLM Businesses

Monday, September 14th, 2009

One thing that every network marketer needs is leads for his or her business, and learning to generate free leads online could mean the difference between profit and failure.

If you are a marketer with any kind of business, new leads are the lifeblood of your business. You need to get people to your site, or through your door to make a sale.

It is obvious that business owners can pay for leads. They can actually buy them form a list vendor, or pay for advertising to generate the leads themselves. What many network marketers do not realize, is that getting free leads on the internet is easier than any other media.

One thing that can be done to get free leads is to write articles and place them in blogs and article directories. Another is to make videos and place them on any number of distribution sites. (YouTube is the largest.)

Network marketers can also generate leads for their MLM businesses by developing friends and followers on social media sites like Twitter, Face Book and MySpace.

For each of these options, different approaches are needed. It’s a great idea to get marketing training before diving in and wasting your time. Training can be as simple as searching online for various topics, or signing up for online courses, e-books. Some marketing systems come complete with excellent marketing training which can be used to generate leads for any MLM or business. One such system is PrimaryBusinesses.Net.

Many people have built sales and MLM/network marketing businesses completely by generating free leads online. They simply have learned how to market online, and then they implemented a marketing plan by taking massive action.

Posted in Business, Marketing | No Responses »
Tags: generating leads, internet business training, online marketing, social media marketing

Funded Proposals Online: Old Kid In New Clothes?

Saturday, September 12th, 2009

Funded proposals are used in online attraction marketing systems, but they have been around longer than the Internet.

A funded proposal is a small item which is sold as a “leader” in many sales businesses. In retail businesses, the funded proposal is often referred to as a “loss leader,” which is something being sold at an attractively low price, for a small profit, or sometimes even being sold for below its wholesale cost.

Funded proposals and sales leaders are used to attract customers to a business and to qualify them as customers. The object is to increase a company’s customer base, and allow further marketing with the goal of having the customer buy more profitable items in the future.

An example of employing an off-line funded proposal is a high-quality, framed art print which was offered in art gallery for thirty-seven dollars. Prices of other original art in the gallery start at six hundred dollars and go up into the thousands. Many people visit the gallery to “browse” and some of them buy the small framed print.

The small sales pay much of the gallery’s expenses, and give the buyers a comfort level with the business. They return as “customers” instead of “browsers,” and many upgrade to buy thousands of dollars of art over the next months and years.

Online network marketers use a funded proposals in a similar way. A marketer who has a program costing hundreds or thousands of dollars, may first introduces his leads to a capture page which offers an attractively priced e-book. Those who buy the e-book experience the quality level of the network marketer’s offerings. They also become part the marketer’s email-list, and receive information about other products and the primary business.

The small sales help pay for the online marketer’s operating expenses, and build his customer base. The customers get a chance to become acquainted with the marketer, and they go on to buy more products or join the primary business.

Funded proposals are valuable tools for any business. Using them consistently will help build customers and profits.

Network marketers can find a pre-made funded proposal marketing system at PrimaryBusinesses.Net

Posted in Business, Marketing | No Responses »
Tags: funded proposal, internet business training, internet marketing, Marketing, online marketing

23 Questions About Starting Business Online.

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Is starting an online business the answer to your future security?

Every day, owners of traditional businesses ranging from franchises to retail stores to real estate and financial offices are going online seeking a new business model. They look to the internet as a way to escape the heavy overhead, geographic/demographic restrictions, and prohibitive start up requirements of their current businesses.

Another group has joined them in this search for a new business model, but for different reasons. They are network marketers who are disappointed with the old-fashioned approach to marketing which is the norm in their industry.

Are you considering a such a change? Looking for a new way to run a business and work from home?

As a former owner of traditional brick-and-mortar businesses (Stores and an investment service) and a member of both online and traditional network marketing companies, perhaps I can help you out.

You know, I get asked the same questions over and over and over again about doing business on the Internet, and have spent hours, days and weeks answering them.

From now on, I’ll simply refer every question to this blog. You see, I made a series 23 videos and a download-able pdf report answering the twelve questions I get asked most often about starting business online, and eleven questions I think everyone should be asking.

Before I get going on this report, let me tell you that I am not here to try to sell you on any particular company. I have been associated with several online companies, and have taught marketing to people in more online businesses than I have cared to write down. These questions apply to all of them.

I just want to let you know the answers to some very basic questions that everyone seems to have about every business, and you can get the entire presentation by signing in here.

Here’s the twelve most asked questions:

· 1. Do I Need Computer Skills?
· 2. How Much Will It Cost?
· 3. How Soon Will I Make Money?
· 4. How Many Hours A Week?
· 5. What is Social Media & Do I Need It?
· 6. Can I Hire Someone To Do It For Me?
· 7. Who Will Help Me?
· 8. How Do I Get Paid?
· 9. Is It Legitimate?
· 10. Do I Have To Make Phone Calls?
· 11. Do I Have To Make A Website?
· 12. What Is Marketing?

And the questions which SHOULD be asked:

· 1. Am I Ready?
· 2. Can I Work Alone?
· 3. What Personal Traits Do I Need?
· 4. Do I Have Support?
· 5. Do I Have The Drive?
· 6. What If?
· 7. Am I Willing To Learn?
· 8. Is This About Love?
· 9. Will This Business Satisfy Me?
· 10. Who Will I Be Associating With?
· 11. Am I An Investor?

If you already know the answers, great. You’re way ahead of where I was when I started looking online. But if there is even one question you’re fuzzy on, go through the entire presentation.

Hopefully these videos and this report will help you out in your quest!

Posted in Business | 1 Response »
Tags: internet business training, online business, starting business online

Are You Willing To Learn?

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Here is something you should ask yourself if you are considering being self-employed or starting an online business.

open source video, online video platform, video streaming, video solutions

Are You Willing To Learn?

You may think twice about this: Are you ready to learn new skills?
I run into people all the time who answer yes to that. They very enthusiastically say YES, they are ready to learn new skills, and they are ready to do what it takes.

They think that working on the Internet is just like pushing a few buttons, or maybe as easy as sending an email.

The reality is that it is really not easy, and there are skill sets which need to be learned. And these are perhaps things which you can not even imagine right now, and you certainly don’t know how to do things yet.

So, think about how you have approached new things your whole life. Were you a quick study in school? Are you still a quick study? Or did it take you a lot of effort to learn, or maybe you have something which holds you back, like a form of dyslexia.

If this question is something you have not considered before, perhaps you will benefit from knowing about the other twenty-two questions I have answered in a special report you can get by signing in here.

I have worked with people of all aptitudes, and what it takes is for them to have the drive and discipline to do what it takes for them to learn these new skills.

So, be prepared to learn. Consider if you are really ready and willing to learn new skills. Are you willing to go back to school? How did you think about it when you were in school? Couldn’t wait to get out? Or were you excited to learn the next thing?

You need to have an openness to learning when you do business online, because things change quite quickly. Often there are skills you will learn, and then a short time later you will need to learn to modify what you have learned, to adapt to new conditions.

Things change constantly on the Internet. It’s really a wild and wonderful place. So be prepared to learn things. And if you’re not prepared to learn, or if you have always hated to learn things, just save yourself and your sponsor a headache and don’t do it, okay?

Posted in Business, Marketing | No Responses »
Tags: internet business training, online business, online marketing, work at home

Bruce Wood

Marketing Consultant and Coach