Business Internet Marketing | Getting Started | Step 1

Paul says: I’ve been a bit busy this week to blog so I’ve asked a business acquaintance of mine, Business Internet Marketing Expert, Nicola Cairncross, to step into the breach.

Nicola says “As an experienced business internet marketer & mentor, I often get asked “If I was starting to market my business online again from scratch, what would I do first?” Great question and a variation on one you should always ask any successful business person “If you were starting again and knew then what you know now……”

So, if I was starting again from scratch, or even just looking to expand my business online, the first thing I would do is put myself in danger of making some money from Day One! It never fails to amaze me that people don’t do this, then they complain “my website isn’t working!”.

I would identify my “lead product” which is the product I want to sell any new customer first- this should be under £50 or $100 as it’s not such a big jump from the Free Gift I’m giving away (you are giving your potential futures customers free gifts aren’t you?)

OR if I didn’t have one at the right price point, I would go and find a complementary product that any potential customer of mine would get value from – perhaps an information product to help them succeed in their business or get better at their passion (golf swing anyone?).

If they had an affiliate scheme I would join it, and then go to a site like TinyURL or Bit.ly and shorten my affiliate link.

I would then go to my Outlook or Gmail account, add an email signature automatically to each email I send, from now on, and add a P.S to all my emails, with a link inviting people to download my free gift or buy my lead product OR endorsing and promoting that complementary product.

If I don’t have a product or know what to promote first, I would perhaps choose something promoted by someone I like and respect in the business world, and use that.

Many well-known business gurus have personal development or business success products, often promoted through Nightingale Conant who have an awesome affiliate scheme.  Or look at Agora – one of the biggest business success / wealth creation / personal development publishers in the world.

Or I would go to ClickBank and select one of the most popular products from the Marketplace there to promote.

Then I would carry on my business as normal, but check every week, to see how many clicks I’ve generated from my email signature, and how many sales I’ve made!

I would record that in a spreadsheet – and this bit is important – even if the number of both is ZERO, because as we all know…..”what you focus on increases”

So just noting how many sales (or not!) you have made each week, does the job of focusing your mind on the task in hand once a week, which then gives your brain a chance to come up with ideas during the week, between focus sessions.

No focus, no ideas. Weekly focus, ideas come during the week.

The other thing I would like to share with you right at the beginning of these series of tips on getting started making money online, is the idea of setting goals.

Now, don’t groan! There is the right way to set internet marketing goals, and the other way.

(Quick bit of background… I never used to set goals, because deep down, I was sure I wouldn’t achieve them, so by writing a goal down, I was setting myself up for disappointment when I found that scribbled goal in a drawer somewhere! Tragic, huh?)

Now what most people do, when they come out of an inspiring internet marketing seminar or webinar, is they set themselves a goal of making… say 10,000 a month online.

That’s an outcome goal and it’s not enough on it’s own.

You need a process goal (or three!) to go with it.

Think to yourself, OK, so I want to make 10,000 a month online. What, out of all the processes I have seen and learned about this weekend, are the ones that I feel in my heart are most likely to work, and even more importantly, which are likely to work for ME!

Because, unless you choose process goals that suit you and your skills and your temperament, then of course that process (and the goals you set within it) won’t work in moving you towards your outcome goal.

I’ll give you an example. I have largely ignored my own personal website for the last six years, focusing instead on a business website and mailing list, as that is where I felt the biggest potential lay. However the changes in the economy mean that I need now to build up my personal mailing list, via expanding my personal website and brand.

If my outcome goal is to earn X amount from sales of my eBook, the upsell bundle, and membership of the lowest level of my coaching programme, that’s an outcome goal.

The three processes that I think will most support that outcome goal are:

1. Build my personal mailing list by offering great stuff for free and to Joint Venture partners lists
2. Build my personal credibility and traffic by blogging / submitting articles
3. Fully optimise my website so that the traffic turns into subscribers and sales in the greatest numbers

You can see that looking at the three process goals gives me focus and clarity, and also gives me an inkling of what actions I need to take TODAY to progress all three.

If looking at process goal number 1, I might a) make sure my site has great free stuff to entice subscribers and then b) I would look at making contact with potential JV partners with a win/win offer. If “a” was not in place I would focus on that, if “a” was in place I would focus on “b”.

So your process goals, which come from your outcome goals, actually give you the actions to put on your “to do” list, before any other old gubbings goes on it.

I have just 10 spaces on my “to do” list and I aim to make at least 7 of them “process goal” action steps, with just 3 being other gubbins, like admin or finances.

I hope this article helps with getting you started making money online (an outcome goal, but not specific enough really) and the steps by which you could do that (process goals).

Watch out for Part 2 in this article series, coming soon.