Harnessing The Power Of The Internet

Weather you are strictly an online marketer or an offline business owner trying to establish a web presence, Internet marketing can be an exciting, lucrative endeavor, or an agonizing income drain.

Back in 2001, I caught the Internet marketing bug.

I knew there had to be a way to make money with my computer.  I was a stay-at-home mom with five young children and I wanted to create a passive, residual income for my family.

For me, it all began with EBay.  I bought an audio product and began to follow the steps to making money.  Soon after, I took the plunge and bought the more expensive coaching program.  I learned about identifying my niche, finding good keywords, merchant accounts, drop shippers, and the like.

I didn’t made any money, just maxed out my credit card.

Over the years, I continued my search.  I joined every affiliate program I could find and bought every ebook, ecourse and teleseminar on how to make money online.  I utilized every traffic system/scam there was.  I spent money on pay-per-click, solo ads, traffic exchanges and so on.

Later, I spent more money on yet another coaching program, guaranteed to make me money in twelve weeks.  It never happened.  I began to wonder,

“What’s wrong with me?”

“Why are others successful online but I struggle?”

“Maybe I should just give up.”

I cannot begin to describe the frustration and despair I felt.  It’s difficult to convey the anxiety of knowing deep down in my gut that it is possible to earn a comfortable, even abundant living online but not knowing how.

Through trial, error, credit card debt, and working jobs I could not stand for not enough pay, I accumulated most, if not all of the pieces to success online.  However, something was still missing.

I didn’t know how to put the pieces together.

In 2006, I finally made some money online.  Some time earlier, I had purchased a day trading course that I absolutely love and still utilize today.  Making money as a trader is a learning process but I was able to earn some very nice $700 and $1,000 commissions on the course as an affiliate.

I finally had enough of the pieces together to make something happen.  However, it wasn’t consistent enough to make a difference in my life.

In 2007, I found a book on how to build a list.  In it the author talked about controlling markets, auto responders and building lists of 3,000, 7,000 and 10,000 in a few months.

He explained how “the money is in the list”, and how every subscriber is worth $1

Although he gave valid steps to take to achieve this goal of building a large, responsive list, many of the how-to’s were left out.

I now know that was by design.

So yes, I bought his course.

His program was good, better than all the others in fact, but there was still one thing missing-one major element was left out.

It’s true, the money is in the list, but not just any list.  Using his strategies did put some people on a list for me but the missing ingredient was relationship.

In order for people to buy from you, especially online, they have to know you, like you, and trust you.  The main ingredient in most Internet marketing courses is selling.  When you make the shift from selling to serving, which comes though building relationships, you make money.  People buy from you over and over again.

So how do you end your frustration and start getting results from your Internet marketing?

1.  Make the mental shift from selling to serving.

Weather you already have a list or not, this change of mind set is critical.  Most everyone on the Internet is selling.  Most, if not all of the people on your list are on several other lists.  When you make the change and start serving your list, you will begin to stand out.

2.  Focus on one niche, one audience.

Most Internet marketers are going in too many different directions.  Establish a niche that you are passionate about, identify your audience, then serve them well.  Think about something that you enjoy doing, are good at or both.  Even if you are not really great at it, it can work because of your passion and excitement for it.

3.  Give lots of good, quality content.

When you stop selling your audience and serve them, you will get results.  They have problems that need solving.  They need answers.  You have the answer and you must give it to them in the form of content.  It could be articles on your website or blog, email messages, audios, videos etc.

The key is to freely give them what they need, then offer quality resources that will help them do what you just told them to do.  That is how you turn readers into subscribers and subscribers into buyers.

100 buyers are far more valuable than 1,000 subscribers.

If you follow these steps, really making the necessary adjustments, you will see a difference in your Internet marketing results and you don’t have to spend a lot of money.

In my next post, we will discuss some of the mechanics and technical steps you can take to build a large, responsive list and further improve your results.  Topics such as blogging, auto responders, light box, email marketing, Twitter and other social marketing.

Until then, if you would like more information about how to improve your results online, fill in the form above to receive a free audio interview.

In it I talk about what I teach to business owners to help them harness the power of the Internet and succeed both online and offline.

While you are waiting for your subscribers to turn in to buyers, you can put your Internet savvy to use and earn supplemental cash.

Offline business owners in your area need to know what you know, however most don’t have to time to implement.  This course will walk you through everything you need to be of service to these entrepreneurs.  Or, if you prefer, contact me for one on one consultation.

Cherilynn Stone
E-commerce Business Consultant
www.ezonlinemarketing.net
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