The starting point for an online marketing business.

To run an online marketing business you need to start with an online presence. I was at an online marketing seminar a while back and the question was “who has their own web site”? Would you believe that nearly seventy percent of the audience didn’t put their hand up?

Eventually you may well have dozens of websites but you have to start somewhere and a good place is with a small “blog” site. Its a good idea to “crash and burn” a bit until it becomes second nature to you.

If you don’t know where to start with that then go to another page of mine which spells out the process:

First steps in online marketing.

The key to online marketing success lies in your ability to build a relationship with your list of followers.

It is that simple, and hard.

There are a few general directions that people come from to start an online marketing business.

There are those that have a product that they are sure the world can’t live without and they think the way to make their fortune is to start up a web site and trumpet the value of their product. This is a road strewn with disappointment but it can be made to work with a change in approach. See below.

A second path is trodden by those who are happy to find products they can endorse and then go out and market those for a commission. To be successful you require a source of good products and a list of followers who are happy to follow your recommendations.

This is a the classic affiliate marketing strategy, and a common online marketing activity, and many have found it to be extremely successful. As you would expect this method is becoming very crowded so it is left to those who understand the online marketing business process to get to the front of the pack.

Another way is followed by those don’t have a product right now but they understand the basic law of business which is simply to find out what people want and then provide it to them. There are many who have made over a million dollars a day this way and at the time of writing the record sits at two and a half million in fifteen minutes. It is a combination of the first two methods and is a lot like how Apple sells its products in the real world. People lining up around the block a day before  the item is even in the store. Magic.

Which brings me back to the blog. This is where you open the door and let people in to look you over. There can be nothing contrived here as the visiting public have a great nose for sniffing out anything that doesn’t feel right. The best way to look at what a successful blog might look like is to go visit some. Here is a link to a site that lists the ten most subscribed search oriented online marketing blogs:

Top ranking online marketing blogs – search oriented

Generally, when marketing online, keep your website personal by including photographs and personal stories that are true.The site provided above (just Google “online marketing”) is regarded as one of the best there is in this business. Try this link to see how they personalize it:

Who is behind the Top rank site?

Make sure that the copy is friendly, everyday and conversational so that prospective customers get to feel comfortable about you. You have to make a very good case for yourself as you are introducing yourself and your business through an impersonal website. Go here and watch how an expert does it:

How an expert personalizes a blog

Clearly a big no no is to have what is known as a “landing” page where prospective customers land and immediately get hit with a sales proposition. Does that work for you? I don’t think it works for too many but you still see it out there. When I see that I just click away as do most people.

An online marketing blog is not a set and forget operation.

You need to be communicating with the people on your list on a fairly regular basis. How soon do you forget an acquaintance once regular contact is broken? At least once as week with the occasional “special message” when something outstanding has come along.

Regular contact is essential, but that contact has to give tremendous value. Lots of giveaways, helpful hints and tips on how to get things done; and of course the occasional product recommendation .

Work on being seen as a “trusted adviser”. Make sure your web site has up to the minute information about whatever your online business is about, so clients will be saying,“Look at Dee’s site, she is bound to have that information clarified already”.

“Listen” to what your customers want, offer them well-thought out answers, voice your opinion as much as possible and eventually you will see the results in the bottom line of your online marketing business.