Online Marketing

Have you always thought you have to deal with a certain amount of rejection before you can find success? We all know we need to go through the No’s to get to the Yes’s, right? Are you tired of “going shopping” just to be able to find new people to talk to, or standing outside grocery stores talking to everyone who walks by? Does it feel like you’re chasing your potential recruits when they don’t return your calls or don’t answer the phone when you call – even after they asked you to call them? While I do agree that it’s a good idea to start with the people you know, to an extent – and I do use and have been successful with many of these traditions – there are other options to grow your business as well. The key to massive success is getting the customer to come to you first!

The internet has opened a whole new world of Marketing. Using the internet, it is possible to attract the really interested prospects to you, and they can be prequalified before you even talk to them. How do you do that? First you need to understand the difference between being a Consultant and being a Sales Rep. A Consultant is perceived as being valuable while a Sales Rep is perceived as being a nuisance.

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “no one likes to be sold, but everyone loves to buy”. The difference depends on whose decision the purchase is. When you are trying to sell something, it is your decision; but when someone wants to buy something it is their decision.

So what if, instead, you offered value – without pitching your company or product? It’s all about building a relationship first and this can make a huge difference in your business. As you become known for your expertise and helpfulness, people who want success will flock to you and some will even ask if they can join your company. Can you see how this is different than you asking them to join your company?

So… come with me and I’ll give you the tools to do this yourself. But, keep in mind, to make this happen, you will need to spend some time and money learning this process before you can make it work. I will give you all the information you need, but you must be willing to put in the effort to step up to make this happen, or you might as well quit right now. OK… ready?

Your Personal Website

OK, now the next step is to create a website. If you’re serious about marketing yourself online, it is critical that you have your own personal website. People will find you online, read about you, learn from you… and then contact you directly.

There are lots of ways to have your own website. You will need a domain name and a place to host it.

You can register your domain at GoDaddy.  Register your name as your web address (i.e. LynnHuber.com), or find a unique name that fits your business.

The company I use to host my website is BlueHost. Click here to go to BlueHost.

If you host your website with them, they will register your domain name for free. The cost for their service is only $6.95 per month – one of the lowest I’ve seen, and you can host as many websites as you want with them at no additional charge. But the best part is their customer service. They are available 24/7 by phone to answer your questions.  I’ve never had to wait more than a few minutes to talk to a very helpful live person!

Some of the features they provide are:

• Unlimited disk storage
• Host unlimited domains (websites)
• Site Builder Program to help you build a website
• Free domain name
• Several types of e-mail support
• WordPress blogs
• and much more!

The easiest way to start is with a blog (just like this site you’re looking at). There are many types of blogs, but WordPress is the industry standard and is a state of the art platform that focuses on making you look your best. Installing a WordPress Blog on BlueHost is as easy as clicking on a button, and then you’re ready to go with a basic site that you can customize to your heart’s content.

If you want to get started with a free site you can get one at WordPress. There are also many free templates you can get to make your site unique, and many of them are pretty good.

However, my experience has been that it’s better to pay for a quality blog that you own, the search engines like and will help you promote your most important product – YOU!

I use a program called Artisteer to create my own Blog Themes.   Artisteer is the first and only Web design automation product that instantly creates fantastic looking, unique website templates and blog themes, and they can be easily used for your WordPress Blog.  The program is fun and very easy to use, and you can design awesome blogs and cool web templates in minutes.  If you decide to purchase this program, the Home Edition is all you need.  There is no need to purchase the more expensive version unless you want to be a web designer. 

If I were to purchase a Blog template, the one I like best is called Thesis. Check out Thesis here. This template is professionally written and gives you tons of controls over how you want your page to look. It puts the control in your hands so you can work on promoting YOU!

Keep in mind; if you are new to this, you are going to need to spend some time learning how to make your blog look the way you want and how to customize it for your needs. I have found a perfect book that will help you really get started. Click here to purchase WordPress for Dummies.

Other Website Options

Here are a few more options for setting up your own website.

Simple-Web-Site – this is perfect for those who have no knowledge of HTML; want to get something launched and out there, and can learn the inner workings later. It’s affordable, works like a WORD document and if you will take the time to view the Help and Tutorial sections if you get stuck, you can figure it out in no time!

SiteBuildIt – This is a great, All-In-One site builder and internet marketing education. It offers the best of everything and helps you really maximize your website on the internet.  But beware, this is going to be a lot if you’re not committed to the process of learning.  Most people who use this service end up thrilled that they stuck through it and invested the time and energy to gain the knowledge, but some may swear off the internet forever.   My advice – Know thyself and choose accordingly!

X-Site-Pro-Builder – this is template builder software that you download onto your computer and you can build unlimited sites here. You’ll need to get your own hosting, and that’s no problem since Blue Host can handle that for you. Check out the pricing here. And X-Site-Pro comes with the upload software.

Autoresponder

Your visitors are live at your website and they want information NOW. You want to know that they have been there so you can follow up. You need an autoresponder. Test drive the one I use here.

The benefit of an autoresponder is that it allows you to deliver information to your prospects at set intervals of time. This way, you are following up without even being aware that you are. Your autoresponder is going to deliver information over time to each prospect and keep your name and opportunity where they will see it.

Don’t miss this important part of your system.

Other Online Marketing Tools

Micro Niche Finder is an amazing Keyword Research tool.  This tool will help you find the right words to use in your blog posts and website text to help you rank higher on the search engines.  Keywords can be so competitive and Micro Niche Finder will help you narrow down the focus so you’re getting targeted traffic with your keywords.

TweetAdder is an amazing tool that lets you automate your Twitter Marketing.  This will help you search for your target market to follow and get them to follow you, keep your tweets relevant and posted on a regular basis, and allow you to manage many twitter accounts.  This is fast becoming a huge part of my marketing arsenal.

Get Yourself Online

Social Sites are your next step if you aren’t signed up. Get an account at –

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube – I know, you probably don’t have videos yet, but get the account, you’ll learn why!

These will get you started.

Online Education

This is crucial to the success of your online marketing.

Networking Times Magazine - This magazine has taught me so much!  It’s filled with articles from people who have achieved success, and it really teaches not only what to do but how to do it.  Click here to get a free issue.