If you've ever done any investing, you're probably familiar
with the term "going long". In a nutshell, going long means
investing for long-term profits. And it's probably the
safest, if not surest way to make money in a sometimes
volatile arena, the stock market.
Today I'd like to show you how to apply this powerful
strategy to your Internet marketing campaign.
As I'm sure you are aware by now, there are a multitude of
ways to invest in your Internet marketing. Many of the
strategies will yield immediate results, however the results
will be short-lived.
An example of a short-term marketing strategy is buying
advertising. While you DO need to purchase SOME advertising,
if you rely solely on this strategy you'll see a disturbing
trend develop at your site whenever you advertise less,
your site traffic will come to a near stand-still.
Another example of a short-term Internet marketing strategy
is bulk email. Here's why...
When you use bulk email, you blast your message to thousands
of email addresses, filter the myriad of complaints, and
hope for a few sales mixed in. There is absolutely no
positive long-term effect on your business. Perhaps you make
a few sales but you've made zero long-term investment in your
business.
So how does one diversify their Internet marketing portfolio
and GO LONG with their promotion strategies?
Perhaps you already know the answer. Let's test your
knowledge, shall we!
Of the following low-cost Internet marketing strategies,
which TWO would have the longest positive result
on your website traffic?
1. bulletin board and newsgroup postings
2. search engine ranking
3. banner ad buys and exchanges
4. building your own opt-in email list
5. sharing your web content with others
If you guessed number one, you're.... Wrong!
If you regularly make INTELLIGENT and HELPFUL posts to
targeted bulletin boards and newsgroups, you can generate
some traffic. However most boards purge posts frequently and
with the growing number of boards out there, users rarely
take time to search archives for answers.
If you guessed number two, you're.... Wrong Again!
Top ten search engine rankings are great, but unless you
have time to maintain the listings you'll find that they can
be hard to maintain. While I definitely recommend giving
search engine ranking some consideration, especially when
setting up a website, this strategy should be considered
more of a continuing effort than a long-term strategy.
If you guessed number three... you're... Wrong Again!
As I mentioned at the top of this piece, you DO need to
purchase SOME advertising, and banner advertising and
exchanges can be a part of that. But if you rely solely on
paid ads, you'll see less site traffic whenever your
advertising slows.
All in all, items one through three above are good ways to
promote your website... IF you have the right components set
up at your site. If not, you may be wasting your time and
money.
The first component you MUST have at your site in order for
those (or any) efforts to pay of is...
Item number 4 from above. An opt-in email list building
strategy!
If no. 4 was one of your guesses, you are right on! Growing
your potential client base should always be a priority in
ANY business. The best way to do this on the web is to grow
your own opt-in email list(s). Ask for your website visitors
name and email address and give them something of value in
return. It is as simple as that. Then treat the growing list
like gold.
So that leaves us with the other correct answer. Number
five, sharing your web content with others. The most
effective way I've found to do this, is to write about your
area of expertise and pre-license the content to other
editors and webmasters in your type of business. This
strategy is sometimes called "submitting articles", but it
doesn't even have to be articles that you share. You can
write tips, lessons, hints, secrets, or anything that would
help a particular group of people.
Then, not only should you pre-license the material as I've
done at www.bizweb2000.com/articles.htm - but you should
also submit the content regularly. That is as simple as
emailing your fresh work to webmasters and ezine editors who
publish related material. After four years online, this is
still my cheapest promotion method (100% free) and by far
my longest lasting.
I can say without reserve that the two strategies above are
THE premium ways to GO LONG with your Internet marketing.
How can I make such a bold statement?
Simple. Here's proof of each:
Last week I was contacted by a subscriber that had been on
my subscriber list for, get this... four years! She had
finally decided to start her own business and wanted help
from someone with a track record of getting results. As one
of my original subscribers I naturally offered her a deep
discount on my services.
Example two: When I started using my article writing and
pre-licensing strategy back in early 1997, I used an address
called sub@jdd-publishing.com for new subscribers to receive
my gazette. I used that address for only a short time until
my website was complete. Now, over three years later, I still
get new subscribe requests to that old address every week. My
content from three years ago is still being read. How's that
for going long with web marketing!
So in closing, I'd like you to consider the Internet
marketing strategies you are using right now. How many of
them could be considered "going long". After all, if you
plan to retire or even work less some day, you'll have to
invest in the future of your website now. And believe me,
it's nice to see the website traffic continue to come in on
a regular basis, even when you don't!
About the Author
Visit Jim at http://www.bizweb2000.com where he shares
exactly how he makes his living from the Internet. And get Jim's free weekly email newsletter,
BizWeb eGazette by sending mailto:optin@bizweb2000.co