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There are many places where you can get help with your failing internet marketing business, and some sources are better than others. There are many so-called experts online who will be only too happy to sell you some product or service that will supposedly help you turn things around and actually start making money online.

Whether it’s a course, some piece of software or just some coaching, it can be mighty tempting to shell out big bucks to finally have the success you so desperately want. But you have to be cautious too.

There are many really knowledgeable, honest people online but even among this group, you may not really find the answer you are looking for.

Instead, start right here with this article. I will give you an idea of where you might want to spend your money and where you are likely to get the biggest bang for your buck I will also tell you what products you may want to stay clear of:

1. For the most part, you should not bother to spend your money on some “do it all for you” software. I have spent more money on this type of software than I care to admit and I have to say that it’s never really worked the way it was supposed to.

Some might have worked, others didn’t work at all, but no matter what none of it has ever lived up to its own hype. I would save my money if I were you (I wish someone had told me that when I was first starting out).

2. You will usually get the most out of your expenditure if you buy a course that will teach you something about internet marketing. Internet marketing is not necessarily something I would call hard, but it does have a lot of pieces that have to fit together in a precise way in order to get the results you want.

That is what can take so long; just learning how to put it all together. The majority of your “puzzle” will involve finding the best ways to drive traffic to your website. There are many ways to do this and many elements that will go into creating an effective stream of traffic.

Once you’ve learned this skill and you are getting traffic, and plenty of it, you can start making some real money.

3. Another investment that you may want to consider if you have the money is getting a coach. Having someone who can show you the ropes and can even hold you accountable to getting something done can really help.

Obviously, there are many other things you will need such as buying your own domain name, getting a website, etc. but these can all be learned by taking comprehensive internet marketing course.

Doing these steps can really help with your failing internet marketing business. It is within your reach but you have to be willing to grab it.

Every business needs to vary its marketing strategy from time to time. When something is not working or not advancing the business in the way you have envisioned, it’s time to add a new component.

Digital Marketing

In short, digital marketing involves communicating through advertising using technology. Advertising on mobile devices, utilizing email marketing with your mailing list, blogging, article marketing, using social media outlets to build your brand – these are all components of digital marketing strategies. It’s varied and each method can lead to a measure of success that you didn’t have before.

Even offline businesses are realizing that digital marketing is the way to go if they want to compete in the market. Customers are looking for more, and they want the companies and brands that they patronize to make the effort to meet their needs.

Advantages of Going Digital with Advertising

There are benefits to adding this new scheme to your advertising plan. Here are a few.

Quantifiable metrics – With more traditional forms of advertising, you won’t find out about how well your marketing campaign did without a bit of effort. For one, sales on the backend will eventually show if the product is doing well. Test marketing by sending samples to the public or mailing surveys also impart information, but not in a readily usable form.

With digital methods, code can be embedded in banner ads, links and messages to track click-through rates and conversions in “real time” so that your feedback is more immediate. You can also customize what information you gather.

Low cost – Investing in a digital marketing campaign costs pennies compared to more traditional methods. Creating YouTube videos or audio podcasts requires some software but that usually pays for itself in page views and backlinks to your site.

Immediate – Want to send a message to a lot of people and let them receive it simultaneously? Send an email or an SMS message. It’s more reliable than using a billboard, and the audience is targeted to your niche. It would be as if everyone who passed your billboard was interested in your product.

Personalized to your target audience – There are ways to send each message with an individualized greeting that makes it seem like each of your clients or target audience members are being directly engaged by you. The personal touch goes a long way to making the sale.

Reaching a wider audience – Social media outlets allow you to engage a larger group of people. Those interested in your page on say, Facebook, can all check in and find out what you are up to and hear the latest news in one place.

Are you thinking about adding a new component to your advertising budget? Digital marketing has several advantages.

Provide a Consistent Stream of Value. It’s not about linking back to your site. It’s about providing value. Many people make the mistake of thinking they always need to link back to their site to have an effective post. That’s not entirely true. The goal should be to provide value to your readers and followers.

That may mean simply posting a tidbit of information without a link. It certainly means sharing valuable information. For example, breaking industry news is always appreciated. Yes, you do want to increase traffic to your site. However, first you need to build a reputation as someone who provides consistent value. Make that your primary focus and the rest will follow.

Respond and Listen. Have you ever had a conversation with someone where it feels like they’re not listening, they’re waiting to interject? They’re thinking about what they’re going to say next rather than being 100% involved in the conversation? Many social media interactions are just like that. People talk and talk, and promote and promote, but they don’t really listen. The value to your social media interactions is in the listening. Pay attention to what your audience ahs to say. Answer their questions and go back to #1 and provide value when you respond.

Get Them Involved. Invite your followers and prospects to join the conversation. Ask questions; take polls, request stories, experiences, and insight. You’ll not only gain a ton of information about your audience, you’ll bring them into your fold. People enjoy being asked for their opinion. They enjoy sharing their knowledge and experience. When you ask for their contributions they will gladly participate. Acknowledge their contributions and invite them to become part of your blog and business.

Social media can be a powerful marketing tactic when it’s thoughtful. Priority one should always be to provide value. Before anything is posted answer the following question for your readers, “What’s in it for me?” If you cannot answer that question, don’t post it. Embrace your audience as people rather than numbers. Get to know them and they will become the loyal customers you seek.

What Are Infographics?

Think of charts. Businesses use them all the time to convey all sorts of information: statistics, trends, percentages and the like. There are line graphs, pie charts, bar graphs and candlestick charts. Each offers a different way to break down information so that it is easy to understand. In business, what you want for your customers is to be able to understand what you do and who you are without a bunch of fuss.

These graphics do away with the technical terms and cut right to the chase. On a site like Pinterest, charts are great visuals for sharing information about your business.

How to Use Infographics and Charts

It is not too hard to create a chart as long as you have the necessary information. Depending on that information, you can choose which visual representation would work the best for your audience. Pie charts are great because they use lots of color and you can readily decipher them. Always describe your chart or graphic in the description for each pin on your pin board.

Here are some ideas of when to use them.

Share testimonials – Do you have a section on your website that is available for customers to share their feedback? Always let them know that their information could be posted elsewhere. Create an infographic using colorful bubbles, for example, each containing a blurb from your customer testimonials. Include links back to the actual page on your website with the complete reviews.

Share customer statistics – When customers fill out forms at checkout on your site, you gather certain information. Customize your forms to collect demographic information. Highlight that information on a bar graph showing who is buying from you. Use follow-up surveys to also collect this type of information.

Share responses to customer questions – If you pose questions on your blog, use Pinterest to showcase the answers. Rank them in order of most popular response to least popular. Customers rarely get to see the outcome of their answers to such questions, but you can help them out with a great infographic or chart.

Countdown to big events on your website – Use images embedded with timers to keep the date of an important product release or announcement in the forefront of people’s minds.

Share trends – What trends are important to your business? Share them in chart form and then show how you are satisfying that trend with your company products.

What information would you want to share with readers and customers? Do it with infographics and charts on Pinterest.

distractions and lack of motivation.

ELIMINATING THE DISTRACTIONS

This is certainly easier said than done, especially if you are working at home. After all, the point of working at home is to be available for your family when they need you, right?

WRITE OUT A LIST OF POTENTIAL DISTRACTIONS

Sit down and write out an honest list of things that distract you while you work. For most of us, this list could include things such as: email, social media, texts, phone calls, instant messages, and the kids.

KEEP THE LIST IN YOUR WORK AREA

Keeping this list somewhere in your work area will help you recognize the distractions before they become a problem. For example, close your email box and only check it at predetermined times during the day. Sign out of all instant messengers. Turn the phone on silent. Make sure the children are occupied for a little while. Taking these steps means you are consciously making the effort to remove the distractions and focus.

TALK TO OTHERS AROUND YOU

When your friends and family members learn to respect your work time, this makes things a lot easier for you. Talk to your spouse and children (if they’re old enough to understand) about the time you’ve dedicated to work your hours. It is best if the people in your life can treat your work-at-home time as if you did not set your own hours. They need to see it as a traditional work time with set hours, during which they leave you alone. They wouldn’t call you at the office 15 times in three hours, would they? Give the people in your home some sort of signal when you’re working, so they know to leave you alone unless it is an emergency. For instance, if you have an office, keep the door closed when you’re working. The closed door is the sign your family needs to leave you alone.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Being productive is a skill. Any skill you obtain will require practice and repetition to fine tune and perfect. Even the most productive people will become distracted from time to time. If you find yourself becoming distracted, take a few minutes to center yourself and refocus yourself on your commitment to your client, and your business. Then, get back to work. Eventually, it will become easier for you to re-center and focus each time you get distracted, which in turn makes it easier to stay focused.

FINDING THE MOTIVATIONAL SPARK

No matter how much you will it done, the work you have to do isn’t going to do itself. Finding your motivation will be easier on some days than others, but the key is to make sure you can get to that motivation when you need it the most.

CREATE AN “EMERGENCY SITUATION”

When you create an emergency because you know the project is on the last hours before its due, you’re going to get more done in those last few hours than you did in the days before. If you can fake yourself out into an emergency situation, you’ll get more done than if you tell yourself you have a few days and it can wait.

JUST SIT DOWN AND DO IT

No more excuses. Sit down at your work area, and do what needs to be done. Once you finally bite the bullet and get over whatever it is that was stopping you from starting the project in the first place, you will find it easier to get more done than you thought.

If you still find yourself having trouble, think about the reasons why you love this project. Even if it’s the most boring project in the world and you loathe it, it has to be done, and there’s something that will make you love it—even if it’s what you can do when it’s done. And, when it gets finished, you’ll be able to cross it off your to-do list, and move onto something you enjoy more. Plus, when the project is complete, that’s money in the bank. Money you need to pay your bills. If the idea of getting the payment still doesn’t motivate you—think about what life would be like if you were in the corporate would, and what your boss would say if you were like this at your desk at work.

Until next time.

Richard Söderblom
The SuperStar Coach

The Information Superhighway

That is another name for the internet. You can find out just about anything that you need to know if you know the right terms to use to look for it. The internet connects the people who have the knowledge to those who don’t to form a symbiotic relationship.

As a business owner, you are representing yourself as an expert in your niche. That’s why you are in business in the first place. When others realize your level of expertise, they will be more likely to recommend you to others, as well as patronize your business. When you utilize all of your marketing strategies you position yourself and your brand to grow.

Using Visuals on Pinterest to Advance Your Business

They say that “seeing is believing.” In online business, seeing is a big part of believing that your products can help others – especially on the part of your customers. To that end, using visuals on Pinterest can assist you.

You might be thinking that Pinterest is all about the visual. In fact, these are specific visuals. We are talking about “how to” visuals. Here are some suggestions:

Tutorial videos – These “how to” videos show people ways that they can use products like the ones you offer. For instance, if you are selling cooking utensils, create a video that showcases how certain ones can help in the kitchen. If you are in the fashion industry, create a “how to” about what colors work best together for the holidays or when preparing for a business interview. There are a host of ideas that might be useful to promote your business products.

Product demonstrations – This can be done in video form as well, but you can also do a slide show presentation board that offers to help viewers learn how to use your products. Another type of video would be an animated slide show.

Mix your media – Create pinboards that feature a mix of videos, slide shows and grouped product images, all for a common theme. This gives readers several things to see on your board that can peak their interest.

Tips on Visuals

Make them colorful – When images “pop” they are easy to see. Use a variety of colors.

If you can’t find an image, create one – You can create your own charts and visuals and then take a photo of them. Use clear writing and colorful pictures that are easy to see.

Make them informative – People want something pretty to look at, but they are mostly looking for information. Be sure that your visuals give lots of that. Don’t forget to make great use of the descriptions.

Visuals offer another type of media to help market your business.