Start Creating Your Internet Marketing Strategy~ Choose Your Online Specialty

You realize you NEED an internet marketing strategy, but don’t really know how to go about creating one. This week I will be talking about putting together an I MAP ~ [tag-tec]Internet Marketing Action Plan[/tag-tec]. I’ll discuss the process you will need to work through and the decisions you will need to make to develop an action plan that will be perfect for you, and you will be able to stick with for the long haul.

There are so many ways to make money online, that in itself is part of the problem. People are so quick to start something and then if doesn’t work right away they dismiss it and try something else. This cycle takes people in circles and generally produces no profits. In fact it frequently produces lots of debt from buying ebooks to learn all you can about each money making avenue.

What I’m going to encourage you to do is choose 1 thing. Choose one money making avenue to put all your efforts and focus on.

I can hear it in my head ~ but multiple income streams, but every opportunity I’ll be missing, but, but, but. These are what I call the “yeah buts”. They are a very destructive thought pattern. Let me ask you this, would you want to go to a doctor who was a heart surgeon, a plastic surgeon, dentist, and podiatrist? Of course not, because everyone knows Jack of all trades ~ master of none. Why would you think making money online is any different than making money as a doctor?

The first step in creating your internet marketing action plan is deciding on your specialty. What kind of internet doctor are you going to be? There are plenty of online specialties to choose from, and in fact, this might be the hardest part of the whole plan. Because you have to CHOOSE!!

If you are new to internet marketing you may not even be aware of all the choices you have to choose from, and you might think there are only a couple ways you can make money online. I’m going to provide you with a list of online “specialties” so you can think about your strengths, your likes and dislikes and see which of these areas might be a great fit for you.

Affiliate marketing: promoting other people’s products. Affiliate marketing is easy to get started. You don’t need your own website. You don’t need a lot of money to get started. You will basically be finding products produced by other people and promoting them. There are a lot of different ways to do this, and that will be another step in creating your internet marketing action plan. Deciding the strategy you will use for the “specialty” you’ve chosen.

Network Marketing: A lot of people don’t consider network marketing as an internet marketing option. I absolutely do. I think if you are doing network marketing and you aren’t doing it online, you are making it a lot harder than it needs to be. Network Marketing or Multi Level Marketing means joining a company and selling the companies products directly or offering a membership to the company. Some companies require you to hold product at your home, others will do all the shipping and order support for you. You need to find a company that is related to something that interests you, as well as thinking about your strengths and finding a company that is a good match for you. If you are unorganized and have a hard time with math ~ I’d find a company that takes care of orders and payment. This will leave you the responsibility of finding and interacting with people.

Ebay ~ Auction Sites: Ebay is a great way to make money. You no longer need to scrounge around your house finding things to sell to others. You can set up with a company who will drop ship your orders directly to your customers. This allows you to not have to carry an inventory. In fact, you never even have to handle any merchandise.

Arts and Crafts: Are you an artist or crafter? There are many opportunities to take your art or crafts online now. I have been a crafter and I must say ~ online craft selling is WAAAAY easier than sitting at a craft sale in 100 degree weather over the July 4th weekend.

Creating Products for Sale ~ There are quite a few opportunities for people who are creative to start an online store. These sites will allow you to set up a store, as well as create a multitude of products to sell from your store. You can create t-shirts, hats, calendars, baby clothes ~ really the sky is the limit now. You can use your own original photos or artwork, or you can come up with slogans or sayings to put on your merchandise. If you are an avid proponent of anything this is a great way to show your support for a cause and make some money.

Creating Digital Information Products: Creating digital information products may seem like the most daunting of the choices, but it can be pretty simple, and very lucrative. Creating an information product is as simple as writing about something you know. There are always people out there looking for information. If they can find the answer they are looking for in one place they will be willing to pay for it ~ instead of spending a lot of time and energy searching the internet for the information for free. You may say ~ I don’t know how to write a book, or I don’t have anything to write about. You would be surprised. It is pretty simple to write an ebook once you are writing about something you know and love. You just break it down into smaller steps and complete it step by step. I happen to believe everyone is an expert on something. If you just look at your day, I’m sure you can see something you do and do well. It doesn’t matter if a million other people do it, or if you don’t have a degree to do it. Maybe you take care of a disabled child every day. I am sure there are other people who would like to know 10 tips for taking care of a disabled child. Just don’t discount this avenue, I’m sure you DO have something to share.

Keyword Sniping: Creating a site (usually using the wordpress platform) that is optimized for one specific keyword. You can then monetize with adsense, affiliate products or even ebay auctions.  The point is to drive sufficient search engine traffic so your site will continue to make money with minimal upkeep.

Although this list is not exhaustive, it’s a good place to start. If you have not yet chosen an online specialty look into some of these options and see which one you think might be the best fit for you. Once you’ve chosen your specialty you can begin to create your action plan within that specialty.

When choosing your specialty expect to spend a good portion of the next year working in this specialty. This doesn’t mean you will be bored, as there are many different things you can do within each area, but plan to stick with one money making model for the next year. This may seem a little overwhelming ~ but you really are setting up a business. It takes time to build and develop. You wouldn’t expect a cardiologist to start school and then 4 months later decide to be a dentist and then 3 months after that decide to be a pediatrician would you? I mean I suppose they could make those choices but I certainly wouldn’t expect success in any of those careers any time soon. Same goes for you. Consider yourself in training. Take a year to learn your trade ~ expect, in fact, promise to stick with one thing for that amount of time and you will see success coming your way!

[tags]internet marketing strategy, creating digital information products, creating your own products, affiliate marketing, ebay, auction sites, selling arts and crafts, network marketing, how to create your internet marketing strategy, I MAP[/tags]

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