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At Last - A Plain English Guide to Internet Marketing
Have you ever been horrified and intimidated at the convoluted, jargon-reliant information about Internet marketing available on the Net?
Often it results in many companies becoming confused and therefore reluctant to put into practice what...
Is Your Marketing Working...
That is the question, you should be asking yourself. Many feel that it is I'm sure. But is it really! Which scenario is better or best for your business, marketing and advertising everyday spending more than you marketing budget allows each month....
Marketing to Your Niche Markets with Stories
Do you remember how, in days gone by, salesmen would go door to door selling their wares? These entrepreneurs would "go the extra mile" just to have the chance to demonstrate their products to people in their own home. Why do you suppose they did...
Postcard Marketing Done Right
Say it with a post card. A well designed, colorful, high impact postcard in the mail box of your prospect is your best ticket to a new customer. For your existing customer, a marketing campaign which includes frequent post cards is the perfect...
Real Estate Marketing -- How to Measure Your Direct Mail Success
Article:
Eugene Schwartz, author of Breakthrough Advertising, said it
best: "There are no answers in direct mail except test answers.
You don't know whether something will work until you test it.
And you cannot predict test results based on past...
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Four Marketing Musts
One of your most important jobs as a solo professional or small business owner is to generate interest in and demand for your products or services. But if you're like many entrepreneurs, you discover finding time for marketing to be elusive. Much of what you could be doing remains undone--and without some form of marketing your business growth stalls.
To help get you untracked, here are my four marketing "musts" for small business owners. Integrate these four fundamentals and you're sure to feel more confident going forward . . . and more able to plan a bigger "bang" for your time and efforts.
1. MAKE MARKETING YOUR MINDSET
Make marketing a subconscious element of all that you do. This doesn't mean you should be in "hard sell" mode all the time, but it does mean you need to develop a mindset where you view every interaction with someone--planned or otherwise--by phone, by email or in-person as a marketing opportunity.
2. MAKE YOUR MARKETING SUSTAINABLE
For marketing to work, you need to be able to sustain your efforts over time. You might develop the most effective plan, but if you can't implement that plan because it's too costly, too complicated, or you simply don't have the time to commit to it, then your efforts will fail.
Plan your marketing in phases. Start with low-hanging fruit. Get a couple of small victories under your belt. Note what worked, what didn't work, what felt most "right" for you . . . and keep moving forward.
3. MAKE IT ROUTINE
Without structure or routine built around your marketing efforts, you're likely to lose focus and get distracted--something that's all too easy for solo professionals and the self-employed to do.
One easy way to add structure is to create an overall marketing plan that outlines for you exactly what you hope to accomplish and when. You can then supplement this with shorter-term, action-oriented "to-do" lists aimed at reaching your marketing
goals.
A word of caution, however, don't make "structure" your end-product. Consider structure only as a means to get the results you desire. This does not have to be a painful exercise--my plan and various lists usually fill only one or two pages. What's important is that there's always something to do . . . and that something always gets done.
You'll also want to maintain an element of flexibility in all that you put on paper or commit to your computer screen. Create your plans and follow them knowing that from week-to-week and month-to-month your objectives can--and most likely will--change.
4. MAKE TIME
Allot time each week to pursue your marketing goals. Pull out your calendar right now and schedule an appointment with yourself. It could be an hour, two hours or three--whatever you need to keep moving forward. It could be the same day each week, it could be different days. Whatever you choose, honor this commitment of time. Make it sacred.
MAKE MARKETING MORE AUTOMATIC Remember, marketing doesn't happen in a vacuum, nor is it automatic. You have to tell people why they should want to buy your product or service--and then tell them again.
Only once you've adopted a marketing mindset and are willing to commit the time and energy necessary to sustain your marketing efforts--only then will your marketing become more automatic, more natural . . . and more successful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright (c) 2004 by Matt McGovern--All rights reserved.
About the Author
Matt McGovern combines a rare blend of creative and technical know-how with years of experience and a balanced and purposeful approach to life. He has authored and edited numerous books, e-books and e-zines. Get "Know-How" his free e-newsletter at www.700acres.com/pages/ad_archive.html or explore life, death and beyond with his novel, "CURRENTS-Every Life Leaves an Imprint" at www.MattMcGovern.com/books.html.
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KnowThis: For Marketing, Market Research, Internet Marketing ... |
KnowThis.com offers a wealth of information, forums, and resources for professionals, academics and students in traditional and internet marketing, ... |
www.knowthis.com |
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Marketing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Marketers depend on marketing research, both formal and informal, ... The next big thing is a concept in marketing that refers to a product or idea that ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
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Marketing - Marketing Strategy - Marketing Plan - Marketing ... |
Learn about marketing careers, the stages of developing a marketing plan, how to begin marketing research, create a marketing strategy, and how to market ... |
marketing.about.com |
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Marketing.org - Home of the Business Marketing Association |
Serves the professional, educational and career development needs of business-to-business marketers. |
www.marketing.org |
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Welcome - American Marketing Association - www.marketingpower.com |
Dedicated to serving the educational and professional needs of marketing executives. |
www.marketingpower.com |
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Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR News - Brand Republic |
Find the latest Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR news from Brand Republic, the online resource for up to the minute advertising and marketing news and ... |
www.brandrepublic.com |
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Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic |
Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic. |
www.brandrepublic.com |
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Marketing (Canada) |
Offers a Canadian source of news and articles on marketing, advertising and media. |
www.marketingmag.ca |
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BidVertiser - Pay Per Click Advertising On Sites Of Your Choice. |
Pay per click advertising - online advertising directly on sites of your choice, internet marketing solution for online advertisers. |
www.bidvertiser.com |
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Online Behavioral Contextual Advertising and Marketing. |
Promote your business with today's most effective online advertising technology, contextual advertising at a cost effective metric of CPC, PPC, CPM or CPV. |
www.clicksor.com |
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Sales Jobs / Marketing Jobs / Advertising Jobs - MarketingJobs.com |
Employment site for marketing and sales professionals. |
www.marketingjobs.com |
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The Chartered Institute of Marketing |
The Chartered Institute of Marketing is the world's largest international marketing professional body and helps with career support and information ... |
www.cim.co.uk |
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Marketing: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
See all blog posts tagged with marketing on Technorati. |
www.technorati.com |
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Marketing Profs - Marketing Concepts and Strategies: Expert ... |
Marketing knowhow from professionals. Newsletter, articles and how-to's. |
www.marketingprofs.com |
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Guerrilla Marketing Online - The Official Site |
Guerrilla Marketing Online is anonline magazine for small business, entrepreneurs, sales people and marketers of all kinds. |
www.gmarketing.com |
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Business Marketing - Small Business Marketing |
Business marketing - Read everything your need to know about small business marketing. |
www.entrepreneur.com |
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All About Marketing |
Adapted from Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation ... Inbound Marketing Includes Market Research to Find Out: ... |
www.managementhelp.org |
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Pages tagged with "marketing" on del.icio.us |
USA Network Announces a NASHVILLE STAR Marketing Partnership With ... - Yahoo! ... Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing ... |
del.icio.us |
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ClickZ Internet Marketing Solutions for Marketers |
Includes columns with commentary and analysis on a wide variety of internet marketing subjects ranging from B2B marketing to search engine marketing. |
www.clickz.com |
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Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing |
Trade association for users and suppliers in the direct, database and interactive marketing fields, offering seminars and resources, and lobbying for ... |
www.the-dma.org |
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