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Article added or updated:
03/30/2008 |
Marketing Magic
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Once upon a time, in
1969, there was a young woman who had a dream of starting her own
company. She had ideas, talent and work ethic to spare but what she
didn't have was cash. After
careful research she found that marketing would cost more than
all the other aspects of her business combined. Out came the credit
cards, family loans and savings. After a few months the woman realized
that she had mortgaged her future to the hilt and
she still couldn't make enough money to buy her way out of debt. Sadly,
she closed up shop and went back to a job she hated at an uncaring
corporation.
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Fast-forward thirty years and meet a young man working at an insurance
company who dreamed of starting his own small business as a financial
planner. He had the education and experience but what he didn't have was
cash. The year is 1999 and after a few
weeks of research the young man realized that marketing and promotion
were vital to the success of his business. However, the young man knew
about a magical method of promotion that
wasn't available to the young woman in 1969. What was the magical method
he used to start his business part-time and build it into a full-time
thriving practice after six months? The answer, of course, is the
internet!
It's true that the internet seems like a capricious magician that
selectively waves a magic wand over some small businesses. However, the
reasons for this became glaringly clear to the young man after he
completed his research. He discovered that success is garnered by
avoiding scams such as "business
opportunities" that seem too good to be true. In addition to hard work
and patience he stayed away from spam, Free For All Links (FFAs),
pyramid schemes, network marketing, sweepstakes and investment fraud. He
used
http://www.scambusters.org to
avoid anything that remotely resembled a scam.
The young man developed a marketing plan focusing on the internet and
after six months he found the following free or
nearly free strategies worked best:
Press Releases - Particularly helpful if the release is tied to an
upcoming holiday or a recent event.
Creating Content - Offering articles and case studies is by far the most
reliable way to find clients and brand yourself as an expert in your
field.
Book Reviews - Some on-line books stores like Amazon.com allow you to
post reviews of books you've read. These reviews will be tied to an
"About Me" page that can include information about
you and your business and your URL.
Forums - Joining forums that cover your area of expertise is a good
move. Help people by answering questions about your topic and include
your URL in your signature.
Testimonials - Wise marketers ask every existing client for testimonials
to be used on their website and/or printed
marketing material.
Newsletters - Keeping in touch with customers and prospects with an
on-line e-zine is a good way to build a steady stream of loyal clients.
Teleseminars - A small investment in a bridge line allows a group of
people to sign up for a free or fee based seminar on your area of
expertise.
Referrals - Proactively asking clients for referrals works better if
they are offered a discount on products or services in
return.
Solo E-zine Ads - Solo ads are an advertisement or article sent by
itself to a list of newsletter readers. Many solo ads are competitively
priced and offer a generous amount of room for
your message.
The young man learned a lesson that we can all appreciate. There is no
"get rich quick schemes" that work on or off-line.
The only way to prosper hasn't changed over time... build client
relationships with hard work and excellent customer service. Cultivate
patience and find your own internet magic by following
in the footsteps of the young man.
(c) 2005, Davis Virtual Assistance. All rights in
all media
reserved.
Bonnie Jo Davis is a Virtual Assistant and Publications Coordinator. She
has been using her favorite marketing
technique, article submissions, for herself and her clients for over ten
years with great success. Let Bonnie teach you what she has learned and
you too can profit from her experience.
Visit
http://www.ArticleSubmissionSites.com for more information today!
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