Business Alone

If so, you need to do everything possible to increase the amount of traffic, the click-through response rate to your affiliate page links, and the relevance of your content to the product(s) you're promoting.

Typically, affiliates slap up a web page, add a few links, some cut-and-paste content, and forget about the site for a few weeks or months waiting for it to get spidered and included in the search engines.

There is a better way to accomplish affiliate sales. If you pay close attention to the details of your site, like you would if you were selling your own direct marketing product, your affiliate sales can soar.

I recently viewed a video clip produced by John Reese that showed his amazing VRE strategy that added over $500,000 to his business the first year it was implemented (beginning in February 2005.) You can view the video for yourself right here. (Excuse me if this link is no longer working - John has changed his business model several times in the past couple of years and the link may be down by now.)

John says he spent about 120 hours initially setting up this project which includes a network of small web sites that carry Google Adsense ads along with specifically targeted content related to high-paying keyword niches.

John is the same fellow that made some huge waves in the Internet marketing circles when he sold over $1 million of his Traffic Secrets course in a 24-hour period.

The premier search engine Google has come up with several programs that may be of interest to the solo small business owner. But there seems to be some matter of conflicting opinion about whether a web site owner should do anything to send his traffic away to someone else.

Here's the deal: Google allows web site owners to advertise products and services on their web site in exchange for a small referral fee each time a viewer clicks on one of the Google ads.

This is not an affiliate program since Google pays for each click rather than for a product that is actually purchased. In a sense, the web site owner is sharing in a PPC (pay per click) program. Google serves the ads and keeps track of the clicks. The web site owner puts Google's html code on his pages and provides relevant content for Google to match to its advertisers.

If you are a solo business operator and choose to increase the revenue generated at your web site, you have the option of employing Google Adsense advertising. I believe Yahoo and MSN also (or will soon) offer similar programs that allow the web owner to monetize his content.

There are several factors that determine how much revenue a web owner can generate for each of the particular content pages on his site that serve Adsense advertising.

First, the traffic to a site is important as most Internet advertising is, in part at lease, a numbers game. Your viewers will only click on an Adsense ad a certain proportion of the time.

Let's use the example of 1 click every 200 visitors. Given that type of click-through rate, a site with 200 visitors/page/day will generate 1/10 the income that a site with 2,000 visitors/page/day will get, all other things being equal.

I have not tried this strategy but I read about it and I think it would work extremely well in a solo home business application.

It's relatively inexpensive and easy to do, yet it brands your business in ways that you determine and it will make your direct mail stand out from the crowd.

I read about a lady that uses an inexpensive digital camera to snap photos of everything from her own portrait, to images of her products, to places she likes to visit that relate to her business.

The idea is to get pictures she can use legally in her advertising that relate to her products.

If you have visited some of the large stock photo stores on the Internet, you know that buying the rights to just one small image for use in a mail campaign can cost up to several hundred dollars.

Before we get to today's post, I want to wish each of our readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Take some time off today and enjoy the holiday with your family - I'm going to do just that since I wrote this post yesterday!

When the Internet was new and online business owners were jumping on the ship right and left, there was often the feeling that all a business owner needed to do to have a business was put up a web site, add a product or two, and the sales would begin to flow.

Yes, I'll remind you once again of that worn out phrase that everyone else quotes to describe this erroneous thinking: "if you build it, they will come."

Online business owners now understand that phrase is a lie.

I did a little experiment myself that proved the point to me in very real terms. Two years ago I set up a little web site with it's own domain name, some content, keywords, etc.

I asked visitors to register at the web site (for free) to get my newsletter with lots of great benefits. I even offered a bonus worth a legitimate $300 merely for signing up and there were no other strings attached.

The solo business owner has many tools and resources at his disposal that can leverage his time and automate his business so that he can accomplish much more by himself than would ever have been possible prior to the Internet.

Most business owners that utilize email will tell you that its low cost and "free" fast delivery are the main advantages of using it. But in my mind, at least, there are some other very important reasons why email is the communication medium of choice for the solo business owner.

If you are not using of these email advantages, why not give them a try? They may even be more important resources for your business than the low cost of contacting your customers and prospects.

If you were to ask me that question face to face, I'd probably do a double take and say something stupid like, "You have an advertising budget?"

You see, most small solo operators that I know begin business on a shoestring and a prayer. They spend as little as possible on their business in the hope that they can begin to grow revenues and extract operating income from that stream.

It usually makes more sense than maxing out a credit card with the hope that the new business revenue will service the monthly debt until the card is paid off.

Often, a business owner will have no specific marketing plan in mind. In fact, he may simply try to get the largest bang for the buck that he can buy.

Did you know there are cheap places to display your small classified ads all over the Internet?

How successful you are will depend upon a number of factors, but doing your homework in advance will increase your chances greatly of having a profitable campaign.

There is a lot of psychology that goes into developing a winning classified ad - much more than can be discussed here. But you may want to try a few inexpensive ads while you're learning about the subject so that you understand the process of finding good sources and writing tantalizing copy.

If, indeed, the Internet is a great information highway with traffic, data, digital goods and services, and communications whizzing back and forth at the speed of light, it would be worth the effort for every business owner to create as many links to that highway as possible.

Think of these links as little roads that feed a tiny portion of this traffic back and forth between your small business and the super highway.

Every business connects itself (or should) to the highway traffic. Some do a great job of it and others don't. Each owner determines for his business, both the number roads leading in and out and the ease with which those roads are found by passers-by that have an interest in this side trip.

If you were to hear this complaint (which by the way, I hear very often) what would you guess the business owner was really saying?

Was he saying that he had a great product, but his targeted customers were just too dumb to recognize it and hence they weren't buying?

Or was he lamenting the fact that he was not selling to the right customer niche market?

Or maybe he was charging too much for his awesome product and nobody wanted to buy at that price?

Or could it be that no one was hearing his sales message and seeing his ads and therefore he was not making sales?

The other day I spent some time at Borders, the giant bookseller franchise that I often frequent when I'm searching for some Internet selling tips and advice that I can't find in the books on my own bookshelf.

Borders is a cool place, much like a mini library where the atmosphere is pretty laid back and browsers are free to pull a book from the shelf and sit down to read a chapter or two.

I must admit that Borders' intentions are obviously to sell books rather than play the role of a library for the cheapskates (like myself) who usually purchase books online at Amazon. But still, they don't seem to mind too much if I'm there and generally walk out empty-handed.

Anyway, I was in Borders checking out the latest books on marketing and advertising on the Internet. I was a little surprised at what I found.

One-on-one advertising, that is direct response advertising, is designed to solicit some type of action from the viewer. It may also have the side benefits of building a companies brand or attaching credibility to a product, but the main desired outcome is still related to getting the customer to take action.

One step response selling is pretty simple: the prospect sees the ad, reads the copy, is prompted to click on the "Buy Now" button, and leaves with a digital file of some type that will help him solve a problem or enjoy a passion.

In a two step direct response ad, the customer is prompted to take some action (not purchase initially) like register a name and address, download a free e-book, or watch a short video clip.

This first action is generally designed to provide some type of partial benefit to the prospect, or create a sense of urgency or scarcity, or build a swelling desire for the latest model, or to educate the buyer on the benefits of ordering the widget now because there are only 13 left!

I know of no other activity required of business operators that can be so frustrating, expensive, and fickle as the advertising game.

Sure, it would be nice to have the viral engine stoked up enough that you never had to do another ad spend. But for most small businesses, advertising, in one form or another, is the "necessary evil."

I don't know too many business operators that get the kind of traffic to their web site they want without playing the ad game.

It is a game, you know. You prepare and publish your ad and wait to see the outcome. Sometimes you win; often you lose.

One thing is for sure: advertising can be a huge black hole for a small business if you're not disciplined and selective. You can dump all the cash down the hole that you like - yet there is no guarantee that one product will be sold as a result.

I'm convinced that press releases are one of the most misunderstood tools a small business has available to tell its story and drive targeted traffic to its web site and products.

But industry surveys show that the vast majority of all press releases (some estimate the number to conservatively range between 90 and 98%) from small businesses never get past the desk of the editor. Why is that? Don't editors want good releases?

Of course they do. There are a variety of reasons why a release isn't accepted and subsequently published, but the main reason given most often by the editors questioned has to do with the copy that the author submits.

You see, authors write in an effort to put the best light or spin possible on their business or product. In other words, they write from the business point of view, usually with a marketing slant or focus.

Most marketing experts will tell you that they go to great lengths to try to draw the prospect into a sales pitch.

If he remains on the "outside," so to speak, he will not be affected by or overcome with the emotion, motivation and sense of urgency that marketers try to build into their sales presentation.

One of the many and best ways marketers draw prospects into the sales dialogue is to use the word "You" often in their content so the reader begins to feel like the message is directed right squarely at him. The dialogue is personal and engaging.

"You will receive these benefits when you buy the product..."

Entrepreneurs are always thinking and scheming about ways to make a buck. That's what they do, isn't it?

Here's my favorite definition of an entrepreneur: he's a guy that has a one-in-a-million idea, a business plan that shows profitability in year 3, and no money!

Now we are seeing the rise of "blogpreneurs," the authors that are attempting to monetize their daily blogs.

Some are succeeding, to at least a certain degree, and others are finding the road a bit bumpy.

I saw this question in a marketing magazine recently and it got me to thinking about the importance of defining what you expect your ad to accomplish.

Well there are lots of different types of ads and so there are multiple outcomes that could be targeted for your specific ad depending upon its purpose.

My guess is, most small business ads are pretty ineffective. Let's be truthful here - how many times has your ad pulled the type of response that you had hoped for?

Usually, ads under-perform our goals and sales never seem to overwhelm us on the positive side.

Grab any piece of junk mail and take a quick look at it.

You will probably notice one of two things: either the copywriter hits you right between the eyes with his offer up front, or he forces you to read through the ad to locate the offer which will invariably be hidden at the tail end.

The first strategy is employed to qualify the potential buyers from the "just looking" crowd.

The sales copy is very straightforward and pushes the prospect early to decide if this offer is for him or not.

If the viewer has a genuine interest, he will continue reading the ad.

There is a simple and very straightforward way to engage your prospect in the conversation, or in your advertising, or your web site, or your email.

Savvy marketers have used this technique to grab the attention of casual on-lookers and passers-by when other copy and narrative tactics simply fail to produce the results that the owner expects.

Here's the simple technique: State your title or headline in terms of a thought-provoking question and include the word "you" so that it grabs the viewer and demands a response.

A friend of mine inherited a small gas station from his father.

The mechanic's blood (oil?) ran through the family genes I suppose as he and two of his younger brothers all worked for either car dealerships (in the service department) or garages in the area.

At the passing of his Dad, Trent decided to quit his job, take over the ownership and management of the business his father ran for many years, and see if he could make a go of being his own boss.

Marketing a small business can be a daunting task for the owner that has no previous marketing experience.

I was in that position many years ago and I remember having a constant struggle to come up with ideas or ways to market my business on a shoestring budget.

Yet, around a holiday it was usually easy to dream up a promotion of one sort or another based on that holiday's theme.

It's pretty easy and natural to promote a New Year's Kickoff, a 4th of July Firecracker Deal, or a Halloween Spooky Special.

You may or may not know about "pay per click" advertising.

In the world of Internet marketing, it has become one of the mainstays of the Internet marketer's arsenal of advertising alternatives.

The basic idea and concept is simple: As an advertiser, you pay for the number of "clicks" you receive to your website, advertisement, banner, marketing article, etc. The search engines send you traffic (someone who "clicks" their mouse on your ad as they search the Internet) according to the pre-established cost that you will be charged for every visitor or impression your advertising accumulates.

When you think about this concept, it really makes great sense. You pay the search engines to send you a customer looking for what you are offering.

There are, however, some increasingly difficult challenges that make this kind of advertising a very tricky proposition.

You may have know someone, or read about a particular circumstance, where the advertiser wasn't careful and "lost his shirt" on his PPC advertising campaign.

Buyer beware! Many a novice business owner has charged into the pay per click advertising world (PPC, for short) with high expectations of mega targeted traffic at small cost and come away with an empty wallet, few or no sales, and a vow never to waste money again in that arena!

One of the keys to solving the PPC dilemma remains hidden from many folks view. Usually the campaign owner focuses on keyword strategies and maximizing ad placement.

Who hasn't received a mailer that included an offer to purchase a product or try a service with the stipulation that all you have to do in order to activate the offer is peel off a pre-printed label and stick it in the box marked "I ACCEPT" and then send it off in the mail?

Direct marketers send millions of these post cards or printed coupons everyday and have been doing so for many, many years. Why?

Simply because they get response!

One of the most frustrating aspects of web business is trying to figure out problems to customer response rates on your web site. Why are my customers getting lost online? Why are they not responding to my ads? Why are my offers being ignored?

The challenge of this puzzle is figuring out what parts of the web site need to be fixed.

Is it the offer itself? Are my navigation signals unclear? Is my offering price too high? Is my offer language boring or uninspiring? Is there a problem with my ordering system?

You see, it seems that there are an endless number of little variables that could be hindering sales at the web site. Often, trying to figure out where the roadblocks are is a difficult and frustrating exercise.

This past week has been an especially difficult one for those of us who subscribe to many of the largest Internet Marketing mailing lists.

Some of you can relate, I'm sure.

It seems that every would-be guru trying to hawk his wares decided to flood the niche this particular week with junk product launches and phony money-making products that are designed for just one thing: sales to unsuspecting and eager consumers that have the misfortune of having their names on someone's email list.

I feel sorry for the masses that are trying to carve out a spot for business online.

Yea, yea, I know that most of us gave up our virginity (innocence) without being forced and we offered our email addresses in exchange for a delectable freebie in a moment of weakness.

Sure, no one is forcing anybody to make a purchase or even read a 30-page direct sales letter.

We subscribe to mailing lists to learn how the big boys build their relationships with prospects, right? We subscribe because we want to keep our finger on the pulse of the IM online world. We are all waiting for that easy, automatic, and fool-proof system that floods our bank account with non-stop Franklins.

Internet marketing for the solo business owner is an interesting study of very unique principles that you won't find in other fields.

On unique topic is that of "keywords."

If you want to be successful, you need to master this arena because on the Internet today, it is absolutely imperative that you focus and target your marketing effort.

If you don't pay attention to this aspect of your business, you'll lose your shirt in advertising costs and you won't attract the audience that will be hungry for your offers.

The phrase "drilling down" refers to the approach in your marketing that suggests you dig deeper and deeper into your niche in order to come up with extremely targeted and focused products, customers, advertising, partners, and keywords that will be used to position your business in a tightly focused manner.

There is so much information online these days ... if you don't tightly target what you're doing ... you will appeal to no one.

Online business is a game of sorts. You are competing against others in your niche for customers and their dollars.

There are only so many "winners" in the game within a niche. When enough competing businesses divide up the available customer dollars, at times, the niche can become saturated with a excess number of players.

When the "pie" (customer purchases in a given niche and time period) or prize is divided up, too many sellers can mean a small share for each winner - sometimes not enough revenue to justify the work that is going into the business.

Of the many challenges that an online solo business owner faces in growing and maintaining a business, few are as exasperating as finding that previous work you have done has been wiped out (for some reason) through no fault of the owner.

Online business owners are in the game of creating enticing offers for their products and services (or affiliate products), driving web traffic to those offers, and hopefully converting the prospects who come to the offers into paying customers.

All small business owners will be faced with the decision to use less than truthful advertising and promotional strategies in their sales letters, email communications, ads, and other promotional material.

How do I know? It seems to be the way business marketing has evolved on the Internet.

Deceptive practices include all those little white lies, half truths, and marketing tactics that many feel are perfectly legal, excusable, and appropriate in this day and medium.

Some, I know, would question why we are even discussing this topic as they feel anything is game as long as you don't cross the line of outright lying in your presentations.

I don't see it that way.

I believe that Internet marketers has a responsibility to their prospects and customers that includes being upfront, honest, and ethical in everything they publish, say, and do.