What’s Your Marketing Plan?
Recently, I had a reader, Blythe, comment that marketing online is difficult and crazy. It can certainly be that way if you don’t have a marketing plan, so I thought we would discuss that today.
Online marketing takes many forms and basically you need to decide which ones suit you and your business best, then do them consistently. It’s quite possible to marketing your business online without ever spending a penny, so there’s really no excuse NOT to do it.
Types of Online Marketing
Social Media – This is an area that many people just don’t see the value of. If you are one of these people, then don’t use it. You won’t see results if you don’t understand how to use social media. However, if you are interested in learning, pop over to the sidebar there and under Categories, click on Social Media to learn more.
Paid Advertising – Yes, you can certainly spend money on advertising, but I wouldn’t recommend doing this until you know what you are doing. It is extremely easy to lose money on things like pay per click ads. If you do decide to start using paid advertising, then you should look at banner ads or text links which are offered for a set price.
Blogging - You might not think of blogging as a marketing strategy, but it really is. The search engines pick up on blogs very quickly and you will find that the incoming traffic to your business site when you have a blog is greatly increased.
Article Marketing – Those of you who read this blog regularly already know that I am a big believer in article marketing, so much so that I have even written a step-by-step guide on it. All it takes is time, unless you want to outsource your writing.
Search Engine Optimization – By optimizing your website, you ensure that it is easier to find your site on search engines. It’s vital to choose the right keywords, however, or you will find yourself with too much competition in this area.
Networking - Similar to social media, but minus the confusion, online networking can be invaluable to your business. This includes blog commenting, emailing other work at home moms to make connections, attending wahm or blogger meetups when possible and participating in forums.
How to Set Up a Marketing Plan
Now that you know which types of internet marketing available to you, it’s time to set up a marketing plan and get some work done. This is where it really pays to be consistent. Think of each blog comment, article or banner as a point added to your reputation. You will slowly build up your reputation online and that will result in more traffic. Consistency is key.
Pick two types of online marketing from the list above. For example, social media and article marketing. If you go with social media, you will need to narrow it down to two social media sites, such as Twitter and StumbleUpon.
Now, write down what you need to get done. I would suggest starting slowly so you won’t be overwhelmed. For example, you might decide to send out 5 tweets a day, with one being self-promotional, stumbling three new sites a day and sending out a page of your own once each week. For articles, you might want to set a weekly goal since it is easy to fall behind in writing when it comes to daily goals.
Once you have your marketing plan, write it out by hand and hang it up where you can see it. Make those tasks part of your daily to do list. Once you are comfortable with them, start adding to the list.
Making Your Online Marketing More Effective
If you find that you simply have too much to do and never manage to get to your marketing, keep in mind that this WILL hurt your business. You’ll be losing out on clients that you could have had. The solution? Outsourcing.
Here’s an example. Let’s say you want to submit at least 2-3 articles a week for article marketing, but don’t have the time to write or to submit them. The solution here would be to hire a freelance writer who can provide you with 12 or so article per month and a VA who will submit them to article directories for you. It won’t cost that much and you are getting consistent marketing for your site. If you have a little more money, then consider upping the number of articles you purchase. If 12 a month can gain you traffic, imagine 50?
Online marketing doesn’t have to be complicated. If you make a plan, keep it simple, yet consistent, you will most definitely see an increase in traffic and sales.
Well written blog with a lot of information.
Hello everyone, I do not totally agree that outsourcing is the answer to “make your online marketing more effective?” Firstly you can make your Online marketing more effective, by effectively planning your activities and by time management . You will be in for an eye opener when you do this and you start to time your activities.
You should spend the most of your time online doing things for your business that makes money. No goofing off, email answering, games, interests and a thousand other distractions. That includes family distractions.
Also everyone should be able to manage 2-3 350-550 words in a week easily. Heck at 3 articles a week your output is already 12 articles a month; comfortably yourself. You would only outsource that if you wanted 25-30 articles a month.
Realistically you need to raise the bar on the work ethic. We all are guilty of taking it too easy because we are working at home. But there comes a time when you have to work more efficiently to effectively move ahead and- planning and structuring comes into it in a big way.
Work as hard as you can to get it set up and earning long-term so you can outsource, then you only need to work 4 hours a day. That is when you can afford to outsource. I cannot see how some people think they can put the cart before the horse? You are not in need of money if you can outsource from the outset?
Just a thought… cheers Ian
Interesting comment, Ian. However, I think that you are missing a big chunk of my audience. Many work at home moms have product based businesses, meaning they need to keep up production. That right there could take up all of their time, even with great work ethic. Outsourcing is definitely not something to start out with, I don’t think anyone was saying that. However, when you have built up your business to the point where your attention is focused elsewhere, then it might be time to get some help.
For example, I write articles, yes, but I prefer to be paid for those articles. So if someone is paying me $25 an article, why wouldn’t I spend $10 per promotional article? It’s worth it to me to outsource the marketing on this because I can earn more by only doing the actual writing that is being paid for.
Hello Genesis, I agree with a lot of the points you make, however I have all the constraints above and some, that is not exclusive to only mothers, it also applies to fathers bringing up kids on their own. I manage my time strictly and I work within the time I have. I free up more time in ways- other than outsourcing and paying others money I don’t have to do it?
EG. Instead of trying to all the work yourself; or hiring and paying thousands forever for a team to keep doing the work? You might want to invest a one-off cost and automate the process.
Then you do due diligence until you find the exact way to automate your system that suits your every need, it frees up your time, and saves you a heap of money.
When you reach a point where you are making some good profit; then you can re-evaluate whether you are able to be magnanimous and pay a person a wage to do it. Or you may well decide that the money you have freed up would be better served in more charitable and humanitarian ways.
I only ever want to work 4 hours a day. I am also of the opinion that recession is not “life threatening” I have been made redundant and been thrown on the scrap heap of life without a job to support my family , for an unprecedented fourth time. I know what ongoing recession feels like. Its been a lifetime for someone like me.
I am also of the opinion that there are people way less fortunate than us in the western world and their very lives are on the line everyday in a myriad of different ways. Suffice to say; none of these life threatening menaces are pretty. I am of the belief that there are always people somewhere in the world much worse off than ourselves. That also applies to people in our own back yards
Ian
I don’t think the recession is life threatening either. It’s another dip in history, but since I’m not American, I am not feeling it as much, either. I’m curious though, as to your giving so much advice if you have been made redundant four times . . . are you actually running a successful home business?
Its good valuable info, it is free and I have overcome redundancy all four times. I try to give good value. So I do not really want to discuss my incomes. Feel free to email me any questions on marketing you may have