Any Business owner can apply the lessons learned to their own Internet business. There are three main parts to developing a successful internet marketing campaign, but the good news is that none of them are difficult, costly or overly time consuming.

Here, we’ll explore these three parts and find out how you can put them to use no matter what type of Internet marketing business you have.

Here’s Your 3-Step-Internet-Marketing-Strategy

Step 1: Potential customers find you, your products or services on the web.

Step 2: They allow you to contact them.

Step 3: You provide them with information they can use and benefit from, through email, and keep your business in front of them all the time.

To better understand how to do this, keep reading.

Part 1: Potential Customers Find You

The first step in the process is to get people to find you online. Remember, with internet marketing, they are coming to you. You are not going out searching for them and advertising directly. So, how do you get more people to find you online?

Your Own Business Web Site First

There are several ways to accomplish this.

First, the ultimate first step is to have a useful website and/or blog where you can present your offer and where they will be able to buy in the end. While your main info may be on a static site, I recommend adding a Blog: you can talk with, work with and interact with your visitors.

You will need to ensure it is information based rather than a sales gimmick.

Online, self-focused ‘business brochure’ type blah blah is less likely to work than other methods of marketing, especially in internet marketing. Make sure your website tells visitors that you are providing a service to them, information to them.

Do not use the typical ad style used by companies to build brand or just to hype a product.

Lay Out Your Net - Other Places Where They Can Find You

Next, you will need to get your information out there. You’ll create many entry points all over the web where they can stumble upon your information.

Once your own business web site is online, there are many other ways to build that successful internet marketing. You can easily find dozens of ways to do this.

3 very profitable and free methods of promoting your business.

Social Networking Websites

We talked about that a lot in the second part of the ‘Internet Marketing Strategy’ Series. Remember Barack Obamas huge list of profiles on social networking web sites.

One of the most attractive, enjoyable ways to get your business out there is, in fact, to talk about it! Social networking is what it sounds like. It is a method of communicating with others about anything you want to, really.

Most social networking websites were not started to help businesses to grow, but most of them can be used this way. Going back to our example, Mr. Obama used many of them to get to his people.

This is what you are looking for, too. You are looking for a way to give people information. Once they have that information, they can then come to you to get what they need. This works in any type of Internet niche, too.

There are many, many websites that can be used like this. The key is to really use those where you think the best results can be found, but also where you find yourself enjoying it.

To find more of these social networking websites, visit this Wikipedia pages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites

There is no way that you can go to all of these websites, but the key is not to invest all of your time in them, either. You should find one, two, or three to really dive into and to work with.

In the internet marketing niche the most popular are Twitter.com and Facebook.com.

Article Directories

This is an excellent way to gain popularity. You should develop articles and detailed outlines related to your business or product and then get it out into the mainstream. You can post them on various article directories.

I’ll cover article marketing in more detail in an upcoming ‘Article Marketing’ series starting within a week. Keep your eyes open or subscribe to the rss news feed to receive the upcoming articles.

Press Releases

Submitting a press release to press release web sites is fast, no cost or low cost, and it has benefits no other form of internet marketing provides.

One major benefit of using a press release is that you are utilizing a good medium to place your website and business in front of many readers.

Another benefit is that it gives your business or website a legitimate and professional look. You can be known as a credible expert on the topic.

If the press release works correctly, readers will not just think of you as someone who created an advertisement, but someone who may be very knowledgeable on the topic at hand, especially if you are interviewed by the media.

There are many web sites where you can submit a press release about your company.

That wraps up today instalment of the ‘Internet Marketing Strategy’ Series. Thanks for being here, feel free to leave your comments and questions.

Does internet marketing work? The short answer to this question is yes, but there are plenty of fantastic examples of how it works.

A good one is to consider the election of Mr. Obama.

Regardless of whether you are from the U.S. or not, and no matter what side of the ticket you were rooting for, one thing has to be said. Mr. Obama’s ability to use Internet marketing, including internet marketing methods, helped him win this election, according to many professionals.

Mr. Obama’s campaign is the most successful internet marketing campaign ever conducted.

The e-strategy blog called his campaign “The Perfect Political Storm”.

They wrote:

His brilliant use of the Internet and his get-out-the-vote efforts will be studied as a textbook example not so much of a multichannel marketing campaign as an every channel campaign. The campaign will be studied within the political world for bucking history and actually getting young voters to cast their vote.

Obama used the many, many tools in Internet marketing to help him to win his election because he and his campaign moreover knew the importance and success it could bring.

The world goes to the web to learn what it needs to, in today’s culture. More so, the Internet provides an easy, affordable way to reach millions of people every single day. No other medium offers this.

How did Obama use internet marketing to win the Presidential Election of the United States?

Using internet marketing tools, websites, and even things like GoogleAds helped him to make it happen.

First of all he had his own website.

http://www.barackobama.com

Besides giving information about his campaign the very purpose of this site was (and still is) to get people to subscribe to his email newsletter.

Once you do this you’ll get regular promotional emails. And most often you will be asked to support him with donations.

Before you enter his web site you are forced to see the name squeeze page. (If the president elect can do it, then you can do it too to build a list of prospects.) The design and content of the squeeze page changes often, but the purpose is to get visitors to part with their email address.

Social Networking For The Campaing

Next he (or rather his campaign) created a Barack Obama profile on ALL major networking web sites. That includes the 2 most used web 2.0 sites that we people from the so called ‘Internet Marketing Niche’ are using and promoting: Twitter and Facebook.

Barack Obama on Twitter

In fact, http://twitter.com, a useful tool that allows individuals to put out a 140 character message about what they are doing right now was used by Mr. Obama as one of the many methods of internet marketing.

By gaining a huge following and communicating through them in short clips, he could converse with everyday people, put his message out and do it all without spending a penny for it.

http://twitter.com/barackobama

At the time of writing this, January 5 2009, Barack Obama has a following of 154,537 people on Twitter.

I’m working on it too, hehe. I ‘collected’ my first follower on Dec 27 2008 and today, 9 days later, I’m at 946 followers.
http://twitter.com/ralfskirr

Barack Obama on Facebook

Another example of this is Facebook. Everyone on the web knows that Facebook.com is a haven for younger generation individuals who like to find each other and chat. The trend has grown. In fact, businesses, politicians, and even employers are using it as a tool to connect with others. Mr. Obama’s Facebook page was yet another form of internet marketing that helped him to get his message out.

http://presby.facebook.com/barackobama?q=barackobama&ref=ts

You wouldn’t believe it, he’s already set his eye on the significant year 2012.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/BarackObama2012/40275089374

And here’s me again. http://www.facebook.com/people/Ralf-Skirr/1019486454?

There’s A Marketing Lesson To Be Learned…

I’m not throwing my own accounts in for promotional purpose only. I’m throwing it in to bring your attention to a very important fact:

You and I are nowhere near the multi million dollar budgets Barack Obama’s campaign had, right?

Yet the very cool thing is – we can use the very same web sites that powered his campaign and it doesn’t cost a dime.

I have my own Twitter and Facebook account just like the President elect has, and you can do it too. It’s on a smaller scale, but that’s a good thing because your personal or business goals are on a smaller scale too.

We’ll come back to that in the next part of the IM Strategy series.

Barack Obama’s Personal Blog

Just like many small business internet marketers he’s keeping a blog too:

http://www.barackobama-2012.blogspot.com/

As you can see, there are excellent ways that internet marketing works. For most of the general public, you aren’t trying to win the presidential election. Nevertheless, these tools can still be used to help virtually anyone to gain success in getting traffic to their website.

Here’s just a few of the profiles Obamas internet campaign has created. You could - as part of your own internet marketing strategy - make use of the same networks.

Barack Obama on Facebook
http://presby.facebook.com/barackobama?q=barackobama&ref=ts

Barack Obama on MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/barackobama

Barack Obama on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/barackobama

Barack Obama on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom

Barack Obama on Digg
http://digg.com/users/ObamaforAmerica

Barack Obama on Twitter
http://twitter.com/barackobama

Barack Obama on Eventful
http://eventful.com/performers/barack-obama-/P0-001-000000162-8

Barack Obama on Linkedin
http://www.linkedin.com/in/barackobama

Barack Obama on Eons
http://www.eons.com/members/profile/barackobama

Here’s an excellent visual representation that illustrates Obama’s campaign.

It’s worth checking out, you could easily create a similar map for your own campaigns. Pay special attention to the social networking illustration on the right.

See it in full size as PDF.

That’s it for today, tomorrow we’ll finally reveal the 3-step-internet-marketing-strategy. We’ll explore these three parts and find out how you can put them to use no matter what type of Internet marketing business you have.

As usual: Your Comments Are Welcome…

Internet marketing may be the buzz word that is out there commonly heard by most Business owners. Yet, what does it mean?

As a Business owner, you do need to know what this type of marketing is as it will likely be one of the most important, profitable strategies you have in low cost marketing - and it is highly effective.

First, understand what it is and then learn how to implement an internet marketing strategy within your own business. Most business owners can find success using this method to help them to develop their online business. It works in any sector, industry or niche.

It works whether you want to promote a brick and mortar business or whether you want to do online business.

When applied effectively, it is a low cost, long term success strategy no marketer should go without.

What Is Internet Marketing?

The short definition of what internet marketing is may seem too simple. It is simply a term that means that the business owner uses the Internet to help attract people to the business they are in.

To take this to another level, internet marketing can be defined as bringing people to you rather than going after them. The best way to see this is to take a look at the opposite method, the way that most print or “non online” advertising is done.

In traditional advertising, countless dollars are spent to find the consumer most likely to invest in the product or service. Billboards are placed along freeways for radio stations, for example, since people listen to the radio most often in the car. Advertisements go to the most likely consumer rather than the consumer coming to the product directly for a need.

In internet marketing, ideally the consumer comes to you and your product or service because they have heard that it is something that can benefit them, in some way.

The Key To Internet Marketing Success

One of the keys to building a successful internet marketing strategy is not to be overly sales like. Everything and anything that you do should be done based on subtle sales information. You are providing information to the client. You are not hard selling what you have to offer to them. The consumer is attracted to you because you are giving them valuable information and tools to use.

Don’t fail on that point: informational is key, not sales ads.

Internet marketing is not often about catchy slogans and flashy ads. Rather, it is a method of bringing people in to information, products and services because they are already interested. Ultimately, this allows for the business to do well since the advertisements are being presented in a pleasant manner.

There’s a specific way to deliver that ’sales producing’ information. That will be covered in the upcoming installments of this series.

Mastering this will help your business to grow quickly.

The ‘Internet Marketing Strategy Series ‘ offers a simple 3 step strategy to implement internet marketing for your own business.

In the next part of the series you’ll see a real life example. You’ll discover the most successful internet marketing strategy ever conducted.

If you’re a Twit, you can follow me here: http://twitter.com/ralfskirr

Today’s article is about ‘What Content to Post to Your Twitter Updates.’

Before you begin posting Twitter updates, you need to be clear about your main goals for using Twitter. If you’re focused before you get started, you’ll write much better posts and get targeted traffic to your blog.

Always remember that 100 targeted visitors are worth more than 10,000 un-targeted visitors.

There are many different ways you can use Twitter, and everyone uses it a little bit different.

Before using Twitter consider these goals:

• Driving traffic to your web site or blog.
• Positioning yourself as authority in your specific niche.
• Building your brand.
• To make your web site a networking experience by adding Twitter.
• To draw people’s attention to a specific campaign.
• To get subscribers for your email marketing.
• To maximize the number of Twitter followers.

You can use Twitter for all of this, or you can choose just one of these goals and run with that.

You could even create different Twitter accounts for different purposes.

What Content Should You Post To Your Twitter Updates?

I’m assuming you’re not tweeting only for personal reasons, but to enhance your business!

The Twitter site has one question and one question only - What are you doing?
How you answer this is totally up to you.

Try to come up with answers that…

• are interesting to read.
• make them pay attention for what you post.
• make them visit your sites.
• make them reply and comment on your updates.

Be a person, not a faceless marketer.

To start out with, you’ll want to post a few things that are related to you personally and not your Blog, site or products directly. Remember, first and foremost Twitter is a social networking utility. People have a low tolerance for blatant advertising.

A lot of people simply post about what they are doing in their daily routine. You’ll see a lot of posts like “Eating dinner.” or “Starting this new project.”

If you’re having trouble answering the question “what are you doing” try thinking of it in terms of “what are you interested in” or “what has you attention.”

But only a small part of your posts should focus on your private life. After all you not only want to entertain but also give value to your readers.

Promoting your Blog.

The most basic way of using Twitter to build traffic to your Blog is to post updates on Twitter whenever you make a Blog post. It is even possible to automate the process of adding new Blog posts to Twitter or vice versa adding your newest Twitter updates to your Blog.

If you do submit a back link to your own Blog, be sure to add more to your Twitter update than just the link. Tell them what the specific Blog post is about. You don’t want to be seen as someone spamming his link all over Twitter.

But there’s so much more to Twitter than that.

Ideas for non-Blog post related Twitter posts:

1. Share valuable information and useful tips. You can post URLs related to your niche, or just interesting articles and sites you find while browsing the Internet.
2. Write replies to other people’s Twitter updates.
3. Ask them questions. Ask people what they think of the latest news story, their opinion on a given topic, or what they ate for lunch. By asking them questions you can build your relationship with your followers.
4. Add to the value of your twitter feed by sharing some personal tips that aren’t on your Blog. 140 characters offer enough space to share a short, helpful tip. Ideally of course post tips related to your industry.
5. Share links to other people’s sites and explain your view.
6. Share your own opinion on popular topics. You can submit links to current news, preferably those related to your niche, and offer your comment.

These are just a few ideas to get you started. Do you have a few ideas on your own? Please post them below. I appreciate any addition that makes this page more helpful for everybody.

And as always at the end of these Twitter articles I’d like to point you to my own Twitter page: http://twitter.com/ralfskirr

And when you go there remember that old Genesis song…

Here you go…

It needs some editing, then I will post it here in a day or two.

Ralf

If you want to, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/ralfskirr.

1. Getting Traffic to Your Blog Posts or Your Web Sites.

Did you know you can add links to your Twitter posts? Thus with a simple 140 character message to Twitter, you can have lots of readers come to your sites.

When you use Twitter, you’ll be able to tap into parts of your existing market that you weren’t aware of before. Plus, you can not only find tons of new readers on Twitter, but you’ll also remind current readers to re-visit your site.

Be prepared though that if you’re going to use it just to post links to your Blog, you’re going to be a bit disappointed.

Since Twitter is a social networking tool, people will quickly unsubscribe from your updates. On Twitter, people want to know more about you and see a more personal side of you.

This is why it’s such a powerful way to drive traffic to your Blog.

2. Connecting With Your Readership.

When you blog in a traditional sense, you’re speaking to your readership from a distance. You write your post, edit it and then post it. During all of these activities, you’re removed from your audience; they may read it even months after you created it.

But when you use Twitter to communicate, it becomes a conversation. You can show more of your personality to your followers and truly communicate with them on a different level.

A Twitter update shows up on your and other people’s sites instantly.

This can get them more interested in you and your Blog, which will build more traffic over time.

While you connect with your (new) readers, you also want to position yourself in your reader’s mind. That’s what the third Twitter benefit is about. Read on…

3. Building Your Brand.

In order to stand out amidst the large amount of Blogs and Twitter accounts online, you need to develop a persona for people to connect to and identify with.

You can accomplish this through your Blog, but you can further your branding by using a Twitter account.

You need to figure out what makes you unique in your niche and then extend these differences between you and others in your Twitter posts. Decide what your persona is, and then make sure your Twitter posts reflect that.

Before I finish this article, here’s an important Twitter benefit that’s largely overlooked by many marketers. Twitter is one of the fastest and cheapest ways for

4. Researching Your Niche.

With Twitter, your target market can be at your fingertips. You can spy on their interests, ask them about their needs and automatically get ideas for your Blog posts or for profitable products.

Interact with other people, answer their questions and ask them questions back. This way you can become part of the community.

If you add a lot of people to your follow list who are in your niche, pay attention to their problems, their questions and the type of things that they share.

This can all be part of your niche research and you can incorporate what you find there in your Blog or in the form of a new product. You’ll find that your Twitter account can be a treasure trove for Blog post ideas.

You can use the information that you find on Twitter to create Blog posts that meet the needs of your readership. You can also address specific questions or concerns.

You’ll be surprised at what a great brainstorming tool your Twitter account can be. You’ll read someone’s update and then it will get the wheels turning for a Blog post, or even a series of Blog posts.

That’s it for now, 4 ways to enhance your business with Twitter. Thanks for reading. Follow me at http://twitter.com/ralfskirr and as always: feel free to add your input below…

Twitter has totally changed the way that people communicate online and it should be an indispensable part of your overall marketing plan for your web sites and blogs.

If you’re brand new to Twitter, or even if you’ve been around on the site for some time, you’ll find out in this Twitter article series how you can use it to create a whirlwind of traffic to your blog and open the doors to brand new subscribers.

So What Exactly is That  ’Twitter’ Thingy?

First of all: Twitter is a free service available at http://www.twitter.com/. If you haven’t been there before just follow the link to the main page and check it out.

Or see it in action on my personal account at: http://twitter.com/ralfskirr

But I still haven’t told you what it is or what it does…

Twitter has two main components. It is a combination of a blogging tool and a social networking site.

1. The Blogging Aspect of Twitter.

When creating an account you’ll get your own page at Twitter.

Here’s mine for example:

http://twitter.com/ralfskirr

You can post messages to your twitter page just like you can post articles to a blog. Your messages are limited just to 140 characters, which is why some people call it a “microblogging” tool. You have to keep your messages brief and too the point.

Sometimes it’s a challenge to get the point across in the allotted space, but it also leaves room for a lot of creativity! Coming up with ways to say what you have to say in that small space is part of the fun of Twitter.

You’ll find out what to post to your Twitter page and how it helps your business in the upcoming articles in this Twitter series.

2. The Social Networking Aspect of Twitter.

Just like social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook, you can add “followers” (called ‘friends’ at the other sites) and follow other people as well.

They’ll receive your updates and you’ll receive theirs.

That’s why Twitter is a fantastic way to get more traffic to your blog and build a relationship with your readership. It can spread your message virally all over the web.

Let’s Look at How Twitter Gets Your Message Around.

There are a three different ways of posting on Twitter that you need to know about.

1) First, there’s a regular post.

When you type in a message to Twitter and hit “update” it will be viewable by all the people who are following you.

2) The next type of post is a reply.

When you type in a regular message, people may reply to your post.

You’ll see your user name with the symbol @ before it when someone replies to your message. You can respond to other people the same way. You simply type @ and then their user name directly after that.

Replies are viewable by everyone who is following you or the other person you are replying to.

Read that again: Replies are viewable by everyone who is following you or the other person you are replying to.

Can you see how powerful this is? You’re not only getting your message to your own subscribers (=followers), but to your subscriber’s subscribers as well.

3) Finally, there’ a direct message to individuals.

If you want to send a private message to someone that no one else can see, you can send a direct message. To do so, simply type the letters dm with the person’s user name.

You’ll receive messages from others on a special page of Twitter and be notified via e-mail when someone direct messages you.

The direct message is something that you won’t be using much for marketing; focus on posts and replies instead.

To summarize: Twitter let’s you post very short messages to your own Twitter micro-blog page and that message will be shown on your follower’s pages – and in case of replies on your follower’s followers pages as well.

It’s an easy and fast way to get your message in front of thousands of people.

Feel free to post your comments and questions below.

In the next part of the Twitter series I’ll talk about ‘4 Ways That Twitter Can Jumpstart Your Business’.

1. Massive Viral Traffic
Viral marketing is one of the many good sources of immense, recurring traffic. The very purpose of viral marketing is to reach out to as many website visitors as possible. Examples:

• The simple tell-a-friend script you use on your website is a form of viral marketing. A visitor sends a recommendation to a few friends. Then some of these friends pass it to their group of peers. Ideally that cycle goes on and on.
• When you submit articles to article directories for publishing, you are also taking advantage of the principles of viral marketing. It’s not only about having that article show up in the article directory - that wouldn’t be viral. It’s about others picking up your article and publishing it on their web sites and sending it to their lists.

These are just 2 examples. Both will spread your message around and send fresh traffic to your site for years to come.

2. Higher Sales and Profits
If you have enormous traffic, your chance of striking a sale is high. The more people browsing your products, the more sales you will have. Plus, a lot of people these days buy only from websites that are directly referred to them by families and friends. So if your website happens to be mentioned in a tightly knit community, all of the people who belong there are much more likely to buy from you than from your competition.

3. Increased Popularity and Authority
Viral marketing can virtually make you or your website popular overnight. Just imagine ten people talking about your website, product, or service to ten of their friends. Now those ten people would talk to another ten of their friends. Your client base would be increasing by the exponents of 10 and you can’t help it.

4. Cost Effective, Almost Free
With viral marketing, you really don’t have to worry about advertising costs. Your advertisers are the best in the world – and they are working for you for free at that. A person who directly suggests your product to a friend is the best form of advertising you can have. That beats the biggest banner on the most popular website in the world. A person is more likely to trust his friend rather than the ad he saw flickering on his computer screen.

The viral marketing definition

Wouldn’t you like that?

By definition, with viral marketing you ‘infect’ a few people with something that’s worthwhile sharing. Then they spread it around (for you) when they meet their pears.

The important phrase here is ‘worthwhile sharing’.People must have a reason to spread your message.

When you define your viral campaign you must pay the utmost attention to creating something people are excited about. That is: something of high value or something that’s highly entertaining.

If they like it they start sending it around. Or maybe you created it so that they have a benefit from passing it to their friends.

It’s best when they are so excited that they pass it around even if they have no benefit at all. But here are a few example benefits of sharing your viral content. It’s called ‘Bribery’

• they get money,
• or reward points,
• or free products,
• or whatever.

Their friends then virally forward it to more and more of their friends.

You can imagine it like circles around circles that get larger and larger.

1. You are in the center. You start sending your viral message to the smallest inner circle of people that you have direct contact to.
2. Then they pass it to people in an outer circle, the second circle, you don’t even know.
3. Then it’s passed to the third circle of people and so on.

At amazing speed the number of people who see your viral marketing message gets larger and larger.

Of course there are much more technical viral marketing definitions, but the important thing is not the technical Mumbo Jumbo. The important thing is: once you send it out, it distributes fast and wide without you lifting a finger. In the shortest time you reach tons and tons of people.

In the end it’s your pleasure to turn your viral traffic into sales and cash.

The Mastermind Section is for those who live and breathe the internet. Those who start up their computer even before they go to the bathroom in the morning.

You need to have your priorities straight, right?

What can you expect from this section?

1. Mastermind Group Announcements. I will update you about my mastermind groups. You’ll have the chance to mastermind with me and build Joint Ventures. To participate in these groups naturally you need to .

2. My favorite business tools. I’ll reveal to you what tools I’m using to run my business and why I’m using them. Knowing the best tools  will save you months of trial and error and probably a few hundred or thousand bucks of buying useless products.

3. The most important books for entrepreneurs. You’ll get free reviews of my favorite books. I’m not talking about the general IM stuff that every internet marketer and his dog sends to you and his list. I’m talking about information that will put you years ahead of the crowd. Stay alert for these top recommendations!

4. Profiting from Mega Trends. Finally we’ll keep track of the upcoming mega trends in internet marketing and in the online world in general.

To get notified of all masterminding opportunities make sure to .

I enocourage you to participate in the mastermind section. Feel free to post your ideas and discuss our topics. Please use the comment feature below to do this.