APD-Marketing Newsletter

Welcome to the first APD Marketing monthly newsletter that will be looking at all things
“Internet Marketing”.

I hope you will find it useful, informative and fun. I’ll be talking about some of the hot issues in this business as well as letting you know what I’ve been up to and what has and hasn’t worked.

In this issue I’m going to look at some of the traps the aspiring Internet Marketer can fall into and give you an outline plan for getting started.

I hope you find it useful if not, there’s an unsubscribe link at the bottom!

Beware of Traps!

“Internet Marketing” has become a hot topic over the last 3 or 4 years, and it’s easy to
see why. Everyone is trying to clamber on to the Internet Marketing bandwagon and
it’s not really surprising, with the promise of ultimate riches and the millionaire
lifestyle.

But how many people actually go on to really achieve that Holy Grail? How many
truly manage to build that automated, autopilot system that really earns 24 hours a
day? How many so-called “gurus” actually exist? And, more to the point, how many
can truthfully demonstrate that they do live the lifestyle that all the sales letters
promise?

Tough questions, eh?

It is certainly true that the world is your market on the web…and, if you can get it
right, there is no doubt that the lifestyle that we’re all chasing so hard is achievable.

However, if this is the case, why is it so many people fail?

Why do so many people with great ideas and great products end up on the Internet scrap heap?
It might be something to do with some “traps” that can easily snare you if you’re not
careful.

They’re traps that everyone has, to some lesser or greater degree, fallen in to
at some stage…And they’re traps you need to avoid (or fight your way through) to
succeed!

You Gotta Have a Plan.

I believe it was the Mad Hatter who asked Alice in Wonderland, as she stood at the
crossroads:

“Where do you want to go today?”

She replied, “Oh, I don’t much care”.

The Mad Hatter’s insightful reposte was as follows: “In that case it matters not which
road you take!”

Does that sound familiar?

Everyone knows that there are great riches to be earned by marketing online, but not many people have a proper plan to ensure they get their slice of the pie. You see, we’ve all been primed (sold) to think that you put a product (any product)“up” on the Internet and then sit back and wait to get rich.

You sit there watching your email, second by second as one order after another comes flooding in.

Oh, if only it were that easy!

Maybe the copywriters have got too good? It does seem that every product promises
“all you have to do is plug in, sit back and win the lottery”. Do you know what the
chances are of hitting the lottery jackpot? In the UK it’s a whopping 14 million to 1.

This is about the same as the chances of you getting rich employing this approach.

I know that may seem harsh but it’s the truth. One thing I never do is pull the wool over
anyone’s eyes. I tell it like it is.

You see, you have to have a plan. Setting up an Internet business is the same as
setting up a bricks and mortar business. If you don’t do it right – strategically plan
every step and know exactly what all the steps are – you are doomed to fail.

Too many people just expect it to happen without any effort on their part. #]

An Internet business is not a get rich scheme. It needs in-depth planning. It has to be a coherent plan with logical steps and a proper implementation (that means taking action,
between you and me).

It takes discipline and the proper knowledge.

Yes, there are lots of steps…
• find a product
•develop a web site
•get your copy written
•integrate the credit card processing
• set up a Google AdWords campaign
• optimise the AdWords
• do your SEO
• set up your affiliate programs
• build your list, etc.
• set up an autoresponder
• keep in regular contact with your prospects / customers
• plug in a steady flow of products
• build your back-end…and so it goes

Miss any of these key steps out and you will fail. It’s like trying to put up a building
without any foundations – the building would simply fall down.

And, therein lies the second problem…

Information Overload

I mentioned above that there are so many Internet Marketing products that all promise
the earth. It’s hard not to be seduced by some of the great copy that is written. But
how many of these products really deliver?

Well, in actual fact, many do (although, agreed, some don’t).

So, what’s the problem?

This is the problem and I’m sure many of you will relate to this.

You get Product 1 and it promises great riches from, say, ClickBank. You get the
product out, have a look and start to implement the practices. Great, you place some
classifieds and then sit back and wait for the ClickBank counter to start ticking over.

You check after an hour, nothing. You go and have a coffee and come back, still
nothing – ummm?

You place a few more ads…nothing.

“Oh, well, the commissions will start to roll tomorrow.”

When tomorrow comes…nothing. Three days time…nothing.

You make a token effort at a few more ads…nothing. You look at automated ad submission, but it costs.

Still nothing…. you lose heart.

In the meantime, the latest fad product on AdWords has arrived and you start to place
some AdWords campaigns for your affiliate products. But your CTR is poor, and
falling. AdWords get disabled, your campaign is disabled, and you only had 15
keywords anyway. So, that clearly doesn’t work.

Next! What’s next?

Oh, look, a website in a box package including 73 eBooks to re-sell. Cool, errr, but I
need to do some HTML and I don’t know how to do that – it’s too hard. Oh well, I’ll
do that next week.

And, so it goes. Information Overload. And, yes, I do know all about it. My “Biz
Opps” and “How To” bookshelf is creaking under the weight. I used to be a serial
buyer of all the latest fads and systems.

So, you end up with paralysis of analysis and what happens? You do NOTHING!
You wait for the next silver bullet solution to land and get stuck into that…for two
days, a week, a month or whatever, until that doesn’t work either.

So, if you couple these traps together, what happens? I’ll tell you.

The Outcome and the Solution

Without a strategic plan you cannot possibly have any idea where you are taking your
business.

So, each time one of the multitude of new products is launched, you get seduced by
the copy and buy. And, make no mistake, there are a huge number product launches
each month in this wide niche of “Internet Marketing”.

You see them in your inbox by the bucket load…day after day. And, with many “gurus” cross marketing each other’s launches, we see the same product at least 4 or 5 times! So, is it any surprise that you get seduced?

However you don’t have the time to fully integrate the knowledge (assuming it is a
good product) and you end up not “following through”. The product then sits
redundant on the shelf along with the many other products and schemes you have
purchased over the years.

Eventually it is superseded and ultimately wasted.

It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee (as they say). It takes time, effort and
knowledge to start and build an Internet business. It doesn’t happen overnight and it
does take effort and learning on your behalf.

We have all become far too opportunistic in our buying of these “how to” products
and all that they promise. It’s the ultimate manifestation of the “instant gratification”
society!

We have to change our thinking…there are many facets that you need to employ in
building an online business. The process goes like this…

1. Decide on the Niche you are going to sell in to.
2. Do your Research on that market.
3. Put a Strategic Plan in place that includes all of the key steps and actions.
4. Find a Mentor if needs be.
5. Understand what Tools you need to employ.
6. Learn how to use those tools.
7. Take Action and Implement.
8. Persist!

End Game

So, this is how you decide if a product is right for you.

If it does not fit in with your current strategy, don’t buy it! If you have just launched
an AdWords campaign and the product teaches everything you need to know about
starting, managing and optimising an AdWords campaign – great, buy it.

But if it is a product to do with SEO – don’t! Simple?

Yes, the SEO product might be good for you in the future, so bear it in mind, make a
note of it for future reference, but…if it doesn’t fit in with your current strategy – you
simply have to be strong and pass.

Using this example, if you buy a product now and you know you won’t use it for 6-9 months, what’s the point? The parameters for SEO will have changed in that time!

So, once you have your strategy defined, it becomes much easier to persist and learn
everything you need to know. It also becomes much easier to stay on your chosen
path.

It’s like buying a route plan that tells you how to get to New York. Half way across
the Atlantic, you’re seduced by another product that tells you all about the wonder of
Sydney and how to get there. Wow, that sounds really exciting…so you change
course.

However, just as you go past Hong Kong you read about the great weather
and the turquoise seas in the Caribbean. You find a product that tells you how to get
there, so… you change course again.

Are you getting the message? Where do you end up?

You got it – nowhere (apart from lost in the middle of the ocean) and this is what
most aspiring Internet Marketers do!

Do you recognise this?

If you’re an aspiring Internet Marketer, one of the best places to go for a really top
notch product that gives you an excellent initial overview and “how to” of the
business is Jim Daniels and his Biz Web 2000 site.

This is an excellent site with lots of free resources and his “pay for” products are outstanding. I can’t give Jim a better reference than the fact I used his EzWebBuilder product to get started myself. It’s a great product for someone looking to get started in this business and gives a really
good overview of all the key areas.

Each of these key areas are backed up by great resources so you can be sure you know exactly what you are doing. It’s foolproof…as I have demonstrated!!

Have a look at Jim and get a free in-depth report on getting started at the following
link…Ez Web Business Builder
A quick hint, look for the golden key! If you need a bigger clue, mail me back!
I hope this has made you realise that you do have to do some serious thinking and
planning before you get going on your Internet business. One last thing, it does have
to be enjoyable. Whatever you decide to market must really “float your boat”. If what
you pick doesn’t really get you excited, it is very unlikely you’ll generate the success
you crave. It has to be fun for you! The last thing you want to do is trade one job for
another – yuk!

On that happy note, I’ll say goodbye until the next time.

Cheers now, and have fun….

Derek

Please feel free to mail me with any questions derek@apd-marketing.co.uk

Internet Marketing from APD