Marketing on a Shoestring

You can spend all the money you want on Google Adwords and their competitors and all that you will get is short-term effects. Shoestring Marketing, on the other hand, will produce results that will last weeks, months or maybe even years. Advertising is not only expensive but it only works while you are forking out your hard-earned dollars. Shoestring marketing costs nearly nothing and builds long term trust and respect. The 5 top secrets that I mentioned earlier are not really secrets but the top 5 methods of marketing on a shoestring.

1. Build a list. You have heard time and time again that the money is in the list. That is not exactly true. The money is in the trust and respect you receive from producing a quality content filled newsletter. Most newsletters are nothing more than blatant advertising but if you give your readers solid content, you will build trust and respect and when you do promote a product, your readers are far more likely to buy from you. One note of caution, don’t go cheap when you pick an autoresponder. Go for the best. Not only do they have higher delivery rates, they also will keep you out of legal hassles. There are a lot of laws involved in email marketing and the FTC can be a real dragon. Many ISPs are so afraid of the FTC that at the slightest sign of a spam complaint, they will shut down your website. Being cheap with an autoresponder could be mighty expensive.

2. Article Marketing is absolutely the best in terms of building trust and respect for your expertise and it is truly a long run affair. Some articles will be picked up by other websites, blogs and social networks, months or even years after you originally wrote the article. The web has a voracious appetite for solid quality information and article marketing meets this need. Not only will this bring you trust and respect, it will build quality back-links. Quality back-links will always improve any Search Engine Optimization (SEO) that you may do.

3. Build a quality content rich website. Nothing is worse than writing great articles and then have the reader click on an Opt-in page. Certainly, you need an opt-in page but it should not be the site that they land on after reading one of your articles. Your readers are looking for content-not fluff. Certainly, you can put an opt-in page on your website, just don’t let it be the first thing that your article readers see.

4. YouTube and the other video sites can be a great method of producing quality traffic for your website. Although, you can’t meet your customers face to face, at least they can see you and hear you on the video sites. This is a great source of quality traffic. If your videos look professional, you will have much the same effect as article marketing.

5. Social networking. Almost everyone I know is on one of the social networking sites-Squidoo, MySpace or one of the myriad of others. For sheer volume of visitors, the social network sites cannot be beaten. There is one caveat (aside from your blog) the quality of visitor is not nearly as good as you will get from article marketing. Certainly, spend some time on the social networks, but not too much. You will get a ton of visitors but, not a lot of customers.

There are many other shoestring marketing methods and you should use them all. These five are the ones that you should concentrate upon.

Kill or be killed may seem a little dramatic but, with all of the competition for your reader’s interest, if you don’t write a killer headline for your newsletter, the results are going to kill your business. It is one thing to get people on your list but if they don’t read your newsletter, you end up dead in the water.

When I first started out email marketing, I thought that all I needed to do was headline my newsletter with the newsletter name and everyone would read it. Then I looked at my open rate stats and nearly died. I work really hard to put a solid content business building article into each newsletter that is sure to build my readers’ businesses. But, after reviewing my stats, I realized that the only reason that people were signing up for my newsletter was to get the unique ebook that I was offering free with my opt-in form.

I knew that the people that were actually reading my newsletter were getting great business building information and those few were also very responsive and were buying my products. I only promote the best products in my niche. The goal then was to get more people not only to join my list but to actually read the content.

I realized that most of my list members are likely members of many other lists and that the competition for their time was paramount. It was then that I changed over to writing a killer headline for each newsletter that I sent out. Of course, offering something free in the headline would be the best headline of all but, there is just so much free stuff that you are able to offer. In lieu of a free offering with each newsletter, I chose the route of writing a killer headline that would force them to open my emails. My emails are so content rich that once someone actually starts reading them, I am able to gain their respect for my expertise and build the bridge of trust between us.

Typically, it only takes about 20 or so minutes to write a great newsletter. I now spend at least three times as much time dedicated to writing a killer headline. If you don’t have a killer headline, your hard work and expertise are going to turn to dust.

Ever since I started writing attention grabbing killer headlines, my open rate has skyrocketed and as a result my business was back on the path. So, the moral to this little story is don’t just rely on your list to build your business, give them a killer headline and a good reason to open your email. No matter how good your newsletter is, it does you no good if list members don’t bother to even open it up.

If you question this, just think back to the emails that you received this morning. How many did you actually read and how many did you just send to the trash bin and what was the reason you opened the emails that you did? You and I both know the answer, it was the headline that captured your attention. So now, go back to your list and write them a killer headline and give them a real reason to read your content. Like I said: Kill or be Killed.

When I first started marketing, well, you know the expression-I didn’t have a pot nor a window. Without the finances to market my business, I had to become an expert it what is known as Shoestring Marketing. There are many free and inexpensive marketing methods that in the long run are as good as or better than paid advertising. In fact, in terms of marketing longevity, these methods have given me long term results in building my online businesses. The following 10 items are the ones that I have found to be the most effective and have long term effects.

1. Build a list. We have always been told that the money is in the list and that is as true today as it was 10 years ago. Of course, with all of the competition on the net, it is harder to build a list today but, if you follow the rest of my 10 ways to market, it will happen and without a list you really don’t have a sustainable business. With a responsive list, you build trust and respect with your list members and then and only then will they buy from you. Of the 10 ways to market, this is the only one that requires that you spend some money. You will need a good autoresponder. Please don’t go for the free or cheap ones, all you are doing is shooting yourself in the foot. A good autoresponder will make sure that your message is delivered.

2. Article Marketing. This is a great way to build your reputation as an expert in your chosen niche. The internet has a voracious appetite for fresh information and if your articles are well written and fact based, you will be remembered as an expert in you field. Make sure that you never advertise in your articles. You should rely upon your signature to do your marketing. No one wants to publish an article that is nothing more than a promotion for someone else’s product. One of the neat things about article marketing is that some articles stand the test of time and may be published not only when fresh but also weeks, months and sometimes years after you wrote the article.

3. Blogging. Not only do you need your own blog but, you should also be making comments on other people’s blogs. Once again a well written blog entry or comment will build your reputation as an expert and you will build trust with potential customers. With your own blog, you can blatantly advertise if you want to. I personally prefer to give my blog readers solid content without the blatant promo.
The reason for this being is that I am trying to build trust and display my expertise. If you are commenting on someone else’s blog, never advertise. Just rely upon your signature to do the advertising for you. If you try to advertise on someone’s blog, you will likely find that your comment has found it’s way to the circular file and will never be seen or heard from again.

4. Forum Marketing. No matter how small your niche is, you will find forums that are dedicated to your area of expertise. Before you start making forum comments or new threads, make sure that you read and understand the forum rules. Failure to follow the rules could get you banned from the forum or worse yet, hurt your reputation. Forum members can sometimes be very blunt when they see a comment that doesn’t conform to the forums protocols. Also, take some time to read the forum threads and comments so that when you start threads or comments, they are appropriate for the forum.

5. You Tube. I have only just begun to utilize You Tube as one of my marketing strategies. But, I have found that with a little preplanning
you can get very high ratings and a very loyal following of viewers. It is not unusual to get multiple if not scores of comments on a good
You Tube presentation. This is also an area that, so far, has much less competition than most of the other marketing methods. I think that this is from that natural tendency for many people to be camera shy. The person that introduced me to You Tube, took the top five Google video results in his niche within one week of producing his first video. Don’t be shy. Get out that video camera and dive into this relatively untapped market.

6. Social Networking. You have heard the names, My Lot, My Space, Facebook, Squidoo and many more. The world of social networking takes internet marketing to a whole new plateau. This is part of the Web 2.0 internet revolution that is changing the face of the internet at an incredibly fast and accelerating pace. It has literally become a brave new world. Don’t jump in too fast. Learn the rules of the road. If you do it right, you will be developing friends and potential customers. I suggest that you enter social networking with some degree of caution. You can develop friends but also like the non-cyber world, not everyone if going to like you and without some degree of care, you might also develop enemies.

7 Virtual Worlds. I think that most people have at least looked at Second Life or one of the other virtual worlds that have been created.
In these virtual worlds, you create an avatar that is your online ego. You can be anything you want-male, female, or even an infinite variety of critters. I have met rabbits that speak and women that suddenly fly away when I get a little too close. Anything is possible in these virtual worlds. Anything including making money. You can buy and sell virtual real estate in the virtual world that translates to real dollars in the non-cyber world. You can created a virtual business that exists not only in the virtual world but, has a physical counterpart in the real world. Second Life might be an excellent place to help market your real world internet business. Even major corporation have created virtual stores where you can purchase something in Second Life and have it delivered to your real world doorstep in 3 days. My last computer purchase was from Dell and the whole transaction took place in Second Life. No, that is not quite right. The transaction took place in the virtual but the Dell computer that I am currently typing on was delivered in the real world. As with the social networking sites, reasonable care should be taken. Although you are dealing with an Avatar in Second Life, there is a real person with real feelings and emotions and your interactions should be given as much care as you would in the real world. Everyday, the line between the real world and the virtual world becomes more and more blurred.

8. Joint Venture Gift Events. Come Easter, July 4, Memorial Day or Christmas, etc. some of the bigger names in internet marketing will create a givaway event. They are usually free to join and you get to offer a free Ebook, membership or some other free offer in exchange for people signing up for your list. Some of these have been very effective for me. When getting involved in these make sure that the backers are among the top marketers and not some fly-by-night operation. Many times these events will also have an upgrade available so that your offer gets toward the top of the list. This may be a worthwhile investment as some of these events have usually several hundred offers available. You really have nothing to lose and if your free offer is unique, you may have a dramatic increase in your list. There are other ways to get into joint ventures but that will be an article all by itself. JVs are very much a win-win situation.

9. Press Releases. If you are offering something new and unique to the marketplace, you should consider putting out both an online and off line press release. If the right reporter picks it up, it might get published as is or you may get a call from one of the different news mediums wanting to interview you. One of the top marketers on the net today got his start from Fox News doing an interview about his rags to riches story. It is free to do and the worst case scenario is that no one pays any attention to your news release. Remember the old cliche: nothing ventured-nothing gained.

10. Your own Affiliate Program. If you have gone to the work of creating a product, then it is just natural that you offer an affiliate program to market your product. Affiliate marketers are always looking for something new and hot to promote. If you set up the program properly, you could have hundreds or even thousands of affiliates promoting your product. Create the affiliate program, create promotional materials for your product and pay your affiliates promptly. When the affiliate’s prospect visits your sales page, you also have the chance to capture that person’s name and email for your own optin list. Just make sure that if the new customer buys one of your future offers, you pay the affiliate on the new offer also.

Now the question is why are you sitting around doing nothing. I have just given you 10 great ways to build your business. Stop reading and get to work.

Even if you have a ton of money to pay for advertising, there are four key strategies to marketing on a shoestring that will in the long run that will build your brand and create links that will ultimately be far more effective than any paid advertising that you may do. In fact, paid advertising is typically only effective while you are using it and after the money has run out, you are back to square one. If you use these strategies, however, the effect is long lasting and provides a solid basis for a real internet business. The four strategies are:

1:List building. You have always heard that the money is in your list and this is a time proven method of business building. You will need a good opt-in page and a good autoresponder. For an opt-in page, you have several options. You can find free ones on the net just by doing a Google search, you can easily build your own or some of the better business opportunities will have a built-in opt-in page. The other thing that you need is a good autoresponder an this is one area that spending a little money will save you a ton of heartache. You can get a top of the line autoresponder for less than $20 a month and be assured that you will have a near 100% delivery rate. With the free or cheap ones, you will get what you pay for.

2.Article Marketing. The internet has a voracious appetite for fresh content. Ezines, newsletters, websites and blogs are always looking for fresh content. In article marketing, you write a simple content rich article that people can use and you will find you name being spread all over the internet. Make sure that you adhere to the article directories policies and don’t ever try to advertise in an article. If your article is interesting, the reader may click on your signature information and this is what links to your business offering. This is probably the single best method of free marketing. Not only does it build your reputation as an expert in the field but, it also produces links back to your website or blog.

3. Forum Marketing. No matter what your niche is there is a forum that is dedicated to it. It doesn’t matter if it is internet marketing or dog grooming, there is a community of like minded individuals who want to hear what you have to say. Typically, unless specifically allowed, you should not try to advertise in your posts. Let your signature do your advertising. If you can help someone answer a question and your comment is information rich, they will click on your signature for more information about you. There is a land-mine to watch out for. If your comment is not valid, contains misinformation or is overtly commercial, you can destroy your reputation just as fast as you can build it.

4.Blogging. Not only do you want your own blog but, you also want to comment on other peoples blogs. Just remember to treat this just the same as you would Forum Marketing. On your own blog, you can, of course, directly advertise but people came to your blog for information and not simply to hear a sales pitch. Let your links do your advertising for you and make sure that your blog is content rich. If you can help your reader become successful, they will also help you to also become a success. Wordpress has recently prohibited blogs that are for the purpose of affiliate marketing. However, you can still use Wordpress on your own site and there are also a number of companies offering your own blog with free hosting. Just Google “free blog hosting”. Make sure you read the Terms of Service (TOS) before signing on to one of these free hosts.

Although these methods will not have the sudden impact that PPC ads have, they will have long lasting results that will build a solid business base for you.

If you have been in internet marketing for any time, you have come to realize that your autoresponder is the lifeline of your business. The problem for beginning marketers is often lack of money but, saving money on your autoresponder is like shooting yourself in the foot. If you are marketing on a shoestring, this is the one area where you don’t want to try to save a penny.

The fact of the matter is that even the best autoresponders are typically less than twenty dollars a month and this is the best financial investment that you can make in your business. Literally, it is the lifeline of your business.

Many new marketers will try to save money on their autoresponder and their business will fail as a result. Yes, you can get free or very cheap autoresponders but, the net result is watching your business go down the drain. It is very likely that using a cheap autoresponder will result in less than half of your emails getting to your list. There have been cases where ISPs have closed a website because of a spam complaint from someone who had actually signed up for a list. In this worst case scenario, the free/cheap autoresponder did not keep proper documentation of the opt-in and so few emails were actually being delivered that the person had completely forgotten about signing up for your list. You went through a great deal of work to build your list but you ended up cheating yourself right out of business.

The fact of the matters is that even the best autoresponders are really rather inexpensive-typically under 20 dollars a month and they guarantee that more than 90% of you emails will be delivered. Not only that, they provide constant training and support and some even have a spam filter that evaluates your emails so that they do not get caught in a spam filter. Another thing that you can count on is that they keep excellent records of when a person subscribed, email address and IP address of the subscriber so that if you ever have a problem, you have the proof that this person opted-in.

There may be many areas where you can scrape by but for the life of your business, pay for one of the top autoresponders, it will pay for itself many times over.