Internet Marketing Q&A - Issue 3

It’s time to answer another set of questions from my readers. You’re in that group, so you get the benefit of the great questions your peers ask me.

A lot of people wonder why I do this. There are really three big reasons…

First, I care about whether you succeed or not. Internet marketing really isn’t rocket science…once you know what you’re doing. Before you "get it", though, it helps a ton to have somebody actually answer real questions that real people ask along the way.

Second, even after you’re an "expert", it’s great to get new ideas from other people. You never know when an answer to a question will press just right button in your brain…and boost your profits.

Third, I get literally thousands of emails every week, and it’s impossible to answer them all. So I set up this system to help me manage email better, while still giving you the information you need.

So read on, and I hope you enjoy the learning.

————- CURRENT ISSUE ————-

I’ve gotten a ton of emails from people who are confused about some aspect of getting started online, or are having "growing pains" in their business. Some are farther along than others, but most people have one thing in common–they’ve encountered an obstacle they aren’t sure how to get past. This issue should help!

1) I’m completely overwhelmed about how to get started online. What kind of plan do I need? (asked by Kelly Speirs)

It’s common to feel that way. There’s a lot of information out there, and it can be tough to wade through. Here’s the most important stuff to nail down:

- Who are you going to sell to? That’s your market.

- What are you going sell them? That’s your product.

- Where/how are going to sell it? That’s your sales channel.

- What are you going to charge for it? That’s your price point.

- How are you going to attract potential customers? That’s your marketing approach.

- What are you going to do next? That’s your growth strategy.

That’s not fancy, but it’s the core of any smart business plan, online or offline.

But online business requires some serious attention on the marketing approach. In particular, you need to figure out how you’ll get traffic to your website. No traffic means no sales.

I recommend you start by answering those core questions. I always do, for every single site or product I put online. Then, as with any business, you have to DO it.

2) Should I partner with somebody else to create and launch a product, or should I go it alone? (asked by Julio Scavuzzo)

Each approach has its advantages.

If you go it alone, you have absolute control, you don’t have to share any of the profits with a partner, you won’t have to share your mailing list with somebody else, and your brand identity will be all yours for the future.

Partnering with someone else can give a sounding board for your ideas, somebody to support you when you get stuck, some great ideas you might not have thought of on your own, and some help in getting the work done.

There’s no "right" answer, but I recommend that you seriously consider partnering with somebody at first. It’s really about bootstrapping yourself.

Partnering with somebody does have some potential issues, like sharing lists and profits, but it also gives you two huge advantages.

The first is motivation. Coming up with all the ideas on your own, then doing all the work to make them reality can be a drag. Lots of people give up before they finish. If you’re working with somebody else, that person can pick up the ball and run with it if you hit a low spot.

The second advantage is speed. If you partner with somebody, you’ll probably bring a better product to market faster, and you’ll probably accelerate your progress toward your financial goals.

For example, you might partner with some people who are a little farther along than you are. You can help them by contributing good ideas and doing some of the grunt work, and they can help you by jumpstarting your online career. You both win that way.

3) Do I need to find an Internet marketing mentor? (asked by Lance Huhn)

I definitely think you should.

I’ve always been a big believer in education, because knowledge is power in a lot of ways. I read constantly, and try to learn something new every day. But it can be good to have somebody who’s invested in helping you learn. That’s why mentors are important.

The best mentors are ones who take a genuine interest in you. These are people who you "click" with, and who naturally help you out when you ask. You won’t pay them for mentoring you, it just naturally happens. You can work with them on things, or maybe just talk about business in general.

But there’s nothing wrong with joining a mentoring program to get the ball rolling. Those can be expensive sometimes, but if you do a great job, that paid experience might grow into a relationship with somebody.

Another possibility is participating in online forums, like the Warrior Forum. You can develop some great relationships that way, and those might grow into informal mentoring relationships.

It’s usually smart to have more than one mentor, because that gives you different perspectives on various business things. So you might combine these approaches by joining a formal mentoring program, and still develop some informal mentoring relationships with other people in forums.

4) I’ve been on my own for a while, and I’m swamped. How can I know if it’s time to hire a personal assistant or not? (asked by Carlene Rafter)

Most people starting out online have more time than money, so it makes sense for them to do things on their own.

Sooner or later, that flips, and they start having more money than time. It sounds like you might be getting to that point. When you get there, it’s a business decision like any other.

The first step is to assess how much time you’re spending on the IM things you do. Then you need to figure out how a personal assistant (or even an outsource freelancer) can help take those things off your plate.

Can a personal assistant really handle your email the way you have it set up right now? Can a personal assistant do mundane website tasks that are stealing time you could be spending on other stuff?

In particular, you need to free up your time for things you do well that also put money in your pocket. That’s the ideal use of your time.

You’ll have to pay an assistant, of course, so you need to consider a couple items:

- Do you really need an assistant, or can you be more efficient and get more done in less time yourself?

- How much will it cost, and will your current profits pay for it? If not, can you be reasonably sure having an assistant will let you generate more profit to cover the cost?

If you do need an assistant and you can afford it, by all means get one and start spending your time on how to increase your bottom line.

5) Outsourcing seems smart, but I have no idea what to outsource. What do you recommend? (asked by Jamie Mollica)

This is another one where there’s no "right" answer. You can outsource almost anything you want. The key is to focus on outsourcing things in two categories:

- Tasks that take your time away from things that put money in your pocket

- Tasks that can put more money in your pocket if somebody else does them

For example, I’m not a graphic artist. I know what I like, but I usually can’t draw it. So I outsource my graphics to partners I trust, who do great work. Having attractive websites and products makes me more profit.

Another common thing to outsource is article writing. You might not be a writer, so you can hire people to write articles for you. That lets you focus on coming up with great niche ideas instead of knocking yourself out to write when it’s not your thing.

You can outsource website creation, graphics, writing of almost any kind (including website copywriting), AdWords advertising, and so on. It’s all a matter of money, really. If you have the money to pay for it, you can outsource most of your business.

But be careful when you outsource projects. Make freelancers prove themselves on a small project first, before you give them a bigger project to do. And definitely shop around for the best price. Good doesn’t necessarily mean expensive.

———-

All right, that wraps it up for this time.

If you like getting answers to questions like this, ask your own question! You can submit your question by filling out the simple form at:

http://www.michaelrasmussen.com/questions/

Every couple weeks or so, I’ll go through the questions and pick out 5-6 to answer in an email to people on my lists.

Your questions are what will make this email helpful, so please keep them coming. I can’t guarantee I’ll answer your question, but if the same question gets asked several times, I’ll try to answer that one. So don’t think, "Somebody’s probably asked that already." Maybe so, but it’s worth asking anyway.

All the best,

Michael Rasmussen
CEO, BulletProof Marketing, Inc.

P.S. If you know any Internet marketers who would enjoy this article, just send them an email with this link:
http://www.michaelrasmussen.com/internet-marketing-qa-issue-3

About the Author

Michael Rasmussen is a successful Internet Marketing Consultant and author of many top-selling eBooks. Michael has been marketing online since the early days and he knows what it takes to make money and succeed online. Stop by his Web site and subscribe to his Free monthly newsletter full strategies and techniques for successful web site promotions that can help YOU! Go to http://www.MichaelRasmussen.com

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