Is this the best approach to Internet marketing?

 

“Dear Friend,

My name is Mrs. John Q Public. I am a dying man and I have decided I must donate all I have to charity. I wish for you to help me in this matter. You may wonder why I chose you. Someone has to be chosen. I am 58 years old and diagnosed with cancer. If you will send me your bank information we can begin this process.”

 

In a word, “NO!”, that’s definitely not the best approach to Internet marketing.  In fact, it’s probably one of the worst, which is why it always finds its way into your spam folder.

 

Most people think marketing is just advertising or selling goods and services.

Whilst advertising and selling are a part of marketing, they are, actually, just a part of the marketing process. Marketing is everything involved in identifying the wants and needs of a targeted group of customers, and then doing what it takes to satisfy those customers.

 

So, you’ll do market research on customers and analyse their needs. You’ll use what you learn to make decisions about designing your product, figuring out pricing strategies, promoting (including advertising), selling and, finally, distributing your product.

 

The Internet provides a way to identify and reach large numbers of potential customers. No matter how specialized your product or service is, good Internet marketing technique can reach the greatest possible number of potential customers.

 

There are many approaches to Internet marketing. Here are three Internet marketing techniques experts have found to be effective:

 

•           Article marketing involves writing simple, helpful, informative articles that help your readers, instead of trying to sell them something. Then, you submit them to article banks or ezine publishers with a link to your website that readers can follow if they like what you’ve written..

 

•           Blogging, short for web log, is a form of online log or journal that became popular in the late 1990s. They can be somewhat informal or personal, or newsy, or whatever tone you think is appropriate. They don’t have to relate directly to your product to be effective. In fact, like the articles, independent, simple, helpful informative blogs are more effective than trying directly to sell people something. You can set up a website to host your blog, or you can use one of the many websites that offer free blog hosting. Be sure to update it regularly! People like fresh content.

 

•           Online networking is, simply put, connecting with as many people as possible to learn more and share information about your business. Networking can generate many leads. There are quite a few ways to do this online, such as e-mail discussion groups, message boards, specialized internet forums, and social networking sites.

 

Part of what makes these three techniques so effective is that they help build trust between you and your potential customer. After all, you’re not bullying them into buying something. You’re just trying to help.

 

So then, what is the best approach to Internet Marketing? What’s the secret? The secret’s simple: there is no secret, or magic bullet. The best approach to internet marketing  is whatever works for you. And these days, article marketing, blogging and online networking tend to work.