The Internet Marketing Jungle
If you are just getting into internet marketing then you are probably as confused as I was in the beginning. Even now there are so many possible business models and tools that it often seems you have to keep running just to stand still.
So I assembled this list of free and paid for resources as I progressed. I have used and/or paid for most things on this site OR they are recommended by people that I trust.
I have tried to organise things in a time progression of when you might need them. The sequence also links into the Pages organised by subject in the right hand sidebar. Just click on the heading to open up the menu.
I hope this little ‘navigator’ serves to make your own progress a little easier. For more training and to get together to compare notes with like-minded marketers then check out the Smart Marketing Meetup by clicking on the red Meetup icon.
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Click here to check out The Smart Marketing Warriors Meetup |
Getting motivated!
This is probably the most difficult step to take. Visit this page to get motivated!
Getting organised.
One of the problems with the internet is that it is invisible. So you have no visible reference points/wall charts/filing systems etc. This means you have to create these in your mind – and on your computer. And you need to do it now before you are overwhelmed by all the new stuff you are about to create. IM Index is a great product for this and Roboform an equally great product for keeping safe all the user IDs and passwords you will be creating.
Second it that everything depends on communications. Whereas the internet is working over your broadband connection your voice calls may not – and that means they can be expensive. So whenever possible you need free telephone calls using Skype.
Click here for more information on getting organised.
Internet marketing might seem like a free for all where you can do anything. But it isn’t and you are regulated in your business just like a bricks and mortar company. You need to find out what the regulations are in your country. And if you are successful any time soon you will soon need a professional accountant to count your money for you!
Getting Started
If you are just getting started then you may need some guidance and certainly some technical help on how to do all the things you never realised you would have to do when you got into this!
Market Research and Keywords
One of the joys of internet marketing is that if you don’t have a product of your own to sell you can easily start to sell someone else’s product. But there is no point in selling something that is not profitable and lots of people want.
So you start with keyword research to find your profitable market.
Domain names and Registrars
Once you have found your market than you may need a website with a domain name related to your market main keywords. So you need to know about Domain Names and Registrars.
Hosting
Got a domain name? Now you need a host for your website where your domain name will live.
Building Websites
Website Templates
You might want an easy way to create your website as you are not yet a skilled website builder. So maybe some website templates will come in handy as well as an html editor. (That’s the software used to build a website)
Website Headers.
Lots of websites have nice graphic website headers.
FTP.
File Transfer Protocol(FTP) software is what is used to upload your website to your host if your html editor does not publish it directly.
Website Content
Generating text. There a software programs that can ‘spin’ your original content into multiple versions.
- Public Domain
You will always be looking for relevant content either to put on your site or to promote your site. Public Domain is content that is no longer covered by copyright legislation and there are some good sources where you can find Public Domain content that you can re-use for your purposes. - Royalty Free Photos
Good photos and graphics are another commodity in short supply. Look for Royalty Free Photos. - Audio and Video
Adding Audio to your site, especially as an introduction from you is also reckoned to improve response rates by improving the personalisation of the relationship between you and your visitor.
The same goes for adding video.
If you are going to sell your own products other than making them available on ClickBank, Commission Junction and the like then you will need a shopping cart to offer and control all the data involved.
And you will want to keep track of where your most profitable traffic is coming from with Tracking Software
Building Links from other web sites to yours is a very effective way of promoting your site.
Publishing Articles and Press Releases that include a link to your site is also a great marketing strategy.
Once you have your site up and you are confident that you can take money and deliver products from it then you want to ramp up the number of visitors. There are various methods including specific software related to Traffic Generation.
Blogging
Blogging is the most powerful tool for almost all purposes at the moment.
List building is an essential activity for internet marketers.
Affiliate Marketing is the easiest and quickest way to get started by selling someone elses product. Find out about it here.
And when you are well on your way you will find that the millionaire lifestyle is really just as busy as your office job and you will want to outsource some of the work. Outsourcing is finding people to work for you either because you can’t do what you need doing or you don’t have the time. Always remember you are building a business so stick to the business aspects. This is not ‘turn me into a techno geek in minimum time’ project. This is about.. well, whatever reason you have decided to do it. But that is probably not because you want to be a Photoshop software expert because you like nice images on your site.
Drop Shipping is when you keep your business virtual by taking the order for physical goods and passing the order automatically to an outsourced stock holder who will pack and despatch the goods to your customer for you. They need to be reliable!
Monetisation Some ideas on how to make money or on software tools to help you do so.
Then there are some of those nasty techie things at Techie Tools..
