Never become complacent with “FREEDOM”. It was bought and paid for, and continues to be paid for, by the blood of those who are willing to sacrifice all – so we can enjoy that privilege!

God Bless America and our Armed Forces!

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Popularity: 3% [?]

AS you mastermind your Online Marketing Strategy, remember…”Results” will never happen by accident. No Online Entrepreneur ever walked casually in cyberspace randomly throwing time and money into various marketing methods…tripped..and landed in a pile of success.

Getting “Results” requires forethought, a clear focus, a calculated, methodical plan of action, and a strategy-sensitive marketing system, that all work together like a well-oiled machine. Then – you add the key ingredient that’s gets the ball rolling, puts everything into motion, and builds momentum – TRAFFIC.

When you tackle the topic of DRIVING TRAFFIC to your site, long before you weigh out the pros and cons of what Marketing Method you should use (social media networking, ppc, autoresponders, article writing, viral strategies, etc. etc) there’s a “Thought Process” you should run through, that will dramatically tip the scale of results, in your favor!

The most “detrimental marketing mistake” people make is this – You come online looking to create growth and profit for your business, product, or service. It’s something you’re passionate about! Because you’re passionate about it, you know it, inside out. You can recite without hesitation:
1) “why” someone would want, or need, what you have to offer.
2) “what” they care about that creates that want or need.
3) “what motivates” people to purchase your product or service.

And yet, when it comes to your Marketing Strategy, despite the fact you have all this insider information about your target audience at your fingertips, you set it aside…and focus on things, that quite frankly, your potential customers could care-a-less about! You fret over search engine optimization, using proper keywords, spell-checking, monetizing, etc,..and before you know it, you’re marketing efforts have NOTHING to do with the “why & what” of the potential consumers you’re trying to reach. You’ve just eliminated the most compelling aspect of your Marketing. (As a note, no, of course we are not saying that SEO and the other things mentioned, are not important. But they are not the MOST important aspect of your marketing efforts. There’s been such an over-emphasis placed on them – it’s taken the focus off of what is REALLY important, rendering most advertising ineffective)

When your focus starts to be on “how to market”…instead of WHO you’re marketing too. WHAT their problems are. And HOW you can solve them….you’re shooting yourself in the foot.

When a person goes online to look for a product or service, they are already ‘involved’ in the topic – they don’t need to be ‘introduced’ to it. They’ve already identified their “problem” and are simply “looking for a solution”.  Your marketing needs to meet them where they are at that point. They don’t want to go back to the beginning, they’ve been there, done that. They want you to be standing by with the cure, the solution, the answer.

The “thought-Strategy” you need to apply long before deciding on a Marketing Method, is your Marketing Message. Utilize the intricate knowledge you have of the people looking for your product or service. Realize you already have something in common with them – you both KNOW the problem. The only piece missing is – they don’t know the solution.

MEET THEM THERE – at the point where they are saying “How do I solve this?” What is the Answer? and your effectiveness will warp the competition. Results don’t happen by accident, they come from offering viable solution to those that need or want them.

If you do that, if that is the only part of your marketing that you get “right”…..in this viral Web 2.0 world, “results” and “traffic” will be the outcome.

To your Growth and Profit,

Popularity: 4% [?]

TRAFFIC – is the lifeline to online business and income.

Much of the terminology used on the Internet has layers to it’s definition, and needs to be peeled back like an onion, to fully discover it’s meaning. (having flashbacks to Shrek?) TRAFFIC is one of those words.

I remember when I decided to change my eating patterns and incorporate more raw food into my daily regimen, salads became part of everyday meals. After a few weeks of following it to the letter, one day I was at the store in the produce aisle and there was another woman shopping there, we started a conversation. Come to find out, she was following the same eating regimen I was. As I picked up my iceberg lettuce she looked at me and then commented – “Oh, you’re eating iceberg lettuce?”
I stopped and looked at her and said – “Yes, why? You don’t?”
“NEVER” she said firmly. “Iceberg lettuce isn’t good for you, no nutritional value, and it can gum up your insides. You should use romaine lettuce or baby spinach for your salads instead.” she informed me.

WHAT? Who would have guessed! Here I am eating like a fricken rabbit for weeks, depriving myself of every comfort food I was raised on, and now I find out there’s good lettuce and bad lettuce??

That little story about lettuce, is a great analogy for online TRAFFIC. When you make a choice to create income for yourself online, eventually you understand implicitly – despite the phenomenal product or service you’re absolutely giddy about….despite the exciting, detailed, and graphically perfect website you’re sporting…it all adds up to “squat”, absolute “0″…without traffic….a.k.a. PEOPLE, and lots of them, to see what you have to offer.

So – you ‘get it’. You understand people are not going to come to the Internet and just FIND your site. You’re going to have to ‘drive traffic’ there. That’s when the potential to make your first big mistake exists and it can land you in “traffic purgatory”…for months, or years to come.

You do a goggle search on ways to drive traffic to your site. When you rely on Search engines to reveal the answer to your problems to you….you subject yourself to the onion peeling process. You start going down the hard, unproductive road, of learning layer by layer, what works and what doesn’t. It is time consuming, as frustrating as trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, and the odds of finding what you are looking for, when you don’t even know what it looks like,…are the same as winning the mega-lottery.

That’s right, we DO NOT recommend it.

There isn’t a site you won’t go on, that doesn’t SOUND like the answer. That doesn’t supposedly have a solution to your dilemma. You’ll either start shelling out your hard earned cash for paid traffic, or start investing an enormous amount of your time into the latest and greatest free tactic….because bottom-line -  you NEED traffic.

But just like lettuce, there’s good traffic and bad traffic.

In the next post I will continue and talk more specifically about good -vs- bad traffic. How you can avoid the bad,…and reel in the good.

To Your Growth and Profit…

Popularity: 5% [?]

When my children were old enough to understand the concept, I started to teach them there’s an “Order to things” in life, that applies to pretty much everything. A best case scenario, a methodical universal blueprint…that when followed, creates the path of least resistance for accomplishing whatever it is you want to achieve.

When you make a recipe, there’s an order to adding the ingredients…that produce the best results.
When you write a letter, you don’t start by licking the envelope shut.
When you plan a party, you don’t invite the guests after the food is sitting out on the table.
When you take the kids to school, you don’t pull up to the drop off before getting the kids out of bed, dressed, and in the car.

Of course, you CAN do anything in whatever order you wish. You’re in charge.
You CAN rearrange, reshuffle, and revamp the universal order of things in life to your hearts desire. But every time you do that, you dramatically alter the desired outcome, and create potential roadblocks that can keep you from getting where you want to go.

There’s an “Order To Things” when it comes to creating income online also. And when it is not followed, you can spend years spinning your wheels, not getting any closer to the desired result you’re looking for.

This morning we got the 4th email in a week and a half, from an “online expert” we’ve found credible over the last couple years. It was promoting the 4th different product, or tool, someone else had put together, telling us to check it out. Don’t get me wrong, there are new programs and tools constantly being introduced online, who can keep up with them all? So you expect the experts you’ve come to trust to bring them to your attention, if they see value in them. However, it disgusts me when big time experts become nothing more than “carnival barkers” for every product and tool that comes down the pike. It’s so blatantly obvious – they are “milking” their subscriber lists for every penny they can squeeze out of them. I find it very “low-class”. Anyway……

Here’s my point….I clicked on the link to the video in the email since we like keeping up with what’s out there also for the people who depend on us. The copy-writing was riveting! The projected results compelling! The testimony of the person making the video, who also created the system, made you think – “I want those results! I have to get that!” SOLD!

I could see hundreds, even thousands of people from this “experts” list, clicking on the “buy now” button and purchasing the course offered. But you know what is really reprehensible about this scenario? This ‘expert’ has chosen to put their pocketbook ahead of the well-being of those who have trusted them.

THEY KNOW – 98% of the people on their list WILL NEVER GET THOSE RESULTS buying the course. You know why? Because everything they show on that video, as logical as it sounds, as much as it seems to make sense, IS OUT OF THE ORDER OF THINGS, for creating income online.

Those high-falutin ideas will never work for the average person because there are a couple of “crucial” pieces missing in the ORDER OF THINGS to achieve those results. The guy promoting the course got the results he did, because HE HAS A LIST in place of thousands of people to peddle his wares to. THE AVERAGE PERSON who does not have a list, who has not developed a steady flow of traffic, who has only a handful of people they reach,…will never experience the amazing results touted in the video. It’s a waste of time and money. It’s putting the cart before the horse.

We know that you’re in a hurry to get where you are going.
We know you’re  anxious to get results….

In todays instant access world, a few months can seem like forever…but it’s not. And when it comes to creating a long-term, substantial income online that will stand the test of time…slow and steady wins the race, builds the list, and develops the credibility and trust necessary to make your financial dreams come true.

To Your Growth and Profit,

Popularity: 4% [?]

The reason the topic of Success has all the allure of an ancient secret hidden away from the eyes of the general public, isn’t because it’s a secret. It’s because so few people are actually doing what it takes to be successful, that when you run across someone who “is”, it seems like newly, never-before discovered information.

60% of Americans, despite having lived all their lives in the most prosperous, abundant Country on this planet, will retire with little or no savings in hand and clueless how they’ll survive – short of government programs.

SO what do you think??
How many do you think PLANNED for this outcome?
How many ever thought they’d get to this point in life, and have nothing to show for themselves?
How many do you think dreamed of ‘having it all’ during their lifetime?

What about you?
Are you planning on having it all?
Are you actively pursuing your dreams?
How much closer are you today than you were yesterday at achieving them?
Or are you still looking for a way to get you there?

It would be nice if life had guarantees, but it seems the only guarantee life has to offer is that if you do nothing, you’ll have nothing. You’ll be relegated to a life of mediocre and ordinary and then you’ll die and your dreams will die with you. No one in their right mind PLANS for that scenario.

David and I have talked about this in length, WHY people fail to implement the actions necessary to be successful. Although there are the obvious reasons that apply to some, like lack of ambition, procrastination, focus, etc, etc…we believe ‘another’ reason is starting to take precedence.

Let’s say you’re ready, willing and able to do whatever it is you have to do, to make whatever sacrifices you have to make, to get you where you want to go. And believe us, in todays economy, a lot of people who weren’t serious before, ARE now. Desperate times call for desperate measures…people get that, especially when everything they have is hanging in the balance. Yet, here you are – stuck, not because of a lack of “will do“, but because of a lack of knowing “What to do!”.

You’ve heard us, and all the other experts and coaches tell you – dig deep, find that “thing” within yourself that makes you unique, that is where your extraordinary success lies. While that’s the absolute truth, here’s another truth…

Since the introduction of the Information Age, we’ve gone from laid back and we’ll get there when we get there.…to having the acceleration peddle pushed to the floor, throwing our lives into high gear! Our lives are now moving at the speed of the fastest Internet connection. New technology has insured we’ll never have a moment truly to ourselves. We are accessible and connected at all times. That scenario, like all scenarios, has an up-side and a down-side. Especially when it comes to the formula of Success.

Our fast-paced lives have eliminated the “alone time” in life that used to allow us to methodically ponder the information, events and circumstances surrounded us. That enabled us to think things through with a clear mind, uninterrupted and undisturbed.

Nowadays, such times don’t exist, unless we “make” them. This 24/7 life overwhelms us, keeps our minds constantly busy, allowing for no “personal processing” moments. That has created an enormous amount of mental, emotional, and physical clutter within us. We rarely unravel ourselves, who has the time!

We believe that is one of the predominant reasons the lions share of people who come to the Internet looking to create income for themselves, continually migrate towards opportunities, programs, and people claiming to have “all the answers”. Promising to eliminate the guesswork. Providing a supposedly easy, uncomplicated, and infallible blueprint for attaining the success they desire.

But rest assured, the principles of Success have not changed, even if the pace of our lives has.

We would love to tell you because you’re so busy, because life is moving outrageously fast, it earns you a “free pass” or a shortcut to success. But no such thing exists, and those who say it does, are lying to you. We aren’t here to tell you what you WANT to hear, but what you NEED to know, if you’re serious about accomplishing your goals and living your dream. “Digging Deep” has never been more difficult to do, but it is still a necessary step for accomplishing extraordinary success.

There’s only one bottom-line at the end of every excuse – no matter how valid it seems – you’ll never experience success without doing what it takes to create it. And “that’s” the reason so few achieve it.

To Your Growth and Profit,

Popularity: 3% [?]

There’s a 4-letter word associated with Network Marketing, that for years has not only struck fear into the hearts of the millions of people they approach, but into Network Marketers themselves!

What is this diabolical 4-letter word capable of scaring the daylights out of both Networker and potential customer alike?? S-E-L-L.

That’s quite a dichotomy when you have both Networker and Customer alike…afraid of the one thing they both want! The Networker wants to make a sale, without selling. And the customer wants to buy a product or service, without being sold.

Enter: The Spin Doctors.
The effort copywriters have gone to make selling seem like anything other than what it is,..has been nothing short of impressive! You aren’t selling, you’re….
“sharing” your product, service or opportunity.
“creating a relationship” based on items used everyday anyway
“Collaborating” with like-minded individuals
“Speaking your passion“…not promoting a product
“offering an extraordinary opportunity” to change lives
“Enlightening the world”, one person at a time

Unfortunately, in the end, a rose by any other name, is still a rose.
And selling, by any other name, is still selling.

The dilemma created predominately 4 very interesting TYPES of Marketers:
1) The “Stealth Seller” - their selling something, but you’ll never know it.
2) The “Rabid Rambler” – refuses to take a breath until you pull out your checkbook.
3) The “Postured Peddler” -  if you don’t buy, it’s because you’re too stupid to see the value.
4) The “Obnoxious Oaf” - scatters a crowd faster than Raid in a swarm of hornets, doesn’t have a life, just a sells-pitch.

And you dont have to go any further than the closest Thesaurus to verify the perception as pointed out through word associations –
SELL -
Definition: exchange an object for money
Synonyms: advertise, auction, bargain, barter, be in business, boost, clinch the deal,
close, close the deal, contract, deal in, dispose, drum, dump, exchange, handle, hawk,
hustle, market, merchandise, move, peddle, persuade, pitch, plug, puff, push, put across,
put up for sale, retail, retain, snow, soft sell, soft soap, spiel*, stock, sweet talk, trade,
traffic, unload, vend, wholesale

THANK GOD WE CAN PUT THAT BEHIND US!
That’s OLD news, OUT-DATED perceptions, and ANTIQUATED thinking.

SELLING has now been re-defined….BY THE BUYER.

The only people fretting over Marketing, are those who aren’t up to speed, that don’t understand the change in the game plan yet. There is no guesswork left, no puzzles to solve, no mysteries to figure out when it comes to Marketing. The BUYER is in charge. They are setting the rules and telling you HOW they want to be approached,…all a good marketer has to do is LISTEN…and do as  they ask.

And where does that bring us back too???
That’s right.

The NEW 4-Letter word for Network Marketers looking for results.
B-L-O-G.

To Your Growth and Profit.

Popularity: 7% [?]

David and I were having one of those discussions yesterday that we often have about “Internet Marketing”…it lasted for a couple hours because the topic content is seemingly endless. We were also checking out a little spat going on between a couple Internet “guru’s” over Intellectual Property rights, and we ended up laughing.

It’s hilarious the perspective some of these guru’s hold. They create a product full of information that ANYONE who has been in the Network Marketing Industry for a number of years would know, and want to treat it like their personal epiphany, exclusive to them….when pretty much everyone ends up coming to the conclusions.

I know when we read Mike Dillards material for the first time, you’d have thought he had been on OUR private phone calls, heard OUR thoughts, and wrote them all down! But that just confirms how every industry, regardless of what it is, when you’ve spent years in its trenches, you come to understand implicitly its upside and downside….and they become the Industry “norm”.

It’s the Industry “downside” that becomes the catalyst for many an ambitious entrepreneur, since obviously offering a way to avoid it, can be very profitable. There’s nothing wrong with making money off of viable solutions to the problem, but no one wants to give their hard earned money to a shyster! To someone using unscrupulous and unethical tactics just to make a buck and giving nothing of value in return.

We’ve become pretty efficient at being able to spot who is who, and if you have been in Network Marketing, or Internet Marketing for any length of time, you probably can too. Promotion material that says….
* ANYONE can succeed
* Only 15 minutes a day to earn thousands
* So easy a child can do it
* No investment required
* 6 Figures in 30 days
* An extra $500,000 this year
* No Competition
* Forced Matrix *lol* we have yet to see ONE of those that does what they say!
* No Selling
* Never talk to a person

…means someone is trying to sell you pipe dream. I grabbed those from the latest Industry Magazine that arrived yesterday, and that was just to page 22, and each were used numerous times. There are harsh realities that accompany every Industry. NOT everyone will succeed, can succeed, or has what it takes to succeed on the Internet.

There are those who would call those conclusions blasphemy and call us “small thinkers” because we won’t go along with the Industry lies. There are those who would ask – “Who are we to proclaim that some will, or will not, succeed?”

The ones that ask that, are the ones who want to sell you something, who need you to throw reality out the window. And once they make money off you, they could care-a-less if you ever make a dime with their product or tool. And to add insult to injury, when it doesn’t work for you, if you have the audacity to complain, they will simply say it’s “your fault”.  Nice.

A word of advice – Never allow your desperation for creating income, outweigh what your common sense is telling you. Don’t ignore what your intuition is saying, in lieu of focusing on promises of instant financial relief. The answer to your monetary dilemma will never be magically pulled from a magicians hat, nor happen in 3-easy-effortless steps.

It will take a viable solution, a lot of hard work, and consistency on your part. Anything less is just a magic show. You pay for the entertainment, and end up only having been distracted, but no closer to your goals.

To Your Growth and Profit,

Popularity: 3% [?]

Before the Internet came along, the business owner/customer relationship was on a different level. The business owner was in charge and the customer was relegated to whatever they had to offer them. Marketing, was also a much different scenario. Business owners still wrestled with ‘where to spend their advertising dollars’….do we do the Sunday addition of the Newspaper, do we do radio ads during drive time, or do we try for that 30 second T.V. spot? At that time, print ads and coupons in newspapers worked because shoppers were seeking them out. Everyone knew to pick up the Sunday addition of the paper because that’s when the ads for the following week would come out.

The whole Marketing process was more like a wildlife safari – big game hunters trying to anticipate the path their prize was going to travel, setting up a trap to snare them, and once they got the net over them, they’d send over their best salesman to browbeat them. It was gruesome.

But the tables have turned. In the Technology era, the hunter is now the hunted. The one time prey is no longer cowering behind the largest object in the store, trying to stay out of the scope of the commission-driven zealot. They are sitting behind the screen of their computers with all the power and control of a Diva, dictating the rules, determining how they want to be approached, and shutting you down in a heartbeat if you don’t listen.

Whose in charge?
Let me hear you say it – “The Customer”.
That’s right. And the second you forget that…there won’t be a “friendly reminder” in your inbox, there will be a deficit in your bank account. A Web 2.0 environment can make mincemeat of you in short order, you won’t be able to get ant’s to your table.

We know that Marketing is the #1 point of frustration for 98%, or more, of you. But it’s all the information on the Internet about ‘HOW TO MARKET’ that honestly makes it the confusing and overwhelming ordeal it appears to be.

If you are feeling nervous or uncertain about Marketing Online, make sure you haven’t slipped back to referring to the “OLD Marketing Handbook”. That you’re not making the mistake of “separating” yourself from your customers, of seeing yourself on one side trying to sell something, and your potential customers on the other side looking for something. And now, you’re racking your brain trying to figure out how to bridge the gap, and bring them over to your side.

In a Web 2.0 world, you don’t want to separate yourself! It’s the fact you can identify with the problems your customers are having, and they can identify with you…as a person who understands,..that will make your marketing effective.

And of course all of this only validates and affirms the concept of Blogs why they are effective.

To Your Growth and Profit…

Popularity: 4% [?]

When it comes to Marketing Online – a lot of people out there want you to think there is a perfect science to it, and, they want you to think they know what it is. But Online Marketing is anything but a perfect science. In fact, it’s a constant endeavor of throwing ideas and concepts against a virtual white board, and seeing what sticks.

Marketing Online still requires a lot of speculation, hypothetical theory, timing, and sometimes just a flat-out wild guess….as to what advertising methods to go with. There’s nothing consistent about it. What works today, doesn’t mean it will work tomorrow. And of course, that makes it a major source of frustration for online marketers trying to figure out where to spend their time and money, and how to effectively promote their businesses.

Many times, there’s no real rhyme or reason to online marketing results. One day a person can post a video on YouTube and skyrocket to fame. The next day another person can do exactly the same thing, and they can’t drag a viewer in to look at it…if their life depended on it.

WHY?

1) It’s still way too early for anyone to try and create a list of  “absolutes” when it comes to Internet Marketing. New technology, the piece of software you’re using today that is suppose to increase and enhance your results or experience,…has a shelf-life of days, weeks, or months. Even as we speak, someone, somewhere, is busily creating a newer, better, faster, easier, more efficient version of it, or something completely different to replace it.

2) No tolerance for “old news”, or the “same old, same old”. Prior to “social media sites”…marketing campaigns could run for month’s or years online. You would constantly hear someone mentioning something they ran across for the first time that you had seen, or known about months ago. So Marketing campaigns still had the advantage of being ‘gradually‘ introduced to the masses.

The viral effect of social media sites changed all that. Everything is seen and “JUDGED” immediately! It’s either deemed relevant, or irrelevant. Loved, or hated. Liked, or disliked. Effective, or ineffective. But whatever it is,…the response is instantaneous! You don’t have to run an ad, or marketing campaign for weeks or months before you know, unequivocally, whether or not it is working.

That’s the reason a YouTube video can suddenly have all the popularity of a rock star, the reaction time of Internet Users is a New York Minute and when something catches their attention, you’ll know it – NOW. But beware – if someone tries to re-create, mimic, or horn-in, on it’s success in an attempt to get the same reaction…users will let you know on no uncertain terms they don’t like it.

Prime example – A T & T! When Verizon came up with the idea of a MAP of the USA over the head of a user exposing their widespread coverage in an advertisement, it was sheer genius! They added the element of humor to it, now they had a winner and made their point! An abrupt point, that stuck in the minds of  every viewer. It didn’t matter if you were a Verizon user or not, that image, that ad, made an impact.

When A T & T got slapped in the face with the overwhelming popularity of Verizons ad, they tried to come out with similar ads using a MAP showing their coverage, attempting to undo the tremendously strong impression left in the minds of current A T & T customers, and potential customers. But people just rolled their eyes. Too little. Too Late. Already done. Get a Life! No one likes a copy cat, a sore loser, or someone who can’t come up with an original idea of their own. You didn’t have to be a marketing expert, you could see A T & T’s intent a mile away.

Okay, so back to what all this adds up for us small business owners. –

There was a time when a huge marketing chasm existed between the big guys, a.k.a. corporations, and small business. Their deep pockets, unlimited resources, and contacts…added up to a huge advantage for them. They had a monopoly on certain markets and consumers because no one could afford to compete for them. But the Internet didn’t just level the playing field, it flattened it! Completely unraveling that monopoly, allowing the little guy access to consumers once out of their reach.

Even though it is WAY too early for someone to write an infinitive Internet Marketing Playbook, there are a couple things that have stuck, and are being built on with confidence.

At the TOP of the list – BLOGS – I know, I know, I know…..you’ve heard us mention BLOGS in the last several posts…but do you know why? Because they work. Because they give you a foundation to build on that’s versatile. It can constantly be improved, updated, and re-vamped while you’re building your business, your following, your list, and your dreams. And everyday you have it, work on it, and add to it,…you’ll get a little clearer on what you want and don’t want!  Be willing to accept that business has broke out of the confines of straight lines and proper protocol. GET STARTED!

The second thing sticking is – ORIGINALITY. – Just like nothing turns away a reader or a viewer faster than seeing the same thing they saw somewhere else…nothing catches their attention and interest more than something original and fresh. That’s the reason blogs have such a big impact. People like receiving original information and perspectives, wrapped around a unique presentation.

SO in this topsy-turvy Internet Marketing scenario, here’s what you know –
* You know as a small business owner you have access to the exact same audience big business does.
* You know “Blogs” have a HUGE impact on consumers buying choices. Consumers are out there SEEKING who to buy from.
* And You know “Originality” attracts consumers like bees to honey, so your potential is only limited by your imagination.

So there is really no excuse to sit and wonder “WHAT SHOULD I DO TO ADVERTISE MY BUSINESS?”.  There’s your starting point.

To your Growth and Profit,

Popularity: 3% [?]

(Note - for our regular readers..I apologize I haven’t posted for a couple days, I had an eye infection and couldn’t tolerate light or the computer screen! All better now, and back on track. Thanks for your patience.)

————

In order to understand how to successfully run a business online, you need to understand what used to be, acknowledge what is, and then be prepared to meet the current marketing demands of shoppers in the 21st century.

THEN:
* It used to be the company that wanted you to look at their product or service was responsible for initiating contact with you. They’d do that through marketing – direct mailings, t.v. ads, newspaper and magazine ads, radio ads, coupons, etc..
* Access to the company, their customer service department, and their products or service, was limited to “store hours”.
* Comparison shopping consisted of standing in an aisle with two products, one in each hand, reading the limited information available on the labels.
* Convenience was going to a store that had all the items you were looking for.
* Pricing was based on local competition.

NOW:
* The Internet has drastically altered that scenario, empowering consumers. It’s taken the reigns out of the hands of “the company”, and put them into the hands of “the customer”. Shoppers now hop online and seek out the products and services they want.
* Customers have 24/7 access to companies and their products, and they make purchases without ever leaving their homes.
* Consumers sit in front of their computers…compare products, prices, read product reviews, and tap into testimonials from product user to their hearts delight.
* There are no restrictions as to the time of day they can do that, store hours no longer apply. Consumers don’t just find that convenient, they expect it.
* It’s a buyers world, competitive pricing isn’t just about attracting customers for companies anymore, it’s about survival.

So we all “get it”……the consumer is in control. But just like to every UP there is a DOWN, to every HIGH there is a LOW….the same principle applies to this new phenomenon.

Even though consumers can get anything they want, anytime they want. And while they love having instant access to every piece of information under the sun, they also realize, there’s more of it, than a person can filter or sort through in a lifetime.

The truth is – even though we all have unlimited access, VERY FEW utilize it…

Interestingly – Internet shoppers are migrating to the same buying patterns that existed prior to the online experience! While they love, or more so demand, to have unlimited choices at their fingertips, they are finding  specific places online to shop and tend not to look any further once they’ve had a great “shopping experience” with a particular online store or merchant. They like feeling comfortable. They like feeling as though they’ve established a rapport and having a trusted online source, and once they find that source, they stick with them, and recommend and refer those they know to them.

You can add all the technology, gadgets, and widgets to the shopping process you want, but you can’t eliminate the very real HUMAN EQUATION from the mix,…and that is, people are STILL, perhaps even more so on the Internet,….more interested in finding a TRUSTWORTHY resource for what they want online, than they are in having hundreds of choices to choose from.

And that is why the personal touch of a blog that caters to every aspect of your potential customer, providing them with FREE relevant content and information, with a voice and a personality they can connect to, and allowing them to develop a rapport with you, is a MUST HAVE for online marketers in the 21st century.

Like we said, people aren’t as busy shopping for what they want, that’s the easy part….they are diligently shopping however, for THE SOURCE they will purchase from.

CREATE A BLOG around your product or service.

To Your Growth and Profit.

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