Entering into a new Internet Marketing business is fraught with dangers – the most persistent of which is one’s own inexperience. The sharks and scam artists out there are looking for people just like you to work their magic on, and they know for a fact, that you won’t see it coming.
They make a business of scouring the internet for valuable truths that every newbie will certainly learn about – and they create a lie that would seem (to the inexperienced mind) to solve this problem at an irresistible price.
An example of this would be back-linking. Every source of advice that an Internet Marketing newbie might encounter will praise the virtues of acquiring strong back links. From here, the scam artists job is EASY. One needs only exaggerate the effectiveness of back-linking, increase the urgency to do it NOW – and an irresistible product is born.
This puts GREAT pressure on the new marketer’s budget. A thousand dollars might seem like plenty, but understanding just how to spend it is an absolute MUST.
Below, are some tips to help your very tight budget to go farther. In general, marketing on the internet is not too expensive a proposition, but the scam artist will melt down your nest egg faster than you can misplace your car keys. Try these 5 tips to stretch your budget.
Purchase only necessary domains.
Show restraint when purchasing the website for your domain. Do some homework, as opposed to just grabbing the first name that occurs to you. Most domain purchasing sites will offer you a plethora of suggestions, but you really should come to the table with some idea of how you want to be identified. When you do decide on a name, stick to it. Buy just that name (.com), and maybe the .org equivalent – nothing else. That will cover most bases, and you can expand after you have seem some measure of success.
Seek a support group.
Going it alone is dumb. You need to seek the services of a mastermind group. More specifically, you need an Internet Marketing mastermind group. Joining up with an established mastermind group will cost you – but it needn’t, and shouldn’t, cost a fortune. The alternative, of course is to seek a free one. Look for ads on Facebook and in other directories that address this need. Sign up – and you are prepared to navigate your business safely through the shoals.
List Products and Services
Did a new product or service just catch your eye in a You Tube video? Don’t just jump on the web and place your order. Slow down. Chances are there is still much that you don’t understand – even though you may think that you’ve got everything worked out. You are a newbie. You don’t have enough information to think.
Before purchasing, lay down a list of the software and services, you are contemplating purchasing, and discuss this list with your mastermind group. If a scam artist is going to get you, it will be associated with a product or service. You cannot afford to misstep here. A wrong turn could have drastic consequences, including harming your website rating, losing you Google, Yahoo or other account or even being brought into conflict with the law.
Engage the learning curve
The learning curve for internet marketing is not your enemy – rather, it is your friend. You need to engage this curve will all of the stamina that you can muster. This means doing yourself what you might be tempted to hire out.
Not only does this cost good money, but you have deprived yourself of the opportunity to learn something about your business. Everything that you can’t do is an opportunity for someone else to charge you to do it for you. In the end, you really will need to perform your own maintenance and support your own marketing infrastructure. To that end – you need to learn your own business.
It is fine to outsource, once you understand yourself how and why a task is performed, but you will save yourself a fortune if you simply learn to perform the lion’s share of these tasks at the cost of your own time.
Avoid paid marketing strategies until lead generation.
Paid marketing strategies really are for experts. You can’t afford to spend your narrow dollars in this pursuit to begin. You probably need $500.00 just to acclimate in this environment, let alone learning to understand the best route for your advertising dollars. CPC or CPM? Which is the best performing ad? Which ad platform would likely yield the best results, Facebook, Yahoo, or Bing? When you have learned how to generate leads and talk to them, then you are ready to bring them in quickly, but early in the game, confine your mistakes to a small audience, and there will still be plenty of fish in the sea, once you have gotten your sea legs.
Get advice from mastermind group before making major site changes.
Just installed a plugin – and now your site won’t let you log in? There is a fix for that – but would you know what that is? If this happens, and you are really lost – you will be forced to hire php or python developer to help you to fix the problem. For example, you can hire a student and pay an entry level python developer salary to save budget. I’m not saying that fixing this problem is a job for the squeamish. I’m only saying that the problem can best be managed by asking questions BEFORE you make the change. If a member of your master mind team has already installed this plugin (and chances are high that someone has) then you are largely in a position for avoiding problems in the first place – and you will be in a great place to find quality help if something should go wrong. Knowledge – really is – power.
Conclusion
Failing to follow these guidelines can – and likely will – cost you several thousand dollars. In the end, your site will still be barren of traffic – and you won’t make a dime of income.
In my humble opinion, attempting to raise one’s business all alone is the single biggest mistake that internet marketers make. Scam artists work hard to convince the newbie marketer that this is exactly what he should do. “Hire our service, and you won’t need expert advice” their ads seem to say.
This is so easily fixed by making one simple task your very highest priority; that is, get yourself some help. You may have to find your own partners, or you can cast about to find a team to join up with – but however you get there – it should be clear by now that you absolutely need this master mind support system. Be sure to sign up under someone whom you feel you can trust. Scams are everywhere!
If you are willing to ally yourself with others, to draw from their strength, and to consider their advice, then just think of how your meager capabilities will be amplified. The power really will be yours.
