Have you ever experienced fly fishing? You’re out there by yourself standing in an ice cold stream with its dark blue water rushing by. The sun’s glittering reflection makes it impossible for you to see more than a few inches under the surface. A huge Bass may be only a few feet away but you’ll never see it - never even know it’s there waiting for you.

For hours you stand there casting into the shadows, bringing your fly rod back over your head - letting the line play out so that when you whip it forward the almost weightless fly at its end will drop precisely where you wanted it to land. Knowing that the fish are there you make this rhythmic cast again and again until a hungry fish leaps out of the water and grabs your fly in the air.

If this isn’t like Internet marketing for small business I don’t know what is.

Way back in 1964 Rock Hudson and Paula Prentis starred in a wonderful Internet marketing movie. The movie, “Man’s Favorite Sport” was about a fly fishing expert at Abercrombie and Fitch. He was an expert who had never actually fished, outside the confines of the show room where he deftly cast the fly across the room into a small wading pond.

He was like so many of the Internet marketing gurus we have around today. They talk the talk but they have never walked the walk. These are the Internet marketers whose reputations have caused us to think better about used car salesmen. Their tactics have turned so many small business owners off, no one wants to identify themselves as an Internet marketer, that few of you are taking advantage of the benefits of Internet marketing for small business.

Also, while they make it look easy for them, we all know that having the best technology is worthless if we don’t know how to use it. And that looking like you know what you are doing is less important than actually knowing - in Internet marketing for small business - just like Rock Hudson found out when he had to actually go into the woods and enter a fly fishing contest.

When it comes to fly fishing, if you want to be successful you have to fish where the fish are. When it comes to Internet marketing - success is all about doing the research. Who exactly do you want to reach? What precisely must they be looking for when the find your web site? And what specifically do you want them to do?

A flawed Internet marketing strategy that is executed poorly will always yield better results than an exceptionally well developed strategy delivered perfectly - if the person with the imperfect process has spent the time and energy to do the marketing research that will bring the right people to his site for the right reasons in the first place.

A successful fly fisherman knows that no matter how good they are at casting, no matter how amazing their colorful tiny fly, and no matter how exactly they know the location of the fish - it still takes hours of repetition, casting again and again and again if they want to catch their limit.

As the fish swim leisurely, just hanging out with their friends - looking up at the little fly flicking at the surface, some of them just ate, some of them are too tired, some of them have other things on their mind, who knows? One thing is sure - they are not all interested in the fly at any one time, but they will all be ready to take a grab at it eventually.

The key then is to be right there in easy reach when they are ready to take action. If your Internet marketing strategy means you send out emails once in a while, or you rely on people who visit your site to “buy now” - you are missing 99% of the opportunities.

Once you’ve attracted them to your site, you need to do something that captures them - so later on when they have elevated themselves from casual looker to actual prospect, you will be able to present your solution again. We can never expect anyone to return to our web site - so we’ve got to take advantage of the fact that they showed up at least once.

Those of us whose revenues come from our Internet marketing know that when we attract the right people for the right reasons we have done the hard part. At that point we want then to either buy what we’re selling, give us their permission to follow up with them later, or go away. That’s it - it’s that simple.

Fly fishing, I am told, is exciting because when the fish is ready - they jump out of the water and grab the fly. From that moment on it’s between the fish and the fisherman. The fish wants an opportunity to re-think their decision and the fisherman wants to get the fish in the net. Isn’t this like you converting a browser to a prospect to a customer?

When it comes to Internet marketing for small business, those who grab your offer will be those who are looking for what you’re selling and who have found your product/service/price/benefit equation compelling enough to grab it.

From that point on it’s between you and them to see if they drop into your net or swim away.

Now that they are on the hook you’re job is to reel them in as seamlessly as possible - making them happy and comfortable with the decision they’ve made today, tomorrow, and for years to come.

Technorati Tags: Internet marketing for small business

Technorati Tags: Internet marketing for small businesses

Technorati Tags: Internet marketing explained, Internet marketing for small business, Small business internet marketing

Are Self-Publishing Companies “Cheating” by Removing the Hurdles to Get Your Books Published Faster?
by Brent Sampson

In spite of growing evidence that self-publishing is poised to replace (or at least match) traditional publishing in the future, many conventionally published authors (and those striving to become such) still view self-publishing with contempt. They feel self-publishing companies and those authors who choose to use them are “cheating” somehow. After all, getting a book published traditionally has always been “hard work.”  Those who have done it (or long to) perhaps feel as if self-published authors are not paying their dues.

But are self-publishing writers really “cheating,” or are they simply taking advantage of widespread changes taking place throughout the entertainment and business worlds?

Why Should the Book Publishing Industry Be Any Different Than The Music and Entertainment Worlds?

The same Do-it-Yourself (DIY) fever has swept through the music industry. Musicians (talented and otherwise) are no longer waiting for acceptance from the “establishment.” Instead, they are distributing their music through iTunes. They are finding their audiences through Myspace. And, they’re broadcasting their music videos via YouTube.

It is safe to say the music industry has irrevocably changed.  Musicians no longer give 95% of their royalties to the “industry” and customers no longer buy CDs from brick-and-mortar music stores.

Are these musicians cheating?

No.

They are still paying their dues, but now the invoice comes after their music has already become available. They still must market aggressively to obtain listeners, but at least they have something to market.   The audience determines which of those musicians succeed and which of them fail.

This is no different from the self-publishing book industry.

How the D-I-Y Mentality Removes Unnecessary Hurdles

Can you imagine the uproar that would ensue if all that were required to start playing for the New York Knicks was writing a check for $1000 to some Internet company? Can you imagine the fervor if all that were required to obtain a recording contract was standing in line at some reality show try-out?

Wait a minute!

That’s already happening. Reality television has altered the search for “talent” and now, in rare instances, getting “discovered” is no harder than filling out an application. Nowadays, instead of submitting audition tapes to countless producers, lyricists stand in line for American Idol and face the possibility of public humiliation at the hands of Simon and company.

Is this “cheating,” per se, or has the do-it-yourself mentality simply removed unnecessary hurdles that prevented talent from being discovered faster? You see, talent is the one common denominator and talent cannot be purchased. Cast members of Survivor have their fifteen minutes of fame and then disappear back into the abyss. The try-outs for American Idol feature thousands upon thousands of “hopefuls” standing in lines around city blocks and yet the main competition is comprised of just a handful.  Most had their opportunity to shine, and their audience rejected them. But at least they received a shot.

How a Self-Publishing Company is Like American Idol for Writers

As a recent New York Times article states, self-publishing companies are thriving, and that is because self-publishing companies give writers their shot. Their fifteen minutes of fame.

Self-publishing companies are like American Idol for writers. They make it easy to publish a book. If “publishing a book” is your dream, you’re going to be happy with the result.  And if your dream is to be successful, famous, rich, or a combination of the three, you’re going to receive your chance. But just like everyone else who is successful, famous, or rich, you are going to need to bring something special to the table.

Most reasonable people recognize this. Those who don’t may become disillusioned, but listen – if it were easy to become a bestselling author, a multi-platinum recording artist, a player for the New York Knicks, or a highly-sought-after runway model, then everyone would do it.

How Self-Publishing Can Help You Make More Money Fast

See, self-publishing companies shine a light on writers.  It is the writer’s job to shine back. Some authors do, like Gang Chen, who earned more than $39,000.00 in royalties from Outskirts Press in the 4th quarter of 2008, and nearly that much again in one single month in January 2009.

Did he sell a million copies of his book? No. Is he making a lot of money as a self-published author? Yes. By any reasonable benchmark, Gang Chen is a successful self-published author who has given specific permission to have his successes shared.

Can you achieve this kind of success when you self-publish your book?

Yes! But, you must understand that success is never guaranteed. All writers are different just like all contestants on American Idol are different.  If you are going to self-publish your book, you’re better off publishing with a company where your chances for success increase.  Above all, you have to believe in yourself and you have to work hard. Success rarely comes easily for anyone, but now, thanks to self-publishing companies like Outskirts Press, everyone has an equal chance. They will shine the light on you. What you do with that light is up to you.

Brent Sampson, bestselling self-published author of “Sell Your Book on Amazon” and “Self-Publishing Simplified,” has helped thousands of authors realize their dreams of publishing and distributing their books worldwide fast with Outskirts Press. Now when you go to http://www.outskirtspress.com/ebook you can get TWO FREE EBOOK GUIDES on how to self-publish your books the simple, successful way.

Technorati Tags: brent sampson, outskirts press

How to Achieve Your Goals with 100% Success Every Time
Dr. Alan R. Zimmerman
CSP, CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame

In the movie, “A League of Their Own,” the baseball coach talked to his dispirited team, saying, “Of course it’s hard.  If it wasn’t hard, everybody would do it!”

That’s the way it is with success.  It can be hard.  But there are four sure-fire ways to achieve success at almost anything every time without failure.

4 Ways to Achieve Your Goals & Succeed Every Time Without Failure

Technorati Tags: achieve your goals

http://www.smallbizsuccess.cjb.net Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jamell_Harris

Technorati Tags: Internet marketing explained

Technorati Tags: Internet marketing explained

Internet marketing for small business owners is not as hard as it seems. I know that it seems daunting when you are first looking at it.

I know it was for me when I was first getting started however, it is surprisingly easy and there are a number of ways to do internet marketing for small business that does absolutely nothing to increase your company’s overhead because it is completely and totally free.

The first step to internet marketing for small business is a website. Having a presence on the internet is essential.

Online yellow pages are also something to consider and I have found it to be one of the best submissions I have ever done for my business.

Websites need to be targeted to the audience you are trying to market too. Therefore, the first step to building one that is going to work effectively is to find out the audience you want to target and the demographics of that audience.

Once I built the website and had it submitted to search engines, my next step was link sharing.

Link sharing is basically, where you ask a site that has related material or services, sometimes even complementary like golf accessories would ask to share links with a site that sold golf clubs, if they would place your link on their site in exchange for you placing theirs on yours.

Normally as long as the information on your site is related, they will agree. It is free advertising and most companies have already made code so all you have to do is paste it onto your website.

Social networking, this is a great way to get in some free marketing. I started with my group of friends on sites like Myspace, face book, and just let them know about what I had to offer. I got a decent response and still have people show up that are from these sites that have heard from their friends about my website.

No internet marketing for small business strategy is complete without email marketing.

Email marketing is something that is completely free and easy to set up. I created a simple set of emails. Based on the opt in form that customers fill out when they visit the site. This does two things.

It tells me about the customer, personal information such as their name that I can then use in the emails so that they are personalized. It also tells me their location. After all, it does not do much good to send American holiday emails to European customers. Finally and most importantly, I have their permission to send emails to them. This prevents any issues with spam.

Another way to bring in customers is promotional items these work wonderfully and do not cost anything to give. Simply use your current opt-in list and offer a promotional item or discount to them if a friend signs up to receive information from your company, of course, offer something to the friend as well to entice them to come. I have found that this works exceptionally well with both product and service based companies.

Technorati Tags: Internet marketing explained, Internet marketing for small business, Small business internet marketing

Technorati Tags: Internet marketing for small business