By Jim Daniels, of BizWeb2000
[October 11th, 2000]

See Also   Email Marketing Primer   How to Increase Your Online Sales   Take Advantage of Google's AdWords   Using Foreign Search Engines to Boost Your Sales   Getting Sure Profits Through Google, Goto.com and DirectHit   Ten Places You Must Submit Your Site   Clever Profit Growth Software   The Power Of Personalized Email   How To Go Long With Your Web Marketing   How NOT to Promote Your E-business   Winning the Search Engine Wars   Latest Tips on Search Engine Marketing   Are You Wasting Your Money Online?   Should I Hire Another Salesperson or Invest in an Affiliate Program?   The Death of Positioning?   Links: Why You Need Them and How to Get Them   Your #1 Overlooked Business Asset

If you've ever done any investing, you're probably familiar with the term "going long". In a nutshell, going long means investing for long-term profits. And it's probably the safest, if not surest way to make money in a sometimes volatile arena, the stock market.

Today I'd like to show you how to apply this powerful strategy to your Internet marketing campaign.

As I'm sure you are aware by now, there are a multitude of ways to invest in your Internet marketing. Many of the strategies will yield immediate results, however the results will be short-lived.

An example of a short-term marketing strategy is buying advertising. While you DO need to purchase SOME advertising, if you rely solely on this strategy you'll see a disturbing trend develop at your site -- whenever you advertise less, your site traffic will come to a near stand-still.

Another example of a short-term Internet marketing strategy is bulk email. Here's why...

When you use bulk email, you blast your message to thousands of email addresses, filter the myriad of complaints, and hope for a few sales mixed in. There is absolutely no positive long-term effect on your business. Perhaps you make a few sales but you've made zero long-term investment in your business.

So how does one diversify their Internet marketing portfolio and GO LONG with their promotion strategies?

Perhaps you already know the answer. Let's test your knowledge, shall we!

Of the following low-cost Internet marketing strategies, which TWO would have the longest positive result on your website traffic?

1. Bulletin board and newsgroup postings
2. Search engine ranking
3. Banner ad buys and exchanges
4. Building your own opt-in email list
5. Sharing your web content with others

If you guessed number one, you're.... Wrong!

If you regularly make INTELLIGENT and HELPFUL posts to targeted bulletin boards and newsgroups, you can generate some traffic. However most boards purge posts frequently and with the growing number of boards out there, users rarely take time to search archives for answers.

If you guessed number two, you're.... Wrong Again!

Top ten search engine rankings are great, but unless you have time to maintain the listings you'll find that they can be hard to maintain. While I definitely recommend giving search engine ranking some consideration, especially when setting up a website, this strategy should be considered more of a continuing effort than a long-term strategy.

If you guessed number three... you're... Wrong Again!

As I mentioned at the top of this piece, you DO need to purchase SOME advertising, and banner advertising and exchanges can be a part of that. But if you rely solely on paid ads, you'll see less site traffic whenever your advertising slows.

All in all, items one through three above are good ways to promote your website... IF you have the right components set up at your site. If not, you may be wasting your time and money.

The first component you MUST have at your site in order for those (or any) efforts to pay of is...

Item number 4 from above. An opt-in email list building strategy!

If no. 4 was one of your guesses, you are right on! Growing your potential client base should always be a priority in ANY business. The best way to do this on the web is to grow your own opt-in email list(s). Ask for your website visitors name and email address and give them something of value in return. It is as simple as that. Then treat the growing list like gold.

So that leaves us with the other correct answer. Number five, sharing your web content with others. The most effective way I've found to do this, is to write about your area of expertise and pre-license the content to other editors and webmasters in your type of business. This strategy is sometimes called "submitting articles", but it doesn't even have to be articles that you share. You can write tips, lessons, hints, secrets, or anything that would help a particular group of people.

Then, not only should you pre-license the material as I've done at www.bizweb2000.com/articles.htm - but you should also submit the content regularly. That is as simple as emailing your fresh work to webmasters and ezine editors who publish related material. After four years online, this is still my cheapest promotion method (100% free) and by far my longest lasting.

I can say without reserve that the two strategies above are THE premium ways to GO LONG with your Internet marketing. How can I make such a bold statement?

Simple. Here's proof of each:

Last week I was contacted by a subscriber that had been on my subscriber list for, get this... four years! She had finally decided to start her own business and wanted help from someone with a track record of getting results. As one of my original subscribers I naturally offered her a deep discount on my services.

Example two: When I started using my article writing and pre-licensing strategy back in early 1997, I used an address called sub@jdd-publishing.com for new subscribers to receive my gazette. I used that address for only a short time until my website was complete. Now, over three years later, I still get new subscribe requests to that old address every week. My content from three years ago is still being read. How's that for going long with web marketing!

So in closing, I'd like you to consider the Internet marketing strategies you are using right now. How many of them could be considered "going long". After all, if you plan to retire or even work less some day, you'll have to invest in the future of your website now. And believe me, it's nice to see the website traffic continue to come in on a regular basis, even when you don't!

Article by Jim Daniels of www.bizWeb2000.com. Visit Jim at http://www.bizweb2000.com where he shares exactly how he makes his living from the Internet. You'll discover some vital details on setting up a web business, growing website traffic rapidly and making money while you sleep. To get Jim's free weekly email newsletter, BizWeb eGazette, just send an email to optin@bizweb2000.com.