I'm Talking, But is Anyone Listening?

Internet marketing is a wonderful thing, but it has it's
drawbacks. For instance, if you own a brick and mortar
store you have a *physical* presence that gets noticed.
Customers will find you purely by chance by walking or
driving down the street where your store is located. If
they didn't know you existed before, they do now.

But online your business is buried among millions of
websites. People can't just stumble upon it accidently. Do
you feel like you're just spinning your wheels and getting
nowhere? Or you're talking, but no one's listening? How,
then, do you establish your presence and make your site
known?

Stand up and shout it to the world! Not literally, of
course, but figuratively speaking. You need to advertise
and promote constantly. You must get your name and website
"out there" for the world to see.

More importantly, you need to make a lasting impression so
the next time a customer is in the market for your type of
product, they'll remember *you* over someone else with
similar products.

It's called "name-branding." Get a catchy slogan or motto
that people will associate with your name and website.
Publish an ezine or report to build a mailing list of
potential customers. Establish yourself as an expert in
your field.

Once you've got a mailing list, you need to keep your
readers *wanting* more information. You can't just send ads
and expect them to hand over their money. You'll have them
hitting the "unsubscribe" link faster than you can say
"unsubscribe."

They need to get good, reliable information to build their
trust in you. Once you've got their trust, you've got
clients/readers for life. Give them solid, helpful
information and they'll listen. Show them that you care
about *their* needs and wants, not just the size of your
wallet.

You also have to grab their attention. Your subject lines,
editorials and ad copy must make them *want* to read more.
Your newsletter or report doesn't help anyone if it gets
deleted without being read, most of all you. You're wasting
your time if no one's paying attention.

Once you've established that trusting relationship and
learned to grab a reader's attention, you'll know without a
doubt that when you talk, people will listen.