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Top Ten Steps To Prepare Yourself for Online Marketing

Still marketing through press releases, networking groups, and talks to groups? If these ways have brought you few clients or product sales, you may now be ready for your virtual marketing machine, the Internet!

To get ready follow the following ten tips:

1. Buy an up-to-date computer with a 56k modem or more and Internet capability.

2. Open an email account. Bypass the freebies, because you need an email account from which you can send an attachment. You want to look professional. For you email address, don't use confusing letters and numbers. Use your name plus business keyword such as Judy@bookcoaching.com.

3. Educate yourself about email, the Internet, and your own computer program. Take a community college or adult school computer and Internet program at low cost or free. You'll notice many others like yourself there, eager to learn. More advanced students will help you each step of the way.

4. Hire a one-on-one low-cost computer/internet coach, who can give you individual lessons if you don't want to attend seminars. They can help you proceed successfully with your eBusiness. Call your local high schools, computer schools or colleges for computer-savvy student who will be happy to receive $8-10 an hour.

Connect with teachers, career centers, or student centers to start the ball rolling. Tell them you want an assistant. Make an ad that lists the capabilities you need. Be sure to follow up because schools are less business oriented and may not call you back.

5. Hire a computer assistant because you are not only a coach, speaker or author, you are a business! These assistants can send out emails, create appropriate folders of important contacts and email lists, send out appropriate email and keep your computer files up-to-date and organized.

Make them part of your virtual marketing machine at a very low cost. Use your assistant as much as you want to expand your success. You will look like a successful professional by adding new part-time staff. Start with 6-9 hours a week, and watch your clients and product sales grow!

6. Offer more than just one product to your potential buyers. Part of the plan is to allow automatic, ongoing sells for your lifetime, either on your Web site or other seller sites. If you plan to write a book, write a short one first. Then, expand as you can. Publishing a short book is savvy business because you start making money right away to fund your other projects. Divide and conquer. Think of chapter excerpts, articles, tips, or how-to lists you can email free to prospective buyers.

Incorporate a plan and action steps to sell other products that relate to your book. These could submit informational pieces to ePublishers so that your word gets out to thousands, even tens of thousands of people daily on the net. This untapped eager-to-buy audience awaits your service and product. For more information on this, contact your book and Internet promotion coach.

7. Include your five-to-eight line signature at the end of every email you send with a benefit or special book you want to sell. Include your name, email address, Web site address and phone number, local and 800 number. Include your business practice number one benefit and be sure to offer a free special report or ezine so you can collect those email addresses for future promoting. Make your email and web site hyperlinks to make it easy for your client to click through to where you are selling your products or service. Separate each email's end and signature with graphics such as ==== or #####.

8. Market your service, book, or products through writing short articles to submit to opt-in ezines. Use a search engine to find Web site ezines in your category or genre or send directly to the ezines. Your article must be compelling, concise and useful, so take care and edit it until it shines. Most editors and publishers want articles from 500-800 words.

These people want and need your free information for their ezines web sites. They publish with your Signature Box at the bottom.

9. Submit your articles to top Web sites to multiply sales. To market your service business or books, boost your Web site popularity to the top ten through the search engines by submitting how-to articles to sites with your category. Top site ezines get from 15,000 to 500,000 readers daily. These sites need your daily content, and they will pay you handsomely by including your key words that help your search engine position. Your Internet marketing coach is #3 now on Google and 35 others. When you submit your articles, the site also includes your URL in a hyperlink straight to your Web site or where ever you sell your products or service. In no time, you can be listed on 900+ other sites with a link back to yours.

10. Create your own inexpensive book Web site. Coaches can catapult their business with a short print or eBook. While it's possible to sell books on other publishers' or book sellers' sites, you need to look forward and eventually develop your own site. Authors without a site are like business people without email. You don't need a fancy Web site. Make your home page sizzle with dazzling ad copy, headings, and a sales letter. You will sell books and make your coaching practice a household word.

Be willing to do what it takes, such as hire an internet or book coach, to get Online savvy because this wonderful marketing machine is there for you and your business success.

Judy Cullins, 20-year book and Internet Marketing Coach, Author of 10 eBooks including "Write your eBook Fast," and "How to Market your Business on the Internet," she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, The Book Coach Says...and Business Tip of the Month at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 140 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com