More and more marketers are moving onto the internet space but are asking how to start online marketing.

They often are starting from scratch. As brilliant as they are in the offline world, they are working hard to figure this out. The need of the hour is specific direction and guidance, and a support group to ask questions and bounce ideas off of.

Here is a list of 8 key strategies for online marketing tips:

• #1: Set up a blog. I personally recommend WordPress. A blog should represent your heartbeat. It needs to be You, Inc. As you know, I am the Vitamin Shepherd and I blog about faith, health, and building a home business successfully. You want to represent who you are and appeal to the target audience that will resonate with you. If you opt for anything less, you will find the work of keeping your blog current and dynamic to be draining rather than exciting. Your blog is where you’ll communicate, make relationships, and share your passions and expertise. It’s sort of like . . . well . . . your living room!

• #2: Set up an email distribution list. (I recommend Aweber.) Use this email list to connect to people and deepen your relationships with them by building trust. It’s also a vehicle for sales. Remember that all the social media platforms are frequently changing, but your blog and email list will always be the heart and soul of your business. In order to establish a list, you must have a free offer on your blog that your readers will give you their name and email in exchange for the valuable resource you have to offer them.

• #3: Create a content strategy that moves people closer to aligning with you in the way that you want them to. Have a strategy about what to create for your blog posts, your email list, and your social networks and how often to post. This will take some experimenting to know what works best for your target audience and your own parameters, but it is worth the extra effort. Whichever channel you are using, your goal is to keep people interested by offering value to them and helping to relieve a pain point they have. This will be sure they are warmed up and even excited for further contact from you.

• #4: Limit yourself for now to using 1 or 2 social networks to connect with people. You want to reach out to people in a very human way. Building relationships is key. Start a conversation by asking a question. Be sure to reply in a timely way.

• #5: Keep a record of your contacts. Make notes about each one to identify them as a prospect, a customer, a colleague, a mentor, a resource person, or whatever. You want to keep tabs on your relationships and build that network. Your relationships are your biggest asset.

• #6: Track your progress. Decide on your goals at the beginning and then determine what you’ll do to reach those goals. A lot of people miss the important strategy of tracking your progress. Choose 2 or 3 metrics for what you’re doing and then track your progress. I check my google analytics for my blog every Monday evening. Pinterest now has analytics. There are other tracking tools available. Find ones that resonate with you and then implement them. Roger Barnett, CEO of Shaklee Corporation, says, “If you can track it, then you can improve it.” Remember that you need to improve conversions, so tracking is vital for that to happen.

• #7: Set a numeric goal with a time deadline. Put it where you can see it every day. For example, I will establish a new stream of semi-passive income by December 1st, 2018 that is generating more than $3000 per month on average and continues to grow.

• #8: Join a support group or hire a coach to help you stay on the path to success. Choosing your online associations is very important to your success and there are many training groups available to join. Finding the right group to be a part of will be a big factor to your progress. I blogged for many years getting help from webinars and courses that mainly took my money but didn’t come alongside me to help me.  Choose your association carefully.

Every business owner who has a view for the future realizes the internet is here to stay.

Your life is your PhD and you have expertise to get out there. Your blog is the best platform for online marketing to help reach the people who need your products or services.

Over to you now. Which of these 8 online marketing tips have you nailed and which do you need more work on?

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