Tag Archives: Internet Marketing

10 Steps to a Successful Webinar

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Webinars can be a powerful online tool for building an online business. But to be successful they also require planning, practice, and a certain level of expertise.

10 Steps to a Successful Webinar

1. Outline your goals for the webinar

What do you want to accomplish? You can:
a. Sell products or services
b. Recruit others for your business
c. Provide training and other information

Decide on your objectives and keep it simple. Don’t try to do too much or you will lose your audience.

2. Select your webinar platform

There are many webinar programs out there. Some are complex and expensive. Others are free – usually for a small audience. We have used DimDim and have found it to be a very good program.

3. Learn how it works

Take time to check out all of the features. You will want to look like the professional you are when your audience shows up. At first it may appear to be complicated, but remember it is just like making a presentation in person only using the latest technology to reach a broad audience.

4. Make it simple for your audience

Many people who would be interested in hearing what you have to present are not going to be technical wizards. So make it simple by using a simple link that anyone can use. Most programs don’t require participants to download software onto their computer. All they need is an internet connection and a phone line for hearing you.

5. Prepare your presentation materials

In most cases you already have your presentation materials on hand. They can be in PowerPoint or even PDF files. You can also use videos and even show the audience your web site as part of the webinar. You just need to be prepared in advance.

6. Practice first without an audience then with a select audience

If you think of the webinar as just like talking to a small group in your office, then you know that you need to practice what you are going to say first. By using the program you will quickly learn how to make the best impression. Then when you have it down, invite a select audience you know to view your presentation so you become more comfortable with the format.

7. Use all of the tools available

A webinar can be a multi-media event. There are many tools such as using PowerPoint so everyone is following along at your pace. But you can show videos, web sites, and even use the screen to type information that is important for everyone to see. You can use a web cam during the presentation so all of the participants can see you. There will be a chat feature where you and your staff can interact with participants; answering any questions that come up.

8. Promote your webinar

You will want to set a schedule for most of your webinars. You can then invite anyone to view them. By using a link to your webinar site you will be able to invite people to come see what you have to say.

9. Record your best webinars for others

Most webinar programs allow you to record the presentation. You can then post that recording on your web site for others to view at any time in the future. This is a great feature to make sure that others can see your information even if they weren’t able to make it to the webinar.

10. Ask for and learn from feedback

At the end of the webinar always ask for feedback. You want to hear what the participants have to say. Learn from their input to make future webinars even more productive.

We know from experience how important it is to reach a large audience – anywhere in the country or even around the globe using this latest technology.

Have fun!

PS: If you are looking for ways to build your online business – including how to have insane results from your webinars, click here to check out the program that we have been using.  It works for us and can work for you too.

5 Steps for Online Marketing Success

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Take Something You Like and Make it Your Own.

This can be a powerful tool when building any business. There are many marketing programs, techniques, and processes that can be implemented to grow your online business. But one key to success is to build on something you like.

Traditional direct marketing has always been based on the concept of checking out what the competition is up to. A good direct marketer will be interested in seeing what others are doing and if something shows up over and over, you can be assured that it works. The next step is to adapt your marketing program to use that information to build your own business.

For example, if you see your competition using online webinars to build their business, then it is worth checking out. If they are using Google AdWords to beat you to the customers first, then it is going be valuable for you to learn more about online search marketing. And if you see a similar program using Twitter to reach out, you should also see if Twitter can work for your business.

Do you just copy someone else’s program? Is that okay to do?

Exactly copying the online marketing program that someone else has developed rarely meets your needs. Maybe they are trying to attract a different audience. Maybe their products are different than yours. Or maybe they have just duplicated someone else’s program in hopes that it works for them.

Five Steps for Online Marketing Success

1. Identify the Competition.

You should already know who your online competition is. If not start researching now. See who is appearing everywhere online marketing the same type of products and services. And make sure you have found the entrepreneurs or businesses that are successful to study.

2. List the ten things you think make them successful.

Of course there are going to be many things that a successful business – online or offline – will be doing to promote their business. But rather than trying to figure out everything just concentrate on the top ten things that you have determined to be their keys to success. And see if these programs are used by more than one successful competitor.

3. Narrow that list to the top three things that you would like to be doing.

Your most valuable asset is time. And since you can’t be doing everything, you should focus on the three things that you feel are productive and that you would like to be doing. If they are using Facebook and you like spending time there, put that on your list. If they are using Craigslist.org ads but you don’t like all that detail work, leave it off.

4. Map out a plan on how you can start using those three techniques yourself.

You already know your products and services; your strengths and weaknesses; and use that information and your imagination to determine how you can apply these proven methods to your business. Create your map using a timeline showing what you can do this week, this month, and this year.  Be as detailed as possible in your planning.

5. Try these new programs out for yourself.

Start right away so you have time to test things out. As you continue to develop your marketing plan you will be able to test and learn. If things are working, build on those techniques. If some programs are not turning out how you would like, make adjustments and keep at it.

This may sound like just common sense. But most successful marketers don’t have a magic formula. They are continually learning about what works for them in their business. You can use that same technique to grow your business as well.

Good luck!

How to Make Twitter Work for You

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Twitter can be a great tool to use to build your online audience. Twitter can also be an incredible black hole for your time. How can you make Twitter work for you?

Of course the first step is to sign up for an account. You can go to http://twitter.com and get started. This is the easy part. There are only a few requirements to include – after all the concept is based on micro-blogging where you only send out messages of 140 characters or less.

You can personalize your Twitter profile and you should do this to make yourself stand out. When visitors see a plain page, it shows a lack of interest in making this powerful internet tool work for you. Be creative and personal. People want to interact with people, not impersonal companies or worse yet spammers. Upload a good photo, one that gets people’s attention so they know who they are talking with.

The Twitter internet interface provides you with all of the functions that you need to start you out on your Twitter journey. Try it out. See what works for you.

Then if you want to use a more powerful platform, check these out:

  • HootSuite – http://hootsuite.com where you can organize your Twitter life in an amazing format. It may take awhile to figure it all out, but it is worth the effort if you are serious.
  • Tweetdeck – http://tweetdeck.com which is similar to HootSuite in the functions offered. Either one can work out for you.
  • Twillow – http://twellow.com can also provide you with a similar set of tools. But this platform is great for finding others with similar interests as you. Twillow also allows you to provide a much longer biography and that can be useful to present yourself to the Twitter world.

There are many other programs that can useful and over time you will want to check them out. One hint is to check out the source mentioned on other Tweeters Tweets showing what they are using. If one is showing up a lot in your communications it is a good sign that it is worthwhile.

After you become familiar with what you are doing, a great tool is the e-book titled “How to Become a Twitter Expert in 24 Hours 3.0” which you can find at http://leftmark2.dsmpub1.hop.clickbank.net. This resource gives you so much information that it will take more than 24 hours, trust me. But in the first day after starting to use this handy report my I gained almost 50 followers! And they were well qualified, not just spamming bots. I can’t recommend this one highly enough.

I also found the Klout score showing up on HootSuite to be an interesting measure of how others are measured in the Twitter world. You can see more information at http://klout.com. See how you measure up.

Now time to get busy. No free lunch here, but judging by the success of others Twitter can be a good tool for you to use to build any online business. Internet marketing can be fun!

Good luck.