In his article Making Sense of Internet Marketing, David Harry says:

I’ve had more than one potential client tell me they had ‘Champaign dreams and a Kool-aid budget’

Which I’ve heard time and time over in some form or shape

I think one of the biggest misconceptions regarding the internet (which is echoed in that articles) is that it’s somehow easier to make a living here then in the offline world…I too disagree

However I will admit that the online world provides more OPPORTUNITIES which did not exist before. For a lot of people the online world gives them the chance to work and make a living where otherwise opportunities to do so would be limited. Some examples could be for those that have difficulties leaving their homes (single parent perhaps, those that physically can’t ) or people who live in developing countries (such as myself).

However as David suggests…there is a big difference between having an opportunity and taking advantage of one. This online gig we’re all working on isn’t as easy as most people think…you have to put just as much work into your online biz as if it were an offline one (and if you have no $ often you’ll have to put in even more work)

This is tough and while there are ‘tested and true’ methods and many great tools (both free and costly) that can help you on your journey a lot of your success will depend on your perseverance.

David lists a bunch of internet marketing strategies and provides his opinion on them…while his general observations are valid IMO, your results will vary depending on many factors including your industry and your skills and resources. As he says grab a hard hat and get dirty because what works for one online biz owner and what works for another may be 2 very different things…the best way to find out what works for you is to test, re-test, and keep going until something clicks…

I must agree, I work online all day at work - then work at night on other private sites, it sucks the life outa me to say the least, and it drives me up the bladdy wall when my boss and clients try push for the snap snap results that come from hiring some guy to hand out brochures.

I always get people telling me how easy i have it when in fact i work my ass off - i may not prove it in intensive physical labour but i sure as hell do in mental labor - i could however stick to doing mundane stuff and let things sit in a place of okay-ness but i feel that is something that falls into the missing opportunities section. Like the manager who keeps things going smoothly instead of pushing for newer - better  - things. Eventually he will lose his position because things simply stagnate.

The online world really is a go for the jugular biz, essentially to be successful you have to consistently attempt to beat the competition which in my opinion is a fair bit tougher than the average job in the offline world (i have one of those jobs to).

People who arent willing to make the effort can make money in the online world - but unlike the offline world - they wont last long enough to make it a worthwhile income and will constantly lose out. Offline however, i know to many people who couldnt be bothered to put in the effort in to blow a whole through a piece of wet rice paper and still make more money than the well above average joe... SA government to shoot out an example.

/rant

HA! …. Just had to start on it huh? I figured I’d see if anyone else picked up on it…

I also made a post yesterday about SMM – Social Media Marketing, is it right for you? Which I tried to take a deeper look at the SEM darling that is SMM with a more realistic view. I have a habit of wanting to see ROI, probably because my background was in business admin and accounting prior to marketing.

When one sets about calculating exactly what the company running rate is, they tend to forget to add ALL of their time as an expense. One must set out some form of remuneration for themselves, the business owner. Time most certainly is money.

Just like targeting the wrong search term in SEO can be futile, trying to leverage marketing channels that don’t work for a given market can add up to considerable stress on a business as well. It’s seldom as cut and dry as ‘let’s try this’ and ‘lets try that’. I don’t think the online marketing pundits make it much easier as they love to hype anything to get some attention ( see the TON of BlogRush stuff over the last few weeks).

… I would love to hear perspectives from folks though on what has and hasn’t worked in their particular case/market…..

One thing I am currently working on is looking at a variety of statistical data to write about whom actualy purchases onlne and which industries should use the web as more of a support and lead generation tool.. the story continues...

Ryan_steyn wrote:

I always get people telling me how easy i have it when in fact i work my ass off

Couldn't agree with you more! O, don't take me wrong...there are many great advantages of being able to work at home including the flexibility, the saving and so on...but it's not a non-stop party over here as truck loads of cash are pulling up my driveway...one of the things people don't realize about working from home is that you are ALWAYS at work...my work day starts at 6when i get up and finishes at 10 or so when i go to bed....yea i "try" to leave the computer for a bit here and there but i always find an "excuse" to return 2 seconds later to check something or wrap-up something else...

...in any case i'm grateful i have the opprtunity to do what i do and love it (for the most part), but  nothing comes easy in this "world" or the offline one

TheGypsy wrote:

… I would love to hear perspectives from folks though on what has and hasn’t worked in their particular case/market…..

1 mistake i see all the time is people "assume" one industry is worth going after based on no info

i think the first step is choosing carefully what niche you want to enter

hoping in a saturated market wiht no $, even if you have enrgy to work 24/hrs a day may not get you anywaher very fast

so before you blindly jump in anywhere and try to work your butt off....research is key

Well, look at this recent BlogRush hype... most guys were calling it the next one... and a few weeks in, there are many grumblings about as far as it not doing much. MyBlog log also had the 'honeymoon' phenomenon.

Now that Microsoft is looking at FaceBook, what's left there? MySpace got killed by it (big boys getting involved in a 'community') and spammed silly... Google invested there... Social media is a mess

To a great extent, like it or not, much of marketing and 'reach' is about capital. Without the $$ to throw at it (or pay yourself to do so) then there is only so much attention you can really get. When I used to do business plans for brick and mortars, I could never imagine not having 'cushion capital' and a reasonable marketing budget ( ROI shown via cash flow forecasts).

People all to often treat the web as the great leveler.. it is in some aspects, but as more and more businesses come online and the competition gets tougher, the small business person will get squeezed out much like the off-line world

Ryan - That new avatar is very disturbing. Is there a 'puke' emoticon available?

Gypsy - You mentioned that you like gathering data from different markets, on what worked and didn't? (or did I read that wrong?) Well, here's my two cents - Print advertising doesn't work, at least in the traditional sense. I'll be making another shot at print advertising in a few months, from a different angle. Much less expensive, but could show promise.

Nic - "Research is key". I've heard that tossed around before. But exactly 'what' research are we talking about? What are we all looking for, and whats the step by step process in finding out whether or not your time will be well spent? Reason I ask is, I happen to have a market I wanna get into, and I've come up with several sources for income for just one site. I'd like to know what numbers to apply where to figure out if my venture is going to be worth it.

MrStitch wrote:

Nic - "Research is key". I've heard that tossed around before. But exactly 'what' research are we talking about? What are we all looking for, and whats the step by step process in finding out whether or not your time will be well spent? Reason I ask is, I happen to have a market I wanna get into, and I've come up with several sources for income for just one site. I'd like to know what numbers to apply where to figure out if my venture is going to be worth it.

hey Stitch..threw together a quick reply for you here: Research Worth it?

In the middle of doing some financial projections myself and really need to get these done so thought i would open up the floor to other's imput as well...

MrStitch wrote:

Ryan - That new avatar is very disturbing. Is there a 'puke' emoticon available?

Gypsy - You mentioned that you like gathering data from different markets, on what worked and didn't? (or did I read that wrong?) Well, here's my two cents - Print advertising doesn't work, at least in the traditional sense. I'll be making another shot at print advertising in a few months, from a different angle. Much less expensive, but could show promise.

Nic - "Research is key". I've heard that tossed around before. But exactly 'what' research are we talking about? What are we all looking for, and whats the step by step process in finding out whether or not your time will be well spent? Reason I ask is, I happen to have a market I wanna get into, and I've come up with several sources for income for just one site. I'd like to know what numbers to apply where to figure out if my venture is going to be worth it.

Stitch, I'd love to interview U for the piece.... I could send U some questions ..very painless. Email me if interested bro.. my last computer died and I don't have yer email addy in this one :0(

One thing I am currently working on is looking at a variety of statistical data to write about whom actualy purchases onlne and which industries should use the web as more of a support and lead generation tool.. the story continues

Dave, also worth looking at is when they make purchases. Personaly I think a lot of employers would go into cardiac arrest if they knew. I can contribute some stats that you can use, that is if you ask me nicely.

waveshoppe wrote:

One thing I am currently working on is looking at a variety of statistical data to write about whom actualy purchases onlne and which industries should use the web as more of a support and lead generation tool.. the story continues

Dave, also worth looking at is when they make purchases. Personaly I think a lot of employers would go into cardiac arrest if they knew. I can contribute some stats that you can use, that is if you ask me nicely.

Sucker - I totally forgot you were a 'civilian' as well.... he he... I assume you will be happy to play interviewee as well monsiuer?

Also send me stats U think are relevant please....

Anyway, this thread is about marketing so I digress.... For the wanting public Wavester, what have U tried up to date?

Well Dave, you should know that I am always happy to play along, let me sift threw some stats and compile some factoids for ya. I will email them to you in a few days.

Whats is marketing? Ha ha ha just kidding bro. I splurged and commented a little bit about how we operate on another thread. But I really don’t like commenting on marketing with a “what have you tried” approach. We like to monitor our marketing efforts and have a certain amount of benchmarking so we can measure ROI. If it looks promising we step up the advertising dollars.

Something we are going to discuss offline is “over marketing” and brainstorming on some new strategies. We have 4 separate facilities in San Diego and not a one of them are open to the public. We like it that way because it gives us some freedom, but with increased marketing efforts comes pressure from the local residents to open a public store.

Surly even in your neck of the woods you have heard the stories that a B&M must have a web, but have you ever heard that a web must have a B&M?