Internet marketing for beginner blog post 2

 Poised For Changes 

One very important thing that you should know about the Internet marketing world is that this is a 

world that is undergoing constant development. The strides that this world has taken in recent times are 

nothing short of astounding. What began as a simple backup strategy for traditional forms of offline 

marketing back in the 80s has now blossomed into a full-fledged industry that has taken all the offline 

marketing methods under its wing. That is quite true; even the multinational corporations of the world 

rely more on their online marketing modes, and consider offline marketing only as a consolidation for its 

Internet-based counterpart.

All this could not have happened without the rapid changes that have occurred in the Internet 

marketing world over the last two decades. 

How Internet Marketing Began

Internet marketing had its early roots at about the late twentieth century. In fact, by early nineties of 

this century, there was a slow growth in Internet marketing. In this time, websites were mainly text 

based and they were used to give information regarding a certain product or service. The websites 

started having an impact as they could be accessed from any part of the world. 

The first company that launched an Internet marketing campaign was Bristol-Myers Squibb. They 

launched the use of online marketing officially during 1990’s. It was a United States of America based 

company which initially had plans to us the online platform to create international awareness of a drug 

called “Excedrin”. When it was marketing the drug, the company gave some free sample to anyone who 

wanted to get it through the use of the Internet. 

The use of Internet to do marketing started picking up after the company recorded an increase of about 

thirty thousand people in a few days. These were people who had joined their online customer list. After 

this time, there were other companies who started using the Internet to market their goods. For 

example, technology industries that were standardized like IBM and Microsoft started incorporation of 

their Internet providers and programs in the Bristol-Myers marketing campaigns. 

There are some companies that were able to make a huge profit from online marketing campaigns. 

Yahoo! is the first company to make a lot of money from online marketing campaigns. The Yahoo 

website quickly became a generator of traffic. They started monitoring hits that every advertisement 

was getting from online users. This started at about 1997 and by 2000, a lot had changed. Most of the marketing companies that were advertising online had to tighten their revenue. They did so because

they were forced by Yahoo to comply. During this time, the company recorded a decrease in customers

for online marketing firms. This was due to the so called “Cooling Stage” of the United States economy.

Expenses Used during Early Internet Marketing

The expenses that were used on Internet marketing were very high in mid-nineties. There was a

recorded amount of 300 Billion dollars used for marketing online in 1996. This amount was recorded to

have been used by the United States, Canada and some of the countries that neighbor this region.

This was almost twice the amount that was used in 1994 for traditional marketing methods. This meant

that the online marketing platform was gaining a lot of popularity in a very short while. This was just the

beginning as the increase was continuous. When home based business people started using the

Internet, the increase was high. This was also followed by the increase of Internet users in the United

States in mid 1990s.

Internet Marketing Trends

In those early times, promotion was done just by having a simple ecommerce website where the

product was described, mostly with a picture. In fact, most of these ecommerce websites were not even

real ecommerce websites because they did not have options for customers to pay and buy the product.

These were only a way for people to get accustomed to the product, find information on it, and then

they had to visit a nearby store to buy it.

This slowly underwent a change. When the financial biggies of the world realized what great opportunity

lay in this world, they were quick to jump into the bandwagon and unleash their different payment

modes onto these websites, making them truly ecommerce websites. Thus, methods such as credit card

payments (MasterCard and VISA were the first to join in) and online bank transfers (PayPal and

Moneybookers being the most prominent) were linked to ecommerce websites. People suddenly

realized that they could buy products directly from the Internet. Internet marketing, as they knew it,

underwent major strides.

Then came the 90s and the concept of Web 2.0 set in. Marketers now realized that they could do so

much more to get their products out there. They could do a lot more to notch up the visibility factor for

their products. The start of this was through article marketing and, a little later, blogging. Marketers

found that they could write informative articles about their products and services, mostly without

naming their products directly, and post them on free and paid directories that were found all over the

Internet. They found that doing so brought in a lot of readers, mainly people who were already looking

some information related to their business. These were the people who then clicked on the links below

the articles and visited the websites of the marketers. The concept of ‘niche marketing’ developed.

With blogging, a whole new interactive world was unleashed onto the Internet. Marketers had the time

of their lives writing about whatever they felt about the industry they were dealing in, and common

people found it an amazing thing to be able to remark and comment on these ‘posts’. Suddenly, the line between the seller and the buyer vanished. Everyone was in the same boat. Marketers were no longer

promoting their product; they were discussing it with their potential customers. Naturally, this increased

the respect that the customer got from the entrepreneurs and businesses increased manifold.

While blogging revolutionized the world of Internet marketing, bringing people closer and thinning the

line between the promoters and the prospects, another very important concept was building up. That of

video marketing! YouTube had already made its foray in the world and several other similar websites,

most notably Metacafe, which allowed people to post videos and share them with the world, came into

being. Internet marketers saw infinite possibilities here. They understood that they could make

instructional and informative videos and post them on YouTube and that would take their products to a

whole new group of Internet visitors. The method worked like nothing had ever done before! People

were suddenly bowled over by the fact that they could sit at home and practically see a product being

used, repaired, maintained… whatever. Even an unknown product did not seem daunting anymore.

Now, the concept of Web 2.0 really began catching on. It was the late nineties and a new phenomenon

gave this entire process a whole new shape. This was the world of social networking. Websites like

Facebook and MySpace and then more niche business social networking groups like Twitter and

LinkedIn made their appearance.

People saw that they could make their profiles here. They could check other people’s profiles too. They

could get to know people in a much better way. They could communicate with anyone they wished.

They could make friends on a global basis. They could share information.

Internet marketers were very quick to catch on. What fueled their interest was the fact that they could

build groups here. Quickly, Internet marketers made business product and service pages on these social

networking websites, and started building groups of people. These were mostly people who had opted

in to know more about their business. Thus, they were a target crowd.

Viral marketing gained momentum through such social networking websites. Viral marketing happens

when someone tells a friend about something they have used, thus recommending the product to them

in essence. Marketers found that this was the best way to get their products to the largest number of

people in the world. Through these social networking websites, where people were all chatty all the

time, they could virally market their products like nowhere else. They now focused on quality so that

people would give a favorable opinion about their products and services to their friends, because this is

what would enhance their business. In essence, this new trend made the Internet marketing world much

more stable and reliable.

Along with this, new methods of Internet marketing and promotion came into existence. One of the

most notable ones was syndication. Marketers found that they could put up their content at different

places on the Internet, where it could reach a greater level of popularity. The concept of RSS (Really

Simple Syndication) also gained roots. People could now subscribe to things that they liked on the

Internet, and they could get updates on it whenever they wanted. They did not need to actually visit the

website; they would be informed in their email inbox and even given a link to visit that particular place

and see the update.This helped Internet marketers immensely. Earlier people would visit superb websites but then forget all

about them as soon as they clicked out. This would not happen anymore. If people liked a website, they

could subscribe to its feeds and be informed about it whenever an update took place. This was a great

way of repeat promotion.

Email marketing had started long ago, while all this was happening. This was a mode in which marketers

would solicit permission from interested people all over the world—mostly by giving them free content

like eBooks and online memberships—to send emails to them directly. These emails would be generated

by autoresponders, and they would give a constant stream of information to these people. Again, this

was a great form of repeat marketing, which ensured that people stayed interested and culminated into

customers at the end of the day.

Today, Internet marketers have so many resources at their disposal that they often do not use all of

them. Most of them are just using a few of the techniques and are still very happy with the way things

are headed for them. At the same time, being open to learning and implementing new things is

something that an Internet marketer should always look at.

Changing Trends

The online marketing world has come so far, and still it is changing every minute. There are so many

new things that are being implemented every minute. Today’s Internet marketing world is mostly a

world of trial and error, especially for the people who have just started out. They are open to doing new

things and analyzing which of them work for their needs.

These changing trends are mainly because the general consumer base on the Internet has undergone a

radical shift. People want things to be easier for them and they want to know everything they can about

a product before they bring out their plastic.

Internet marketers of present times know that it is very important to keep track of changing consumer

demands and they are making sure they are able to give these things to them. They know that

competition is very high right now, with the whole world having converted into practically a single

market, and that is the reason they are going all they can in order to give the best that they can.

Since the intention is to get you started off with an Internet marketing business that gives you great

profits, it would be a great way to start if you knew what customers of today are looking for. Whatever

business you plan, make sure that you can give these benefits to your consumers, because that is what

can ensure a wonderful business environment for you.

1. A Great Product

You cannot have a good Internet marketing business going on if you do not have a great product. Your

product (or service) is the backbone of everything. If you do a little research on some of the products

that are being sold online right now, you will find that almost all of these products have something

innovative to offer to their customers. They are either a totally new concept or they enhance their usefulness in some other way that is lacking in other products. Some of them are simply different in

their design. Whatever the case may be, there is something different.

When you are designing your Internet marketing products, you have to ensure that you are giving this

newness to your customer in some way or the other. That is what makes your product stand away from

the crowd.

The second important thing that you have to ensure about your product is that its quality should be top

notch. You have to make sure you are using the best quality materials and the fabrication itself is of a

very high quality. Do your due quality tests before putting out your product on the market.

If it is a service you are trying to promote, again make sure of the same things. The service should be

new in some way or the other—probably make up for a shortcoming that exists in the prevailing

industry—and should be well thought of. Make sure you will be able to deliver the service exactly as you

promise.

2. A Great Reputation

Even the most casual visitor of the Internet will look for reputable websites and places to visit. There are

so many options available on the Internet that this is quite understandable. People today are looking for

quality, and the general assumption is that great reputation means great quality.

You should make every effort to keep your name high. Notch up a good reputation for yourself. One way

to do this would be to market yourself through credible places like through articles, blogs and videos

that can convert your business and your own name into a brand name. This stamps your credibility.

People begin to understand that you know your stuff.

Since people can freely post reviews and comments about businesses right now, this is another thing

that you should look into. Ensure that you get garner good reviews all over the Internet. Nothing

indicates a better reputation than good reviews on the Internet.

3. Good Value for Money

For the average Internet customer, money matters. In fact, a lot of people shop online because they can

save money. This is possible for the sellers themselves because they have fewer overheads. They do not

have to spend on staffing and warehousing; they may even not have to spend as much on maintaining

accounts and records because their internal software does it for them. Thus, Internet marketers are able

to sell products at a cheaper rate. It is this price incentive that most online buyers are looking for.

At the same time, remember that for every inexpensive product on the Internet, there will be someone

else who will be selling at a cheaper price. That is the norm on the Internet. But, discerning Internet

customers—and there are a lot of them—always look for the value of the product. If your product has

an established value and has good feedback from previous buyers, then people won’t mind spending a

few dollars extra for it.4. Clear-Cut Descriptions

Internet buyers will always want to know everything they can about the product. The Internet buying

world suffers from the limitation that people cannot get up, close and personal with the product before

they buy it. It is for this reason that the descriptions of the products have to be precise. It is the duty—

and sometimes legal requirement—of the Internet marketers to lay out proper descriptions of their

products, in form of bulleted lists or some other objective form on their websites.

This requirement becomes all the more important when the product is a food product or a medicinal

product. Customers will want to know the complete list of ingredients that make up the product.

If there is any ambiguity about the product, it is likely to lose sales. People who visit a particular product

website will want to know precisely what goes into the product so that they know it will be useful for

them.

5. Precise Instructions

This is another way to make your product popular on the Internet. Give people all the instructions that

they would need. This is especially important if you are selling something that is a mechanical tool of

some kind. People should know not only how to use the product, but they should also be able to see

how they can do some repairs on the product themselves in case of an anomaly.

This has become much easier today with the availability of video sharing websites such as YouTube.

Now, you can put demonstrations of the product as well as DIY repairs as videos on these websites from

where people can access them. When people see that it is easy to use your product, or even if they just

see the product in action, they will be more confident about buying it.

6. Money-back Guarantees

It has become a trend in the online marketing world to give money-back assurances to people. This is a

consequence of the fact that people cannot touch, smell or see the products that they come across in

the online marketing world. For most people buying these products, they have to act on their faith and

nothing more than that.

This could be terribly disadvantageous to the buyer if they spend on a product and then find out it is not

what they actually hoped it to be. At such a time, a money-back guarantee would be appreciated.

Different Internet marketers have different money-back policies. Most of them right now provide 100%

money back without any questions asked. Due to that, customers have started looking for such

guarantees in everything that they buy.

7. Great Support

When buying products off the Internet, a great support is called for. There should be a support team

that works at solving any customer queries, before and after the purchase. They are wanted to answer any questions before making the purchase and for proper usage and troubleshooting needs when the

product has been actually purchased.

You will find information about support usually on a separate tab on all ecommerce websites. This is a

way of impressing upon people what kind of benefits they can get in terms of their during and after

sales services. A lot of Internet marketers, especially who are marketing their products globally offer

24/7 support. But, the majority of them still handle support through email, which are generally

answered within 24 hours.

8. An Opportunity to Interact

This is a very new trend in the Internet marketing world, but it has grown to immense proportions. Right

now, people are looking for an opportunity to interact with the sellers of any Internet marketing product

before they can actually consider buying these products. This is usually done through Web 2.0 websites

such as social networking websites and video submission websites and also through the ecommerce

websites themselves.

They would like an opportunity to get to know the seller and probably even personally interact with

them before they spend on their product. Through blogs and forums, almost all Internet marketers try

to get into the field and speak with their market so that they can establish their stamp of credibility.

So, you can see the customer expectations have increased quite a lot from what they were previously.

That is the reason even you, as an Internet marketer, will need to keep changing your game if you want

to fit in well with the recent trends and leave your mark in the industry.

Internet Marketing Driving Force

Before we get into the tricks and techniques that work in the online world, it would be a great idea to

first understand the mindset that works here. In the previous chapter, we saw what the customer is

looking for. They seem to be like too many things, but at the end of the day, there is just one thing that

really motivates the online customer today. And, that is information.

Information can rightfully be called as the driving force of Internet marketing today. It is information

that people are looking for, and it is information that compels them to buy a product.

There are so many examples where people have been looking for information on how to make a

particular task easier and then stumbled on some product that does that for them. They research about

that new product a little, they read reviews, they check out videos and if they like everything, they may

even interact with the sellers of the product. That is it… this may eventually lead to a sale. An entirely

new product that the world doesn’t yet know about fully ends up getting sold just because someone

was looking for information.

That is why you should focus on providing information. That is one of the most profound ways to notch

up sales in the online world right now.

What Kind of Information?

Text-based Information

Previously, it was text-based information that was all that was needed. This information was given out in

the form of basic website content. Marketers would post articles on their websites themselves and if

people liked them, they would get the link to buy the product right away. In present times, you have the

option to put up text-based information on the article directories as well. Here are 10 of the most

popular article directories where you can put up information about your product or service:-

• EzineArticles (http://www.ezinearticles.com/)

• Articles Base (http://www.articlesbase.com/)

• Article City (http://www.articlecity.com/)

• Article Alley (http://www.articlealley.com/)

• Buzzle (http://www.buzzle.com/)

• iSnare (http://www.isnare.com/)

• Go Articles (http://www.goarticles.com/)

• Associated Content (http://www.associatedcontent.com/)

• Amazines (http://www.amazines.com/)

• Article Directory (http://www.articledirectory.com/)

These are article directories that take up general content. However, if you are looking for some specific

type of content to post, then you could consider the following:-

• eHow (http://www.ehow.com/) – This directory specializes in how-to content, DIY

articles, things like that.

• HowStuffWorks (http://www.howstuffworks/) – This is an article directory for content on

scientific reasons for why things work.

If you are looking at a more interactive experience where people can share and distribute your articles

with their friends in a better manner, then you should take a look at these websites:-

• Knol (http://knol.google.com/)

• HubPages (http://www.hubpages.com/)

• Squidoo (http://www.squidoo.com/)

• Helium (http://www.helium.com/)

• Bukisa (http://www.bukisa.com/)

• SearchWarp (http://www.searchwarp.com/)

• Article Dashboard (http://www.articledashboard.com/)

Why are these places so popular? The reason for that lies in the fact that people can get the information

they want here. All these directories have their easy search tabs where you can type whatever you want

and you can find information. As an Internet marketer, you can leverage this to your advantage. You can

put up articles on topics that people want to read about. All these directories have top SEO ranking,

which means they will automatically show up in the search engine results without people needing to

look for them by name. So, if your article has the right keywords, then it is enough to bring your article

to the top of the search engine pages. People will read them and, if they like what you have written,

they will click your business link and visit there.

At the end of the day, remember that it is knowledge and information that attracts the people on the

Internet. You have to ensure that you provide them with these basic necessaries. If you are able to do

that, with high quality, then you can be assured of a continuous flow of traffic to your online business.

Another way in which you can use text-based marketing is through blogs. You could build a blog for

yourself by using the following resource:-

• Blogger.com (http://www.blogger.com/)

However, if you are looking for a more professional blog, through which you could run a business, then

you might want to have a blog through the following resource:-

• Wordpress.com (http://www.wordpress.com/) Both these resources are great to get you started with your blog. There is no learning curve with Blogger

whatsoever; only with Wordpress you might need to go through a little training until you are set up. In

any case, both these blogging platforms can help you become a great blogger quite easily.

Blogs are great for giving out information because you can make posts here. These posts can contain

your opinions about your industry, which help in establishing your credibility in the online world. You tell

people what you know about the product or service that you are dealing with and they, in return, tell

you what they think. Blogs are places where people can place their comments and remarks on what you

write; hence, they are a truly interactive portal which helps you come closer to your clients.

A successful blog is one that is updated constantly. It is a place where you post regular articles, so that

people can read them and give their opinions if necessary. You should note that a regularly updated blog

is also viewed favorably by the search engines. When you make regular posts, it counts for good search

engine optimization as well.

Video-based Information

In recent times, though text-based information is still quite popular, people are relying more on video￾based information for their needs. This kind of information is becoming more popular because it can

show people visually what they are looking for.

For example, if you are selling a water purification machine for the home, you could do very well to

show a demonstration of the product in a short video rather than in an article. The article has its own

advantages, but the video creates a visual appeal for the product. People can see the video and right

away understand what you are trying to tell them. Hence, a video can make a greater impact on the

general public.

The biggest resource for distributing video-based information is YouTube. You can make a free account

for yourself here:-

• http://www.youtube.com/

Once you have your account here, you are ready to upload videos. With YouTube, videos of most

formats are easily accepted. You simply create a video through your digital camera or camcorder and

then directly upload it on the Internet. This video has a limitation of size, which depends on the quality

of the video, but you could easily make a 10-minute video if you want and post it on YouTube. That is

more than enough time to tell what you want to tell. In any case, there are people who make just 1-

minute videos and generate an absolutely strong impact in the market with just those.

YouTube is not the only video marketing website out there right now. There are many others, though

none of them are as popular as YouTube. The following are three others that can be used for your

marketing purposes.

• Metacafe (http://www.metacafe.com/)

• Revver (http://www.revver.com/)• Viddler (http://www.viddler.com/)

With all these video submission websites, you are permitted to post your marketing videos. YouTube is,

of course, more special than the others. It has more features than other websites. One of the most

amazing special features that YouTube has is that it allows you to post your business link in the video

itself and make it clickable. So, anyone who views your video may click at a link within the video itself

and visit your business website, which will be loading in the background.

Another specialty about these video submission websites is that they allow people to post comments

about the videos and to share the videos with their friends. The commenting feature is certainly very

useful. It helps keep your video in the reckoning. It also helps the video link to be regularly clicked upon,

and keeps it updated, due to which the search engines begin viewing your video links more favorably.

With YouTube, you can also make a channel for yourself. On this channel, you can keep submitting

several videos about your business. The more videos you submit, the more popular you can become and

the greater is your chance of exposing your product to the public. There are marketers who make series

of videos. For instance, if they want to explain how to use a software application they have developed,

they do not need to do it all in one video. They can make a series out of it, and they can post them all on

YouTube.

People who like one video are immediately shown the other video in the list by the YouTube internal

software. This is a great way to keep a person riveted to the information you are trying to give them. If

someone is really interested, they will check out all your videos and then become totally impressed with

you, and may visit your business link with the intention of doing business with you.

At the end of the day, it is information that you have to give out if you want to reach the levels of super

popularity on the Internet. The bulk of the people who visit the Internet are doing so because they are

looking for something. They may not be interested in buying something right away, but Internet

marketing is a domain of soft sell. You don’t ask someone to buy a product or service right away,

because that kind of blatant advertising would never do on the Internet. Instead, you work at arousing

the interest in your public in the product or service that you are trying to sell. If you are able to hook

people’s attention to realistic levels, then these people will become your customers sometime in the

future.

Why Video Marketing Works Better than Text Marketing

The human mind has a tendency to visualize things. Whenever someone thinks of something then his or

her mind starts visualizing it. That is why it is a good idea to produce a video for marketing purposes in

order to capture everyone’s mind than using simple text.

Nowadays the world is all about helping people to look at something just by a click of a button. Not

everybody has patience to read text-based advertisements. Videos are not just attractive but also less

time-consuming. For example, it will take much more time in reading a text message, whether it is in the

form of a blog post or an article, than watching a quick video advertisement. Moreover, many people love to look at things before reading about them. As such, marketing by videos

has become very popular these days. Most marketers regard video marketing as a boon to their

business.

Video marketing can create great impact on the minds of people than text-based marketing. Moreover,

it is this reason why most of the conventional and online advertisers are opting for video clips. However,

this video clips about the target product will not cause immediate purchase of the product, but you can

spread your marketing message to your targeted audience.

What is more believable? Of course, the things which can be seen in front of the eyes are more

believable than static texts.

Benefits of Video Marketing

• In case of internet marketing, the video clips can be used to share the consumer’s reviews about the

product and it thereby puts up the brand’s name.

• Would you believe in a static text or a video clip that demonstrates about the working of the product?

The answer is simple; the different queries about the product can be cleared off while watching the

video clip itself.

• The video marketing creates an “on demand” benefit for the viewers as the videos can be watched any

time instead of boring text.

• People will remember and memorize videos and sounds better than static text. This attracts them

more than the text advertisement.

• Online marketers prefer internet marketing videos to attract people to visit their website.

• A recent report shows that in the year 2009, the time spent by Americans in watching the video clips

was up to 34.9%.

• Millions of people go through the video sharing sites like Metacafe, YouTube etc. on a day-to-day

basis. Therefore, a video ad accessed by such people can guarantee business.

For video marketing to hit the market, the first thing you need to have is an excellent video clip that can

hit people’s mind. The video must be precise and highly relevant to your product. Online videos are

becoming more and more popular as they help to attract maximum number of customers around the

world. Online video definitely is the most cost effective way as it is inexpensive and reaches target

customer faster than TV ads.

Why Video Marketers Are Paying Great Attention to YouTube

On the well-known video sharing website YouTube, people can upload and view all categories of videos.

It is the number two search engine on the web and about 10 billion video clips are being watched every month. Each day, hundreds of videos are uploaded as well as viewed by many people around the world.

On the site, those video clips are available on the home page that makes headlines.

Due to this, most of the Internet marketers nowadays are making use of YouTube to upload their ads to

attract viewers to their site. They do this in order to get high Google page ranking for their website. This

clearly shows that the key business strategy of most of the internet marketers is video marketing.

Most of the Internet marketers believe that YouTube is an excellent way to generate free links and

traffic to their website. They also strongly believe that you miss a great step to build your business if you

are not using the YouTube marketing strategy.

It may be a time consuming task to perform internet marketing using YouTube videos. But most of the

people still use YouTube marketing to expand their business.

Many people use videos as a source of entertainment but a lot of videos are being watched by people to

search for help and information. There are more than 30 million ‘how to’ video searches each month.

This means that there are about 30 million opportunities for marketers to reach their target customers.

Most marketers give great attention to YouTube marketing as it is less complicated and famous equally

among old and young. And it definitely promotes your website and business by connecting with people

around the world. Here are the reasons why most internet marketers give great attention to YouTube

marketing.

• The marketing messages are clearer in videos than in text messages.

• The target customers get a chance to view the videos freely than paid media

• The marketers has full control over the marketing message

• The marketers can provide lot of information using the video marketing

• Reports shows that more than 50% of the Americans spent most of their time in watching online

video. Therefore most marketers grab this opportunity to attract many viewers.

• Most of the internet marketers are adding Youtube marketing videos into their webpage to generate

traffic to their websites.

Most of the marketers believe that if the viewers find it interesting and stay longer in your site, then

there are more chances to increase their sales. YouTube marketing is a very common trend that tends to

grow more and more. The idea behind this is to attract your customer into clicking through your

webpage. Nevertheless, the marketers must remember to give relevant, short and useful information on

the video. It is for these reasons that the Internet marketers focus on YouTube marketing videos that in

turn generates or increases traffic and sales to their business.