Develop an Online Marketing Strategy FIRST

Online Marketing is more than Social Media.

There's products, services, websites, blogs, email, opt-ins, copy, autoresponders and so much more to the picture.

Here's one of the recent entries in my 12-Week Challenge Contest:

"My biggest challenge with marketing my business online is......taking all the info that I have learned from various sources and translating it into a workable, realistic plan that I can easily stick to. My weakness is jumping from great idea to excellent implementation" - Anna Marie

(If you haven't entered yet, there's still time to enter here.)

One of the big hurdles to navigating the web is what to do first - and how to make it effective. There are as many opinions as there are experts on the topic about what will work best - for small business or direct sellers. One thing most everyone seems to agree on, however, is the importance of developing a strategy FIRST.

When you approach building your business with a strategic plan - a roadmap if you will - it becomes much easier to determine where to invest your time, energy and monoey for maximum effectiveness.

The same holds true when creating an online presence. Create a roadmap that outlines exactly what your objectives are. Once you've developed that strategy, you can look to which elements of online marketing will best meet those objectives, and make an educated decision about the amount of time, entegy and money you'll invest in each.

At present, I maintain several blogs and websites - in addition to my multiple social media presences, newsletters, and offline media.

I STARTED with one thing.

This is the big "sticky wicket" that online marketing strategiest want to pose - set up multiple things, try to keep all the plates spinning and watch it all come crashing down in a huge time suck.

The reality of all this online marketing hoo-hah is that there's really only one place you need to start when it comes to growing your business online. It's something I call your Perfect Fit Customer.

Once you've identified your Perfect Fit Customer - which is not just a demographic, but a complete profile of the ideal client you want to serve - you can lay out an effective strategy to approach, attract and retain people with whom you enjoy working.

An effective strategy begins with clarity and focus. The first place to focus is on your passion. Assuming your business is a reflection of your passion, the next place to focus is your perfect fit customer. Once you're clear on who you want to serve, the next step is figuring out where to find them - and you may discover that it's NOT an online environment, after all.

*GASP!* Did I just recommend against an online strategy?

Well, if your perfect fit customer doesn't own a computer, online marketing is virtually pointless, isn't it?

Fortunately, that's not the case for the majority of purchasers in the US these days.

The point is that you need to know WHERE to find your perfect fit customer before you go off looking for them - otherwise you're just snipe hunting.

In our 12-Week Challenge, we'll begin with an in-depth look at your Perfect Fit Customer, help you determine your area of expertise, and lay out a customized online marketing strategy built around the way YOU do business. Designed for small business owners of all types - not just direct sellers - the 12-Week challenge is great for anyone looking for hand on help to grow their business using online marketing strategies.

Get the full details at homepartysolution.com/12weeks.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow!