One of the topics I caught on talk radio recently was how the FDA announced that most diet pills are bad for us. The kicker was that even pills marked as all natural are bad for the people taking them. I am thinking to myself, “no crap.” Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it’s good for you.

Internet marketing is a lot like diet pills

Internet marketing is not easy. I won’t claim that it is. It is real work. Sometimes at the end of the day having worked 14+ hours, I question why I even bother. But when you accomplish something cool and profitable, it is completely worth it. Like dieting, there is no shortcut.

Let me repeat myself, there is NO shortcut. You can’t take some magic pill that will make you money overnight online. If that were the case, everyone would do it. It takes long hours, a lack of sleep and eating potatoes for months to save on groceries. The reason so many people out there are “pretending” to give you good advice is because they are selling you diet pills. Then when you realize those pills don’t work, they have another one lined up for you to try that “really works this time.” Quit kidding yourself.

95% of the “A-List” bloggers are selling you crap. I fell for it just like most everyone else I know. I was only smart enough to get out of the Internet marketing rat race when I saw a good thing. People like Vic and Grizz taught me how to think like a real Internet marketer and how to profit from it. They will teach you more about Internet marketing than all of the A-listers combined. They can teach you about SEO and how to make money online. If you want proof, just Google “make money online” 3 of the top 10 spots belong to these two guys.

There is a lot of money to be made online. But the pie is shrinking unless you teach yourself some valuable skills. Skills that are not of value include spending 1,000 hours building a list of subscribers who don’t buy what you are selling. That is why it takes the A-listers tens of thousands of subscribers to make money. Do you ever notice that advertisers on their sites don’t buy repeating ads? The reason is because their subscribers don’t buy anything from those advertisers. It’s a big con game. People think if they can get an ad on those bloggers’ sites, some of their money and luck will rub off on them. Nine times out of 10, the advertisers lose and the blogger wins, and you’re the sucker if you bought anything. Trust me I know.

Quit buying diet pills

It’s time to start exercising. If you want to make money online you need to learn a set of skills that will help you to do that. Pick your poison as far as what you want to do. I chose SEO because there is not a lot of competition here in Fargo and it is a lot of fun ranking websites for new keywords. I hope what you choose is something that you really love because when times get tough and you aren’t making any money, you better love it in order to stick through it. Internet marketing is a race. You don’t win races by taking pills. You have to train, sweat, eat right and have commitment.

The #1 thing any of you can do is stop kidding yourself and decide to start working hard towards your goal. It’s either that or go about doing what you’re doing and continue to watch results slip away. I made a choice to quit my job and make a living online doing something I was passionate about. I am extremely thankful I found people willing to share what they know with me freely allowing me to accomplish my dream. I would like to make the same commitment to you as well. I will gladly and willfully tell you all I know, what I’ve learned and continue to learn. All you have to do is ask.

I have to warn you that I am only a willing vessel. You can take what you want and leave the rest. I just promise not to sell you Internet marketing diet pills. I am sure I will have more to come on this subject. I dare ask if you have any Internet marketing horror stories, but if you do and would like to share them feel free to do so. Just remember, you can lose weight for free just like you can make money online for free, it just takes hard work and time. I am always available for discussion via my contact page.

As I write this blog it has been raining in the state of North Dakota. You wouldn’t know it but old man winter is already beginning to show his face around here. Not to mention that he left about 3 months ago. That got me thinking of a marketing idea that I would try if I owned a more traditional brick and mortar business.

Let’s call it the Rainy Day Discount marketing strategy. Now this particular marketing idea would probably be geographically specific as you might not want to try it in Seattle or Portland. But let’s say for a place like Phoenix or Flagstaff, Arizona, it would definitely be worth a try.

Without telling anyone, I would offer a rainy day discount to all of my customers. “If it rains, you save” could even be the motto. A different mood always takes place when it is raining, like you need to be confined to the office or home in an attempt to not get wet. Sometimes rainy days can even be depressing. But what if you stop in to your local quickie mart and pick up your daily paper, cup of Joe and are greeted with 25% off at the cash register? You might be surprised and ask, why? To which the clerk chines in, “It’s a rainy day sale. When it rains, you save.”

I would be willing to bet that word would get around, especially if it were a business selling some sort of higher priced items. You could even have some fun with it.

Say if you had a newsletter or weekly subscription of some sort and like the local newspaper, you post the possibilities of future sales. “Well it looks like this week we have a 30% chance of a sale on Friday, so stay tuned.” Don’t forget to use your umbrella.

I know that an idea like this wouldn’t work everywhere, but there could be similar ideas to this one that will work with your seasonal changes. For instance, in North Dakota we could run a polar bear sale on the days that are below -20. Coffee extra

I got a comment recently from Jacqueline who mentioned that she had no problem marketing other people’s products and services but lacked in marketing her own. Since I am actually planning on talking about this subject with local business owners, I figured I might as well start practicing here.

Personal or business blog.

Blogs are a huge tool in marketing you or your product. People are waking up to this fact every day. The last I heard, and I am sure it’s higher now, 175,000 new blogs are started every day. That is a huge number, but when compared to the 2-3 billion people using the Internet, it is a drop in the bucket.

A blog is a tool as much as it is a platform for you to share with others. The best part about a blog is the way you can share your thoughts, experiences, business ideas and products. 10 years ago when you had a product idea you would send out questionnaires or fliers to ask what people’s needs were and what they wanted in a product. Now you can pretty much Google whatever you are looking for and find a forum, message board, Yahoo answers or videos talking about your subject. In a matter of a few minutes you can get a good pulse of what people’s needs and wants are. With a blog, you could add a poll or ask for responses to get your answer.

Just like the winner always writes the history books, so does a blogger. You can present yourself however you want, including being completely anonymous. I would highly recommend being a real person that others can relate to as the preferred method of communicating. You can always paint the picture however you want when it comes to you or your business, but down the road someone might call you out on it if you are not truthful.

A place to connect to others.
One of the best ways to market your product is to generate leads and sales without having to pay for advertising. This is done a lot easier online and especially in the blogosphere. Frequently, I offer to give back to my readers because I appreciate when they link to my blog and tell others about me without being asked. This is why I will in return post links, give free things away, subscribe to others RSS, answer question or anything else I can make time for (I wish I could do more).

There is a big sense of reciprocity online and among fellow bloggers that says, “I will scratch your back if you scratch mine.” This is of course equal to the amount of time and effort you put into your online persona. All of this connectivity and networking comes to play when you develop a product or idea you would like to share (sell) with others.

Steve Pavlina’s blog was the first blog I ever read. I learned a lot from his blog on personal development that eventually lead me to quit my job and start my own business. Recently, he wrote a book and it is set to release next month. He offered to give everyone a free copy of his new book a month ahead of time in return for a review. Steve is not asking people to sugar coat the book but to be truthful and honest in their assessments. You can even include your own Amazon affiliate link, possibly profiting from a free book that very few people have read. I signed up and am waiting for my copy to arrive in the mail. I volunteered to review his book because I believe it will have some great content that I can share with others. I will also gladly post the review here, because I have received a lot of value from his posts and feel it is the least I can do. Talk about a great marketing idea. Steve is probably going to spend $0 on marketing simply because he connected with his audience and added value to their lives.

Establish trust.

As you begin and maintain your relationship online and off line, you build a level of trust that is in essence like a line of credit. Your patrons and visitors subconsciously extend you a line of personal credit on the assumption you will continue doing what you have established. Everything we do as a friend, employee, consumer, producer and individual is based on assumptions, (thank you Bill for the explanation).

We all make assumptions that a product will be on time, that we can get gas at the gas station, that when a friend tells us something we can count on it. Assumptions are what lead and build up trust. Sometimes we assume too much and we learn the hard way or visa versa. As you build your trust and network, people will assume that you will do what you say and say what you do (that is if you are doing it right). When I place an ad on my site for a product or share with you a new service I launch, I assume you have enough trust in me to at least check that product out. You on the other hand assume that I won’t screw you by presenting a product as something it is not.

Like jugglers on a tightrope, things can go wrong in a hurry with trust and assumptions. The key is to be open and truthful. In the end, that will carry you through even when you make mistakes. The one think I have learned the most about working online is when a mistake is made it is far, FAR, better to admit fault and make amends than to try and lie or sugar coat something (everyone makes mistakes, we are all human). When it is all said and done, things are quickly forgotten when addressed properly.

Instill confidence.

You are on the mission to instill confidence in yourself and others. When the proper level of confidence is reached, you have opened a door to reap what you sow. It is not to be said that at that point it is ok to take advantage of people, but you can successfully sell services and products under the assumption you are doing it openly. There is no set rule of where that line of confidence is, only that there is a point where enough exchange has gone on to prove yourself to others.

The best comparison I know would be the business of White’s Boots. For years this company has stood behind their product 110%. At anytime you can go in and get your boot resoled for practically no cost and know it will last another 5-10 years. I know some retired people that have had the same boots since they were in their teens. You know what? I can promise you that they have told their friends and family about their love for those boots and the service that stands behind them.

Be their solution.

Because of the nature of a blog, people are able to open the doors of communication like never before. You can Google blogs by CEO’s and see that many of the heads of huge international companies are taking up blogging. If you come across one of those blogs and feel like sharing your thoughts about a product or service, you can. You don’t have to contend with any security guards or annoying secretary (not that all are annoying). You could go to the comment section and leave your thoughts knowing that someone important will probably read it.

If that important person is you, what a great opportunity to allow the rivers of word of mouth marketing to flow. Let’s say my confidence in a product was shaken. If I shared my disappointment with the CEO of that company, and in turn the CEO offered to remedy that experience, I would probably use that product for life knowing that they really did care about me. After all, the end user is the bottom line in business.

I hope that this gave a loose sense of ways to market yourself online. There is no cut and clear path to determine what successful online marketing is, it depends on what you want. All said and done, blogging is a great way to market yourself personally and a great tool to give, share and better those you would like to work for.