Beware Of The Online Marketing Minefield

#8217;s gold in them thar hills,” wasmany before you have fallen.
proclaimed around the world in 1849, when gold wasAdWords is a powerful advertising model. It can
discovered in the hills of northern California.make millionaires and it does every year.
More than 100,000 people descended upon CaliforniaBut the thing is that AdWords may not be the right
to find their own wealth in the hills and the streamsadvertising model for you to follow now and it may
of California. Fast-forward 150 years, and people arenot be right for you ever.
saying the same thing about the Internet today.If you understand that, you're less likely to fall into
“Thar is gold in them thar Webthe poor house using any online advertising method.
pages,” for the person who doesn't get theirUnfortunately, too many people have mortgaged
clock cleaned by the snake oil salesmen of thetheir homes and driven themselves into bankruptcy
Internet.using online marketing companies to promote their
By hiring a qualified online marketing consultant oronline businesses.
successfully completing a reputable Internet** Deep Pockets Are Not the Solution, But Wise
marketing training course, you can succeed online.Internet Marketing Choices Are **
** Early Victors in the Online Business Success StoryFirst and foremost, a business must design itself to
**make a profit on its' activities.
In 1994, Stanford students Jerry Yang and David FiloI know people who have developed businesses online
created the Yahoo Web directory. One year later,that did well in the sales column, but the business
they co-founded Yahoo, Inc.owner failed in his quest to turn those sales into a
In 1998, Stanford students Larry Page and Sergeyprofit.
Brin created and launched the Google search engine,Imagine being the website owner who generated his
the largest and most popular search company on thefirst $120,000 year and then nearly went under
Internet today.because his prices were too low for the kind of
In 2005, three former PayPal employees joinedservice being offered.
forces to create YouTube. The three founders ofAfter having been a successful sole proprietor online
YouTube were Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawedfor five years, my friend said that his first six-figure
Karim. Only 21 months after the launch of YouTube,year nearly put him out of business. He is just now
Google purchased the website for $1.65 billion inbeginning to recover financially from his mistakes, 18
Google stock.months later.
** One Does Not Have to be “On Leave** We Can't Know Everything about Running Our
from the Stanford Ph.D. Program” **Online Businesses, Especially in Today's Complicated
It's amazing when you look at the biographies of theWorld **
Who’s Who in Internet business startupWhen starting an online business, there are people
success. Most everyone on the list has as part of hiswho have been down the road you are getting
or her biography, “currently on a leave ofready to travel. They know where the potholes are
absence from Stanford's … Ph.D.in the road and they know where the landmines are
program.”buried.
This reference is actually an inside joke, pointing toTo add an online marketing consulting coach of this
the fact that nearly all of these people dropped outcaliber to your contact list could mean the difference
of college to start their Internet businesses.between success and failure online.
The founders of Yahoo, Google and Apple were allIt's a real added benefit for online business people to
college dropouts. The founders of YouTube werehave someone to turn to for advice, regarding how
simply paid staff of PayPal before striking out onto overcome the hurdles they will face in their
their own with YouTube.Internet business.
The point is that if college dropouts can make itWe might have the basics covered, but there's
online, then we can too, if we choose to learn fromalways going to be times when the experiences of
those who came before us.others can help light the path in front of us.
But even if these people didn't have a college** Online Marketing Consultants Can Help You Avoid
degree, do you believe they created theseThe Landmines **
tremendous accomplishments without education?A qualified online marketing consultant is an invaluable
They became educated and performed marketingasset for many online businesses today.
research to help insure their success. TheyThere are affordable business mentors and Internet
surrounded themselves with people who hadmarketing coaches, specializing in helping small
knowledge in areas where they weren't as strongbusiness start-ups and solo professionals.
needed some help.What if you could benefit from their past
** Creating Online Business Marketing Success Todayexperiences -- both good and bad -- without having
**to waste the money and the time they did?
There are many companies online offeringThink of their services as being like an insurance
business-building services to others. Some are good,policy, helping ensure your success.
some are bad, and others may be good, but theyOver my many years online, I have learned a lot
may not be the right service providers for yourboth from Internet marketing training and from the
company.school of hard knocks.
Take for example the Google AdWords pay-per-clickThe 2 main mistakes I see new online business
advertising system. Millionaires have been madepeople making are:
through the Google AdWords system.1. Not being realistic about the money and time
Just to put this into perspective, through June ofrequired to make an online business succeed, with
2007, eBay had been spending $25 million everythe competition that exists today.
quarter with Google AdWords.2. Not obtaining enough marketing education to
When major businesses spend $100 million per year insucceed online.
advertising with one advertiser, you can believe that** Wrapping It Up **
the company is making that amount back and muchI encourage you to pursue your dreams and your
more from the advertising provider.online business.
** For Every Online Marketing Success, There AreMake sure you have the proper training to help
Dozens of Failures **guarantee your success. Strongly consider Internet
Not all of us will create the next Yahoo, Google,marketing training through a qualified, reputable
eBay or Amazon. But good money can be madesource...either through personal online marketing
online if you don’t fall into the traps whereconsultants or through online training courses.