Online Marketing Simplified: 2 Pillars To Your Success
by Jeff Smith

Are you confused by the flood of information on how to improve your internet marketing results?

Mastering the search engines, pay-per-click advertising, affiliate marketing, website design, writing articles, and on it goes.

Doesn't it seem more and more complicated to focus in on what really works and what doesn't?

After working to build many businesses from the ground up over the last 10 years, it's more clear than ever that there are 2 main principles that will largely dictate your success in any business. All of the other techniques build on these first two principles.

Think of these two main principles as the cement pillars that hold up a bridge - without them, no matter how well you construct the bridge, it will still fall down.

Focus your energies, time and resources around meeting these two key principles - you will immediately see a big difference in your results.

PRINCIPLE #1

You must have a well positioned product, fulfilling a hot desire within a clearly identifiable and accessible target market.

Let's break this down.

Making a profit in business is really quite a simple concept, you have to earn more revenue than your cost. Revenue minus cost is your profit.

So where does that cost come from?

The two big sources of costs are: costs associated with creating or finding your product to sell and cost of reaching your market to sell your product

It only makes sense then that identifying a hot desire within a market you know how to reach will mean much lower costs for your business. Ultimately, this means more profit for you.

Have you ever run against the wind? Tried to swim upstream in a river? Walk one way in a crowd when everyone else was walking the other way?

It's a very tough lesson to learn.

I've been brought it to consult with companies that have burned through millions of dollars before learning this lesson.

You cannot FORCE a low-demand product on a market - no matter how much money you spend on marketing.

You cannot hope to reach enough buyers in the entire marketplace even with a very high-demand product in one segment.

In fact, I've seen situations where unknown entrepreneurs enter a market, quickly identify a hot desire, address it with a less than perfect product and in a very short time have created wealth 100X higher than anyone else in that market.

An old mentor of mine used to tell me all the time, "focus on the low lying fruit - there's far more than enough to go around"

PRINCIPLE #2

You must reach your market with a clear, empathetic message that instantly catches your readers attention, interest, desire and moves them to see your product as THE answer to their deepest desires.

If you were reading closely, you'll recognize Principle #2 as the same principles that underlie great copywriting.

How do you become a great copywriter and master Principle #2?

1. Research, research and research. I make sure I have a pulse on my target market's desires, needs, emotional triggers. Focus in on WHY they want a solution to a particular problem. Research takes many forms...

- speak with them - survey them - read what they read - talk to others who do business with your market - test using articles and special reports to gage the response - do what they do

By doing this you should have content for 20-30 (at least) different benefits for your product.

Then....

2. Polish your benefit statements. This is where you can use books of action verbs, swap files (samples of great ads, letters and webpages), the services of a copywriter. This is the technical aspect of copywriting which can be learned by reading other great material.

Far too many people go right to #2, as a result their benefit statements seem bland, miss the mark or seem the same as everyone else.

Next time you get distracted by the latest and greatest tip, technique or strategy - know that focusing on these 2 fundamental principles: In-demand product ideas and effective copywriting, will make the most difference to your pocketbook in both today and in the future.

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