Get Your Blog On
The first step to your successful online marketing plan is to “Get Your Blog On”. This means, start a blog. I recommend using a WordPress Website as a platform for your blog. Having a blog allows you to express your humanity online. It allows you to create relationships with your clients and potential clients. It also allows you to position yourself as an expert in your field, sharing your expertise freely.
Before you start to really blog like crazy, I recommend figuring out what your blog will be about. Having a focus for your blog will help you reach more people. That may seem backwards but here’s how it works. If you blog about everything under the sun, or a number of really different subjects, then you will reach some people with each of those subjects, maybe. The sad truth is that you have about 3 seconds to grab someone, once they land on your page. If someone lands on your blog and it’s not what they are looking for, they will bounce off of your site and they might not come back. Sometimes you only get one chance to grab someone that lands on your site. If they land on your site and it’s what they were looking for, they will stay longer, read more and even take an action on your site, like sign up for your “free report” or subscribe to your blog.
Build an Email Mailing List
The second step to your successful online marketing plan is to build an email mailing list. This includes a few things. Keep blogging. Keep sharing your blog. And build a list. Build a list with an email capture and list building program like Aweber or Mail Chimp. I have used Aweber for quite some time now. (I am an Aweber affiliate so if you decide to try Aweber and you click on the link I will actually get about .5 cents/month!) I have used I have used Mail Chimp, Aweber and Constant Contact and found Aweber to be the most user friendly and functional for building a list and keeping in touch with my list.
I have found that blogging is a great way to build relationships with the people who don’t know they need you or aren’t ready for you yet. You can continue to educate and inspire them until they are ready by getting them on your list. If you set up an email capture program, you can encourage people to subscribe, build a list and, then you can keep in touch with the people on your list very easily. You can send them your blog posts and other information that you have as it comes up.
Get Your Blog Moving
The third step to your successful online marketing plan is to “Get Your Blog Moving.” In other words, get your blog out to the world via Social Media and other online avenues like guest blogging and affiliate partners. It’s great to have a blog but if you don’t really share it regularly, not that many people will benefit from your wisdom and expertise. You will remain “the best kept secret.”