Free Internet Marketing Tips and Resources Blog by Stuart Stirling

Marketing Vs. Advertising: What's The Difference?

Being able to market effectively is everything when it comes to making money online. In fact, even businesses that is online needs to market effectively or else they will fail.

However, many small business owners don't understand the exact meaning of marketing. One of the most common misconceptions is confusing advertising for marketing.

Here is the difference between marketing and advertising:

To begin to explain the difference between marketing and advertising we need to begin with the fact that marketing is much larger and broader than advertising. In fact, advertising is a part of marketing. But there is much, much more to marketing than advertising.

Obviously advertising is paying to get what you're selling in front of other people. There are many different ways to advertise.

Online there are both ways to advertise and ways that cost money to advertise. Some of the free ways to advertise include writing articles, writing blogs, and creating videos on YouTube.

Marketing includes everything you do and everything that's a part of your business.

• Every email you send is part of your marketing campaign.
• Every forum post you make.
• Every Web site you own, all the content you put on the Web,
• And anything else you do that's related to your business is part of your marketing.
• Especiallythe way you treat your customers. Customer service is a huge part of your marketing.
  

Always remember this: Everything you do is marketing your business.

You are either helping your business or hurting your business. So make sure that everything you do is helping you make your business better. Just keeping this in mind will help your business tremendously.

The difference between marketing and advertising should never be forgotten. If you think marketing is only advertising then you're ignoring great chances to effectively market your business. And you're probably hurting your business in ways you don't even realize.

Too often small business people mistakenly think that marketing and advertising is the same thing. This results in a substantial amount of marketing being ignored. Then the business suffers because there are entire segments of marketing that aren't being addressed. So you need to always remember the difference between marketing and advertising.

Always remember that everything you do that's even remotely related to your business is part of the way other people see you and your business. Therefore it's all part of your marketing and should be treated as such!

For more great internet marketing tips and help like this, please visit James Brown's Lazy Cash Method website and don't miss his free newsletter and report.

Best wishes for your marketing success,
Stuart Stirling

Labels: difference-between-advertising-and-marketing, marketing tips, marketing vs. advertising, online-advertising-tips

posted by Stuart S @ 8:51 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

3 Tips For Selling eBooks & "Information" Online

Are you in the "selling ebooks" and "information marketing" business? I am and it is what I teach others to do also. If so, you'll love the following article.

It's been a while since I posted to my blog here, but when I got hold of this info I wanted to share it because it is really good stuff!

If you're interested in selling eBooks or other "Information Products" online, then here are a few tips to make sure you make the most money:

1) Choose a niche where customers have a VERY strong EMOTIONAL NEED.

Why do most eBooks and other Information Products fail - and leave the author with nothing to show for their effort but wasted time?

Because they selected their niche or their topic based on what they themselves were INTERESTED in rather than what people were LOOKING FOR.

If you want to make money with your eBook or other Information Product, then you must choose a niche that is loaded with buyers who are EMOTIONAL about their need.

Not "interested."

EMOTIONAL.

If they're not feeling a strong emotional drive to solve a problem or get their desire, then they won't be motivated to BUY from you.

2) NARROW your niche - don't "widen" your niche.

Another reason why most eBooks and Information Products fail is because the author or creator wasn't thinking like a CUSTOMER.

Customers don't like to buy things that will fix all their problems.

They like to buy things that will fix their ONE BIG problem.

A woman who is 30 pounds overweight - who wants to get in shape for her wedding in three months... doesn't want a book about "general health."

NO WAY!

She wants a book called "The Bride's Guide To Losing Weight: How To Lose 10-30 Pounds In Under 90 Days."

Most of the time in life, it's not wise to be "Narrow Minded." But when you're choosing your niche or creating a product, IT IS.

3) Create a high "Perceived value" report or video - and then GIVE IT AWAY.

As the internet becomes more and more "noisy" - and customers have more and more options... and therefore more and more confusion...

...it's important to CUT THROUGH THAT NOISE.

The best way to do it?

Create something valuable, then GIVE IT AWAY.

Yes, I said give it away.

And don't just give away any old information.

No. You're going to want to create a report, video, tele-class, or other product - and make it about your BEST STUFF.

Don't save your "good stuff" for last. Give it away up front!

When your prospective customer comes to your website and gets something that's very, VERY valuable from you for free - they will then say to themselves...

"If this is the stuff they're giving away for free, then the product they're selling must be FLIPPING AWESOME!"

That's why you give away your BEST stuff for free up front and make sure you ask your prospective customers to opt-in to your email list in order to get your free product! This is what we call list building - and many of use know, there is money in a list :)

-------------------------------

The little message above was part of an email I got today.

I am on about 20 different marketer's email lists. This is the type of email that I actually love to receive and when I find good content like this I want to share it with you.

I am in the "selling information online" business and that's what I teach others to do.

I hope that this article irons out some of the questions or problems you've been having with your online "info-product" business.

To re-cap, the 3 tips for selling ebooks and information online are...

1) Choose a niche that has very strong emotion needs for a certain solution.
2) Be narrow-minded when thinking about your niche.
3) Create a high-value product (ebook, video, audio) and then give it away!

The three part recipe for online info-marketing success!

Best wishes

Labels: how-to-choose-a-niche, how-to-sell-ebooks-online, info-product-business, product-launch-secrets, sell-more-ebooks

posted by Stuart S @ 4:23 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

Are You Busy Selling Or Just Busy?

I have a quick story I wanted to share with you.

A friend of mine found it on page 60 of a new book he's reading by Michael Masterson called, “Ready, Fire, Aim”, and when I read it, I knew I had to share it with you today because I’ll bet there’s a good chance you can relate to it as I did.

Here you go...

"A woman I have known since high school recently called to tell me about a cosmetics business she was starting. She had spent several years developing her own line of natural skin treatments and had shared them with others, who raved about them.

Encouraged by their reactions, she decided to go forward.

She’d spent two or three years and all of her money packaging a dozen products and producing all sorts of ancillary materials. She told me about the new labels she was designing, the contracts she as negotiating, the shopping she was doing for retail space.

“But have you tried to sell anything?” I asked her.

“Everything’s not about selling,” she scolded me. “When the time is right, my products will sell.”

Because she’s a good friend, I kept pestering her, hoping she would do what she had to do to get her business going. But as far as she was concerned, her business was already up and running. She was busy day and night working on it, and she was spending all kinds of money.

Eventually, of course, we stopped talking about it. And I sometimes wonder what she could have done with those products she’d created. They were really very good.”

This is an interesting story isn’t it?

Personally, I wasted my first year pretending to be in business just as the woman in this story had.

I was busy. I was spending money. I was getting organized, reading all the ebooks, attending all of the training calls, and trying to market my websites. Once things were ready, I was going to be rich, but…

The sales never came.

When the majority of entrepreneurs start their businesses, they spend their time, money, and efforts on building an infrastructure designed to support their 100th sale… Nice office equipment, a new headset for their phone, an 800 number, fancy new business cards, and 100’s of brochures and info packets to hand out.

Yet, all that really matters is getting that 1st sale. Until that happens, everything else is just wasted energy.

- People who think business is done in this order, “Get organized, then sell.” Usually fail.

- People who finally realize business is really done in this order, “Sell first, then get organized.” Usually win.

Unfortunately, many people are scared of the idea of selling. It conjures up images of arm-twisting and manipulation, followed by rejection.

This is why it’s always pushed to the last item on the business “to-do” list. But in reality, it doesn’t have to be that way and it shouldn't be.

Selling can be the most rewarding process in the world when both sides feel like they’ve come out winners.

So here's what you should do next.

Start selling like a maniac!

First, you must have confidence in your products or opportunity you want to promote. If you don't have confidence in your product, you are cheating yourself and your customers and you won't make any money...or you'll make a little but find it will dry up very quickly.

In order to be successful, you must be able to present your offer and sell with passion and 100% confidence that it will bring you and your customer complete 100% satisfaction.

Then actively get the word out! Get intense about it. Advertise like mad, get traffic, contact other marketers, create products, create an affiliate program, increase your online presence.

Everything doesn't have to be perfect from the start. Like I mentioned above, you need to focus on getting the sale first, not getting everything perfect. Once you get the ball rolling, you'll spot the weak points that you will need to fix.

You can relate this to the "line in the water" story.

If you're wasting too much time cleaning your rod, sorting your tackle box, trying different bait or fishing line and all this time your line is not in the water, how are you going to catch any fish?

Are you busy selling or just busy?

This is part of one of the lessons I share in my Next Internet Disaster report. Learn more about how to start selling like a maniac and other online business success breeding skills, mindsets and techniques in that report inside that reporthere.

As always, your comments are always appreciated!

Stuart Stirling

Labels: entrepreneur-tips, internet marketing success tips, Michael Masterson, ready-aim-fire

posted by Stuart S @ 9:19 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

4 Reasons To Join LinkedIn And 2 Reason Not To

I recently signed up and created my profile page on LinkedIn after having my interest in it rise from multiple invitations sent to me.

Recently, I've been holding off from the product creation and seeking ways to get get more web presence and LinkedIn was just what I was looking for.

It's dawning on me that in this age of the internet, social interaction on a more personal level is the key to running an online business these days. That's why these social networking sites (Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn) are booming.

Faceless marketers will soon be obsolete and only those who can connect and provide real value to the internet community, and LinkedIn is a perfect platform to cultivate that.

I like LinkedIn for many reasons but the main four reasons I like LinkedIn is one, it's free (but there is a paid upgrade option), two, you get to present your business, services and products, three, you can meet other professionals to form profitable relationships with and four, it's a place to keep up with what's happening.

These are the reasons I wanted to join LinkedIn...

1. It's free to join and create your profile. There are plenty of useful applications and modules that offer tools to help you share your info and see others' info. There is a paid upgrade offer, but I'm yet to check that out in detial.

2. You can build your business. These social networking sites are perfect to build your brand, showcase your expertise and get attention. As you know, a big part of marketing is credibility. There are a few applications that let you share your knowledge, such as the Answers forum.

3. Network with thousands of professionals. LinkedIn is full of business owners. I just signed up to LinkedIn yesterday but I already am linked to 122,300 professionals. It's no secret that a big part of success is "who you know, not what you know".

4. Keep up with the latest movements in your field of expertise. The internet moves at lighning speed so being connected to thousands of marketers will keep you up to date with the latest news in your market. It's hard to keep up with everything but missing everything can be a bigger problem.

As with all things, there are pros and cons. The only problems I can see with LinkedIn is that there are some limitations and there will always be strangers asking to be connected with you.

Some downsides to LinkedIn...

1. Limitations of what you can do. It has a lot of great features but there are some limitations. For example, your connections can only be those who are users of LinkedIn and who have accepted to be your contact, so you can't use it as a traditional contact manager like your email or Web Prosperity. It's not as entertaining as Facebook, it's strictly business.

2. Strangers will want to connect. I know on Facebook I get a lot of strangers asking for friend requests, but I ignore 95 % of them. Facebook is what I use for my private life but LinkedIn is strictly for business. I will be more lenient to accepting strangers but will definitely check them out before approving.



Using LinkedIn effectively will take some extra time out of the day, but I feel it is one that could pay off. If you would like to join my network, please see my personal LinkedIn profile here.

See you there!
Stuart Stirling

:)

Labels: business-networking-tools, business-networking-website, linkedin, pros-and-cons-of-linkedin

posted by Stuart S @ 1:48 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Insight From Rich Dad Poor Dad Author

I get a daily newsletter from Mike Dillard of Magnetic Sponsoring...usually I take a quick glance then I'm finished...but I couldn't take my eyes off today's newsletter.

Mike was relating his experience of visiting Robert Kiyosaki's office - the author of the world best seller Rich Dad, Poor Dad book.

Here is a clip from Mike Dillard's newsletter today...

"What I’d like to share with you now is one of the most valuable insights I’ve gained from my time with Robert.

Please take the time to read this email today, because I can promise that you’ll never look at yourself the same way again once you do.

Have you ever thought about the word “winning”, and what it means to you?

Labels: magnetic-sponsoring, rich-dad-poor-dad, Robert-Kiyosaki

posted by Stuart S @ 1:09 AM 5 Comments Links to this post

Easily Answered Review: Is It Worth It?

Easily Answered is a new service where internet marketers in training can get their most pressing internet marketing and business related questions personally answered by a panel of experts.

Some of the internet marketing experts who answer your questions include:

• Willie Crawford
• Mike Ambrosio
• Alok Jain
• Todd Gross
• Tim Brocklehurst
• Calvin Woon
• Chris Freville
• Glen Hopkins
• Holly Mann
• Odinn Sorensen
• Ray La Foy
• Kevin Riley
  
• James Brown
• Stuart Stirling (yours truly)
• And many more...
  

Experts volunteer for free in this service to answer the questions of the members. We don't get paid for the number of questions we answer. Experts can benefit from the good publicity or "karma" by contributing to the community and helping others.

The main focus of Easily Answered is on helping the members.

- When you're a members of Easily Answered, you have access to dozens of expert internet marketer's brains. Experts on all aspects of internet marketing and business.

- You can literally ask anything...even your most nitty-gritty question and get an answer to it. And not only can you get answers to your questions but you can freely listen to the expert answers on other topics asked by other members as well.

It's like having your own smorgasbord of personal business coaches for about 98% cheaper than the price of typical coaching.

You know how much personal coaching and mentoring can be, don't you? In the thousands per month.....easily.

- That is where paying $19.95 per month for your Easily Answered membership becomes a no-brainer.

Seriously, where else can you find a board of experts lining up to answer your questions personally for less than 20 bucks?

There are some weak points with the Easily Answered system though...

- The navigation on the site is a little confusing.It will take a while to find where everything is and how everything works on the site. I imagine this will improve as time goes on however.

- It's fiddle-some to find answers. The answering system works by experts recording their personal answer on audio which is then added and pasted together with a bunch of other answers to form one long conglomerated audio file which the members have to seek through to find the point at which the answer is.

- The time point for each answer is visible so you know where to find it in the audio but perhaps one single file per question might have been a better option.

- There is a search function to use to find the answer you are looking for but you still need to seek through the audio recording to the correct point to hear it.

Sure it isn't perfect, but a website of this magnitude rarely is at in the very beginning, but at least the content is right on the ball which is most important.

Tahir (the creator of Easily Answered) has major plans to constantly improve and upgrade the system to provide the users with the best personal internet business training on the web.

I'm happy to be a part of Easily Answered and I hope you will choose to too.

By far the best value internet marketing coaching and learning center you will find on the net.

Go visit www.EasilyAnswered.com and watch the video (all the way to the end) to learn more and where to sign up for your membership.

Yours Sincerely,
Stuart Stirling


:)

Labels: easily-answered, easily-answered-review, internet-marketing-coaching, internet-marketing-mentor

posted by Stuart S @ 6:14 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

How To Start A Herbal Products Home Business Online And Make A Healthy Profit

Profit Herbals: How to Sell Herbal Products Online And Make A Very Healthy Profit

Even in this time of a record low economic slump, this business is still prospering because people are still concerned about health and it just so happens that herbal health products are a much cheaper solution than pharmaceutical medicines.

With working at home becoming more and more popular, many are looking to start a herbal product home business. Not only can your own herbal product business be very lucrative, it's not as hard as you may first think.

As a matter of fact, you don't need to be an expert on herbal remedies to be successful in the herbal product home business.

The herbal product business is a great home business to get into because:

• You don't need a huge amount of money to start
• You can operate it from home on your kitchen table
• You can have your own product made cheaply
• You can make a 200 - 300% profit
• Your customers will keep buying for months
• You can leverage the internet to build your business quickly

Herbal products can be anything from pills, to creams to chewing gum. There is huge demand for herbal products now in this world economic recession because they are are cheaper alternative to prescription medicine.

For a beginner wanting to start a herbal product home business, it can be quite a daunting job because there are many elements you have to establish.

Here is a basic list of what is necessary to start a herbal product home business:

Business Base

• A company/product name
• An original herbal product
• A manufacturer to produce your product
• A label printer/manufacturer
• Packaging/boxes

Marketing Plan

• Website - shopping cart
• Affiliate program
• Online advertising
  
• Approach local health food stores/pharmacies
• Offline advertising campaigns

Management

• Bookkeeper
• Accountant
• Packaging/Shipping

Looking at this list, it might seem like a lot. But if you take it one step at a time you can have your own herbal product home business up and running making you money around the clock.

Training Is Available!

Profit Herbals is a new study course that shoes you every step of starting and running your own herbal product business from home.

Inside the Profit Herbals system 12 month membership, you will be able to download and watch videos, read several resource manuals and listen to a collection of audio interviews.

This step-by-step training will provide you with the short cut to running your very own successful herbal product business from home.

Profit Herbals will show you the exact steps to start your own herbal product home business and make $5744 every month.

You will learn how to make this much and more from the beginning, with not only the help of the training materials but with the personal help from James Brown, the creator of Profit Herbals.


To your success,
Stuart Stirling

Labels: herbal-product-affiliate-program, profit-herbals, start-herbal-health-product-home-home-business, start-herbal-product-home-business

posted by Stuart S @ 11:33 PM 1 Comments Links to this post