Article by Alvin Tan

I’m sure you’ve heard of the adage “failure to plan is planning to fail”. This saying is especially true with Internet Marketers. Picture this – you stumbled on a website that claims to teach you the secrets on making money online. You decide to buy the e-book (before the offer ends at midnight) for $ 49 and eagerly peruse the content. You head is swarming with ideas, jargon and dreams. You hastily get online and start the processes outlined in the e-book and before long you find yourself $ 200 poorer in domains, hosting, subscriptions, more e-books and with $ 20 profits to show!

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve been there and done that. As a matter of fact, I can tell you that most Internet Marketers start that way too! The difference with successful marketers is that they have 2 things in common – Perseverance and Planning.

To succeed in Internet Marketing you first need to outline your goals and schedules and then stick to it no matter what new “secret” is being hawked to you. Find a channel (or “income stream”) that works for you and work it. I’ve seen many people make money from Adsense, Affiliate Marketing, eBay, even recompiling CDs with software and selling them online!

So, in this article, I’d like to share some ideas to get you started with planning for your Internet Business.

It is a business Many people rush in without a plan. Would you do that in a brick and mortar business? Part of the problem is that there’s a common sales pitch that promises you can start earning in 15 minutes! The truth is that without proper research and understanding, you can lose money in that same time too, I know I have! So, firstly recognize that it IS a business and that you should treat it as one. The first thing to do therefore is to create a business plan. List out the types of Internet Marketing you’ll be doing, the products you’ll be promoting and what you’re willing to spend monthly for the business. If you’re savvy with numbers, go ahead and create your cash flow plans too.

Create a working scheduleMost Internet Marketers are drawn to the business because it appeals very strongly to our urge to be financially independent. That’s why when we see those sales copies that tells us we only need to work 1 hour a day to make a living online, we’re instantly drawn in. Yes its true that you can reach a stage where you only need an hour a day to maintain the business, but again, the truth is that you do need to spend many hours (especially in the initial stages) to build your business. I would recommend that you also create a timetable. Think of this as your daily investment and assign a specific task every day. For example, I write 2 articles and submit them every Monday. Then I’ll work on my Adwords account (with research) every Tuesday. Wednesdays are blogging days. Weekends are spent researching and looking for new niches. You get the idea…

Project your income Its very important to set (at least) a monthly income target. It’s very encouraging to chart your progress towards that target. I’ve heard of a tip where you can then aim to turn your monthly income to weekly, then to daily and even to your hourly income! With proper planning and perseverance, you can achieve it.

Educate yourself Finally, I found that even the gurus are always learning and educating themselves. Don’t get waylaid by every new tactic that’s being promoted, but learn why it works and how you can apply it. Don’t be pressured to do it then and there, but file it for the future. Keep your focus on your projects at hand.

If you want your Internet Marketing business to succeed, you must stop what you’re doing and develop a business plan. Stop going round in circles and take some time off to brainstorm and clarify your plans, objectives and business models clearly. Take some time to “sharpen the saw” as Stephen Covey puts it. Make this a regular practice and it’ll help you to be much more effective and productive in your business.

If you’re new to Internet marketing and have a product, a website and are ready to go, then this article can make your business run a lot smoother and more profitably.

Here’s why:

I have interviewed a lot of Internet marketing and sales experts over the past several years. And not long ago I had the pleasure of interviewing a very big name in the marketing industry Jay Conrad Levinson.

And during that interview I did a detailed questions and answers session with him, where people on my list emailed me questions for me to ask Jay.

One of the questions someone asked was how to develop a good, solid marketing plan.

Jay’s answer was so good I think every single person selling anything online should write it down, study it and use it every time they do business.

Here’s what he said:

The thing he always recommends is writing simple seven-sentences he calls “guerrilla marketing plan.”
And the seven sentences go basically like this:

The first sentence tells the purpose of your marketing; what physical thing do you want people to do — visit a website, call an 800 number, look for your product the next time they’re at the store, answer your email, clip a coupon, etc.
In other words, what do you want them to do physically?

The second sentence tells the prime benefit or competitive advantage that you need in order to accomplish your purpose.

You may have 100 benefits. Pick the main one. Specifically, pick your competitive advantage that your competition doesn’t offer.

The third sentence of your marketing plan lists your target audience or target audiences.

The fourth sentence lists the marketing weapons that you’ll use.

For example: article marketing, publicity, pay per click, search engines, referrals, etc.

The fifth sentence tells your niche in the market place. What’s the first word you want to enter people’s minds when they see your product? Your name? Maybe your company’s name?

The sixth sentence tells your identity (not your image) — your distinct personality. You don’t want to be a cold, faceless institution in anyone’s mind. You want to be a flesh and blood person with a real personality.

Finally, the seventh sentence tells your marketing budget, which should be expressed as a percentage of projected gross sales.

And that’s it.

Jay’s simple plan works almost like magic for people.

It keeps you on track, keeps you focused, and keeps your goals in line and easier to achieve.

Next time you have a new product or business to launch, use this simple guide. It can make everything go down a lot easier, faster and more profitably for you.

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