Millionaire Apprentice System by Michael Cheney

Monthly Archives: February 2014

Why Internet Marketing Training is a Great Investment

It is not surprising to find internet marketing training courses and packages while you look for online business solutions. Going through a training program is also a solution. That is why marketing veterans turned experts are vigorous in their efforts to get you to train under their program.

You can choose to avail of free internet marketing courses if you are fine with learning how to use marketing tools that you have to pay for at the end of the session. For a general training package, expect that your mentors will require payment. Despite numerous training options available, why bother with online business training.

To Learn Basic Marketing Concepts

Sales funnel, affiliate marketing, conversion rates—these are terms that might be new to small and medium sized business owners who want to sell something online for the first time. If you want to be hands on with your business and have the time to personally oversee website management and social media marketing, then internet marketing training can help achieve that. Most programs last for weeks to a month so it does not take up much time to learn the basics that will prepare you for your online marketing campaign.

Helps Level Expectations

Most entrepreneurs approach online marketing with high hopes, especially in seeing whopping results in a short amount of time. What you will learn in an online marketing program would give you a clear idea of what to expect. More than just giving you the straight facts, it will provide you with techniques and strategies on how to work around setbacks so that you get the results you need. Even if you are working with a demanding marketing campaign, you will know what to anticipate so you can effectively manage time and budget.

Target Your Prospects Better

It is great to learn how to run a website, fan page, or blog, but without targeted content, you are wasting your effort and resources. A training program for an online business can help you further segment site visitors. You can determine which of your leads needs further nurturing. You will also learn how to engage the subscribers you already have and find ways on how you can possibly turn them into tangible sales. This is where the importance of designing an online marketing sales funnel comes in. Knowing what a customer’s journey is like can only benefit you, so you know what affects buying behavior.

An Easy Way to Track Your Marketing Progress

By learning how analytics works, you will be able to keep an eye on and even manipulate results with automated tools. You do not even have to be hands on to keep track of how well each marketing campaign is doing daily. Even though analytics seem like something that major companies are likely to use rather than small or medium sized businesses, a valuable tool like it can help you improve your number one strategy, which is content. Even before you complete a training course for internet marketing, you will soon find out about the significance of content.

Know How to Market and Create Content

Most novice online marketers have an idea of what content is. If they are not aware of proven strategies or techniques, they at least know what it means to the business system. You will find that relevant content is more important than anything else you plan to bring to the table. It can be the easiest thing to learn in online business training, but it would be difficult to produce content that will rise above the rest. If it were that easy, there will not be any books or training programs to improve content marketing skills.

Apply Each Concept As A Whole

The challenge at the end of the program would be to put everything you have learned from the internet marketing training and apply it to your business campaigns. Most training courses provide you with support even after you have finished their program as a part of the package deal. Although you will gain a practical understanding of online marketing concepts, progress depends on your learning process. How you apply concepts requires further tuning in to the needs of your audience. You do not even have to invest in online training if you can piece together online information from different sources and work with that.

 

Six Components of a Complete Internet Marketing System

A complete internet marketing system consists of techniques or strategies that can help you improve how you market your brand online. The system should generate and target leads, convert qualified leads into revenues, manage your campaign budget, and give a comprehensive report through analytics. The question you need to ask now is what makes an online business system complete?

Banner Marketing

Banner ads are the most prolific and common type of online marketing. How it works is that when you click on banners, it will take you to the main ad site. Banners are like television commercials only they never go off the air. They are also like billboards only more compact. Banners can also be annoying at times, but they are popular marketing campaigns that make a complete internet marketing system. Banners are flexible ad mediums because one banner can have several elements like imagery, animation, text, and other relevant content.

Email Marketing

This marketing campaign has an underrated appeal among online advertisers at present. However, email marketing can improve and support most online business systems. Although a few people confuse it with spam, it is far from that digital marketing concept.

Unlike spam, the consumers who have provided their email address want to receive updates, product promotions, and newsletters. It is an efficient way to find qualified leads and nurture your business relationship with them. Aside from saving time and money in contrast to direct mail marketing, the results of this online business campaign are easier to track.

Search Marketing

The internet marketing system you plan to employ should include search marketing through search engine optimization or SEO to improve a business website’s ranking naturally. Another option is SEM or Search Engine Marketing where you pay your way through the ranking. Although online marketing experts claim that both concepts are the same, each has distinct differences.

Both terms, however, refer to the concept of promoting a website to search engines so they are easy to find online. It is impractical to exclude search marketing from your marketing campaign mix since most consumers look products up online before making purchases. Even though you have a strong banner and email marketing campaign, without search marketing you will lose plenty of leads.

Social Media Marketing

Even without a website to promote, you can settle for social media marketing to build up brand awareness and increase audience reach. Social networks are efficient marketing platforms, especially if you have a small business. If you can only afford time and budget in running a Facebook or Twitter page, then you need to invest in social media marketing tools so that managing your campaign would garner desired results. This marketing component is not as expensive as banner ads or search engine marketing that is why it is important to have it in your business system.

Blog Marketing

This type of marketing campaign in a business system can be tricky to run, but it is not impossible. Unlike what most beginners would expect, it can take a while to drive considerable blog traffic once you jump in on this trend. A blog is different from a site since it holds more content rather than just providing the potential consumer with the price of a product or service. This strategy works by engaging an audience similar to social media marketing. A blog is not just one of the marketing campaigns that support other campaigns. An equally important component, blogs can convert visitors and contribute to sales.

Affiliate Marketing

This type of marketing is where merchants or business websites hire advertisers and publishers to market for them. Affiliate marketing is using another site or blog to link back to the advertised brand. It is an effective marketing campaign to drive traffic and boost brand awareness. For affiliates, it is an easy way to earn money since they just have to put up banner ads, back links, and buttons.

If you arrived to the conclusion that an online marketing package can benefit your business, you might want to include the marketing systems above in your overall marketing campaign. However, if you already have a marketing system, you can check if it contains the necessary components. Not all businesses are alike in nature and scale, but the different parts of what makes a complete internet marketing system can achieve most business goals.

 

Six Features of the Best Internet Marketing System

The definition of the best internet marketing system depends on what purpose it serves you. Depending on what you are looking for, a marketing system can be a set of strategies, business models, or instructions. Often times the term refers to software that makes each repetitive online marketing task easy to manage and execute. An online business system could also be a combination of both marketing principles and software.

What Would an Internet Marketing System Look Like?

If you do not know what an online business system looks like, it is only because it does not assume a standard form or image just like most available internet solutions. You can secure an idea of what it looks like once you search for marketing content online. You will often find offers to purchase secrets of successful systems in the form of DVDs, books, podcasts, and videos. If the best internet marketing system were to take physical form, those would be it.

Common Internet Marketing System Features

Whether you choose to invest in a marketing package or a team of professionals, you will at least get the following features. Each package deal is different and experts might even throw in extra as the starting price increases. Without these must-have features, however, an online business system cannot truly count as the best.

1.  Specific Targeting

An internet system should provide the means to target and profile your leads further. This means the moment a visitor finds you online, the system should be able to track their activity. Through this, you can single out which content engages your qualified leads and eventually, their needs.

You can also make use of the information provided by online visitors. Data such as email receptivity, frequency of website visits, and filled form submissions should help in further segmenting your leads. By classifying your leads, you can make strategic changes accordingly or plan on how to strengthen certain content.

2.  Lead Conversion Through Management

For leads to convert into revenue, efficient management is the feature that should take over after you successfully classify buyers. The internet system you use should be able to rank qualified leads. The leads that scored higher than the rest for potential conversion, as well as those leads that need more work, should follow a specialized route. Each route should be able to convert leads, even those interested but unqualified prospects.

3.  Build Campaigns

The internet system you use can be the best and most competitive system if it provides you with tools or blueprints on how to create and build campaigns. From email to social media marketing ad campaigns, this feature of a system should be easy to use. Planning events or trial offers should not be a challenging task. The setting up of tasks should require little technical knowledge in running campaigns, designing landing pages, or making online forms.

4.  Analytics Tool

Creating different types of campaigns would be pointless if the system you use does not have a means to track your online marketing progress. However, tracking the results of each campaign is just one of the many metrics you as a marketer should assess. You also have to monitor lead generation, traffic trends, popular search terms, successful banner ads, click through rates, and then consider every aspect to change or further improve your existing campaign. In order to do all that in an organized manner, the analytics tool should be able to present results in formats that are easy to comprehend.

5.  Content Optimization

Content optimization is one of the features you need in an online business system. More than just sharing your expertise about any topic, there should be a solid plan on how to engage your audience. Careful selection of key words, titles, and description to increase visibility is just one area of the whole content planning stage.

You will need to schedule your stored ideas so that it will make the most impact when the time is right. How you will publish and distribute content is also something to consider. Organizing content with other marketing campaigns should be manageable with the help of a marketing system.

6.  Social Media Management

The best internet marketing system should provide a way to integrate social networking campaigns into your different online accounts. Updates should be easy to make. With a competent system, you can save ad campaign budget and time.

How to Build Your Own Internet Business System

An internet business system is a model of how you should go about building a business. Since not one model works the same for each product or service, it is up to you to construct a guideline. Keep in mind that a business system involves strategies and it is quite common for strategies to fail.

Unless you observe the behavior of your audience, you will not be able to apply what you know and appeal to their needs. The scope of this business concept is not limited to online platforms, but also includes the means to promote your brand. The following pointers can guide you into creating your own system for an online business.

Consider The Type of Business You Want

The internet business system you are about to devise depends on the online niche you want. Promoting a brand can be tricky, especially if you do not feel like sticking to a platform. It can take a long time to see the results you need. If you cannot stand by your initial choice of marketing media, you might have to start over again. That is why you have to consider carefully whether you want to join the ranks of affiliates, bloggers, reviewers, designers, developers, and other types of online marketers.

Learn The Ropes

You can opt to pay for educational courses or simply learn everything you can about online business systems through research. If you are still uncertain about which internet business works for you, researching about what best fits your objectives can help you find an answer. Although what you find online is purely opinion, no matter how many years of experience the author spent on the field, you should always take everything with a grain of salt. Nothing teaches better than experience, but research will somehow prepare you for the challenges. Although online business experts can provide you with the right mindset, it is up to you create your own system.

Write It Down

Start making use of the research you gathered by getting started on the business plan. You can begin by defining your online business. What do you want to achieve? Is there a real need for the solution you are about to provide?

Questions like this can help you summarize your goals and the nature of your business. Your business plan is more than just thoughts on paper. It is a reminder of why you chose to start a business in the first place. That way, when you are about to give up you can review what made you want to start a business in the first place.

Create A Sales Funnel

The common sales funnel model houses different aspect of the sales process. Attracting leads by finding ways to expand brand awareness occupies the top part of the funnel. The narrower stem is where the deal closes or a transaction takes place. If you want a reliable guide other than the business plan on how you should go about marketing your online business, then a sales funnel can show you a prospect’s journey. You can then make strategic systems based on consumer behavior.

Come Up with a Budget

Depending on the type of internet business you want, you will most likely spend funds on online tools to promote your product or service further. Everything you invest in order to build online presence needs an assigned financial value so you can determine if you are making more than what you put in. The estimated return on investment should take into account all factors if you want to be thorough in creating or improving a business system.

Web Development

If you can design your own website for an online business, then you save tons. However, not everyone is a programming expert and would have to rely on known online retailers and storefronts or other web designers. You can choose free web hosts and perhaps sacrifice quality or you can take the option of getting expert consultants, but then give up funds. Either way you will risk something, which is why you need to decide on which business risks are worth taking.

Establish Online Presence

Creating your own internet business system is not enough without including content. Content is vital to online presence. Always observe what works for your audience and use that to drive traffic and promote brand awareness.

 

How to Choose an Email Marketing System

An email marketing system can help you pull a potential lead to a corner and talk shop with them while making it worth their while. Instead of a corner in a dark alley, you can address them through their Inbox. Although many professionals do not believe in the capacity and necessity of email marketing, it is still one of the most inexpensive marketing systems.

With equally competitive content, email marketing can give your ROI a reasonable upturn. Depending on the nature of your brand, your email marketing budget, and the size of the business you are running, you would need a reliable email utility service. The following factors are what most people look for in an email service.

1.  Ease of Use

If you were new to the overwhelming world of online marketing, you would prioritize learning the easy parts. You can save time overall and you do not lose sales in the process. An email marketing system should be simple to understand by being user friendly. The utility you choose should be able to provide you with complete details regarding each feature.

Even though you happen upon a free email utility, but then you have to ask about it in the forums every time you experience an issue, it could be counterproductive. If you are already familiar with the basics of campaign reporting or HTML coding, then you could anticipate technical problems. For amateurs that do not know the ins and outs, they will have trouble looking for a solution.

2.  Standard Service Features

If you are looking for professional features, you might have to invest heavily for that. However, there are email utilities that are worth your ad campaign funds. They offer the same features most online businesses need. Among a few of those features is availability of email templates, social media integration, auto responders, customization options, and the ability to create and send customized surveys or email marketing newsletters.

3.  Integration

The Integration features of an email system are the make or break factors of the service you choose. If a prospect clicks to check on your brand online and the system fails, you could lose a sale. Instead of becoming a part of your list, they will count as lost opportunity. If you decide at the onset that your business will not benefit from integration capacities of the system, then you can do away with it. However, most businesses go after integration and this feature is an important add-on.

4.  Price

If your online ad campaign relies heavily on email marketing, then paying a higher price for a marketing system is inevitable. Even though you also employ other areas of online advertising, quality email systems will cost you. However, there are those that charge per email sent or base their rates on the number of subscribers.

You can also choose pay as you go options. If you plan to send out only a few emails, then you can choose from the many services available online. You do not have to commit to top ranking email systems to get the better deal although you might want to invest in quality as your business grows.

5.  Reporting

An email marketing service should be able to track results by providing reports. You can find out how well you are doing and just how many on your list opened the emails you sent. Through graphs, surveys, and statistics, you can determine whether the system you chose has efficient deliverability. The information you acquire from the campaign reporting can help you improve your overall marketing strategy to see which type of emails most people on your list open.

6.  Customer Support

A dependable customer support is one of the features that can provide solutions for an email marketing campaign. In case of technical problems, you should be able to receive assistance. The best email utility systems should have easy to reach support teams. You should not have to run to video tutorials to fix common technical issues.

What Many Businesses Are Using

An email marketing system should be reliable, but most businesses also value deliverability, integration, and user friendly features. Your email marketing standards do not have to fit into those same features nor do you have to use the top 3 brands in email utility services. You should choose a system that best suits your email marketing needs.

Pros and Cons of an Internet Marketing System

An internet marketing system can make your online advertising strategy work for you or against you. Chances are you want to find the best, but a cost-effective online marketing solution available. However, you are also aware that a marketing system alone cannot contribute to your business’ success. That is a realization where strategy is necessary. If you do not have strategy at the start of an online venture to gain brand awareness, there can be no tried and tested system that will do the job.

Even though you have made the crucial decision of investing in a website package or team of consultants, there is still that question nagging at the back of your mind. Will you get the better part of the deal? The only way to find out is to compare the advantages and disadvantages of using an internet system.

Advantages

1.  Saves You Time

This is one of the apparent benefits of putting money on an internet marketing system. Next to generating income from converted leads, saving time on the development of the online business is a clear advantage. Compared to carrying out website tasks alone or by inexperienced staff, a marketing system can free up time for productive planning. Especially if you run a small or medium sized business, time in learning website management can be a hassle. With internet solutions, you do not have to worry about time lost in tasks such as monitoring traffic.

2.  Saves and Earns You Money

Most online marketing systems claim that their solutions are cost-effective. More than just saving you money, they will help you earn it through driving traffic and converting visitors to leads. No matter what type of business you run or which industry you belong to, internet solutions that can help boost sales are available. With the right site builder or expert consultants, you can maximize your ad campaign budget by bringing in the pros.

3.  Attract The Right Leads and Aid Traffic

The internet industry is one lucrative niche, since those who first recognized its profitability are now experts. They have learned the science governing traffic to build solutions for those who are not too internet savvy. Creating content can be easy, provided you know your topic intimately. Without the help of a blogging tool, however, your insight and creativity just might go unnoticed. Qualified prospects are unlikely to find you and people will grow less aware of your brand.

4.  Customizable

Instead of using different tools to track your results, a system can help you manage your leads in one place. A good system should provide you with a management capability for your leads. You should also be able to customize call to action buttons and build landing pages.

Disadvantages

1.  Can Squander Time

For site visitors, intricately designed websites can take a long time to load. Instead of contributing to your conversion rate, people will most likely move on to the competing brand. An online marketing system should stick with simple aesthetics. However, not every package deal or consultant team share the same idea of what your site should look like or how it should run. Choosing quality tools or services is a priority.

2.  Operation Costs

Investing in a website package with a one time payment can be a risky purchase if you are not entirely familiar with its features. You can spend time learning it, but it is time wasted while the competition seizes what could be your leads. On one hand, if you work with consulting teams, you will have to deal with maintenance costs for post installation support.

3.  Security Issues

From competitors to common online users who might hack your system, an online marketing package can only do so much. If you have privacy issues, you have to deal with further risks in launching your business online. Even social media networks and technology firms have been hacked, which shows that anything can happen and anyone can obtain relevant information for economic gain.

4.  Marketing Strategy Can Fail

If you have your own marketing strategy that works efficiently with the use of an internet marketing system, then that strategy has to be reliable. If you rely on the formula or business plan of experts, then you lose the opportunity to observe what works yourself. A system cannot easily track what motivates your audience.

The IM System Bonus

For customers looking to purchase the IM system from Kenster, I wanted to put together an awesome bonus package.  I’ll put out more information in the coming weeks, but in the mean time you can bookmark this page for when details of the IM system bonus are ready and check out our IM system review post too.