12 Laws of Internet Marketing

Often I am asked if there are any hard and fast rules to the game we call Internet Marketing.

I have always hesitated to say “yes” you have to do this or you have to do that.

Why?  Rules that are set in cement are nearly always proven to have exceptions.

Internet business is so unique, so varied, so often unconventional, that the game seems, at least at times, to have no rules.

Successful and profitable businesses can be found everywhere; and yet, we all know that nearly all business startup attempts fail to ever make appreciable profit.  Why is that?

Success just doesn’t seem to always follow a formula that can be captured, implemented, and expected to work every time without fail.

Business owners are unique. Business models have great variation. Niches are often fickle and can change very quickly. Products come and go, it seems, on a whim.

So are there no rules, now laws that can be counted on in all situations – like gravity, or the sun coming up in the morning?

Is there no way to get your arms around what leads to success?

I’ll make an attempt to tell you what my experience leads me to believe.

Your experience will undoubtedly be different.

Here are my . . .

12 Laws of Internet Marketing

1. There are no set rules. You are the business, in most instances, and you set your own rules.

2. If you do not take proper action toward a desired outcome, you will never get the result you desire.  Lots of business owners work hard and stay very busy and believe they must do X, then Y, then Z in order to turn a profit.  The trouble is … if X, Y, Z don’t produce like you think they should, then X, Y, Z are not the proper actions.  You can work very hard doing “things” all day long and into the night.  If what you’re doing, however, doesn’t produce for you … then you should stop doing that and find the proper actions.

3. If you do not promote your business, you will fail.  There are endless ways to promote.  Certainly there are some businesses that get more work than they can handle without doing much promotion, but those businesses are rare and you shouldn’t assume that your business will be the same.

4. If you don’t take full responsibility for your own performance, you should fire yourself.  If you think the world is conspiring against you or that you just don’t have any luck or never get a break … you may not be cut out to be an online business owner.

5. If you don’t set goals and benchmarks, you’ll never arrive at your destination.  I’m not saying that you can’t have some success by flying by the seat of your pants … but that is not a sound business strategy.  Taking one planned and intended step at a time toward both short and long term goals is the more sensible way to progress.

6. If you don’t ask for help, you’ll never get it.  Being a business owner is sometimes like being a mechanic in an auto repair shop.  You have to figure out how to make your business run smoothly and when things break down you need to fix them.  If you have a problem or hit a roadblock that is beyond your ability to solve, don’t be afraid or too proud to ask for help.  Certainly there are others that have been in your shoes and can tell you what they did to move forward.

7. Every obstacle has a work-around.  There are no unsolvable challenges.  At times the solution may be out of your reach but too many business owners early in their new careers give up for good when they could have met a challenge and found a solution if they had been more persistent, more willing to get help, or more flexible in their approach to moving forward.

8. Change is constant – deal with it or be left behind.  Change on the Internet is very swift.  Markets change, consumer sentiment changes, innovation changes systems, your competition changes, and your goals and dreams will change.  It’s a law of the universe that change is constant!

9. You alone care about your business. Everyone else cares about their own interests.  Prospects and customers care about how your product or service can help them.  If you don’t have a customer-centric approach to give value and quality in your business, you won’t last long as an online business owner.  Competition is everywhere in every niche and the power of choice is with the consumer.

10. Originality is rewarded – sameness is a curse.  It should be obvious that folks don’t spend money on “me too” products if there is an option to buy the original product standout.  Another way to brand your business with originality is to have the best benefit in an important business feature.  Be the fastest shipper, the best guarantee, the best bonus provider, or the best customer service in your industry.  Great products with recognizable value should be a given … but at times consumers will buy from those that stand above the competition in some other feature of their business that is important to the buyer.

11. Money is never an “end” … so it shouldn’t be the sole focus or ultimate destination for your business.  If money is all you think about, all you want from your business … I can promise you that you will never be satisfied and never have enough of it!

12. Step up to stand out – if you don’t, others will and leave you behind.  Success doesn’t automatically flow to anyone.  It is there without bias or prejudice but you must claim it – so go out and get it.

I wish the very best for each of you in your business marketing pursuits.

To your online business success!

Steve Browne

www.BusinessEmpires.com

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