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Internet Marketing Made Easy

Hi; in this book, I am going to give you;

24 Key Strategies that will Transform your Web

Marketing Strategies

The internet is the greatest media marketing opportunity in history that will change the fortunes of every business owner on earth positively or

negatively and every business owner must choose their outcome. I have designed this book as a “Road Map” to follow for Business Owners who are struggling to get their head around this whole “Web Marketing Thing” and at a loss where to begin.

The Good News

You don’t need to know all the techie stuff to build a successful Online

Marketing Strategy ─ you can hire people for that (and in the last chapter of this book I will tell you how.) You only need to know the marketing principles that will transform your web marketing regardless of your industry. in this book, Internet Marketing Made Easy, you will get 24 key strategies complete with images, illustrated examples and action steps that will help you unlock the internet to get more leads, sales and higher profits from your web marketing strategies.

You will learn how to:

✓ create a Digital Marketing Strategy with simple, easy to

understand Non Techie, No Geek Speak instructions.

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✓ Inexpensively integrate your online marketing strategy with

your existing sales and marketing strategies.

✓ Talk to your Web Developers and get what you want.

✓ Get your local business on the front page of Google.

✓ Take on the “Big Guys” with a limited budget.

✓ Understand the psychology and buying behaviour of your

online shopper.

✓ Overcome sales resistance.

✓ Turn your buyers into raving fans.

✓ Get online reviews and what to do with a bad review.

✓ Engage your customers by matching your sales message to

their needs.

Internet Marketing Made Easy has been designed to give you an easy step by step process to follow complete with visual images, illustrated examples and links to lots of free stuff.

It will become your “Road Map” to follow as you go on the journey of redefining your web marketing strategies and seamlessly integrate them with your offline sales and marketing campaigns.

A Blueprint for Success

It’s a blueprint for online marketing success, rather than being “disrupted” by the digital world.

You will learn the rules of how to create and pursue a Digital Sales and Marketing Plan that works for you.

As founder of Internet Secrets Made Easy and with over 38 years in business from business start-ups to training, building and managing very successful sales team. (You can check out my Bio at the back of this book.)

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Since 2007 I have been helping business owners transform their online sales and marketing strategies with immediate and spectacular

results.

And I identified the biggest concern for most business owners is their; lack of understanding of the fundamental principles that makes online marketing a success and how to integrate their online and offline marketing strategies. In this book I am passing this wealth of knowledge onto you with a “nothing held back” attitude and in simple, easy to understand No Geek Speak or Techie Talk language.

You can enjoy the same sort of results that my clients have achieved. (check out the testimonials page on my website. http://www.internetsecretsmadeeasy.com/testimonials/ ) Any business owner can achieve great results if they follow the same fundamental principles I am giving you in this book.

Disclaimer, Please Read Copyright 2016 © Carl John Fechner | All Right Reserved.

The people and events described and depicted in this book are educational purposes only. While every attempt has been made to verify information provided in this book, the author assumes no responsibility for any errors, inaccuracies or omissions. If advice concerning legal or related matters is needed, the services of a qualified professional should be sought. This book is not intended for use as a legal or financial advice. You should be aware of any laws which govern any financial and business transactions or other business practises in your state or territory.

The examples in this book are not intended to represent or guarantee that everyone or anyone will achieve their desired results. Each individual’s success will be determined by his or her desire, dedication, effort and motivation. There are no guarantees you will achieve your desired outcome, the tools, stories and information are provided as examples only not as a source of legal or financial advice. You recognise that any business has inherent risk for loss of capital.

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All right reserved. No Part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by an electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording means or otherwise without prior written permission of the publisher Carl John Fechner.

Table of Contents Internet Marketing Made Easy .................................................... 1

24 Key Strategies that will Transform your Web Marketing Strategies 1

Internet Opportunities Are Limitless ............................................. 5

How to Build Your Online Presence .............................................. 9

Seize The Opportunity and Go for It! .......................................... 13

Your Online Marketing Strategy .................................................. 15

The One-Stop Shop for All Your Internet Needs ............................ 18

High Conversion Online Marketing Strategy ................................. 18

Understand Customer Psychology in Online Sales ......................... 20

What exactly is a keyword? ....................................................... 23

The Best of Traditional and Digital Marketing ................................ 27

Changing Trends and Unchanging Principles in Online Marketing ..... 28

What is Search Marketing? ........................................................ 35

Search Marketing Vs Intrusive Marketing ..................................... 37

Keyword Research with Google Keyword Planner .......................... 38

The Basics of a Great Website Design ......................................... 43

Website Layout, the Must-Haves ................................................ 51

How to Choose the Right Domain Name ...................................... 53

Choose the Right Website Platform for Your Business .................... 59

Where to Host Your Website ...................................................... 60

Design Fundamentals for A Great Website ................................... 61

Work Out Your Mantra .............................................................. 63

Increase Sales with Emotional Direct Response Marketing .............. 68

How to Write Great Website Copy ............................................... 72

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How to Build a Fantastic Online Reputation .................................. 75

How to Boost Your Online Credibility ........................................... 81

Front-Page Search Results with Google Local ............................... 86

Video is a Key Online Marketing Tool .......................................... 90

7 Must-Have Social Media Sites to Maximise Your Online Presence .. 96

The Value of Social Media ........................................................ 100

Autoresponders: Automate Your Email Marketing ........................ 101

LiveChat Gives You Real Time Interaction with ........................... 106

Your Website Visitors .............................................................. 106

Online Articles Made Easy with Copywriters................................ 109

QR Codes Reach Your Market On Their Mobiles ........................... 112

Monitor Your Online Presence with Google Analytics .................... 117

Heat Mapping Your Web Site to Monitor Online Behaviour ............ 121

Outsourcing and Hiring Freelancers .......................................... 124

Where to from Here? .............................................................. 129

Your Digital Business Assets .................................................... 130

7 Major Mistakes Business Owners Make ................................... 131

Your Next Step ...................................................................... 133

About Internet Secrets Made Easy ............................................ 134

Internet Opportunities Are Limitless

With the opening of the internet, the business world changed forever.

Nowadays it doesn’t matter whether you’re a business giant or a start-up with a great idea and the work ethic to put it into action. Online business opportunities are available to all.

There is an internet revolution going on right now.

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The habits of the agricultural era became outdated when the

Industrial Revolution came along. Suddenly there were new options. You could operate more efficiently and produce more for less. Well, there’s an internet revolution going on right now. The average business owner has so many opportunities to harness the internet to make money. Because of the internet:

✓ Old-school distinctions no longer exist.

✓ The size of your company doesn’t matter.

✓ Service and product quality is everything.

✓ You don’t need to invest a lot of money to see fantastic results.

In 2003, Skype, Facebook, YouTube, Reddit, Twitter, Tumblr, Dropbox and Instagram didn’t exist.

In 1993 there were only 130 websites in total, Google wasn’t even around. In 1983 there was no internet!

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In 2013, this is what was happening in an Internet Minute! Imagine what it is like now!

The Internet Marketing Revolution

Online advertising can reach more of your potential customers than traditional marketing ever could. Back then your car dealership might spend $17,000 a month on TV ads and you’d never know if you got any customers from it or not.

You Can Target Your Investment for Maximum Results

The internet gives you unrivalled opportunities to reach your target

market. Almost everyone that might buy your product has bought

something online. So ask yourself, “How do I direct that business my

way?”

And that is what this book is about, to help you understand the

principles that will transform your online marketing strategies and get

maximum returns on your investment.

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Guaranteed Returns

When you make an investment you want to know you’ll see the benefit. No one likes throwing money at a problem, hoping that somehow – maybe by chance – they’ll hit on a solution. We know our methods work because we see it every day. That’s why we can confidently say that if you learn our techniques and understand the philosophies behind them your business will be transformed.

A Great Sea-Change

Consumer buying behaviour has changed forever. The buying process is fundamentally different from what it was 20 years ago and the changes will only intensify from here. It’s up to you to make sure that you surf this wave instead of drowning beneath it.

The internet is the greatest wealth creator in the world today. This book will show you how to work with it and make it your partner in growing your business. You can reach more customers in more ways than ever before. Are you ready?

Ask yourself, “How do I direct that online business my

way?”

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How to Build Your Online Presence

When you first start moving your business onto the internet you might think that all you need is a website. And it’s true – you do need a website. BUT that is the basic building block of your online presence. Your website is your internet storefront. It looks good, it showcases your products and services, and your customers always know where

to find you. But your website is just the beginning. There are many ways you can drive traffic to your business. Your web presence should make itself felt in different areas of your customer’s internet experience.

Your website is just the beginning.

You Are an Expert

You must position yourself as an authority in your chosen field. You might not think you have anything to contribute to the general public; but think about it – don’t you spend every working day learning and practicing your trade? Your knowledge and experience is valuable to the average person looking for advice in your area of expertise. You need to keep yourself in a person’s mind and when he or she is

looking to make a purchase, you’ll be their preferred choice. You should be looking to;

✓ Be recognised as an industry authority in your niche.

✓ Communicate your knowledge.

✓ Help people find solutions to their problems.

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The internet is a great place to do this. There a variety of platforms where you can introduce yourself to people and let them see what

you’re about.

YouTube

I love YouTube. With your YouTube channel you can get your message out there; people can hear your voice. You can stand up, be seen and “strut your stuff.” Short of a face-to-face meeting, there’s nothing like video to introduce you to your customer base.

(PS. Go to www.youtube.com and type in “Internet Secrets Made Easy” and you will see what a well set up YouTube Channel looks like.)

Facebook

You can call it your Facebook page or your fan page. It’s a place for people who are interested in your business to congregate.

You can keep them updated on what’s going on and they can ask questions and communicate with you. You can build an online community of people who want to hear your message. PS. if you go to Facebook and type in "Internet Secrets Made Easy" you will see how a well set up Business Facebook page looks.

Google Local Business

If you have an Australian Business Number (ABN), you have a Google

Local Business page. Google has already set it up for you; all you need to do is fill it out. This is great for businesses such as restaurants and cafés because you can target people who live nearby and might become regular customers.

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All you need to do is plug in your information and send Google a

message and they will activate it for you. Then you can edit it to your satisfaction. Google Local Business is one of your most effective online presence tools and it’s free! Even if you don’t think you need internet advertising (you do), this is one tool that will get your name out there with minimal effort and expense.

Later in one of the chapters I will show you how to easily set it up In the meantime, you can check out what it looks like by typing into Google “Bairnsdale Butchers” You should right at the top of the page a Google map and three businesses listed directly under it. One of them should be “Bairnsdale Meat Supply”

If you click on the name “Bairnsdale Meat Supply” you will see what Google Local Business looks like.

Build an online community of people who want to hear

your message.

Google+

This is Google’s equivalent of Facebook. They keep tweaking it and adding new features to compete with Facebook. Facebook’s not the only game out there anymore.

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LinkedIn

Your LinkedIn profile allows you to showcase your qualifications and build your brand. Your profile can enhance your prestige and show people why you are an authority in your business. It’s great for B2B (business-to-business) marketing. PS, if you go LinkedIn and type in “Carl John Fechner” or copy and paste this link you will find what a well set up LinkedIn account looks like https://au.linkedin.com/in/carl-john-fechner-42455345

No, I am not bragging, I just want to show you how we set them up for ourselves and our clients.

Twitter

You can use Twitter to communicate with your customer base. Short and sweet, it’s an easy way to get information out to a lot of people at once.

Local Listing Directories

Many online business directories are free and are an easy way to bring people to your website and your LinkedIn profile.

Blogging

One of the best ways to share your knowledge with the world is through your blog (blogging is the online term for writing articles that go online).

You know the ins and outs of your business; you know the common problems people run into when they’re looking for your product.

You might think that people aren’t interested in what you have to say, but too much modesty is doing you no favours.

Blogging gives you a way to build your brand and your client relationships. You have the answers your customers are looking for.

With your blog you can demonstrate your knowledge and help people with their problems, all the while building your web presence.

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When they are ready to buy, they’ll think of you. “There’s that blog I always read − they sure know what they’re talking about and they’re

always so helpful. Let me buy from them.”

Go to my website http://www.internetsecretsmadeeasy.com/ and click on “Blog” and you will tons of FREE articles that we have either written or sourced for our readers, you can do the same.

Seize The Opportunity and Go for It!

The internet provides many opportunities that might not be visible to the casual observer. I’m reminded of an old story about two entrepreneurial shoe salesmen who travelled to Hawaii on the first ship. They were relaxing on board the ship when they felt it pull into port and heard the anchor drop. The first salesman on deck saw that nobody was wearing shoes. He

grumped to himself, “What! Nobody is wearing shoes – what am I supposed to be doing here? My boss is an idiot.” The second salesman came out and said to himself, “Oh wow! Nobody is wearing shoes – what an opportunity to get in at the beginning!” This is your opportunity to get in at the beginning. We are just now exploring the possibilities of the internet. It is not saturated and new opportunities are opening up every day!

And in general, your competitors are asleep and not aware of the huge opportunity the internet presents for every business owner in the world today. And if you are reading this book it means you have recognised the huge potential of an effective online strategy.

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It is the greatest marketing bonanza the world has ever known. And your best return on investment compared to any other form of

marketing.

The internet is the greatest media marketing opportunity

the world has ever known.

As you can see by this graph, your online marketing campaigns are the cheapest form of marketing. Keep an open mind and a curious attitude and I promise you will find many helpful ideas in this book that you can take and implement

immediately. There are many ways to reach out to your potential customers and show that you are the “go-to” person for your niche.

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Your Online Marketing Strategy

So you’re thinking about your online marketing strategy. What will you do? It might look simple, but let me tell you it’s not. It’s simple but complex at the same time.

The internet is full of traps for the unwary and unprepared and, I have to say, I think I have an intimate knowledge of all of them because I have got caught in them all at one time or another.

If you don’t know what you’re doing you can end up flailing around, trying one thing after another with no real knowledge of what is working for you. This can get expensive and frustrating very quickly. Keep reading and this book will save you a lot of money, time and frustrations.

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Building your online storefront is like building a bricks-

and-mortar store.

First you have to lay the foundation. You can’t just buy an internet ad or series of ads and leave it at that.

You have to build your image and your online reputation and then get the word about your website out on other internet platforms, such as social media and YouTube etc.

Build your image and your online reputation.

You might have a great-looking product, cheap and beautifully designed, but if people are not happy once they buy the reviews will kill you.

You can’t just get a basic website and think that’s the end of it. You want to see a return on your investment

✓ Make sure your site ranks high in search engine results

✓ Track potential buyers as they visit your site

✓ Choose the right partners to help you

Search Engine Optimization

Also known as SEO, this is a complex and ever-changing subject.

You find and target the people who

actually want to buy your product.

You make it easy for them to find you and a lot of things factor into this.

However, there’s a race going on between Google and unscrupulous companies who try to “game the system” and take advantage of loopholes to push their inferior products.

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Google keeps changing its policies, so keeping up with good SEO strategy can be a full-time job.

There are companies that say they can help you, but sometimes they promise you the world and then give you an atlas. This is a very detailed subject that could fill a book and to find out

more I suggest you buy this book

simply copy and paste this link into your browser

http://amzn.to/2djsobB

“SEO 2016 Learn Search Engine Optimization with Smart Internet

Marketing Strategies: Learn SEO with smart internet marketing strategies.” Or go this website, https://moz.com/blog they are probably the most reputable and leading authority blog on all things SEO.

Digital Marketing Seminars — “Sell Fests”

When I first started learning about digital marketing, I would go to seminars that were more like markets with the vendors hawking their wares. “Get your Facebook training here! Only $2,000!” “Best online

marketing courses! Cheap at $6,000!” At one seminar I attended, I saw one guy walk out with $10,000 worth of self-help materials. Who has time for that? Even if you make time for all that studying, the industry is evolving at a frantic pace. How can you keep up with the best way to run a digital marketing campaign and still have time for your business? Not to mention your

family and personal life. To make matters worse, companies tended to specialize. One company could tell you about Facebook marketing, but you needed to go somewhere else for YouTube training. Yet a third company was good at website building, and if you needed SEO, well, that was down the street.

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The One-Stop Shop for All Your Internet Needs

That’s why I created a digital marketing agency and consultancy service that can manage the process for business owners.

You don’t have to use my services, this book has been designed to give you an understanding and a “Road Map” to follow and prevent you from making the common mistakes I see business owners make every day.

And it’s not your fault, most of you have never been taught, but I promise you this book will give you the keys to understand the basics and have the confidence to go out into the marketplace and have the confidence to source the right people to transform your online presence.

However, I strongly recommend you find someone that can manage the process for you.

The industry is constantly changing and you really need a dedicated agency or consultant that can manage the process for you.

We offer a whole range of services, from developing a sales and marketing strategy to a web brief for your web developers or manage the whole process for you and ongoing coaching to transform your online presence.

We are happy to work with you to target your specific problem areas. Just want someone to set up and optimize your Facebook page? Or any of the Social Media No problem!

We won’t recommend something if it doesn’t give you a return on your investment.

You’re in the business to make money and we are in business to help you do that.

High Conversion Online Marketing Strategy

This means your marketing strategy is designed to turn your client’s “just browsing” into “maybe” and their “maybe” into “yes”.

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You want to convert shoppers into buyers. At the same time, you don’t want to come across as pushy and annoying either. The

competition is just a click away, after all.

The little guy can take on the Big Guys!

The internet is uniquely equipped to provide any company with this opportunity. For the first time, there is a level playing field between the “Big Guys and the Little Guys.”

In fact, a small company’s agility and responsiveness can work to its advantage. You don’t need a lot of money to distinguish yourself, just keep the following rules in mind:

✓ Tailor your message to your market.

✓ Understand the psychology of your consumer.

✓ Show that you’re an authority on your products and services.

✓ Build buyer confidence with testimonials and reviews.

✓ Show that you care about fulfilling the client’s wants and

needs.

Above all, keep it simple. We’re a highly distracted society nowadays, especially on the internet. There are so many shiny things to click on and cute cat pictures to look at you want your message to be straightforward and easy to understand. Use clear, simple language. If a 12-year-old can’t understand it, it’s too complicated. That doesn’t mean talk down to your client. Just realize that they’re doing you a favour by giving you their attention and don’t make things difficult with long words and your industries jargon.

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Above all, keep it simple.

I like to say I’m guiding my customer along “the road to a sale.” There are two things that influence the customers’ decision – “hope for gain” and “fear of loss.” I’ll talk more about these two in the next chapter, but for now let me say that you want your customers’ “hope for gain” in buying your

product to outweigh their “fear of loss” they might have in letting go of their hard-earned money. This is what I mean by knowing the psychology of your customer. We’re all benefits-driven. If someone proposes we buy something, our reply is, “What’s in it for me?” We all have our fears, wants, and

needs and we look for someone who understands us. That insight is what makes for an effective marketing strategy, online or offline.

There are two things that influence which way the client

goes – “hope for gain” and “fear of loss.”

Understand Customer Psychology in Online Sales

You need to have the right mindset when you’re dealing with your customers. Try to understand their point of view − their fears, their concerns, their doubts.

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Most people don’t buy things, they buy the dream. The key to your success is to show them the dream and overcome their fears and doubts. As the scales suggest, “Hope for Gain” must outweigh “Fear of Loss”

It’s crucial when you’re building your online presence that you address customer concerns before trying to close the sale. Put yourself in their place and think about what kind of questions they may have. If you run a motel, tell them what you provide. How much does it cost? When is check-out time? What are your unique benefits that your competitors don’t offer? Quiet Location. Great beds. Secure parking. Internet connection. Breakfast included.

Pictures of your product are also important. Going back to the motel example, take some pictures of your rooms and put them up on your website. Make up some video tours. Get lots of customer reviews. Create proof of your outstanding products and services.

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Most people don’t buy things, they buy the dream.

You might have customers checking you out from the other side of the world. Maybe they want to live their dream and come to visit Australia. This is very important to them, so they want to know every little detail. They can’t just visit you and

look things over for themselves, they are relying on your website, your Facebook page, your YouTube channel (and hey − your promotional Tweets, why not?) to give them the information they need to get on with their purchase.

Find Out What Your Customer Really Wants

Understand Your Customer’s Buyer Motivation

What are the needs your customer is satisfying through their purchase? People aren’t buying your product; they’re buying the way your product makes them feel.

The primary drivers of human action are love, greed, guilt, fear, and

pride. A $90,000 Mercedes Benz may not run any better or be any more reliable than a $30,000 car, but it satisfies the customer’s pride. It makes them look and feel good.

Understand where your customer is coming from so you can lead them to where they want to go.

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Understand where your customer is coming from so you

can lead them to where they want to go

You want to focus on the benefits your product will bring to your customers. Your product may have great features, but your customer needs your help to relate those

features to his or her life.

Keywords: What are your customers searching for?

When someone in your target customer base gets online and starts searching for your product, what words do they use? It’s important to find out the keywords they are using.

What exactly is a keyword?

You may be wondering— what is a keyword? A keyword is any phrase you would like your website to rank for in Google's search results. A keyword can be a single word, or a keyword can also be a combination of words.

Keywords are specific search terms that customers use

to find a product.

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Why is keyword research so important?

Keyword research is the first and most important stage of every web

marketing strategy. Keyword research is the most important stage for two reasons:

1. If you rank your site highly for the wrong keywords, you can end up spending lots of time and effort, only to discover the keyword you have targeted doesn't receive any traffic.

2. If you haven't investigated the competitiveness of your

keywords, you can end up investing lots of time and effort into a

particular keyword, only to find it is far too competitive to rank, even on the first page.

Say you have a health food store. When people in your area are looking for a health food store, do they put “health food store” into Google? It seems obvious, but maybe lots of your potential customers

look for an “organic grocery.” And, really, they are probably searching for a “health food store in my area” since hardly anyone wants to drive 100 kms to go grocery shopping. Maybe they’re looking for “anti-aging superfoods” and just want to know the closest place to buy them.

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When we interview a client the first thing we do is find out if there is any search traffic for their business and what are the search terms or

keywords their buyers use when searching for their products or services – maybe there just aren’t many people out there looking for dog-hair sweaters (although you’d be surprised).

The search traffic and keywords determine the marketing strategy we will recommend to ensure they can get maximum returns on their investment.

You are in business to make money we understand that, so ROI is very important to us.

Having the right keywords, also known as search engine optimization

or search engine advertising, is an important part of having an effective internet presence. But it is by no means the only important thing.

Build Customer Trust

The customer is not just buying your product; they’re trusting you to create a good experience for them.

Being on the front page of Google search results doesn’t matter if you’re not engaging with your customers and building relationships with them. Don’t think of yourself as a salesperson, think of yourself as a problem solver. Your customer has a problem and you have the solution. This is where positioning yourself as an authority in your field comes in helpful. You need to show that, not only do you care about helping

your customer, you have the necessary expertise to come up with a good solution.

Don’t think of yourself as a salesperson, think of yourself

as a problem solver.

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Lack of consumer trust is the primary obstacle when it comes to doing business.

Your products and services might be first-rate, but if no one believes in you enough to try them out, your business could still fail.

Customer Testimonials are the Best Way to Build Trust

One of the best ways to help potential buyers trust you is through customer testimonials.

Back in the days before the internet, people could only get buyer information from other people they knew. If no one they knew had ever bought that thing before they were out of luck. Nowadays one of the first things potential buyers look for when they are considering their purchase is your online reputation.

Are your previous customers happy with their purchase? Buyer testimonials are a great way to reassure potential customers. Here are real people who had a great experience with you. And, as ever, multi-media is the way to go. If a particularly happy customer is

willing to let you make a video of them talking about your product, that’s great! Maybe they can post something on your Facebook page, leave a review – there are so many ways they can express their feelings.

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Of course, if they had a bad experience, they can express those feelings as well. There’s nowhere to hide now.

That’s why it’s important to provide the best product and customer service you possibly can.

So to recap, when working with your customers you should understand;

✓ Where your customer is coming from.

✓ What is motivating them to make this purchase.

✓ What keywords your customers are using.

✓ How to build customer trust and a good relationship with your

customer.

Once you understand your customer’s journey – how they got to you and where they want to go – you can help them along the journey. You’re not just in it for the sale, you’re building a mutually beneficial long-term relationship. That relationship benefits your brand so much more than a quick sale

ever could.

The Best of Traditional and Digital Marketing

Many people think that all you need to do to succeed in business is provide a great product or service.

Don’t Get Shingles!

Once upon a time, you put your shingle (sign) out the front and you might have put an ad in the paper, if you go back two generations, you didn’t need to put an ad in the paper, you just put your shingle out the front of your business and people just turned up and you slowly built up your business.

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I hate to give you the hard cold facts, but that doesn’t

happen anymore!

In modern times there’s so much competition from so many different sources that you have to do something to stand out, especially online. Of course, your product is still the cornerstone of your business, but nowadays we say, “Work on your business, not in your business.”

You need to step back sometimes and get some perspective. It’s easy to get so focused on the day-to-day running of your business that you neglect the key money-making aspect of it.

The Money is in the Marketing.

For your business success it helps to think of yourself as a marketing company that also sells your products or services.

Good marketing makes the difference between success and failure. Even if you hire our company or another Digital Marketing Agency to serve your online marketing needs, it’s vital that you understand the fundamentals of digital marketing.

Changing Trends and Unchanging Principles in Online Marketing

Some aspects of marketing are based on human nature and will never change; then there are the latest digital marketing trends that change

from year to year. However, there are certain essential skills that will always serve you well.

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There are seven basic components of online marketing

success.

✓ Have or create a great Product/Service.

✓ Clearly identify your market and your niche.

✓ Create a no-brainer offer and remove the risk.

✓ Add value, don’t discount.

✓ Match your message to the market.

✓ Use the latest marketing tactics.

✓ Measure and fine-tune your marketing campaign.

Have or create a Great Product/Service

Product and Service quality is as important as it ever was. At the end of the day you have to provide a product, service and experience that satisfies your buyer’s needs.

Clearly Identify Your Market and Your Niche

Think about who exactly is purchasing your product.

We recently worked with a motel to refine their online marketing strategies and pick up new customers.

We changed their marketing message to position them as “corporate, budget-priced motel”. Now who does the booking for corporate hotels?

The person who makes the buying decisions is the person you should market to.

In this case it wasn’t the sales rep – they don’t care, it wasn’t their money – they usually stay in motels pre-booked by someone back in their corporate offices. So we told the motel owners to think like that person in corporate who was booking motels for the sales reps. What was this person looking for? What keywords would they use?

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The person who makes the buying decisions is the person

you should market to

It’s easy to think, “Well, the person who uses my product is the person I should market to,” but that’s not necessarily true.

Create a No-Brainer Offer

Remove the risk to your customer by giving them a no-brainer offer. That’s an offer so obviously good it doesn’t need any thought to know they should accept it.

Make it ten times the value of your product. I know that’s scary, but if it isn’t dramatic it won’t work. You need to stand out from the crowd.

There might be hundreds or thousands of other options for your customer, so you need to make an offer so appealing they have to take advantage of it.

A money-back guarantee is good for this. It gives your customer confidence that they won’t lose by going with you.

Remove the risk to your customer by giving them a

no-brainer offer

Another type of no-brainer deal is a customer loyalty giveaway. Maybe if your customer uses your service five times the sixth one is free.

You build customer loyalty and the cost of the freebie is spread out over five services. You might lose a little up front, but if it gains you a long-term customer it’s worth it. A loyal customer who trusts you is more likely to be interested in your other products and services, not just the specific one they came in for. Plus, they most likely will become a raving fan and refers others to you.

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Add Value, Don’t Discount

Adding value means that you enhance your customer’s experience. You make your product more valuable in their eyes.

In the example of the motel chain we worked with, we told them to give away FREE breakfast and FREE Internet connection.

It was valuable to the sales reps who used the rooms (they don’t have to pay for breakfast or Wi Fi) and it was valuable to the corporate personnel who booked them because it eliminated any hidden extra costs.

Adding value is much more effective that giving a discount. A discount comes straight off your bottom line profit.

An attractive discount might be $20, but breakfast didn’t cost nearly that much. Which would you rather have, a $20 discount or free breakfast?

Consumers today have access to the greatest research

tool ever.

Match Your Message to Your Market

All they have to do is get online, input a few search terms, and there is a wealth of information at their fingertips.

When you type a search term into Google a drop-down box appears with a bunch of related keywords.

Google predicts what you type based on what terms other users have searched for.

The most popular terms appear first, giving you a great tool to find out what people are actually looking for.

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Create good, user-relevant content across multiple channels.

You can have articles on your blog discussing all aspects of your product, videos on your YouTube channel showing people using your product, pictures on your Facebook page of cute cats playing with your product (if marketing says your product appeals to dog owners or lizard owners, go with that). Be creative in how you present your product and engage your potential customers.

Create good, user-relevant content across multiple

channels.

To show you are an authority you need to create multiple search results on Google showing a variety of information. You can’t just have one page on your website and leave it at that.

Use the Latest Marketing Tactics

The digital marketplace is ever-changing and evolving. There are so many diverse marketing channels − YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Amazon and iTunes.

Customer expectations keep rising as well.

✓ They want to browse your website on their mobile phone or

tablet.

✓ They want it easy to read and navigate.

✓ A simple website doesn’t cut it anymore.

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Citizens and business owners are increasingly connected and Web

savvy. At home, the average family connects to the Web through multiple devices, often concurrently. chances are your household looks like this too!

They access information when and where they want it, via the device of their choice.

Fail this expectation and you’ve failed the customer.

In the time it took you to read this sentence a few more have probably popped up.

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A great way to keep up with all this is to hire a digital marketing agency. Let them worry about it while you focus on delivering your

product or services.

Measure and Fine-Tune Your Marketing Campaign

This is another area where you could use a digital marketing agency’s expertise.

✓ They can tell you about your buyer’s search behaviour.

✓ They can keep track of people who visit your website.

✓ and how long they were on a certain page.

✓ How long they were on your website.

✓ where they came from,

✓ what page is the most visited

✓ What page did they leave your web site?

✓ what time of the day?

✓ and the list goes on.

The digital marketplace is ever-changing and evolving

Maybe people are visiting your website but making purchases somewhere else. A marketing company can help you find out why that might be.

It’s important to constantly keep track of what is working for you and why. Maybe something used to work but no longer does. Maybe what you have now is OK but there is something out there that could work so much better.

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What is Search Marketing?

Search marketing is the art of placing your business in front of the customers who are searching for your product.

Most people don’t just impulsively go out and buy something; they do a lot of research and comparison shopping first.

In the automotive industry 87% to 97% of

buyers get their information online before they even step into a dealership.

When they’re finally ready to buy they might spend 30 minutes talking to a dealer and filling out paperwork.

But before that they may have spent 4 months online deciding what car they wanted and which dealer would they trust and have the best deal for them.

PS. That’s exactly what my wife and I did! And statistics reveal this is now commonplace for many people.

This is where your web presence is so important. At any one time only 1% to 3% of your potential customers are ready to buy.

The rest are somewhere in the decision-making process. Effective management of your online presence ensures that you are a part of that process.

At any one time only 1% to 3% of your potential

customers are ready to buy.

Another industry which has changed dramatically in the past 20 years is real estate.

Real estate agents used to spend their days in their cars, driving around showing clients potential properties.

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Now the client may be from an entirely different area and has probably already chosen what they want to see or buy from their

online research.

A great example of this was my client in Sydney, a Granny Flat Builder who sold and built a Granny Flat in Sydney for a land owner who lived in Greece, the whole transaction was done entirely via the internet.

Consumers nowadays go looking for what they want online.

Before the internet age there were the Yellow Pages, but they are now obsolete as

the graph clearly indicates. Caution, don’t let the Yellow Pages Sales representative try to convince otherwise. One of our clients Google Analytics, revealed that only .038% of the online search traffic to the web site came from Yellow Pages.

Ever more powerful and flexible search engine algorithms

help consumers pinpoint exactly what they want.

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Search Marketing Vs Intrusive Marketing

With all this information at your customer’s beck and call, taking out an ad in a magazine or TV show just doesn’t give you the return on investment you would like to see.

You pay for an ad, whether it’s on the radio, newspaper, billboard or whatever, and it’s up for a limited amount of time.

Maybe it runs for a month and then it’s gone.

And it’s intrusive. The customer did not ask to see that ad.

It’s broadcast willy-nilly to everyone within eyeshot or earshot. The vast majority of them don’t care and some probably find it annoying or offensive.

Search marketing targets consumers who want to be

engaged.

Search marketing targets consumers who want to be engaged. They go looking for you or your type of product or service. It makes much more sense financially to put up content on the internet where customers can easily find it when they want to know about it. These are the customers who are planning to buy, the customers who are receptive to your

message. Write articles explaining how your product can help your customers solve their problems or live their dreams. Those articles can stay up on the internet forever, and when your customer goes searching − they will be there.

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Keyword Research with Google Keyword Planner

We’ve already covered the importance of using the right keywords to direct the relevant online traffic to your business.

Google has a great free tool that makes it easy to find out what terms people in your area are searching for. It’s called the Google Keyword Planner and all you need to activate it is a

Gmail account.

If you don’t already have a free Gmail account, you need to set one up.

A good username and account address is keyword rich − for instance the format YourTownBusiness@gmail.com is a good one. An example would be Adelaidebakery@gmail.com.

Google has a great free tool that makes it easy to find out

what terms people in your area are searching for.

Once you have your Gmail account, find this keyword tool by entering “keyword planner” into the Google search bar. You’ll see “Google AdWords: Keyword Planner”. Click on it and sign in with your Gmail account. Then

open the “Tools” tab and click on “Find new keywords and get search volume data.”

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Then just follow these simple steps:

✓ Enter your search terms (your product or service).

✓ Choose the location you want to learn about.

✓ Select the timeframe you want to use.

✓ Customize your search.

✓ Choose broadly or closely related keywords.

✓ Narrow it down by including or excluding certain terms.

There are many ways you can tailor the Keyword Planner results so they’re applicable to your situation. For now, we’ll just go over the basics.

Spend some time getting to know the Keyword Planner and figuring out how it works. It’s free, so all it takes is a little time.

Have some fun coming up with unusual search terms just to see how many people in your area search for them.

Enter Your Search Terms

Your search terms would relate to the products or services you offer. When you enter three or more words into the search bar that’s called a long-tail search term, so don’t feel limited to only one or two words.

As mentioned previously, you can also use Google’s predictive search behaviour to find new keywords to try. Just enter the first word or words of your search term into the search bar and see how Google completes them for you.

This is fine to get an idea of the most popular search terms, but doesn’t give you any idea about the number of times it is used.

PS. Go to my web site, or copy and paste this link, http://www.internetsecretsmadeeasy.com/training-resources/set-

google-adwords-account/ and a quick video will show you how to set up a Google Adwords account to access the Keyword Planner Tool. Once you have completed the setup, this next video on my web site will show you how to use the Google Keyword Planner Tool in more detail http://www.internetsecretsmadeeasy.com/use-google-keyword-tool/

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Choose Your Location

You can easily change the location that you’re viewing search term

preferences for. Try entering your specific town or suburb to get a very targeted search and the larger city or area you’re a part of to get more general results. Try entering in the surrounding towns too.

It depends on what type of business you have as to how closely targeted you want your search terms to be. For instance, if you’re a real estate agent, your product is inextricably

tied to your location. If you enter in something like “real estate mytown” you can see how many people are looking for real estate in your town.

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The term “real estate mytown” will give you the number of people who are searching for real estate in your town.

They might live hundreds of miles away. Try looking at who is searching for “real estate mytown” state-wide, or nationally or worldwide. The results may surprise you!

Select the Timeframe You Want to Use. Usually you can just leave this at “Show average monthly searches for the last 12 months”. But say you want to see if there are any seasonal variations in the search terms.

Take a look at this Search term, “irritable bowel syndrome”

How many of you would have guessed just how many Australians type these seemingly unusual search terms each month?

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If you have a health food store, maybe you want to see when people start searching for “healthy holiday recipes” and (eventually) “how to

lose holiday weight gain.” If that is the case, you can easily tell Google just to search from November to January, or whenever would be most pertinent to your question.

Look at your business to determine how to target your

keyword search.

Customize Your Search

When you’ve become more familiar with keyword searches you can get more creative and particular. Maybe you have a certain item you need to move so you need some closely related keywords to distribute through your internet media channels.

When you know exactly what your customers are

searching for it’s much easier to give them the

information they want.

Most customers want to make informed decisions, so, they will take a good look at your products or services and check you out online before they come down to your business to buy. So it becomes vital to give your customer as much relevant information as you can to help them make a decision.

Even if you sell something that can’t be shipped online, such as real estate, the customer will want to see pictures, maybe watch a video tour. The days are over when you could post something like “2 bedrooms, 2 bath, great location, come see” and expect that to bring in customers. Those days are over.

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Now people expect an online experience of your product before they commit to the trip to your business.

Show off your product to its best advantage online – it will really give you a leg up on the competition!

The Basics of a Great Website Design

A great website is the cornerstone of your online presence structure. So what makes a good website? What makes a website that will draw in browsers, turn them into shoppers, then into happy satisfied customers?

Here’s a quick overview of the qualities of a good website.

✓ It has a clear call to action.

✓ Relevant, interactive, authoritative content.

✓ It has a distinctive style that is easy to read and navigate.

✓ Easy to use and supports what you’re doing offline.

Here are some of the characteristics of a bad website.

A “me too” website, looks the same as everyone else in your

industry.

Bland confusing content with no clear message or call to

action.

Generic or cluttered design with bad layout and poor graphics.

Slow-loading and frustrating to use.

a designer might leave you with an edgy design that doesn’t

cover the basics.

A tech person might know how to code but the website looks wonky and the language is confusing.

It can be really helpful to get together with an internet marketing agency to help you design your website. We focus on marketing your product.

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A great website is the cornerstone of your online presence

Good Website Content

I will cover this in more detail in my chapter called “How to Write Great Copy.” But for the moment, here are the basics.

A good website should show that you are an authority in your field. The writing should be knowledgeable but easy to understand. Einstein once said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” It should be written to a grade 7th reader level, this is not being demeaning to your customer or talking down to them, it is a proven fact that this level of conversation will engage the majority of your readers unless it is a business that is of a very technical nature.

Write in first person and imagine you’re talking to your customer and having a conversation explaining the benefits of your product. And the content must answer every possible question the reader may have.

Copy Writer vs. Content Writer

There is a vast difference between a copy writer and content writer. For great web site content that converts shoppers to buyers and understands Emotional Direct Response Marketing, you need a copy writer, not a content writer.

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http://www.copyblogger.com/ is great place to learn how to write great copy. They have lots of free training that will give you the basic

knowledge and some paid training programs if you want to take the time to learn how to do it yourself.

Once you understand the principles you can outsource the content to a professional copy writer and I will cover that later in the “How to Outsource your Project” section.

Content Structure

A good content structure makes it easy for your reader to absorb the information on the page.

The characteristics of good website content are:

✓ Skim-reader friendly.

✓ Benefits-driven keyword-rich headlines.

✓ Short, well-spaced paragraphs.

✓ Break it up with reviews, testimonials, images, and videos.

✓ 500 words per page.

Content on-screen is harder on the eyes than content on a printed page, so you have to work harder to hold your customers’ interest.

Benefits Not Features

When a customer visits your website, they want to know how your product will benefit them. You might be enamoured of all the great features your product has, but all most customers care about is how those features will improve or benefit their lives.

Use The WIIFM Technique

Imagine the customer is asking you, “What’s in it for me?” and

answer that question. It’s all about how it will benefit them.

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Keywords

From your keyword research you now have your keywords and your

content should be keyword rich.

Distinctive and Invites Reader Participation

You only have a few seconds to grab the reader’s attention, so make the most of them.

Your content should be specific and urge the reader to take action. State your no-brainer offer – an offer so good it doesn’t take any thought to say “Yes!”

Create outrageous guarantees. If you remove the prospective risk for your customer, they will buy.

Intuitive Naming

One of our Clients had a Motel in Bairnsdale called “Comfort Inn Mitchell on Main.” For a stranger searching on line it became apparent from our keyword

research that one of the highest search terms was “Bairnsdale Motels,” so we convinced them to register www.motelinbairnsdale.com as part of our marketing strategies. With this and a combination of other marketing strategies, the results speak for themselves.

100% Increase in online bookings from our web site Kathryn Parsons, Manageress – Comfort Inn Mitchell on Mail Motel

We’ve teamed up with Internet Secrets Made Easy ─ and in the last 5

months, we have had 100% increase in booking, retaining 99.9% of our

corporate clients. In addition, our April weekend booking percentage also

peaked much higher, especially during Easter and Anzac holidays.

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Ideally your website name should say what you do.

As in the case of this graphic, it straight away tells you what their business is about. Our website name is www.internetsecretsmadeeasy.com and that’s what we do. The name “Internet Secrets Made Easy” indicates that we make what appears difficult as easy.

If you have a local accounting business, something like “Eager and

Partners,” it doesn’t tell you anything about what they do. But if the same company registered www.BairnsdaleAccountants.com.au customers can easily find it online. Remember, when the average online user is searching to buy, most times they won’t know a company name like Eager and Partners, but they do know

they are searching for an accountancy firm in Bairnsdale. So it is wise to have a domain name that matches to your type of business. If you are a local business that sells a product or service that is not directly related to your name, avoid using your name.

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Website Load Speed

Your website should load in 4 seconds, maximum. That’s the Google guideline. There’s nothing more frustrating for the user than a website that loads slowly and in frustration your prospect has already clicked over to another website.

Uncluttered with Good Graphics

Your website should be easy to read and understand

✓ Make sure your text is easy to read. no large banners that are slow to load. no mish-mash of different fonts and clashing colours. no great chunks of text. white text on a black background is hard on the eyes and that

alone might make your customers go elsewhere. Make sure that the navigation buttons are clearly marked. If the customer wants to know more about a specific product or

service, they shouldn’t have to click all over the website trying to find the link.

Have One Purpose per Page

If you’ve designed your website well, you should have one purpose per page. If your customer wants to know about your widgets, direct them to the widget page, which is confined to a clear, in-depth discussion of your widgets.

If they want to know about widget accessories and widget servicing, provide clear links to those pages. We’ll go over these fundamentals in more detail later on, but keep them in mind as you look over your website.

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What Your Website Should Have

Use this checklist to check out your website. A great website is:

✓ Easy to use,

✓ Legible.

✓ Readable on smartphones and tablets.

✓ Will operate on all types of devices.

✓ Functional and practical.

✓ Easy to maintain and update.

✓ Educational information that’s easy to find and understand.

✓ Builds trust and relationship with your buyer.

✓ Eliminates Fear of Loss and creates Hope for Gain.

✓ Converts a shopper to a buyer within the web site.

✓ Compare.

✓ Browse.

✓ Buy.

✓ Intuitive.

✓ Clean and elegant.

✓ Uncluttered.

✓ Interesting and engaging to the reader.

✓ Reflects your image and branding.

✓ Builds you as the Respected Authority—the Voice—in your

niche market.

✓ Shows a sense of leadership, community, and purpose.

✓ Give an impressive user experience.

✓ Not flippant or fancy.

✓ Accessible and disabled friendly.

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These days it’s easy to get ready-made templates that are almost a copy-and-paste situation.

With a little thought you can find a great template that will suit your industry. This company has a massive range of templates to choose from Theme Forest. For more information, simply copy and paste this link into your web browser http://bit.ly/2dNk7lE

It’s getting easier and easier to build a good website, but sometimes it takes great artistry to appear simple. In the next chapter we’ll lay it all out for you so you can get a better understanding of what your website needs from looking at a good website design.

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Website Layout, the Must-Haves

When building your website, it is important to implement the basics for a good user experience. It must be an adaptive, mobile and responsive WordPress website, designed so that you can easily add to or edit the content. The following two graphics are a good example of the fundamentals of a well-designed website.

This section

is called

“above the

fold.” It's

what the

viewer can

see and is

very

valuable

real estate.

Think

carefully

about what

to insert in

this section.

The site should be clean

and simple like this

Place your “elevator Pitch” here Logo on far left hand

side

Email and phone number top at Right Hand Corner and

social media buttons. IMPORTANT that they are on top in

mobile phone view.

AVOID dark

background

with white

text if

possible

Use slider with a

slide for each

Market sector

with Benefit

Driven Text –

apply WIIFM.

PLEASE NOTE:

Google Robots

cannot pick up

Text in a slider

image. Ask your

web developer

to insert the text

into the image

code.

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The website needs to be fresh, clean, not too cluttered or too wordy on each page – lots of white area and designed to sit well and be user-friendly on a smart phone, as this is a major player in online search. It will look best as a full-screen-width web site. m

A great website is designed to make it easy for your customer to find the information they need. It should be simple, uncluttered and easy to navigate. It’s the face your business turns to the world, so take a little effort and make sure it looks right.

TESTIMONIES

and PROOF must

be visible above

the fold.

The endorsement

of others will be

paramount as

you begin to

stand out from

the crowd.

PLEASE NOTE: The final design layout will be done in

conjunction with the Web developer – but insist on these

basic design concepts.

√ Tabs remain

stationary at the

top of the page

while pages scroll

underneath

them.

√ We recommend

a maximum of 7

tabs all on one

line or drop-down

box.

√ Tab names

must be Keyword

Relevant

√ Keep this band

as thin as

possible to

maximise space.

Deliberately set up

the page so that it

will cut off images,

video, testimonies or

text. This causes the

reader to scroll

down the page.

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How to Choose the Right Domain Name

When you start a business the first thing you should do is pick out your

business name. Then choose a domain name to use with your website.

You need to understand that a domain name is an integral part of website

design because it will be the brand of your business

or website name.

Just like it is with finding a company name, domain

name selection requires careful consideration and

involves a lot of thinking. This is because it becomes

your web identity.

It should be easy to find and promote and also be a good fit for your

business.

A domain name that’s available, valuable and relevant is

important to online success.

Also known as “online real estate,” domain names are very competitive and fast-paced. Some domains are in high demand while others are never even considered. Given their importance, you need to employ a good strategy for selecting and registering your domain.

Let’s take a look at some tips that will make the process of choosing an ideal

domain name for your business simpler.

Stick to the.com unless you’re appealing to

a regional customer base.

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This is an interesting bit when it comes to choosing the right domain name

for your business because, while it could resemble

your business name, you also need to ensure it’s

available, which is not always the case.

The name should sound appealing whether it has a

“dot com” at the end or not. You should make sure it

sounds good, can be easily spelt and remembered.

If you’re appealing to a regional customer base, you’ll need a domain name

that revolves around AU (for Australia) and should therefore have a “dot

com.au” (or the end that identifies with your country).

Points to Note

If you opt for a .net or a.info, chances are the .com isn’t available. Therefore, when you communicate your domain over the radio or personally so that people can easily remember the URL, they might just replace .net

with.com and end up on your competitor’s website. For a web-only business, where people will click through to arrive at your site, a .net may work. However, the .com remains preferable. Don’t forget other domains like .co which are becoming popular. Personally, I am not that keen on any the new ones coming onto the market and am concerned that they are not much than a money making opportunity for the sellers of domain names.

If a .com isn’t available, don’t be quick to go for the.com.au if your business has a global reach. Try and find another domain that has both the .com and .com.au available.

Do you need a long or short URL?

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Shorter domains are ideal because they are easily recalled and, as a result, more visible. However, short domains are scarce, leaving business owners

and brands with no choice but to go for longer ones which are rarely optimal.

Things aren’t really that easy though, because even short URLs can be hard

to remember. A case in point is a name like directtraffic.com where the

double “t” can be confusing.

Longer domain names allow for keyword inclusion, which is good for search

optimization.

It’s however important to choose a domain that is least confusing and not

necessarily the shortest.

A domain that is easy to remember and definitive would be ideal for all cases

but there is nothing wrong with a longer provided it is simple; if a short one

is hard to come by.

Points to Note About Choosing a Domain Name

✓ Restrict your domain to 35 or less characters so that they fit in a search

string. (it is visible in the Google search results and not partially cut off)

✓ Avoid using hyphens in domain names because they make URL names

harder to pronounce, harder to remember and is affected when trying

get first page ranking.

✓ Only use symbols and numbers in your domain if they are integral parts

of brand identity

✓ Don’t to use a domain name that has double meanings, funny or crude.

Choose a name that says what your business does.

You need to seek answers to the question of what your business does. This

will give you a better choice for domain name. Additionally, something

relevant to your town or area can do.

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You must describe your business and its location to a local audience.

Describing what you do, plumber, motel, convention centre and finding out

what people are looking for will help match the domain name to watch users

are typing into Google or any other browser.

For Bairnsdale Accountants www.bairnsdaleaccountants.com.au would be the best description for an accounting firm in Bairnsdale.

Points to Note When Choosing the Right Domain Name

✓ When your target is local, choose and register a domain name that is

location-specific (geographic) and use keywords that describe your

business

✓ By combining a domain name that is definitive of your business location

and a keyword that describe services you bring together Google search

words your customers use.

✓ Keywords that describe your business and available services improve

search engine ranking and this improves web traffic, which is beneficial

to your customers.

✓ Have a domain name that’s easy to type, Slang words, such as “u”

instead of you, and words with double spellings, such as express vs.

xpress, make your site harder to find.

✓ For a local business, domain name should include city or region’s name

so that it is easily searched and remembered by local customers.

✓ Lay a special emphasis on a domain name that is both catchy and

memorable. You can cross check this with a few friends to make sure it

is appealing and sensible.

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Make sure the name you’ve chosen isn’t trademarked or

copyrighted and doesn’t belong to another company.

This could get you into a legal tussle and even worse, cost you lots of money

and your domain. Before you register a domain, run the URL through Google

to ensure it is unique to your business.

This is important because it will cushion you against legal suits and protect

your brand from being impacted negatively.

Protect and build your brand by registering various domain

extensions.

You should buy various domain extensions, including misspelled versions of

it, to protect your brand.

This prevents competitors from registering other versions. This way, even if

mistyped, customers are still directed to your website.

Also known as top-level domain (TLD), a domain extension is that part which

follows the “dot,” with common examples being .net, .com, .info, .biz and

.org. They help in industry or company description and even regional

recognition of your site.

While it’s not a must, purchasing domain extensions alongside your main

domain name is recommended. For instance, if you register a .com only,

competitors may grab the .net or .info versions and give you a run for your

money because the users may redirect to their websites instead of yours.

Think of a .com domain as your physical property and all the other

extensions would act as land surrounding your business it’s a good

investment to buy all the land around you for easy access by visitors and

having your competitors move in beside you.

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There is no need to buy something contentious, especially if you can’t get a .com extension, unless it has a strong bearing on your town or a description

of what you do.

Remember these when choosing an ideal domain name:

For personal branding; just in case you haven’t done so, register your own name. You may not see any value in it now, but long term these will become very powerful for your branding and authority.

If it has been taken, a little creativity will help you come up with something desirable. An example is carlfechner which is already taken so I registered my full name carljohnfechner with the extensions .com and.com.au. I buy all my domain names from Crazy Domains, they are quite competitive

on their prices and easy to use.

Copy and paste this link http://bit.ly/2dNduQm Type in the Domain name you would like to buy, it may be taken, but with a little creativity you will find a name that best describes your business.

Once you have chosen your domain names, simply create an account and buy them

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Choose the Right Website Platform for Your Business

There are plenty of website platforms to choose from. You only need to make sure that what you have chosen is easy to use, affordable and functionally meets your needs. Defining website platforms or themes These are basically a do-it-yourself website

building themes, complete with the use of

functions, features and tools, which enable you to

publish online easily with a “Copy and Paste”

system. This is why sometimes they are called

publishing platforms.

The most popular platform is WordPress.org because about a fifth of

websites which are ranked among top one million are powered by it.

Note that this isn’t the same as WordPress.COM which does not provide the

same freedom, because it’s a hosted service.

Benefits of using a WordPress platform

✓ Very customizable

✓ Simplified content publishing

✓ Popular

✓ Anyone can afford it

✓ Built-in syndication

✓ Friendly to search engines

✓ Powerful Admin panel

✓ A two-way communication

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I buy all my website templates from Theme forest, which is part of Envato Market

And you will find a theme to suit your business, simply copy and paste this link into your web browser http://bit.ly/2dNk7lE

Where to Host Your Website

Web hosting companies exist in their thousands and provide hosting services

on a range of prices, including bells and whistles.

While to someone who is just starting an online business, choosing a good

one can be challenging, the process is usually simple and straightforward.

Key things to look for in hosting companies

✓ Look for a hosting company that provides reliable customer support and

is available 24/7 through live chat and phone service.

✓ Usually hosting companies provide extra storage space, but, depending

on the hosting plan, go for what is ideal for you.

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✓ For a website that generates huge amounts of traffic, you need a

company that provides high bandwidth. For small or medium websites

or blogs, bandwidth shouldn’t bother you much because you can always

upgrade as traffic increases.

✓ Some hosting companies have free domain name

giveaways once you sign up but having an extra

domain should be based on future possibilities of

hosting more than a single website.

✓ Most importantly, choosing a hosting company

should be premised on whether it supports WordPress because it which

is easier to install.

Hostgator meets all of these conditions and is among the most reputable of the hosting companies on the web right now.

This is a lot of information to absorb, but if you take it step by step you’ll reach the top.

Design Fundamentals for A Great Website

It's important to understand the characteristics that can make or break the effectiveness of your online investment. An unattractive or poorly built

website will do more to harm your business than to help it. Your website is your first digital impression and you want to make sure it’s a great one with the right design fundamentals. Often times, people are visiting your website because they are seeking out something. You want to ensure that they are finding what they are looking for quickly and with ease.

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A good design for a website; ✓ grabs the reader’s attention.

✓ wakes up their emotions.

✓ and easily gives the reader what they need.

It should reflect everything you want potential customers to know and remember about your business.

Guides to help you make your website memorable and

engaging

Your website must be visually appealing, polished and professional. Remember, it's represents your business, your products and your services.

And it takes just around 2.6 seconds for the viewer's eyes to concentrate in a way that reinforces that first impression on your website.

For those very important seconds, making a good first impression should be among your first order of business.

An attractive site is far more likely to generate a positive impression and keep visitors on your site once they arrive.

Here are some very important design fundamentals you should consider when building a website for your business:

Responsive design and visually impactful colour scheme

Responsive web design allows a website to be available and easy to use on

both desktop computers and mobile phones as well as tables.

Beautiful & contemporary design makes a site memorable. A good color scheme is built around a theme that matches its market and personality.

Making good use for the right colors. An appropriate color scheme mostly contains 2 or 3 primary colors that blend well and create a proper mood or tone for your business.

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Make It Easy to Navigate and User Friendly

Usability, or User Experience, is the art of making your website simple, user-friendly and easy to use from having an easy to use menu to having relevant links on the bottom of your website. It is usually understanding your customer’s online behaviour that gives you insight into what works and what doesn’t. Successful websites offer simple and user friendly navigation. Visitors must find everything they need quick and easy.

If users have to wander around the site trying to find what they need they will get frustrated and leave.

Work Out Your Mantra

A mantra encapsulates or fully describes a company mission statement in a short and memorable way. It is a one-line phrase that epitomizes your company philosophy and more

importantly it is benefit driven for the reader. Your mantra should be noticeable on your website on which you rely to communicate a strong message to your customers. It should clearly say what your business does for the reader. For example: My Mantra says;

“Learn How to Unlock the Internet to get more leads, More Sales and

Profit with Training and a Digital Marketing Strategy

it's like asking the readers “Is that what you're looking for?” “Do you want it?”. that's the mantra.

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Have A Strong and Clear Message

Your website is your best chance to make a lasting impression to your customers, focus on your audience’s needs, not on what you’re selling. Attention grabbing headlines mixed with good and fresh content builds the visitor’s interest and invites them to get involved, invite their friends and come back for more. In order to have a successful and engaging website, it should have a simple and clear message that all visitors can understand.

The best way to communicate your website’s purpose is through a clear message on your homepage with attention grabbing headlines and contents. This will also help search engines categorize your website for appropriate keywords and phrases.

✓ Think about what your website does.

✓ or what you want it to do.

✓ What products or services do you offer?

Then, on your homepage clearly display that message in your content. Many websites online fail to communicate the essence of their website to customers on their homepage and, thereby, lose valuable leads and sales. Your website is often a potential customer’s first impression of your business. Make it count.

Build Confidence and Trust

Improving the trustworthiness of a website can help improve its conversion rate, whether we’re talking about buying a product, downloading an e-book or subscribing to a newsletter.

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Like it or not, most of us are psychologically hardwired to trust someone

with proof of accomplishments with an actual photo of that person. The same goes for websites. The internet can be a worrisome place. Whether you are just browsing the web, or you go online to make purchases, people are leery about everything they do on the web. From credit card fraud to identity theft, it can be tough to gain people’s trust on your website.

To gain the trust of your website visitors, you can implement a few visual aids that will build trust and increase conversions for your website. It helps take away your customer’s “fear of loss” and improve their “hope for gain.” Some examples are social proof like testimonials and customer reviews. Feedback from genuine users or customers is a

powerful tool to attract new business. What’s even more powerful is an endorsement from a popular person or brand and the list of your company’s accomplishments.

Social Media Distribution

Linking to your social profiles from your website is a simple, yet highly effective piece of your overall digital marketing strategy for having a great business website, and a strong social media presence all

together. Plus, Google now takes social media chat into consideration when giving websites ranking preference.

Follow these three key guidelines when adding links to social icons:

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The social links/buttons should be at the top, bottom or side of your home page.

Links or buttons that stay with the user as they navigate through the site or from page to page.

To make sure users don’t leave your website completely, make sure the links open the social media channels in a new tab or window.

A great website with no visitors is an invisible website

Search Engine Optimization

SEO or search engine optimization will help bring an audience to the site. It is also important to consider that bringing relevant visitors plays a key role in the growth of a website.

It is not just about establishing a generic audience, it is about bringing potential customers that will appreciate and pay for your services.

Basic search engine optimization (SEO) is fundamental and essential. SEO will help you position your website properly to be found at the most critical points in the buying process or when people need your site.

Here’s a simple list of important search engine optimization factors

you need on your website

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Keywords—You should be conscious of placing appropriate keywords throughout every aspect of your site: in your titles, contents, in the web

address and in the image names. Think about your keywords as search terms -- how would someone looking for information on this topic search for it? Title tags and meta descriptions—This helps Search Engines understand what the page is about and index (collects the data) your web pages accordingly for relevant keywords or keyword phrases. Title tags and meta descriptions—are also the ones that will shows up on

google when your website is searched, so you want to make sure it has all the relevant keywords. Site Maps - Search engines love websites that allow them to easily identify content and one of the best ways to organize a website is by having a Site Map. The term originated as a way to identify the concept of grouping related information into distinct sections within a website.

In most cases you can see the site maps on the bottom part of the website, it helps both search engines and users to access other pages in a categorized arrangement. Successful businesses are always trying to improve the quality of their websites to meet the needs of their users. You may have the most amazing business model and offer extraordinary customer service, but with a poorly functioning website without the design fundamentals, you could miss out on a significant amount of business and ultimately make a bad impression.

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Increase Sales with Emotional Direct Response Marketing

When you spend time and money on a marketing campaign, you want to be sure that it works – that it will increase sales, or at least move your customers farther down the road to a sale. That’s what it’s for, right? Emotional Direct Response Marketing (EDRM) aims to do precisely that. It encourages your customer to take action (buy your product, sign up for mail, call you on the phone) by appealing to basic human nature.

If you want to convince someone of something, the first thing you need to do is get their attention. We live in a world saturated with ads, all clamouring for our attention. People have gotten very good at tuning them out. We’ve had a lot of practise. From the cereal box at breakfast to the toothpaste tube as they brush their teeth before bed, your customer is hit with marketing messages.

If you want to convince someone of something, the first thing

you need to do is get their attention.

How do you stand out from the crowd? How do you persuade that jaded consumer to choose you from among all your competitors?

Old-Fashioned Institutional Marketing Doesn’t Work

At its best, institutional marketing is designed to build your brand and raise awareness of your business as an institution. There’s no call to action. With some TV ads, you’re even left confused about what, exactly, is being advertised.

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Maybe the ad was clever, funny, entertaining, but after it’s over you’re lucky if people remember your name. It certainly doesn’t encourage them to buy

your product.

EDRM Leads People to Buy Your Product

Direct response marketing mobilizes your customer to action. You’re structuring your message so that it’s a signal amidst all the noise of modern life. EDRM follows a basic format that appeals to almost everyone.

✓ Identify your customer’s problem.

✓ Empathize with them, talk about how bad the problem is.

✓ Tell them you can provide the solution.

✓ Provide a clear call to action.

✓ Prove the solution works through testimonials and good reviews.

This is where your understanding of customer psychology and marketing research come in handy.

✓ What does your customer care about?

✓ What is their resistance to your product?

✓ How will your product add value to their life?

My Advertising Story

When I opened my first used car dealership in 1986 we started out with 8 cars worth 15 grand. By December of 1989 we had 95 cars worth a million bucks and 33 people working for us. I knew we were doing something right. Our service was top-notch and we got a lot of referrals. I wanted to build the business using advertising so I took out a TV ad – a grand a month to air my 30-second ad between the national news and the local news. It sounded like a great deal so I took it in a flash. Our first ad was really funny.

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It opens with farmer Joe sitting under a tree. He gets a letter from his girlfriend accepting his invitation to the dance. “What do I do? My old

junker’s not going to make it.” He pulls a phone out of the tree, “I know! I'll ring Carl at Matilda!” (We were called Matilda Motor Company.)

His dog pushes the car into our yard. We sell him a great car. Then we see his beautiful girlfriend sitting beside him and he says, “Thanks Matilda!”

You know how many cars that ad sold? None!!

By then I was feeling really frustrated. We were a great company with great service, and I knew that if we could get the word out people would love us. So I designed a new ad.

In this one I stood in front of the camera at the dealership with the staff and everyone else behind me. I just looked at the camera and said,

“Hi, I'm Carl from Matilda Motor Company. I was going to tell you about my cars and my staff and my after-sales service, but Let my customers tell you.” Let’s face it, I was a car salesman and who was going to believe me?

Then we walked around the dealership interviewing real customers. We talked to someone standing beside their new car. We talked to someone sitting at a sales desk. We talked to someone who had a bona fide warranty issue.

At the end of the ad I challenged the viewer, “So next time you buy a car, where are you going to buy from?”

The Result?

We carried 95 cars in stock and we sold 85 cars in the same month as that ad! The industry benchmark was to sell 65% of your stock per month and we

had exceeded that by 25%

I had identified one of our customers’ major areas of resistance– “nobody believes a car salesman” – and provided a solution.

I let our customers speak about how genuinely happy they were with our service. Then I provided a clear call to action.

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This resulted in wildly positive responses from consumers – we had people coming in from hundreds of kilometres away just to do business with us.

Let Your Customers Select Themselves

With EDRM your message draws your market.

You identify a problem your target customers have and acknowledge it, “Gosh, I know about that problem. Isn’t it terrible? And don’t you hate it when it flares up? It’s such a pain!”

Really bring that problem to your customers’ minds front and centre. No one

likes to change, but no one likes to feel uncomfortable, either. So dramatize the discomfort that problem creates and then provide a solution.

Infomercials are a form of EDRM, and a highly effective one. They really turn the screw with their calls to action. “Quantities are limited so order now! Buy now and get the widgetronic accessory system to go with your new widget! Only 30 more minutes’ left!”

Social Proof is Persuasive Proof

Humans are social animals. The best way to alleviate your customer’s fears and worries about your product is to show that other people have tried it and

it worked great for them.

I cannot overstate the importance of testimonials and positive reviews in moving your customer down the road to a sale. This is an example from one of my satisfied clients.

We don't need a sales

team on the road anymore

Anthony Failla – Mountain

Harvest Foods

“We’re not only number 1 but have

multiple listings on the front page of

Google. That gives us a lot of credibility

in the marketplace and emails are

flowing through asking “where can we

buy your product from?”— Forget about

the sales team on the road — we don’t

need them anymore — it just happens

now — it’s quite amazing that it can

actually happen! — we are seeing

consistent growth year on year”

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If you implement EDRM correctly, you will bring a hungry crowd of pre-qualified prospects right to your door.

Identify a problem your customers have and dramatize it. Then

give them a solution.

How to Write Great Website Copy

Great copy forges a connection with your reader. You show that you understand your customer’s problems. You’ve “been there, done that: and you want to share

your insights.

It’s vital to know your customer base so that you get an accurate read on them. If you judge it wrong you risk coming across as clueless −worse, condescending or critical.

Make Your Copy Skim-Reading Friendly

We are all time starved and your reader might not have the time, or the desire, to read your whole post. Make it easy for them to get the gist with a glance.

✓ A headline boils down the main idea

✓ Sub-headings outline your article

✓ Bullets list your points

✓ Captions explain images and videos

Use an Informal, Conversational Tone

Write like you’re having a great chat with a friend. Use clear, simple, informal language. Relate to them on a one-on-one level. “I know how you

feel. I hate that too!” Write like you’re having a great chat with a friend. Use clear, simple, informal language. Show your enthusiasm for your product, but don’t hype it up. You probably got into the business because you have a passion for it, right? Just let that passion naturally show through in your copywriting.

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Once You’ve Identified the Problem, Emphasise It

Point out all the ways this problem makes your customer’s life difficult (maybe some they’ve never even thought about before). You want to motivate your customer to take action to fix that pesky problem – right now! It’s easy for all of us to get stuck in a rut and convince ourselves, “It’s not that bad, I can work around it.”

Sometimes it needs an outsider’s nudge to show that, “Yes, it is that bad! And maybe you could work around it, but why should you have to?”

Show That You’re an Authority in the Field

So by now you’ve built up your brand by designing a great web presence with lots of good-quality content that shows your in-depth knowledge of your niche.

David Jeffrey’s

Certified High

Performance Coach at

One Life Live it Love it

Carl has extensive general business

experience across many different business

sectors. He uses his skill and experience as a

digital consultant to set businesses on a path to

understanding what their digital presence needs

to be.

He has a long history of sales experience that

he uses to take website users from being

interested to making decisions to purchase or

commit. I would not hesitate to recommend

Carl to anyone who is committed to taking their

web presence and digital marketing to another

level.

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For instance, imagine you have a business selling car batteries. It would be

great to have a series of video tutorials on YouTube explaining the ins-and-outs of the subject.

✓ How to find the battery under the hood and identify its

parts.

✓ What are the signs your battery might be about to

die?

✓ What your car sounds like when the battery is low.

✓ What to do if your battery does give out on you.

You’ve shown that you care about your customer. You were there to help them when the worst happened. Maybe to you, “If your battery dies check the terminals. If they’re dirty, pour a cup of boiling water on them to clean them off. In a pinch, a soft drink will also work,” is just common sense, but to someone without your knowledge, it could be a life-saver.

Don’t use industry jargon, just clear simple language anyone can

understand.

Use that knowledge to address your customer’s fears and concerns. Back it up with testimonials and good, logical evidence. Don’t use industry jargon, though. Your customer might not know much about your industry and care even less. They just want their car to work and it’s your job to make that happen.

Give Them a Call to Action

So you’ve stimulated your customer to take action and proven why they should listen to you. Now show them the action to take. Your call to action should be clearly visible.

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It’s great if your website design displays it no matter where on the page

your customer might be. If they’ve scrolled down to the bottom reading your fantastic copy, they don’t want to have to scroll back up and hunt around to be able to do something about it.

Be Clear About What Action You Want Them to Take

“OK, you’ve convinced me! What do you want me to do now?” Make it easy for your customer to take the next step. Spend a few minutes thinking about exactly what that next step should be. This will vary depending on your industry.

✓ Come visit our storefront – here’s a map

✓ Call us for a consultation – here’s our phone number

✓ Sign up for your free no-brainer offer

✓ Click here for live help

✓ Click here to load your shopping cart

✓ Click here to check out

Remember these guidelines and you can lead your customer gently by the

hand down the road to the sale.

How to Build a Fantastic Online Reputation

Nowadays almost the first action you take before deciding to do business with someone is looking them up online. It’s really easy to see what other people are saying about you and your service.

Before the internet came around people would ask their friends and family who had a good company or a good product.

Consumers will take the advice of previous customers before

they trust the company itself.

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Surveys show that’s still true – according to Nielsen Global, 92% of consumers completely trust recommendations from people they know.

But 72% of people surveyed also said that they trust the recommendations of other people online. Consumers will certainly take the advice of previous customers before they trust the company itself. People will believe the word of a random internet stranger over all the paid advertising

in the world. If that person is not an internet stranger, but a celebrity or well-known public figure, they have even more credibility.

The Importance of Online Reviews

It’s so easy to check out online reviews – all you have to do is Google the name of the company and add “review”. Most of the time you don’t even need to do that; it comes up automatically

once you enter the location and the product or service you’re looking for. You can do it from your mobile phone, you don’t even need to be at a computer. For instance, if I Google “accommodation Adelaide.” A map will come up showing hotels and motels, with brief descriptions and their ratings: “Upmarket hotel with dining and a pool, free Wi-Fi, 4.1 out of 5 stars.”

Next there’s a TripAdvisor.com article on “The 10 Best Hotels in Adelaide (with Pictures)”. It took about 5 seconds and now there’s all this information to help me find a place to stay in Adelaide.

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Google Reviews

If you’ve verified your business on Google My Business it will come up in location searches, along with your contact information and customer reviews. This is one of the great free services that Google offers.

If you fill in your business hours, it will even show if you are open or closed. You can also add pictures to make your listing look more enticing (or easier to find, if you show your storefront).

TripAdvisor.com

If you’re in the food, hospitality, or tourism business you should definitely be on TripAdvisor.com. It’s free and simple to set up and manage.

It’s one of the biggest sites on the internet for customers looking for accommodation for a week or simply food and entertainment for the evening. They can even book a hotel with TripAdvisor directly, which makes things much easier if you’re on your phone.

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Yelp.com

This is another review website that’s free to set up. Just go to their homepage and click on the “Claim Your Business” button to create your account.

It Doesn’t Matter Who You Are as Long as Your Reviews Are Good

Now you know some fast and free ways to make it easy for customers to see your online reviews and leave new ones. Here is a great example of a Google My Business and how to respond to the review

Carl from Internet Secrets has been coaching me

since march 2016 and the results have been fantastic and we have

already increased our sales and profit dramatically in this short amount

of time at Bairnsdale Computer Solutions, I feel Carl is passing on a

lifetime of business experience that I at my age do not have at this stage

in my life. I feel my business will benefit greatly in the coming years and

hopefully the rest of my business career.

A Adam Curtis

2 weeks ago

Response from owner 2 weeks ago

Thank you Adam, it is a pleasure to work with a young business

owner who is willing to listen, learn and implement skills and

marketing strategies that I have learnt over many years of

managing or owning and operating many businesses-- and it is a

real joy to see you reaping the rewards of those marketing

strategies

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Of course, you want those reviews to say good things about you. The best way to do that is to provide the best product and service that you possibly

can. The online review system means that a small business, using these free tools, can now compete with a big business and its million-dollar ad budget. The flip side of this is that there are no unimportant customers. You can’t decide that someone isn’t worth your best service, because anyone can leave a scathing review for all the public to see.

How to Manage Your Online Reputation

Do what you can to encourage reviews. Have your business on as many review sites as possible. Yelp.com has a “Find Us on Yelp” banner you can display on your website. If a satisfied customer compliments you, ask them to leave a review. Try sending a follow-up email, for example after a customer’s stay at your hotel, asking for feedback and giving links to review sites. You can have a sign near the exit encouraging customers to leave a review.

And don’t try to cheat or force a good review. It will get out and it will not look good. Google and the other websites may even ban you. It’s not worth it

Respond to Reviews

If the review platform allows it, respond to every review. Thank the customer for a positive review – after all, they took time out of their busy day to share their experience.

Plus, readers looking at your review responses will most likely form an opinion that you are “real” and genuinely care about your customers. If a customer leaves a negative review it becomes vitally important that you reply, and reply as fast as possible.

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Don’t argue with the customer; treat them

with politely and stick to the facts. Do your best to fix the situation. You are showing the unhappy customer, and everyone else, that you care. Of course, some people are just difficult. If you’ve done your best to find a solution to their problem, with courtesy and humility, and the customer is just unreasonable, that will be obvious to others watching.

Don’t worry that it will hurt your reputation, intelligent readers will quickly form their own opinion of the type of customer you were responding to. Providing a good resolution to a customer complaint can turn a disgruntled customer into one of your biggest fans. Everyone makes mistakes, but handling them well and finding a solution shows that you’re invested in making your customers happy.

To sum up, you build a good online reputation by

✓ Providing the best product and service you possibly can.

✓ Being available for review on many websites.

o Google reviews. o Yelp.com o TripAdvisor.com o Other websites depending on your industry.

✓ Encourage customers to leave reviews.

o Ask o Make it easy to find the review site from your website. o Send a follow-up email with links to review sites. o Just don’t get pushy with it.

✓ Show appreciation for good reviews.

✓ Find a solution for a bad review.

o Respond with courtesy and humility.

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o Don’t try to argue, just stick to the facts. o Show that you care about your customers.

o Do your best to fix the problem.

A good online rating does more than any ad to build customer trust and confidence in your company.

When you have a good online reputation, you don’t need to seek

out customers, customers will find you.

How to Boost Your Online Credibility

How do you get consumers to believe you? “Trust me! I’m an honest person!” will probably just set off their creep-alert. You have to prove your worth and show your customers they can believe your words. It’s not that difficult to do if your product and service are good. The internet is an unmatched tool for the transfer of information. You just lay it out for your customer and convince

them through the power of truth.

You have to prove your worth and show your customers

they can believe your claims.

Back up every statement you make with; ✓ Testimonials.

✓ Strong guarantees.

✓ Hard data, such as sales numbers.

✓ Before and after pictures.

✓ Scientific studies and surveys.

Testimonials Show Real People with Real Results

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it till the cows come home, customer testimonials are the most powerful tool in your sales kit.

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Good testimonials can make the difference between an undecided customer

and one who’s eager to buy. If you can get it on video so much the better. Make testimonials as personal as the giver will agree to – get their name, picture, company and job title. The point of the testimonial is that these are real people with real results.

Nothing speaks for your brand like a happy customer with real-world results. You can talk abstract figures all you want (and there’s a time and a place for

that). But, it’s not as convincing as Kathryn, manager of Comfort Inn Mitchell on Main, (one of our clients,) saying, “We’ve got a 100% increase in bookings from our online website over the last 5 months.”

Nothing speaks for your brand like a happy customer with real-

world results

Strong Guarantees Get Rid of the Risk to Your Customer

When you put your money where your mouth is you show that you’re confident in your product.

“We are on the top of Google and getting

calls from all over!”

“We are now on top of Google and we are

getting many, many phone calls from

customers across Australia and I am very

confident that will continue to see our

business grow as the result of the hard work

we’ve put in together!”

Christina de Sousa

Mountain Harvest Foods

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You also remove the risk to your customer. You move them along the road

to the sale. We provide a money-back guarantee tailored to the occasion. When I give a presentation, “If you don’t walk away with at least one cash-generating idea you can implement in 24 hours, I will give you a complete refund.” It’s your no-brainer offer. Show your customer that the benefits of your

product outweigh the risks and they are much more likely to give you a chance.

Hard Data Leads to Hard Cash

Put a real number on how much your customers will benefit from your product. For instance, if you have a business installing solar panels you can say, “The month of November last year my client’s

electricity bill was $897, but this November after we worked on his house it was only $425. At this rate, his solar conversion with pay for itself in 5 years!” Testimony extract from one of our client’s websites

http://agradesolarsolutionsaustralia.com.au/solar-testimonials/ Before and after pictures of the electric bill would be great to add to this statement. Customers are more likely to buy in to your product when they know exactly what they will get out of it.

Hi, I’m Andrea from

Gainesville Furniture. I

have solar put in, my

original bill was about

$900 a quarter and now

it’s down to about $50. I

was very happy with all

the work that happened at

my house.

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Before and After Pictures Make the Complex Simple to See

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and that’s especially true online. People browsing your website might not read your copy beyond the headlines, but they’ll likely look at a picture and read the caption. We like to take before and after photos when we retool client websites.

The difference between the two really drives home what we’re saying about the importance of such things as visible calls to action and testimonials and reviews. The first design may have a pretty picture, but it’s irrelevant to the client’s business, not benefit driven to the end user and didn’t drive sales.

JZ Motors ─ Before JZ Motors ─ After

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Scientific Studies and Surveys Back up Your Authority

When you put up the results of scientific studies and surveys it shows that you’re keeping up with the latest in your profession. It also shows that you have objective proof to back up your statements. When I say, “It’s important that your website is mobile-optimised. It’s not enough anymore to just work on a lap or desk-top computers. A big chunk of your market is on their mobile and if your website doesn’t accept them they’ll go to your competitor who does.” (Plus, Google will penalise your site and give preference to mobile friendly

web sites. I can point to our article that backs me up with credible up-to-the-minute scientific data from the PayPal mCommerce Index Inaugural Report: PayPal Australia In-Depth Report September 20, 2016.

according to PayPal, 31% of Australian consumers actually prefer to make online payments on their mobile phone or tablet over a desktop or laptop computer. The best way to convince consumers to listen to you is to prove what you’re saying is true. Engage with the shopper or browser, answer their questions and counter their doubts.

Build a relationship with your customers before the sale, showing you’re an authority in your niche and they can trust what you say. When they’re ready to buy all the hard work will already be done and you’ll be there, ready and waiting.

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Front-Page Search Results with Google Local

We live in a world of instant gratification. If I’m a visitor in Bairnsdale, Australia and I’m craving doughnuts, all I have to do is take out my smartphone, Google “Bairnsdale doughnuts,” and in minutes I can have delicious pastry goodness in my hands. People want what they want when they want it, and the internet is set up to cater to them. What does this mean for you, the business owner? You need to be one of those listings that come up on Google – a good chunk of your business can

come from that, and if you’re in the top 3 searches you’ll really stand out from your competitors.

Your business needs to come up when customers search for your

industry and location on Google.

For instance, when I searched for “Bairnsdale doughnuts” there were no Google listings at all.

One bakery came up on TripAdvisor.com, and after that were Facebook pages I can’t even look at without signing into Facebook. That bakery has a 5-star review. Where do you think I’m going? If you want business from outside your neighbourhood, from people who don’t see your store every day, you need to maximise your online search results. It’s that simple.

Google Local: Improve Your Website’s Search Ranking for Free

If you have an Australian Business Number (ABN) your business name has already been entered into Google Local and all you have to do is go in there and verify it. It might take some time and a bit of waiting around before your listing goes live, but the results are more than worth it.

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To set up your Google Local listing, just follow these steps:

✓ Go to www.google.com/business ✓ Log in with your Gmail account ✓ Choose your business type

o Storefront – restaurant, retail store, hotel etc. o Service area – plumber, pizza delivery, taxi service etc. o Brand – sports team, music band, non-profit cause etc.

✓ Find your business name or address o If it’s already on there, click “Request ownership” o If it’s not on there, click “Add your business”

✓ Fill in the details – there are more than 20 fields here, such as

o Business name o Address (you can just put a street corner if you don’t want your

full address on there) o Business hours o Telephone number and website address o Description of your business with relevant keywords o Visual media – pictures and videos o What area or region does your business service o Whether or not you deliver – important for a restaurant o What payment options you accept

✓ Make sure your business info is 100% complete

✓ Submit your form ✓ Wait for Google to check it out and get back to you with a verification

code ✓ Once you get the code you have 30 days to enter it in ✓ Your Google Local listing will go live a few days after verification is

complete ✓ Prepare for all the new business you’ll get from your listing

Well, you can’t just sit back and wait for the money to roll in. It’s not quite that simple.

But setting up a Google listing puts your business head and shoulders above all your competitors who don’t have one, but there are a few things you can do to really make the most of it.

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Get Listed in Top Local Directories

One of the ways Google makes sure you’re a legitimate business is by checking the listings in your local directories.

Here are some of those in Australia. Look around to the find local directories in your area.

✓ True Local – http://www.truelocal.com.au/ ✓ Start Local – http://www.startlocal.com.au/ ✓ Aussie Web – https://www.aussieweb.com.au/ ✓ Yellow Pages – http://www.yellowpages.com/

✓ Gum Tree – http://www.gumtree.com.au/ Most of them are free, and they can do a lot to help your search ranking.

Make it Searchable

Choose your title to match the terms your customers use to search for you. These would include your city and your industry or service. When you’re writing your business description, include keywords but make

sure it’s readable and flows nicely. For instance, “Call it a doughnut or a donut, our cafe has over 20 varieties of this delicious pastry. Free Wi-Fi too.” You have the keywords: doughnut, donut, cafe, pastry, and (last but not least) free Wi-Fi. Not bad for 20 words. When you’re filling out your listing, add a couple of locations (nearby cities or suburbs) where your target customers live.

Make sure your business information is completely filled out, too. The more complete it is the higher it will rank in the search results. When it asks for a video add a video. Make one for the purpose if necessary. Video is a great marketing tool.

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In the competition for search traffic the winner is the business

with the best reviews

Get Some Good Reviews

Australia is well behind the rest of the world when it comes to the internet, so when you first set up your Google Local listing you might be the only business on there. It won’t stay that way for long though. Once you have some competition in the listings the winner is going to be the business with the best reviews. Make it easy for your customers to leave reviews. A great way to get reviews is to simply ask. When a customer tells you how much they enjoyed your product or service, thank them and ask them to leave a review. An unhappy customer will be motivated to leave a review but a happy one might not think about it, so set up little reminders. You could have a sign politely asking customers to leave a review and explaining how. How to leave a Google review:

✓ Click on our business listing ✓ Log into your Google account ✓ Submit a review

It’s easy and it does a lot for your business.

Optimise Your Business for Mobile Commerce

More and more people do more and more business over their mobile devices every year. When people use voice search on their Android phones, the first results are from Google local business.

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According to PayPal’s recent survey, 80% of adult Australians have a smartphone.

It just makes sense to have a website that’s optimised for mobile use. Many people use their phones to browse the internet while they’re relaxing at home watching TV. When they’re on the go, they’ll turn to their mobile device to help them find the goods and services they need.

Make sure they can find your business when they go looking.

Video is a Key Online Marketing Tool

Video is one of the best ways to put a face to your brand and help customers relate to you. As a way to connect with your customer base, it has no equal.

It has unrivalled reach, too. YouTube has more than one billion (1,000,000,000,000) visitors every month. The IT company Cisco estimates that by 2017, 69% of all consumer internet traffic worldwide will be in video format. Video lets you showcase your passion and know-how in your chosen niche. It keeps your customers engaged and helps them see you in a positive light.

It’s a great educational tool, also. It’s much easier to make a how-to video than sit down and write everything out. If you release new videos regularly, customers will keep coming back to your site.

As a way to connect to your customer base, video has no equal.

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YouTube Plays Host to Huge Numbers of Opportunities

YouTube’s numbers are literally astronomical. Every minute 60 hours of

video are uploaded; 4 billion videos are watched every day. Every week 100 million people like, share, or leave a comment on a YouTube video. What makes video such a great marketing tool is that it’s so easy to share. A viral video might have a billion views all to itself. Every day, Facebook users watch 500 years’ worth of video.

Twitter users share more than 700 videos per minute. Even if you’re a small business without your own camera crew you can take advantage of this traffic. People might go to YouTube to watch a pop star’s latest music video, but if your video catches their eye they can easily watch that, too.

How to Make a Good Video

You don’t need a camera crew. In fact, amateurish image quality makes you look authentic and sincere. If you come off as too polished and professional, people might just think it’s fake. But, you do need excellent sound quality. Research has proven that the average viewer will tolerate “mum and dad” type imagery but not poor

sound quality. If people can’t hear or understand you they will lose patience very quickly and click on something else. You should use keywords in your content and video titles as well. It should sound natural, but easy to search for too.

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The Best Camera is Right at Hand

You can easily buy a good video camera, as reasonably priced or expensive

as you wish, but the new smartphones take great video. Their sound and image quality is more than good enough for the job.

You need excellent sound quality. If people can’t hear or

understand you they will lose patience very quickly.

Use an External Mike for the Best Sound

For the best sound you should fit your subject up with a lapel mike. Their voice can be easily heard and understood even over background noise. This is vitally important if you are some distance from the speaker and you are in a noisy environment With a lapel mike and a 2 or 3 metre cable you can video them without invading their personal space. It also serves a valuable psychological purpose. Many people freeze up when

you shove a normal camera in their face. Just ask them to speak to you as if they’re talking to a friend and telling them how great their experience was in dealing with your company. The cables you need for a smart phone can be sourced from E-Bay or from this company http://www.rhinocables.co.uk/ I found them on E-bay and bow buy them directly from the company PLEASE NOTE:

The specifications for the cable is 3.5mm jack 4 pin plug male to female extension cable. I usually buy them in 3 metres long and join two together plus the mike At the time of writing this book, this is the link to the page http://www.rhinocables.co.uk/stereo-3.5mm-jack-extension-cables~30

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The lapel Mike I have been buying from buying from Jaycar, but they no

longer stock, the only solution I see now is to use the normal smart phone headset that comes with your phone, pin the mike to the person and hide the ear plugs from site by tucking into their clothing. A bit messy but you may have a better solution.

Take a Quick Testimonial

With your handy smartphone, cables and mike you’re well-equipped to take video testimonials.

When you have a happy customer in front of you, saying all these nice things, you can ask, “Is it OK if I take a quick testimony of you saying that? It will help my business a lot.”

It’s the work of a moment to set up, then you can spend 5 minutes immortalizing your customer’s words.

The great thing with using a smart phone is you can load it directly into your YouTube Channel, the edit it online and the place it on your web site or social media sites. Plus like the above image, you can transcribe the video testimony and place it on you web site or in any offline marketing you are doing, such as brochures, paper, magazines, etc.

Jeff Zaninelli - JZ Motors

"A super PROFITABLE J

Jeff Zaninelli

JZ Motors

“In 2007 I first met Carl – what he taught

me has really worked – THE SECRETS that

Carl has taught me has really enhanced our

business and profitability – we still use Carl’s

principles and it has made a huge difference

– listen to Carl and he will put dollars in your

bank account – he will teach you how to have

a super PROFITABLE BUSINESS even in these

tough times”

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Personalise Your Videos

There are all sorts of free or low-cost tools available online to help you put your stamp on your videos. You can:

✓ Do your own video editing.

✓ Add your own music that fits your brand.

✓ Bring your unique style to your YouTube

channel.

✓ Put a watermark on your video to prevent

piracy.

If you don’t want to edit the videos yourself, you can outsource it cheaply

and I will show you how later in one of my chapters.

Video and Sound Editing Doesn’t Have to Be Difficult

There are several options out there for editing your videos. They give you a wide range of editing choices, they’re cheap or free, and they’re easy to use. Here are two of my favourites:

✓ http://www.avs4you.com/

o Download video and sound editing software to work offline

✓ https://www.youtube.com/editor

o Drag and drop video and audio files to work online

I highly recommend you watermark your videos – put your business name or logo on them. This helps prevent piracy and gives you another branding opportunity.

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Find Music for Your Video

Music can add emotional impact to your video and show your distinctive style. Just search for “royalty-free music” or “music free for commercial use” and you can find many websites.

For a reasonable fee, you can license music tracks for commercial use. I have found Music Loops to be my favourite and hassle free. Just copy and paste this link and you will get access

http://bit.ly/2dVVKyg

Brand Your YouTube Channel

Your YouTube channel should fit in with the rest of your online presence. Your customers should be able to recognize where they are from its look and style.

In your video you should have your phone number or web address visible so that viewers know where to go for more information. At the conclusion of your videos you should have Clear Call to Action For example, Call me now, Email me for your ---, Go to ----.

Video is a one of the best tools to build your brand

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It helps customers trust you and relate to you.

You can show your knowledge and passion for your business and share that with the world. (And the world can share with their friends and friends of friends ... and cousins and acquaintances and business associates and Twitter followers...) With a little bit of work, you can take advantage of this marketing

powerhouse to grow your business.

This is the future of online marketing

7 Must-Have Social Media Sites to Maximise Your Online Presence

People are always looking for better ways to connect, network, and promote with one another.

In today’s digital age, we have taken it on with an entirely new meaning and momentum through social media. We used to have handshakes, word-of-mouth referrals, and stamped letters, today’s relationships and business connections are often begun and developed on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest and also Instagram. These are the seven must have social media sites that can help you build your brand and maximise your online presence.

Take advantage of emerging opportunities using social media

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.Social media networks can be a new channel for

your brand’s voice and content. This is important because it simultaneously makes your business easier and more accessible for new customers, and makes your business more familiar and recognizable for existing customers. In other words, social media helps Increase brand recognition and maximise your online presence, which then helps generate more customers for your

business. To make it simple, you don't have to know and use a variety of social platforms to stay relevant, you just need to know the 7 must have social media sites and use them on your website. 1. Facebook. It is the one site where you’re likely to find friends, colleagues, and relatives all floating around. Although Facebook is mainly centred around sharing photos, links, and quick thoughts of a personal nature,

individuals can also show their support to brands or organizations by becoming fans and creating their own Fanpage. Also, with having a Facebook page for your business, you can interact with prospects and customers in a way that they’re already familiar with. People share their likes, interests and activities on Facebook, and with your business page, you also can share news, photos and videos. 2. Twitter. Perhaps the simplest of all social media platforms, Twitter also just happens to be one of the most fun and interesting social media platforms because of its simple form. Messages are limited to 140 characters or less, but that’s more than enough to post a link, share an image, or even trade thoughts with your favourite celebrity or influencer.

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You can use Twitter to build meaningful connections with a relevant and engaged audience. These connections can lead to actions across a network

of loyal customers for your business. 3. Google+. It is owned by Google. By combining the best of Facebook and Twitter into one site – and backing it by the power of the world’s largest search engine. Google has given users a social site that has a little something for everyone.

You can add new content, highlight topics with hashtags, and even separate contacts into circles. And, a G+ profile only takes a few minutes to get set up. 4. LinkedIn. One of the only mainstream social media sites that’s actually geared towards business to business. LinkedIn is an online version of what networking groups once were to local business communities.

It’s great for meeting customers, getting in touch with vendors, recruiting new employees, and keeping up with the latest in business or industry news. If it matters to your company or career, you can probably do it on LinkedIn. 5. YouTube. As a video sharing service, YouTube has become so popular that its catalogue of billions and billions of videos has become known as “the world’s second-

largest search engine.” The site has everything from first-person product reviews to promotional clips and “how-two” instruction on virtually any topic or discipline. Users have the ability to share, rate, and comment on what they see. Also by creating and posting video content on YouTube, it's a great way to boost the visibility and credibility of your business.

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6. Pinterest. Serving as a giant virtual idea and inspiration board, Pinterest has made a huge impact on

social media in the last few years. It’s especially popular with women and the do-it-yourself crowd, it lets you share pictures, creative thoughts, or (especially) before-and-after pictures of projects that others can pin, save, or duplicate. Pinterest may be one of the best ways to showcase your business’ products and services.

You can get the most out of Pinterest to drive website traffic, increase reach, and tell your brand story. 7. Instagram. If you’re looking for a quick, convenient connection between the camera feature on your smartphone and all your social profiles, then Instagram is the answer. Not only will it allow you to share via Twitter, Facebook, and the Instagram website, you can choose from a variety of photo filters and invite friends to comment on your photos

or ideas. But the best part is, this photo-sharing mobile phone application is not only important for retailers, restaurants, or travel companies; it as one of the most effective brand-building tools available today. Instagram is increasingly important for every kind of business.

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The Value of Social Media

In general, the biggest online challenge most business owners have is social media, it's sort of out there in cyberspace and you just poke at it and only put little bits of time and investment into it.

Building and engaging a community for your business

If you want to make lots and lots of money in your business, you have to be

active online. Social media is one of the main activities your buyers take part in online.

Syncing a social media experience with

the products or services your website

offers can help drive added value to your

audience and paying customers alike.

Understanding the psychology behind the use of each social network by its users will help you plan a better strategy for your online marketing campaign.

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Autoresponders: Automate Your Email Marketing

Think of your autoresponder as a way to develop to develop trust and relationship with the reader. When someone makes a positive contact with your web presence − say they read your blog and find it useful and insightful – you should give them the opportunity to sign up and receive something of value. For example, let’s look at our:

DIY Business Owner’s Guide to

Internet Marketing

It’s the little box (it’s called an op-tin box) that asks, “Interested? Want to know more?”

It has to be some kind of compelling benefit to the reader with a clear call to action. Give people a short form to fill out and this information will be stored in your database. (It’s called an Autoresponder) Keep it simple and request for minimal personal information, first name and email is all you need at this stage. It’s about being able to collect their information to begin a campaign of automated emails (that’s why it’s called an autoresponder) that gives the reader lots of valuable information relevant to their needs

Benefits of an Autoresponder and Automated Email campaign

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Not all the readers that come onto your web site are ready to buy or trust you.

The benefit of an Autoresponder is:

✓ You begin to build Trust and Relationship with your reader.

✓ You develop your brand with the reader.

✓ You display your knowledge and expertise in your industry.

✓ You develop a profile as an authority in your industry.

✓ You eliminate Fear of Loss and Create Hope for Gain with the reader.

✓ And, when they are ready to buy, your business will most likely be

their first choice.

Think of an autoresponder as your online welcome mat.

Once someone signs up for your list you can send them emails without being labelled as spam.

Of course, you should aim for a much higher bar than simply “not spam.” The autoresponder can send emails on a set schedule to the people on your list. It’s wonderful for busy business owners because it runs on its own once you set it up. After that the autoresponder does its thing without any more fiddling from you.

How to Design Your Automated Email Marketing

Campaign

The people who sign up for your autoresponder should be a treasured resource. They’ve told you that they want to hear your message.

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Maybe they’re not ready to buy right at that very moment – they’re not yet part of that 1% to 3% − but the fact that they’ve signed up means that you

are on their shortlist for when they do want to buy. When designing content for your email list, make the most of that goodwill. Give your readers excellent content that will be useful to them. The hallmarks of a good email marketing campaign are;

✓ Interesting, in-depth and varied content that builds your authority.

✓ It’s about fulfilling the customers’ wants and needs.

✓ At a good frequency that keeps you in their minds without overdoing

it.

Build Your Authority with Good Content

This is a chance for good, really in-depth writing. These people have told you that they are interested in what you have to say.

You don’t have to keep it down to a sound bite. This is your opportunity to expand a little and show off your knowledge and expertise.

Don’t be afraid to change it up using different media, such as videos and pictures, etc. In fact, video is a great medium to use as part of your Autoresponder program.

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Fulfil Your Customers Wants and Needs

If you are struggling with content, a short survey comes in handy. And this company “Survey Monkey” is a great program for customer surveys and you can start off with Free version. If enough of your customers express an interest in a certain aspect of your

business, create an autoresponder email campaign that goes into detail about it. If they express concerns, reassure them. Talk about how they will benefit from your no-brainer offers. Show that you’re not just in it for the sale; you care about your customer and want to help them.

Find the Right Frequency

Your email marketing strategy is your long game. These customers are definitely interested, but they might not be ready to buy until next week, next month, or next year. Send your newsletters out at a frequency that keeps your readers interested and pleased to receive the next one. You don’t want them saying, “Oh no! Not them again.” If you have a real estate agency, maybe a daily “Here are some hot properties in your location of interest” would go over well.

Or, How-to’s are always great value. If you have a health food store, maybe a weekly email with information on different foods and nutritional supplements.

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If you have a bed-and-breakfast in a beautiful vacation spot, maybe send seasonal mailings, “The weather’s warming up and our lovely beaches are

looking particularly enticing right now.”

Your email marketing campaign is your long game.

It converts shoppers into buyers over time.

Tailor the frequency of your message to your market. A great way to see an autoresponder in action is to go to my web site

www.internetsecretsmadeeasy.com after 30 seconds a “pop up” should appear.

Or look for this little image and left click it

and it will ask for name and email address. Don’t worry, you can opt out anytime you want to.

The purpose is to show you the sequence of steps as a result of you filling in the form (Opt-In Box.).

✓ The email request layout.

✓ The activation email layout.

✓ How the download works.

✓ The introduction email.

✓ The layout and timing of the ongoing email campaign.

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we currently use two different autoresponder programs. The first one is Send Pepper by Ontraport. Simply copy and paste this link and you find their pricing plans etc. http://bit.ly/2dpjz0b The second program we use is by Aweber Communications and you can access the pricing plans

etc. by copying and pasting this link http://bit.ly/2e2mCN4

LiveChat Gives You Real Time Interaction with

Your Website Visitors

In a normal retail outlet, you and your employees can speak directly to customers, representing your company's brand in person. Having a LiveChat software installed in your website digitally re-creates that same experience. The trouble with online shopping is that many

customers are disconnected from someone who can answer their questions in real time with precision.

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Rather than watching potential customers click away from your website, use a live chat support program.

It's a powerful tool and it's one of the fastest ways to help your online customers.

Cost savings and convenience for both

your staff and customers

Live chat not only is a viable option for businesses today, but an essential tool for any company that thrives on providing excellent customer service.

It gives you;

✓ Ability to greet your visitors.

✓ Real time website monitoring.

✓ Quickly respond to any questions.

✓ Visitors can leave a message when offline.

✓ Can be proactive.

✓ $16-30 per month.

. Live Chat is Convenient for Customers

Many online consumers want help from a live person while they are shopping online. An online chat system provides customers immediate access to help. Wait times are often much less than a call centre, and customers can easily multi-task while waiting.

Additionally, you don't have to dial a 1-800 number and navigate through a maze of numeric options.

Live Chat Cuts Down on Expenses

Live chat software has consistently demonstrated that it can save on both employee task time and phone expenses.

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Some of the most notable cost savings are:

Live chat reduces overall contact centre

costs by lowering average interaction

costs.

Increases efficiency by allowing live chat

representatives to handle multiple chats

simultaneously, reducing the need to

hire more representatives.

Live Chat Increases Sales

The key is that customers have someone who can immediately walk them through a sale if they become confused or have a question that can make or break a sale. This helps customers to stay on your website and increases

the chance that they will make it through checkout.

Live Chat Gives You an Edge on Your Competition

A recent study found that many top retail businesses are not offering chat. If you want to gain an edge on the competition, live chat is a key feature that big or small websites must have in order to be competitive and to hopefully rise to the top. In fact, live chat provides a simple way to connect with customers who

spend a good deal of their money online.

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Online Articles Made Easy with Copywriters

To increase your business visibility online – to get more people to visit your website, blog, or social media page – you have to consistently post new content. This helps you in the search engine rankings, and it shows potential customers that you are keeping pace with the latest advancements in your industry.

It builds trust with your customers because it shows that you really know your business and would be producing a good product. If you become the “go-to” person for helping them solve problems in your niche, so much the better. To boil it down, this is what you need to get in the top search results for your field.

✓ Regularly updated content. ✓ Post new articles often. ✓ Post across several platforms − blogs, websites,

forums etc. ✓ Articles should be 400 - 600 words in length. ✓ Each article should register as unique for each site

posting. This is starting to sound like a lot of work, isn’t it? Well, the good news is you don’t have to do it all yourself.

Hire a Ghost-writer to Produce Your Online Articles

There are many freelancers who specialize in writing articles for the web. You hire them, give them the topic and key points you’d like to hit in the article, they write it for you.

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And voilà, you have new website content. Your expertise in your industry lets you choose a good topic.

Their expertise in writing makes it read well with good keywords, and your online branding reaps the benefits.

Choose a Good Topic for Your Web Article

Choose a topic that is relevant to your customers’ lives and gives them information they would find useful and interesting. It’s also really good to keep your eye on the news and make your contribution to trending topics.

If it’s trending many people are searching for it and talking about it, so come in with a thoughtful comment that shows your expertise and you have reached a broad audience that is interested in hearing what you have to say.

Your articles should be relevant to your customers’ lives; if it’s

trending in the news, so much the better.

Once you have your article, you can tell your freelancer (or hire several more) to rewrite it so that it registers with the search engines as several new articles and then post them to different sites across the web.

It increases your online presence and gives you credibility as an authority in your field, and, let’s not forget, increases your search ranking.

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The Mountain Harvest Foods Story

One of our clients is a farming family who have been growing potatoes from great-grandpa on down. Mountain Harvest Foods (MHF) makes these great potato cakes ready for distribution to restaurants and home kitchens. They’ve really got it down and have a great product with many satisfied customers.

After a recent AFL game at the MCG in Melbourne, one of the national newspapers ran an article about a AFL fan complaining about the potato cakes that were served – they tasted awful and were all burnt. To top it all off, they were outrageously expensive! As we read the article, we noticed these horrible no-good very bad potato cakes were produced by a competitor.

This was just the time to come out with an article extolling the virtues of Mountain Harvest Foods far superior potato cakes. We gave testimonials from happy MHF potato-cake eaters and linked to a video where we did a comparison test between the MHF product and four of their competitors’. In this way we were able to reach the audience that was following the original article. Maybe they didn’t normally devote much thought to potato cakes, but they had been to that sporting event or had read the article about

how bad and overpriced the food was. We monitor the traffic going to our client’s web sites and from associating that article with trending news and the search traffic to their web site went through the roof. Now when they think of a good potato cake, maybe they’ll remember to look for our client’s label.

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Keep your finger on the pulse of your industry. You can hire someone to

write an article, but you need to provide the framework that makes that article do the most to help your business.

QR Codes Reach Your Market On Their Mobiles

Mobile commerce is a growing field full of opportunities for the savvy business owner. The huge online payment company PayPal recently released a survey on the

mobile habits of Australian consumers. It found that 71% of those surveyed had used their mobile device to make a payment within the last 6 months. (2016) The vast majority of adult Australians (80%) own a smartphone. Many people browse their phone or tablet even while

watching TV. The QR code, or quick response code, is a great way to reach your customers via their mobile device. It’s a black-and-white design, similar to a bar code, that can be printed out onto fixed media. It can then be scanned by the user’s smartphone to take them to your digital medium of choice – a mobile-optimised website or video, for instance. It can also store your contact information as a quick way to transfer it from person to person, even off-line.

Mobile commerce is a growing field full of opportunities for the

savvy business owner.

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Your customer just holds up their phone as if they are taking a picture of the QR code, and the QR reader (a piece of software easily downloaded onto the

phone) deciphers the code and brings up the associated content. QR codes can also be configured as a quick, easy, secure way to make mobile payments. The QR code takes advantage of your customer’s interest to give them more information right then and there. They don’t have to correctly remember your

name and they don’t have to try to type a long website address into their phone, they just point and shoot and the QR code does it for them. Say you’re a real estate agent. You could put a QR code on the “For Sale” sign outside a piece of property. Then if a prospect is driving around, sees it and likes the look of the place, they can use the QR code to open the relevant online page (or download your contact information directly into their phone). You can show them pictures of the rooms, the open-house schedule, maybe

have a video tour. The QR code makes it easy for your customer to access your marketing materials.

How to Deploy Your QR Codes

The QR code bridges the online and offline worlds, but there is definitely a time and a place to use it. It’s great to print out onto your paper marketing, such as on a flyer.

You can print it onto the back of your business card for an easy way to direct people to your website or load your contact information onto their phone.

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You can have a QR code on a sign in your store window so customers can easily get more information about you even when the store is closed.

A QR code is much less useful on something the customer can’t physically interact with. It doesn’t make much sense to have a QR code on a TV ad that might run for 30 seconds, or a billboard the customer is driving past at 100 kms (60 miles) per hour.

This is all about making things quick and easy for the customer,

not confusing and frustrating.

Experiment a little to determine the right size to print your QR code. If it’s on a business card or flyer – something the customer can bring up close – then 38mm (1.5 inches’) square is a good size. If the code is on a real-estate sign it should be larger so customers can read it without getting out of the car.

Maybe it would be a good idea to print out the codes in different sizes to determine their effective distance. Make sure your QR code functions properly before you send it out into the world, and that the codes you’ve already brought out continue to work. This is all about making things quick and easy for the customer, not confusing and frustrating.

Direct Your QR Traffic the Right Way

It’s very important to maintain your links. If the QR code on your business card leads to an error message that is an embarrassment, not a marketing opportunity. Make sure the content you take your customers to is mobile-optimised.

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The QR code is specifically designed to be used via mobile device, so that webpage should be mobile-friendly.

Maintain your links – if your QR code leads to an error message

that is an embarrassment, not a marketing opportunity.

How to Make a QR Code

QR code generation is easy and free. There are a number of websites that will make up QR codes for free, for instance Kaywa.com. Google has one too. You just enter the URL of the website you want the code to connect to, push the button, and the website makes the design for you. You can make a QR code that will act as a contact by dialling a phone number or downloading your email address and other information directly to someone’s phone. You can also generate a QR code that acts as a coupon for a special offer or promo you’re running.

How to Download and Use a QR Reader

Make sure your smartphone is connected to the internet and then search through Google Play or the Apple app store for a QR reader (it’s free). The newer iPhones and iPads have one pre-installed in their Wallet app. Once you have the software on your phone, just bring up the QR reader and activate it.

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Then position your phone as if you’re taking a picture of the code. Hold it still for a few moments so it can focus and it will bring up the associated content

− quick and easy.

QR Codes and Mobile Payments

Consumers love the speed and convenience of mobile payments. The PayPal mCommerce Index (September 2016) found that 56% of Australian consumers surveyed said they make mobile payments at least once a month.

PayPal has a secure QR-code mobile payment app, as does Apple. They keep it secure by using QR codes that expire quickly – a code you use for payment may be valid for only 30 minutes, and the app generates a new code every time you walk into a different store. It’s a new business frontier that will only grow as consumers get more plugged-in and tech-savvy.

To sum up, a QR code offers;

✓ A bridge between the online and offline worlds. ✓ A quick and easy way to get information to your customer. ✓ A way to take advantage of mobile commerce opportunities.

A good QR code;

✓ Leads to a live link or correctly encoded information. ✓ Is mobile-optimised.

✓ Offers the customer added value.

Consumers love the speed and convenient of mobile payments

This market will only grow over time

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It’s only sensible to make it as easy as possible for the customer to pay for your goods and services.

More and more people are using their smartphones, sometimes in preference to a desktop or laptop computer. Don’t you want to get in on the action?

Monitor Your Online Presence with Google Analytics

So you’ve set up your webpage, your blog, your Facebook page, your YouTube Channel your other social media sites and free local directories. Now you’re wondering, “What is actually going on with all of this?

Does it give me a return on my investment? How much search traffic is going to my website? How do I even know where to look to find the answers?” Google gives you this handy free tool called “Google Analytics” that keeps track of activity throughout your online presence.

You need to know about your traffic so you can see what works and what doesn’t and make adjustments accordingly. Just type “Google analytics” into the search bar, follow the link, and set up an account. With Google analytics properly configured (it involves adding bits of code to every page on your website. Ask your website programmer or digital marketing company to set it up for

you) you can learn valuable information about your web traffic, such as:

✓ Where your website users come from.

✓ What they do on your site once they land.

✓ Which webpages’ people stay on the longest.

✓ Which pages users leave your site from.

✓ What search terms people used to find your site.

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And this is just scratching the surface. You can set up different versions of your website and track which ones do better.

Now you can get cold hard facts on which strategies are likely to convert shoppers into buyers (and which strategies attract people who are ready to buy right now – these are similar but not identical things).

You can use your analytics figures to look for patterns in your customer traffic and work out trends from these patterns.

You need to know your web traffic so you can see what works

and what doesn’t, then make adjustments

When you open up Google analytics it gives you options to view several different metrics. You can set it up so it tracks goals that you set – for instance, if

someone makes a purchase on your site, it can track their behaviour beforehand, giving you important information on your customers. Google analytics also gives you a good overview of what is going on in your site.Traffic

You can see how many people look at your website in a given time period. Say you set the time period for 60 days and during that time 720 new users visited your site. That means you had 12 new visitors per day.

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Number of Pages Visited

Once your user lands on your site, how many pages do they click on? The industry standard is an average of 2 pages per visit. If users are looking at more than 2 pages of your site, then you’re doing something right. The better and more relevant your content, the higher this metric will be.

Time Spent on Your Site

The acceptable industry standard time here is

at least 1 minute. Can your content hold a user’s interest for longer than a minute? This metric, along with the number of pages visited, gives you a way to gauge user interest in your site and your product. If they spend a long time on there, reading

through several articles, it’s a good bet they are very interested. So ask yourself, “If they’re so interested, how do I get them to buy? Or at least sign up for my newsletter so I can market them some more?”

Bounce Rate

This is the percentage of people who click on your site and then click right back off again.

Either it wasn’t what they wanted or they found it annoying in some way – took too long to load, bad design, poor content – or maybe they just got distracted. The acceptable industry standard bounce rate is 55% or less (meaning 45% or more of users hung around and browsed the site).

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If your bounce rate is more than 55% you should give serious thought to revising your website.

Location

This metric gives you information on where your users live, or at least where they were located when they visited your site. If you have a real estate agency and regularly see people hundreds of kms away browsing your site looking at property in your area, think about how you would sell to a long-distance customer.

How Users Find Your Site

How did your users find out about you? Did they enter certain search terms into Google and click on your name when it came up? Did they go through a third-party marketing site or click on an ad? The Yellow Pages maybe? (Probably not the Yellow Pages.)

What Device Customers Were Using When They Found Your Site

Were they on a laptop or desktop computer, a mobile, or a

tablet? Consumers increasingly use mobile devices to browse the web. Some people have a good-sized tablet mobile and don’t feel they need a personal computer at all for day-to-day use. Many people browse on their phone or computer while watching TV − this behaviour is called multi-screening and is becoming increasingly prevalent.

Mobile commerce (customers making purchases with their phone) is becoming more and more popular with consumers. This means that it is important for businesses to have mobile-optimised websites, offering features such as the ability to use your shopping cart from a mobile device.

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Mobile commerce is becoming more popular with consumers; it

is important for businesses to have mobile-optimised websites.

Setting up Google analytics on your website is important because it allows you to measure your website performance.

You can’t control the outcome of what you can’t measure. You can certainly use this knowledge to make the best of what you have and create a web presence that will do the most for your business.

Heat Mapping Your Web Site to Monitor Online Behaviour

A heat map tool makes it possible for you to analyse the behaviour of the

visitors on your website.

Imagine it like a pair of x-ray glasses that lets you see exactly what people are doing on your website. It’s a fantastic tracking tool that helps small business owners like you understand how your visitors interact with

your pages. It shows where user attention goes so you can take action and improve your site’s performance.

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Get an Understanding of How Visitors Engage with Your Website

Heat maps points out what content on your website is hot and what is not working.

This is mainly done by tracking the clicks of your visitors.

It generates a heat map report based on actual visitor clicks so you can see how users click and scroll through your website.

✓ It shows you where people are clicking – and where they aren't.

✓ It shows you know how many people scroll down your pages (and

where most people stop.)

✓ It even shows you where those people are coming from to begin with,

and who clicks on what the most!

What's the Best Option for a Heat Map Tool?

Crazy Egg— this tool can really help track your business.

One of the first things people find when using Crazy Egg is that their users are clicking on things that aren't even links. Where might that be happening on your site?

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Stop guessing what's working, and start seeing it for yourself.

It’s easy to set up; it can take just a couple minutes and can be done even with zero technical know-how.

Measure and monitor data that makes sense

When you’re logged on to this special tool (Crazy Egg) and have successfully installed it, you can see all visitor activities shown in different colors. You can see where and what they're clicking on and the brighter the color is

on any part of your page, it means it got more clicks than the rest of the page. It's easy to understand a heat map report because it only provides data that make sense to you and you track the real time performance of your site. That means you can find out the day of the week, the time of the day, what they are doing

on your website, where they're coming from, there is an endless list of what you can do.

Get The Leverage for Your Online Marketing Campaign

Having a heat map installed gives you the opportunity to look through the eyes of your visitors as they navigate on your website. For example: The heat map shows that you’re a particular page on your website is easily overlooked.

Possible reasons: It’s the wrong colour, close to big images which capture more attention. Just give the page a more prominent place and see if visitors pick up on this.

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The whole idea is that you can edit your content, change a picture or whatever that needs an update, monitor and see the impacts of your

change.

Outsourcing and Hiring Freelancers

After reading all our recommendations on how to improve your digital presence you might think, “That’s all well and good, but who is going to do all this work? I don’t have the time; I’m working an 80-hour week as it is. I don’t know how to code, writing isn’t my strong suit, what shall I do?”

One solution is to outsource your problem and hire freelancers.

Freelancers in developing markets often work for much lower wages than you would expect to pay in Australia or the USA.

There are many online companies that specialise in bringing together employers and freelancers.

✓ Upwork.com

o (used to be oDesk and eLance)

✓ Guru.com

✓ Fiverr.com

✓ Freelancer.com

✓ Onlinejobs.ph

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These companies have streamlined the hiring process, making it

as easy, painless and risk-free as possible for both employer and

freelancer.

Need something done and don’t have time to do it yourself?

Outsource your problem and hire a freelancer.

There are still issues to consider, however.

Hiring freelancers is like hiring any staff −

there are risks involved − you still have to

train them and communicate clearly.

There are complications unique to outsourcing

that also need consideration.

Since your freelancers live in a different

country, there are barriers that need to be

overcome.

Advantages of Outsourcing

There are a number of benefits to outsourcing. The most noticeable advantage is the price. You can hire someone for half or even a tenth of what you would pay in your home country. However, in this as in all else, you get what you pay for. If a freelancer’s rates are very low in comparison to the average wage in that particular country, their quality of work usually is too. There is a world-wide pool of expertise to choose from. You can find a good freelancer at a price that won’t break your budget but will still allow them to make a good wage.

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Comparative economics means that the freelancer might be making a low

wage from an Australian vantage point, but a lower cost of living in their

country means that, from their point of view, they are doing quite well.

In this way you can get good people for a relatively low price. Freelancer hiring websites have done their best to make the process stress-free, with procedures such as:

✓ Dispute policies in place to protect both parties.

✓ A ratings system that allows you judge quality at a glance.

✓ Freelancer proficiency tests.

✓ Time and productivity-tracking software for freelancers.

✓ Reasonably priced team-building applications.

✓ A choice of payment options.

✓ Payment guarantees for freelancers.

How to Pick a Good Freelancer

Upwork.com, one of the largest freelancer hiring websites, has a rating system in place similar to eBay’s. Upon completion of the job, the freelancer and the

employer leave each other ratings from 1 to 5 stars grading each other on the experience. There is also written feedback. Upwork keeps track of freelancer response time (how long they take to respond to messages) and how many hours they have logged in so you can see how much experience they have.

Test Scores Show Proficiency at Required Skills

Freelancers can also take tests to show their competency at various tasks.

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For instance, there is a proofreading test and an online article and blog writing test, as well as tests for proficiency in programs such as Microsoft

Word and Adobe Photoshop, not to mention JavaScript and MySQL. If the freelancer you’re looking to hire doesn’t have a lot of happy former clients in your type of job, see if they tested those skills and what their scores were. If you like, you can ask them to complete certain tests as a pre-condition of hiring.

Make Your Expectations Clear

State your job specifications clearly at the start – detail exactly what you expect and when you expect it. Outline the required skills (Upwork lets you choose from a handy list). You still need to interview your freelancer, as you would any member of your staff. Talk to them on Skype or some other voice chat program so you can gauge their English skills. If you can’t communicate with each other it probably won’t be a good experience for either of you.

Separate the Wheat from the Chaff

You can get hundreds of applications for a job posting on a freelancer hiring site. Many sites have policies in place to prevent spamming, but you can still get a lot of entries. It can be a good idea to make a small request at the bottom of your job post. For instance, I like to add, “Write ISME on the first line of your application so

I know you read my posting all the way to the bottom.”

Small Contracts Test the Waters

It’s a good idea to “test-drive” your freelancers before hiring them on big projects.

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Start them on a small project so you can judge their competence and responsiveness before you entrust them with important or long-term tasks.

Disadvantages of Outsourcing

In spite of all you can do, outsourcing is not entirely safe. However, if you follow the above guidelines you can minimise your risk. You might get a bad freelancer (cutting yourself free is usually easy, though, and you can leave a bad review). People might misrepresent themselves (check history, test scores, and ratings). They might steal your ideas (interview them before hiring to get a

sense of how they are as a person).

Agencies

In the case of agencies, there might be a charismatic individual up front who goes through the hiring process and looks good, but it’s just a bait-and-switch for the incompetent fool who will actually be assigned to do your work.

I don’t like agencies and recommend you don’t deal with them.

Difficulties with Communication and Supervision

Living in different countries can make communication difficult even if there is no language barrier. The freelancer might live in a completely different time zone from you. You will not be there to supervise them all the time,

so you need to

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select for the ability to work well without a lot of supervision. Vet your freelancer carefully before committing to a long-term working

relationship and you’ll be fine.

It’s More Fun in the Philippines

By far my favourite source of freelancers is the Philippines. Cost of living in that country is such that the (low for Australia) wages I offer still attract good people.

In general, Filipinos

✓ Are well-educated.

✓ Speak excellent English.

✓ Are loyal and hard-working.

✓ Are generally honest and easy to work with.

✓ Make good long-term workers.

Outsourcing your workers produces some unique challenges, but there are rewards as well. Because you can’t see the freelancer in person, you need to

take greater care when hiring. However, with the proper safeguards, you and your freelancers can have a long and productive working life together.

Where to from Here?

Congratulations, you have made it to the end of the book You have discovered what the majority of business owners don’t know and this will give you a competitive edge over your competitors. Turn the page and here are some ideas

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Your Digital Business Assets

The ROI (Return On Investment) from your online presence will far outweigh any other form of marketing or increase in market share.

Correctly done with a sound digital marketing strategy and a “hold your hand” implementation program, the ROI is massive.

It is vitally important that you don’t undervalue the time, commitment &/or financial investment involved in harnessing the power and massive potential of the internet to increase your revenue.

Additionally: your online presence is a ‘virtual’ property asset that will contribute to the overall value of your business for resale purposes.

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7 Major Mistakes Business Owners Make

1 — Anyone can build a web site and most are built by “techie” people who have little to zero marketing skills. Plus, most Business Owners are not marketers and have little understanding of the psychology of the online consumers buying behaviour, so it ends up being the “blind leading the blind.” 2 — The digital industry is very fragmented and disjointed and Business

Owners find themselves in the situation where they have to source the various components of an online presence. It’s like what an owner builder does when he or she decides to manage the build process of a new home themselves. It can be an absolute nightmare and a false economy and most afterwards say, “I never want to do that again!”

3 — Most Business Owners invest significantly in the “bricks and mortar” infrastructure of their business, yet when it comes to their online presence, they reach into their pockets, pull out the loose change and think that is a sufficient investment.

This can be one of the costliest mistakes a Business Owner can make!

4 — many Business Owners think it’s a “build and forgot” and nothing could be further from the truth.

It would be like running a traditional business and breaking all the rules of good business practices and expecting to get outstanding results.

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5 — A significant amount of investment in Digital Marketing fails because most Business Owners do not

have the right systems and processes to convert the opportunities that comes from good Digital Marketing Strategies. Once you receive the online enquiry, what processes and systems do you have in place to convert that opportunity to a sale and a long term client? What staff training has been implemented to handle your online enquiries?

The next mistake is; 6 — Failing to understand the need to keep abreast of e-marketing trends/changes. The digital landscape is constantly evolving and there is an ever increasing need to stay informed with what is happening in the digital marketing space. Even if SEO is being out-sourced — the outsourcing should be by informed

delegation not abdication! 7 — The need for continuous improvement within the business to stay ahead of the competition and maintain their competitive advantage What ongoing coaching and training have you implemented to keep ahead of your competition?

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Your Next Step

The majority of the world’s most successful business people have had coaches, mentors and trainers along their road to success, they sought help from others with particular skills that enhanced their skills and business model. They recognised that to grow, they needed to enlist the skills of others who were smarter than them or knew more about a particular field that they

knew very little about and did not need to spend a lot of their time learning those skills when it was more expedient to utilise the skills of another.

Developing your Digital Marketing Strategies is no different

Two Choices

I really have enjoyed creating this book for you and you now have two choices. 1 — Like the “Owner Builder” you can take this “Road Map” and go the market place and source the appropriate people to develop your online presence, it may appear to be cheaper, BUT in the long term, the frustrations and challenges may make it an expensive exercise. Or

2 — I can “hold your hand” and coach and assist you through the whole process, walk with you through the build process and then teach you how to manage the long term processes.

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Any questions about this book or the next step, please email me.

Carl John Fechner Author, Speaker, Life Coach and Sales and Marketing Strategist Internet Secrets Made Easy ABN 17 130 659 764

PO Box 1488 Bairnsdale 3875 Victoria Australia profit@internetsecretsmadeeasy.com www.internetsecretsmadeeasy.com

About Internet Secrets Made Easy

I like to help Small Business Owners who are struggling to get their head around all this “Internet Stuff” And I do that several ways

✓ I run 101 workshops, the fundamental stuff you need to know before

you embark on your Online Presence.

✓ I do in-house training and implementation sessions with Business

Owners, this is where I help you identify your online market and then

match your Marketing Message to the needs of your Online Buyer.

✓ I have a Digital Marketing Agency and we help you outsource all that

“Techie Stuff” or manage the whole process for you.

I love people and more importantly I love to help others grow in their business world and personal lives and for a season of time I may be able to help you in your business or personal life.

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I apologise right up front if I appear to be long winded.

but everybody is different and some people don’t need a lot of information before they are ready to “get on the bus” and say “yep, that’s what I need!” and others, well, they want to know every little detail, all the nitty gritty stuff and then more still! So, that is why it may appear long winded to some of you.

You don’t have to read everything,

in fact, skim over it quickly, then decide if I can help you and go back and

“check me out” more closely.

A Man’s Word Is His Word

The culture and society that I was raised in, was a handshake was your signature and a man’s word was his word and be dammed to anyone who did not honour his word or handshake. So, some of what I am about to share with you is not full of testimonies from others, I can only “shake your hand” and say my word is my word.

I have since learnt that our society today has lost the integrity and honour that once was so highly valued so I have collected testimonies in later years from others to endorse my claims.

My Biography

I was born in in rural Victoria, Australia and currently live in Bairnsdale, Australia with my best mate, my wife Karen. I was raised on a sheep and beef property that my parents pioneered in a small country town in the Gippsland region of Victoria called Trafalgar.

Like my ancestors, I have a pioneering spirit and the ability to spot opportunities, I cannot help but see opportunities all around me. Unlike many I am not part of the “status quo”, my restless nature and life’s experiences are variegated and multi-coloured and this have given me great insight into marketing and understanding the psychology of people and their buying behaviour.

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Over the years I have seen many opportunities and created many start-ups,

“firsts” in business and transformed the sales results of many businesses I worked for. such as;

✓ Building, opening and operating the first commercial ski lodge at Mt

Baw Baw.

✓ Started the first “Snow Foam” cavity fill insulation business in

Gippsland.

✓ Started my own used car detailing business in Sydney.

✓ Started and created a very successful used car business in Morwell

Victoria, in 1986 I fitted out an empty yard and started with 8 cars

worth $15,000, by December 1989 I had 95 cars in stock valued at

$950,000 and 33 people working for me and one month due to some

clever TV marketing strategies we sold and delivered 85 vehicles.

✓ In 1998 Karen and I introduced a wellness/discipleship course to

Australia and over a 2-3-year period some 4-5000 people went

through the course in Australia and New Zealand.

✓ In 2001 – 2005 I co-authored a 12 months Holistic Course, an “off

the shelf all done for you” complete with coaches’ instructional

manuals.

✓ Around 2005 – I re-joined the motor trade and quickly moved back

into management roles – as new vehicles manager for Duhig Ford

Essendon – I achieved the status of being one of the top 25 Ford

dealers in Australia for new vehicle sales volume.

✓ I prefer used cars sales so I moved to Brighton Toyota as used car

sales manager and within 90 days we were selling 100% of our stock

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each month all over Australia via internet sales. One my most

spectacular results was 25 vehicles sold on AFL grand final weekend –

a notoriously quiet weekend – and it was the result of a very clever

online marketing campaign I conceived.

✓ In 2007 I created a 3 day in-house Used Car Internet Clinic to help

the RACV Dealer Approved Network and other automotive dealers

increase their used car sales on the internet and the results were

spectacular

✓ Built websites for two Toyota Dealerships and it was my first foray

into outsourcing the labour overseas, and there were some expensive

lessons learnt, the first web site was profitable and the second site

was a nightmare working with Indian companies and it cost me plenty

and lost money in the second project, took a heavy toll on my

marriage (no I didn’t divorce and now we are more in love than ever.)

✓ In 2010 I went to a Mal Emery 3-day seminar (Sell Fest) in Sydney

and out of that the vision for Internet Secrets Made Easy was birthed.

✓ I started ISME because I saw many Business Owners lashing out

thousands of dollars buying training courses at events and then going

home and putting them on the shelf because they could not find the

time nor the necessary marketing skills needed for the incredibly

steep learning curve to embrace the internet.

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✓ To make it affordable for a Small Business Owner, I knew outsourcing

the majority of the labor was essential and decided to create and

manage my own outsourcing team in the Philippines.

✓ I made many mistakes in choosing the right team, but once I applied

the same recruitment and training principles I have successfully used

in Australia, the mistakes were minimal.

✓ In 2010 I founded a company called Internet Secrets Made Easy to

help Small Business Owners transform their online business with a

“Hold Your Hand – All Done for You” Turn-Key Service to get More

Leads, More Sales and More Profit.

✓ and that has now morphed into a Training, Coaching and a Sales and

Marketing Strategy Service for Small Business Owners.

In between the times of owning my own business’s I worked for other companies, as a sales person and would quickly gravitate to a management role. When I look back over 38 years of sales and marketing, I cannot help but smile at some of my youthful exuberance and the satisfaction of helping customers’ fulfil their needs. My very first job in sales I tripled their sales in 12 months without any formal sales training.

When I first started selling cars (and listened to some training stuff) I quickly achieved the status as being one of GMH’ s top sales people on a national level. Within three years I became sales manager for some large Sydney Dealerships and trained and developed sales teams to become some of the best sales volume dealerships in Sydney.

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✓ For example, I took the new car division of a Sydney Toyota

dealership to No.1 in NSW and No.3 in Australia.

✓ Doubled the sales of a Sydney Nissan dealership in 30 days and did

the same with a Sydney Mitsubishi dealership in 60-90 days.

✓ After returning to Gippsland I helped a local Ford Dealer become the

top selling dealership East of Melbourne in the first 90 days of them

taking over the dealership.

✓ In the 90’s I got paid to sell mini web sites and learn how to use

Computers, navigate me way around the internet and how it worked.

And this gave me insight into what is now the biggest transformation in the way we do business and a thirst to learn more about this exciting marketing revolution. In many ways my career path has been my ability to assess almost any given situation, see the big picture and have the necessary administration and marketing skills to develop an infrastructure or framework for others to follow.

I have two main passions in life: My first passion is marketing, particularly online marketing and I see the internet as the greatest media and marketing opportunity in history. I love people and my second passion is to be a catalyst and facilitator in developing people to become leaders and mentors of others. Over the years I have continually sought to grow mentally, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually. I have a passion to learn from those that have the “rungs on the board,” who teach others out of their own life experiences

I love helping Small Business Owners get their head around this “Internet Thing” and transform their online presence — Taking on the “Big Guys” and staking a claim in this new form of media.

Personal Growth

The list of self-development courses I have taken and the books I have read is extensive, but here is a small list of courses that I have completed

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✓ Completed Two Fortune Instructor Development Programs.

✓ Completed CarSales Internet training.

✓ Completed the Go Incorporated Clint McGee “Road to a Sale”

program.

✓ Studied, completed and successfully applied the “Control

Incorporated” sales system.

✓ Recruited and trained sales people under the Control sales system.

✓ Studied personality profiles for recruiting staff and client relationship

✓ Completed a course on recruiting staff by Steve Brown.

✓ Studied and taught Selling with NLP.

✓ Studied Body language and how it applies to sales.

✓ Completed Intermediate MS Word course with ATC Training.

✓ Completed level one and two MS PowerPoint course with ATC

Training.

✓ Completed Two Dale Carnegie Courses, 1st as student and 2nd as an

assistant leader.

✓ Internet and marketing proficiency courses.

✓ Continual and ongoing thirst for knowledge about Online Marketing.

✓ Continual and ongoing thirst for Knowledge about spiritual growth.

✓ Continual and ongoing thirst for knowledge about personal self-

development.

✓ thank you.

my desire is to help you in any way I can and I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers

Carl John Fechner

Author, Speaker, Life Coach, Sales and Marketing Strategist.