In simple definition, marketing is the act of bringing new customers and keeping them. On the other hand, marketing plan is the guideline towards starting, nourishing and keeping the company-customers relationship.

From the beginning, I would like to state that the widespread notion that one can employ marketing and immediately a turnaround in the market performance is not true. The truth of the matter is that there has to be a long term investment undertaking for your business to thrive. It therefore calls for careful strategizing and patience before reaping the fruits of your labour.

In the same case, the key to successful company’s operation is a good business plan, the key to the promotion of your products and services is the marketing plan. The vital undertaking to the achievement of this objective is a comprehensive and objectively created marketing plan.

A marketing plan will guide you in directing your energy towards the main objective of expanding your business operations. It facilitates your establishing of new links while at the same time creating lasting bonds on the existing ones. For you to achieve this, you have to self-examine and establish the attitudes held by your customers towards you. This will definitely put you in a good position to project your future.

It is worth noting that running of the advertisement is not enough but is the last of the many ingredients of a whole and all inclusive marketing plans. The internal marketing review enables you to objectively examine the marketing strategies that are in place and their capabilities. On the other hand, carrying out a customer survey enables you to establish the customer’s attitudes towards you and your products. It is worth noting that it would be very difficult for the customers to be loyal to you if they do not have a clear understanding of your business. The survey will thus be helpful to you as a guide in building a bridge between your company and the customers. Therefore, we can authoritatively say that the goal of the marketing plan is to build the bridges between you and the customers.

The three components that when carefully blended bring about a strong marketing mix are advertising, self promotion and public relations. The three should be employed together in consideration that the three create a synergy thus the achievement of well rewarding success unlike in the case of employing only one strategy.

In conclusion every one should note that the main purpose of marketing plan is to get you there from here and it has to be thorough, well organized and supported.

It is a fact that in affiliate marketing, there is high level of competition. This calls for the employment of brilliant strategies so as to gain a competitive advantage. Any player in this business who wants thrive has to be equipped with these strategies. Are you one of them? Then you need to employ the following:

a) Have your own domain(s).
It is important that you come up with a .com domain of your own. This definitely makes the cost per click to be cheaper if you are engaged in such a program thus enabling a higher position of the advertisement you are running. Your score from the company you are affiliated to will also be definitely higher. Furthermore, the targeted clients tend to be attracted to the site of your merchant with the aim of buying the commodity being advertised since there is a feel of reliability on your domain. It is worth noting that having your own domain comes with a sense of authority together with credibility.

b) Equip yourself with pre-selling techniques.
You have to equip yourself with the dynamics of generating interest and being enthusiastic to the prospective clients preceding their visit to the website of the seller with the aim of buying the product. The aim of pre-selling is to trigger a prospective buyer to see the need for procuring the product and therefore taking the next step of making the decision to buy it in his own. This should act as a complement to the merchant’s sales page and in no way should the exercise be taken to extreme levels. This can be best achieved through a life story concerning the product on sale.

c)  Seek help from the expert.
Participants in affiliate marketing normally specialize in a particular field. It is to the exception of a few individuals who have equipped themselves in all areas. Finding someone to mentor you in getting to know the products to market and how to go about the whole activity is so vital.

There is no doubt that employing these strategies keenly in their right measures will put you at a strategically advantaged position.

During my 5am prayer, the thought of having this so called Business Success really hit home.  Success is temporary satisfaction in my book and a Victory is a battle won.   My battle is not to only reach my goals which is so cliché and loosely thrown these days in the business world but I realized that I am going for a Business Victory.  In search for victory, I am looking to make a change…Many people I have come across like how it sounds when they say, “I have a business and I do, I am a coach and I, I’m a speaker an I or I am a …”  There is more out there than that statement, I am not looking for fame, that dies in 12 weeks or money that I can’t take with me…I am in this to make history, I want to be remembered. And I will.  How about you?  Are you aligned with that notion in your heart?  In the early morning when the world is sleep and the forefathers and foremothers wisdom is in the air, take the time to reflect on your next step and ask your self who is this going to help.

Children have all have in common is the drive to conquer whatever gets in their way.  They are consistent, and put their all into whatever it is that they do…whether good, bad, evil or indifferent.  They are who they are and they probably can teach a few of us “women business owners” how to build a business, get paid, and get past the fears of failure, success, procrastination and the perfectionist syndrome.  They have a mental blueprint, they have other kids they look up to, in our case, a “mentor or coach” and most of all they follow the success trail, and they don’t play in the safe zone.  They play out the box and push themselves to the limit.  Who is your coach? What blueprint are your following?  What trail are you leaving for the next successor?  What steps are you taking to be victorious in your industry?

Children compete and go for the Victory, they go for the goal, and they follow the “done is better than perfect” model.  While we “women business owners” procrastinate to get things done and then blame life for it not being done. Let’s being to focus and recognize what it takes to succeed and what it takes for a victory.

Recognize your beauty

Recognize your power

Recognize your greatness

Recognize your strength

Recognize your talents

Recognize your abilities

Go for Victory…Victory is within and reflects everywhere you are…Success is like lust; it feels good for the moment then fades away until the next feel good moment.  I am building a victorious business what about you?

Bartering is something that many people in my industry do.  When I started my business with less than $500 in my account, I had to get things done and one of the major projects that were holding me back was my website.  The first thing I did was create a list of things I needed for my business and then I highlighted what was priority and what could sit on the back burner, before I approached a barter situation.  To my surprise just like the Law of Attraction I ran into someone who literally changed my image, brand and the way people viewed my business, she was known as the Online Success Queen and her work was fabulous, but she was costly.  Since getting a website was at the top of the list and when I had consulted with the her about what she could do for me and her prices , I knew there was no way I would be able to pay her $1500 for my website development and design when I only had 3 clients at the time.

What to do, what to do…I decided to offer her services in exchange. I tallied up a bunch of services that I could provide her in exchange for my website to be developed.  Let me take a step back, first came the relationship.  I had taken the time to talk with her, meet with her, share ideas and tips with her, and after I had established a “know like and trust with her”, I hit her with the big bang.  I asked the magic question of “Can we barter, I desperately need a website built, I am a virtual assistant and can support you in a number of ways”.  I told her I was losing money, and that I can also advertise her on my website to help build her traffic since most of the clients and prospects I came across needed websites built or optimized.

To this day, I still have the same website; I absolutely love it and get rave reviews behind it.  It is optimized, it works well and it pulls in massive traffic according to my google analytics, yes, she installed the whole works.  The best part of this barter agreement is that I was able to support her with in return.

I sat down with her, reviewed her business goals for the next 90 days and helped her come up with a plan to get more exposure and market her business.  I customized a package for her and had delivered a powerful marketing strategy that we implemented and she was pleased.  This led to a deeper relationship and the next barter agreement was ready to role out, I began to get bold and savvy with this no money down agreement called “bartering”.  When bartering you have to feel good about it.  There were times were I tried to barter services with other business owners and was completely unsatisfied and upset because either party felt like they did not get what they bargained for.  In this case, I was blessed because she then went on to build a second website for me for my training.  I started to create a training module for virtual assistants and stay at home moms and she built the site and included other features such as the online training log in.  This was a value of $2000 plus because she did all the graphics and banners and plug ins.  I have received over $5000 in web design and development work from this one barter in less than 6 months.

Bartering has to be focused and outlined.  You must know what you want to barter and make sure that it is of value.  You can visit my site at www.ultimatevasupport.com if you’re interested in outsourcing or delegating and my training site at www.ultimatevatraining.com if you’re interested in learning how to work from home. These are two examples of a barter that I did not pay a dime for and have traded my hours and skills such as Press releases, article marketing and database management for something that changed my business image.

What services can you provide to barter for what you need, post a comment and maybe you can find one that is mutually beneficial.

If you ever invested in your business, you may relate to this. Is your vision distracted with all the huff and fluff going on around you or in your industry?  I have decided that I will no longer allow others to fill in my job description and title as a mompreneur or businesswoman. It is different when you are a business owner because you are not given a sheet of paper that tells you your title, your job description and what you should do, say and how you should act on a daily basis.  As a business owner, you are constantly looking for golden nuggets that will help you along the way, but what I have experienced and am beginning to see a pattern of Unethical Internet Marketers all selling the same thing different name, same game.  Well I am here to say, “Get outta here”.

Do not let their fancy titles and large list fool you, let’s look at what these people are really selling and what is being deposited in your business.  I had to stop and look at how everyone is caught up in the title and watched how it affects the way people view you and your business, integrity or not.

Watch who is teaching you and making deposits into your business. I was told by one of my mastermind members that authenticity and integrity went out the door after Thomas Leonard passed and I wonder if you agree or not, but I refuse to gamble my money that I work hard for to another “Power Puff doll guru in training” and walk out with just another book shelf collectors item.

Unethical Tip 1.

It’s important that you be aware of anything that sounds unethical or illegal. Paying something for nothing is a red flag off the bat, but there may be others as well. Swindles crop up all the time, so you need to make yourself aware of their existence. Follow the adage that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  Also, listen to sales pitches with both ears open and do plenty of research before you make any commitments.

Unethical Tip 2.

Some Internet marketers use fluffed up language to mislead customers to believe in the benefits that don’t actually exist. You’ve probably seen advertisements with pictures of private jets, exotic cars, expensive vacations that lead the reader to believe that 1) the business owner on the website is living this lifestyle or 2) the opportunity or product being promoted can provide this kind lifestyle for you. That said, a legitimate online businesses will use both psychology and emotion to lead you down a certain path, however, it is the blatant or intentional misleading or implication of unrealistic expectations that borders the unethical in the online/internet marketing world.

Do your research, use Google search, call up the testimonials they have listed on the sales page or the website. Just as if you were checking out a new community to live in, you would checkout the schools, the neighborhood, the stores, the convenience and etc, same thing goes for your business.

Last words Keep your eyes open….If you have a story or a company that you would like to warn us about, please share so that the next Corporate Mom Dropout does not get burned.