The Internet is crowded with people like you who are hoping to develop an expanding customer base via their websites. Your success in doing this will depend upon the Internet marketing methods you choose and the amount of effort you are willing to put into your marketing efforts.

My goal in this next series of articles is to help you choose one or more marketing methods that will work for you, given the amount of time and money you wish to spend while taking into account your level of expertise.

When planning your website, it’s important to take into consideration your marketing strategy. For example, if you don’t want to spend a lot of time marketing your site, then you may opt for a simple brochure site from which people can gather information about you and your business. This is a workable solution if your customers are local and you wish to reach them via local networking or advertising.

Selling products from your site. on the other hand, requires a significant amount of marketing in order to drive large enough numbers of visitors to your site who can be converted to customers.

Don’t Let It Get Overwhelming
I recently attended a workshop given by someone who specializes in social media. Many of the attendees were overwhelmed by the amount of work the speaker suggested they do in order to market effectively online. This response is not unusual.

Experts in various areas of Internet marketing will provide enough information about their field of expertise to make it sound as if you must do most of what they suggest in order to succeed. In reality, there isn’t enough time to do it all.

Trying to do it all will lead to feelings of overwhelm and frustration. So when examining various Internet marketing methods, it is best to choose one or two to focus on until you get good at those methods and then expand into other areas, if you choose.

It’s important to choose Internet marketing methods that are congruent with who you are. If you’re an introvert and clam up when speaking to groups, then you certainly wouldn’t want to start by considering teleclass. For you, e-mail marketing could be a successful alternative, especially if you have good writing skills.

It’s All about Relationships
All Internet marketing methods are about developing relationships. After all, it’s relationships that lead to sales. Very few people buy something with only one exposure to a product or service, so interacting with people over an extended period of time is what helps to build profitable business relationships.

The relationship-building marketing methods we are going to look at series include:

• Email marketing
• Offline marketing
• Social media
• PR – Press Releases, Online Radio, etc.
• Search Engine Optimization
• Joint ventures
• Online forums and places where people gather
• Teleclasses and Webinars
• Article marketing

If you aren’t already subscribed to this blog, be sure to sign up using the form on the right sidebar so you can follow the series on Internet marketing methods.

For those of you who are just getting started with a site, click here to read the articles on Planning a Website.