Internet Tip of the Week - by Bob Osgoodby
Holiday LethargyWith the coming of the holidays, many home based entrepreneurs
are getting caught up in the spirit of the season. Instead of
approaching their business with the same vigor and vitality as
usual, they have dropped their guard a bit, and think they can
coast through the end of the year. They might figure they've got
to buy presents for family and friends, and funds will be a
little short. After all they reason, everyone is doing this and
December and January will be slow anyway.Nothing could be further from the truth. Now is the time to
double, and maybe even redouble your efforts! The people who feel
they can renew their advertising efforts after the first of the
year, will miss this boat.Your plan at this point should be to aggressively advertise your
business. Think about it. Many people will be short of funds, or
overextended due to the holiday gifting, and won't be standing in
line during the next few weeks to take advantage of your
opportunity. But, we all know it takes between 5 and 7 exposures
to get someone's attention. While the ads may not pay big
dividends in December, you will be reinforcing your branding with
your potential clients.Take a lesson from the "brick and mortar" establishments. They
will be pounding us with their ads now more than ever, trying to
get their share of our holiday shopping dollars. And they will
continue this until well in January realizing that some people
have more expendable income after the holidays than before.But, how about all those people getting first time computers?
Don't forget that the Internet doesn't take a holiday. There are
thousands of prospects going online everyday. If you relax now,
you may be missing those prospects that you might otherwise get.If you are in an affiliate program or in multi-level marketing,
now is the ideal time to make yourself known. Many of these
programs allow participation with little or no up front
expenditure. If yours is one, feature this in your ads.The design of your ads is critical at this time of the year. The
question you should pose is not "can you afford it now, but can
you afford not to".The concept of advertising is sometimes difficult for people to
understand, especially by those involved for the first time. The
most important time to advertise is when business is slow. The
pre-holiday season will be slow if you market an online
opportunity. Now, many people will not realize this and curtail
their activities. The smart ones will and increase their ad
expenditures. They will get the "lion's share" of the business
available.Some people will receive money as a holiday gift, and now is the
time to get their attention. The winner of this race will be the
first person they think of when the funds become available.PC's currently exist in the majority of U.S. homes, and the
number of first time users increases everyday. PC makers are
trying to boost sales by cutting prices, leading to a major price
war. While this is bad for the PC makers, it is good for those in
business on the net as the number of new people coming on, who
are your prospects, always increases when this happens.Two-way satellite service is now a viable broadband alternative
to cable modem and DSL service. The satellite is likely to appeal
to consumers who want high-speed Internet access, but who either
face long waits trying to obtain cable modem or DSL access, or
live in a rural area where it is not available. This will also
increase the number of people coming online.If you are in business on the web, or planning to do so, now just
might be the time to take advantage of the lethargy that others
will face. The "Holidays" are not the time to slow down or
discontinue your marketing efforts.-----
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