5+ quick tips to improve your online marketing

Getting people to friend, follow or fantasize about you online is loads of work, no question. And there really is no realistic, reliable “get rich quick” business model (if there were, everybody would already be doing it). As the saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

But, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to succeed online. Far from it. In fact, many of the basics are well understood. Here are some quick tips that underscore those basics and can help you improve your online marketing efforts—oh, and help you towards your ultimate goals:

• First up, Copyblogger looks at 5 harsh realities of marketing online as well as what you can do about them. OK, they say, “making a living,” but the same hold true in both cases. By the way, #4 on their list is particularly true.
• Fortunately, lots of resources exist that can help you ease those “harsh realities.” For instance, SEOmoz has an amazing SEO content curation guide that you really need to check out.
• I’d also really have to recommend our guide to building your business blog as well as our list of 6+ useful Pinterest, Facebook, Google+ and Tumblr tips.
• Additionally, Rob Petersen at BarnRaisers offers 9 case studies where social media took out the middleman. Useful if you’re interested in doing the same thing for your business. Or, for that matter, if you’re the middleman.
• And, finally, while social is great, don’t overlook “the forgotten social network:” email. According to new research, 77% of customers want marketing messages via email. Oh, and there’s no close second place. As mentioned above, people need to know something about you before they’ll buy from you. And who knows you better than your own email list? (Speaking of which, did you know you can get Tim Peter Thinks delivered to you by email?)

Strong stuff, all around. Yes, you might not “get rich quick.” But, that’s OK. After all, getting rich at a more reasonable pace is still a pretty good idea.

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