In case you haven’t figured it out by now you cannot do “nothing” and do well on the Internet or expect the net to drive in more business for you.

I am going to be blunt, if you want to do well in anything – work, school, marriage, mowing the lawn – you need to work hard, plan and strive to learn more. Doing nothing means you are doing nothing but hurting yourself, in my opinion.

So ask your self, “How is doing nothing working for me?”.

When you realize it isn’t working consider your options:

• A Website – your foundation!
• Optimization – the way to establish the placements you want on the Web.
• Blogging – A great way to show potential clients/customers that you
  are an expert in your field or your product is better than the others. It is also a great way to grab great placements in the search engines.
• Internet Marketing Options – PPC, Online Video Marketing, Email Marketing and more.
• Local Search – Use the sites that help promote your business locally effectively
• Social Media Marketing – an often free and very effective way to market your business (if you do it right).
• Reputation Management – You are concerned with your business reputation offline. Have you considered your online reputation? What have you done to ensure it is good and remains a good? A bad online reputation can crush a business.

There are some options for your to consider and I highly recommend you consider these options right now.  With many businesses going down this year you have an opportunity to grab placements on the Web. Doing nothing means you have done nothing…

Think About Your Online Marketing Options and Set Priorities

We listed options above; now think about your priorities. How do you use those options to meet your priorities? What can your online marketing options do to enhance or increase your business? How much money could your business make next year? If you are happy doing nothing that is your call, but if you are doing nothing because you are afraid of what would happen if you attempted to do more I want you to read the quote below…

“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”  <– Attempt it!

Some Lame Excuses

We have a large number of clients that “get it” and we have signed on 7 new clients this month that “really get it”, but we get calls, inquiries and comments by many businesses that just don’t make sense.

“We Don’t Need Any Marketing!”

OK. Well, perhaps you have done alright by doing “nothing”, but how well could you be doing by doing “something”?

“Websites are for Yuppies”

This one shocked me a bit. The Internet really isn’t a place for stereotypes when it comes to business; it is a place that intelligent business owners know they must inhabit, no matter which “stereotype” they fall into.

“Internet Marketers are Like Snake Oil Salesmen”

As with any industry there are those selling Internet Marketing, SEO and Web Design services that do not remain educated on their industry (or never were educated). I know many of them, but those that do know what they are doing…those that strive to educate themselves daily <– those people run the Internet now. They make things happen and instead of throwing all of us in one basket you may want to educate yourself on this industry and hire a company that knows what they are doing.

“I have $500 for a Website”

You have more than that; you know it and I know it. What I don’t understand is what kind of site would you expect to get for $500? A website is an extremely effective way to advertise your company and inform potential clients on a great many things- who you are, why you are qualified, what services you offer, where you are located, how to contact you and much more. Unlike a commercial, it stays going all day. Unlike a phone book ad it stays visible all day and night and if someone drops water on your site it doesn’t fall apart! It is consistent and there for you 24/7!

Would it make sense to pay $500 for a commercial or an ad that gave so much information to the viewer that they would know everything about you by they time they were done looking at it? No. Well, the same goes for a website.

No more excuses, just do it and enjoy the benefits!

Melissa – SEO Aware