I first got the internet marketing bug when I read Robert Allen's book, "Multiple Streams of Internet Income."
Allen introduced me to the concept of creating an email newsletter (back then the term "ezine" was used a lot, but I don't hear this phrase as often these days). This was also the first time I heard the phrase, "the money is in the list," which sounded really cool to my ears.
So I set off to create a really good newsletter. I wrote about job search skills that I had learned teaching a local class for job seekers.
I can honestly say that my newsletter was really good. I packed it with really great ideas and tips, and did a lot of research to keep those ideas and tips coming.
But few people knew my newsletter existed. I didn't have a lot of money to spend on advertising (thank goodness, because with my limited knowledge I would have thrown it away). I simply could not get exposure for my project, and as a result had very few subscribers.
Fast forward a few years to my first foray into blogging.
This time I started a blog on adventure travel and another on humor (I had aspirations of becoming the next Dave Barry). Again, I poured my heart and soul into this projects. I blogged every single day for 18 months. And as a result, I produced two quality blogs (in my humble opinion).
But it turns out that travel and humor are VERY competitive topics and were very hard to get any love at all from Google.
So, like my failed email newsletter efforts, my travel and humor blogs earned me but a pittance. Looking back over those 18 months, I probably earned enough for one or two trips to Wendy's.
But my efforts still brought me one positive. I learned a lot from both ventures. I learned about email lists, autoresponders, niche marketing, blogging, writing, keyword research and search engine optimization.
Still, it was a very costly education.
Fast forward again to Twitter.
The problem with both of my earlier efforts was that those internet business models were passive. I had to wait for people find my opt-in page or my blogs. The trouble was, they never did.
But once I "Got" how to use Twitter, everything changed. Twitter is a proactive business tool. By strategically following certain people based on keywords and topics they have interests in, I found that approximately 50% would follow me back.
This meant that I could build a targeted list of followers.
Next I learned to Tweet about quality, problem-solving information. On most of my "tweets" I attach a link to either one of my blog articles or to other information on the web that I think would be of value to my followers.
This has resulted in speaking engagements and coaching clients. Soon it will probably result in book sales (if I can ever get the darn thing written), CD sales and paid ecourses that I also want to finish and polish. I have also gained attention as an expert in what I do, which I just can't put a value on.
Am I wealthy yet? Hardly, but my blog does get respectable traffic and it seems to be traffic that matters.
The point, as I said, is that Twitter puts me in control of my internet marketing efforts. I can literally go out and get readers and subscribers by tweeting and writing about quality.
There is no shortcut to creating solid content that informs and offers solutions. In other words, there has to be "meat to go with the tweet."
This is true with all social media. Content comes first. It isn't just a matter of linking to some affiliate sales page. You will flop on your face if you try to just "spam" on Twitter. No one likes a hardcore sales message, and Twitter followers can simply unfollow you if you try to push your offerings upon them.
In conclusion, I believe Twitter is the missing ingredient. It enables a marketer to "pull" in an audience by being interesting and informative. This turns followers into friends and fans.
Twitter then enables the marketer to send this friends and fans to blogs or opt-in pages.
Yes, I'd have to say that Twitter really has restored my faith in internet marketing.
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COPYRIGHT © 2009, Charles Brown
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