Bob Osgoodby

"Prime the Pump"

Anyone who has a well, knows you have to "Prime the Pump" ... get any water. In order to prime the pump, you have to giveit a little water so you can then pump out a lot. Well, the sameis true i

Anyone who has a well, knows you have to "Prime the Pump" before
you get any water. In order to prime the pump, you have to give
it a little water so you can then pump out a lot. Well, the same
is true in business - any business, but especially so on the web.

Assuming you have a good product that is reasonably priced, how
do you market it to turn a profit. Some believe that if they
"throw up" a web page the world will beat a path to their door.
Others follow the no cost advertising route.

If you were walking down a dimly lit street, and someone you
never met, walked up, and offered to sell you a valuable watch
for $15. What would you do? If you're like me, you'd say,
"thanks, but no thanks". Why do some people think they can do it
on the web and it will work.

In order to succeed in business on the web, you must become
known, and you are competing with some "heavy hitters", who have
very deep pockets for advertising.

The web does one thing however for the small entrepreneur - it
creates a level playing field. There are plenty of niche markets
where you can advertise at a very low cost.

Let the "heavy hitters" spend their megabucks and forget it - you
are not going to compete in their arena. While they are spending
their advertising dollars on ads that reach hundreds of thousands
with a minimal return, you can target your market and maximize
yours.

How do you get known? First - throw away the free email account.
Second, get your own domain. There are companies competing with
Network Solutions, and you can register your web site for as low
as $13.50 - and then get a "no frills" web site for about six
bucks a month with your own email accounts. Have we reached the
bottom of your pockets yet?

If so, you may wish to consider another line of work.

Next - find a few Ezines or Newsletters that have a decent
circulation in the market you wish to target. Remember 5,000
subscribers that are in your target market, are far better than
100,000 that are not.

Finally, place an ad in those that match your business. Forget
one time ads; they don't work. Get your ad in their face for at
least seven issues - the more the better - they will get to know
you.

If you can't afford a minimal advertising budget, you're not
really in business. That is called a hobby. Are there some free
ads that work? Sure, but you can bet your life they can't be
submitted "by the thousands", so forget the automatic submission
software - you're just wasting your money.

Have you "primed the pump"? If so, you can expect to get some
water. Like any good business, if you reinvest your earnings in
additional advertising, soon your cup will overfloweth.

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