If you’re looking for innovative methods of marketing your on-line business, start thinking like an off-line marketer. The tried and true marketing practices employed by traditional businesses represent significant value to your on-line venture. Before placing your next bid with a Pay-per-click engine, consider some of these marketing initiatives:

Off-line Advertising – Yes, they still have advertising off-line, in things like newspapers and magazines. If you have an intriguing website name that is focused on one particular industry or profession, you have access to highly targeted publications that will do an excellent job of reaching your target market. Imagine that you operate a website that sells an amazing new product aimed at plumbing market. You can stretch your advertising dollars by placing ads that contain only your URL in recognized plumbing publications. An ad that reads www.besteverplumbinginvention.com would attract plenty of traffic from curious plumbers and industry suppliers. While other companies are using their ad space to explain to plumbers why they should call them, you’ve provided a compelling reason (curiosity) for plumbers to hit your site. Since you only advertised URL, you don’t require considerable space to explain your idea, hence cost of your ad will be very reasonable.

I don't think there's any one of us marketing online that didn't get suckered in, at least to some degree, by promise of big money on only a few hours of work per week.

Well let me tell you something if you're just starting out and that's what you still believe. Those of us that have been around a while have all washed that hog and are sick and tired of hearing it squeal!

There are no 'quick profits' until you've spent hours upon hours building a system that can provide them for you. Unfortunately, that's where many of us get lost.

We don't spend enough time 'building system'. Oh sure, we build all time, but not always in same direction as we did yesterday or day before. In fact, most marketers I know have several systems they are working on all at same time.

It sounds good. I mean, heck, idea of 'multiple streams of income' is a sound one, but let's get real here. What if other people with other jobs took same approach many of us do with our Internet marketing businesses?

FARMER:

"Are you kidding? I'm not going to spend all summer out there in heat watering my crops. Remember old Ted up road? He spent all summer out there watering and come harvest he only ended up with 50% of what he expected anyway.

"Of course, he only planted corn on every other row, but what's that got to do with anything?"

[Ever get all excited, put money into a program, then lose your momentum and never really promote it?]

ARCHITECT

"Here's you're building, Mr. Finney! And we came in at only 50% of estimated expenditures, too!"

"Wow, how did you manage that?"

"Well, you'll see as we move down alley to back of your building that... it isn't there!"

"What?!"

"Oh, it will be fine, Mr. Finney, you'll see. Just make sure your customers use front entrance at all times, ok? I mean we used some sturdy cardboard to close in back of building, but you don't really want to have anybody knocking on it or anything, if you know what I mean.

"You might want to get some sort of windbreak set up on that side as soon as possible, too."

[Honestly, how many of us have started in a program, built a small downline, and then left it for next best thing to come along?]

DOCTOR

"Ok, I've breeched pericardium and I'm ready to start bypass.

"Ahem, uh, does anybody know how rest of this surgery goes? I dropped out of medical school right about this point because I didn't want to have to spend any more money until I made some.