No matter what you sell--products, services, or causes--one of key ingredients to your success will be attention you give your sales lead follow-up system.

Notice that I used word system to describe your follow-up program. It's an important conceptual word. If you do not have a well planned, step-by-step system for lead follow-up you are leaving a lot of profits sitting on table.

It is widely accepted that it takes a minimum of five attempts to close a sale (any sale) before customer has enough information and confidence to buy from you. If your idea of follow-up is to bounce one autoresponder message back to your on-line inquiry and expect cash register to ring, you are in for a shocking surprise.

You have heard often, and will continue to hear, that internet marketing is based on building of relationships with your potential customers. It's true! Indeed, this is one of true Power Principles of internet marketing. One of great benefits of internet is ease and cost-effectiveness of relationship building.

We must understand that our potential customer is inundated with competing advertising messages from various media--television, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, point- of-purchase, direct mail--and now internet.

All of these marketing methods attempt to build a relationship with its audience in order to make advertising message credible and believable. Credibility and believability lead naturally to sales.

The one media that stands head and shoulders above competition is internet. No other vehicle provides opportunity to connect with your audience in such a timely and intimate way. Using combination of web sites and email you have graphical power of television and intimate targeting of direct mail--without associated high costs. It's a powerful combination.

If you really want to 'Reach Out And Touch Someone', way to do it is with real Killer Application of internet e-mail.

The two most powerful e-mail tools for effective client follow-up are:

• Your own e-mail newsletter, ezine, discussion list, etc.
• A programmed system of timed e-mail follow-up messages.

I can't say enough about what a regular newsletter or ezine will do for your bottom line. By communicating useful information to your clients and prospects on a regular basis you are building a strong bonding relationship with them. Over time, they will begin to see you as a partner in their success. The trust and friendship you have built through your newsletter will translate to added business and increased profits for you.

Writing articles, and promoting them for publication, is one of most productive long-term promotional tactics available. Well researched and written articles... which provide valuable, useable information, are highly sought after by newsletter publishers, magazines, ezines, etc.

It is a marketing truth that "Content Is King". Good, keyword rich, content is what drives online traffic through search engines and gives visitor a reason to keep coming back to a website. This is often referred to as "sticky content". As a traffic-generation tool it is unsurpassed.

Webmasters and publication editors have an insatiable appetite for tightly written "niched" articles that are relevant to their web sites or publications themes.

This need is your opportunity...

An editor of an ezine, newsletter or magazine has a never-ending need for good content. Each issue they publish must be filled with useful, relevant content that will appeal to their readers or subscribers self-interest. A publication that cannot provide great content will not long survive.

By regularly supplying media with well written articles, you build a never-ending supply of links and traffic to your own websites.

How?... Well, secret is in bio. Each article you submit for publication has your own "authors bio" that gives full attribution and links to your site. This is payment you receive for having supplied articles... it is a payment which gives you long-term dividends!

Not only will your article be presented to many thousands of subscribers initially... but those same articles (with your bio and links) will be archived on publications websites. Those archived articles become fodder for search engines which not only provide on-going traffic to publishing site... but to YOU as well. It is truly a Win/Win proposition.

NOT A WRITER?... NO PROBLEM...

There are countless freelance writers who will "ghost write" articles for you and... giving you copyrights. I know of many well-known names in industry who have articles plastered all over internet...and they have never written a word themselves. I know this because I have written some of their articles. :-)

If you need such services try elance or do a Google search for "ghost writing" or "freelance writers". There are many highly educated, english speaking, foreign-based professionals who will write articles for very nominal fees.

OK... YOU HAVE AN ARTICLE... NOW WHAT?

Having a good article is only first part of equatiion... now you need to get articles distributed to those editors and publications who will welcome your contribution... and publish your work.

There are three primary means of promoting your articles:

• Article Directories

• Article Announcment Lists

• Your Internal List

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