Back in 2008, I was the friendly neighborhood web guy—gleaming smile, shiny new website and an office open for business.
I remember posting a question to Aaron Wall (I was a paid member of SEOBook) on how to price SEO services for a proposal. His reply was this:
Being an SEO consultant is not exactly profitable. I recommend using SEO for your internet marketing.
Say what? I thought web consultants and Internet Marketers were one and the same! Wrong.
So what exactly is Internet Marketing and what’s so great about it?
Here’s my definition of web marketing: strategies and tactics to drive traffic and increase conversions on monetized niche websites.
And here’s why it’s awesome: no proposals, no contracts, no clients. Just building sites for yourself that turn a profit. Challenges that reward you, not someone else. Passive income. Unlimited earning potential. A shot a being internet famous. Pioneering new territory. Meeting people from around the world…
…and loving every second of it!
Why would a web consultant turn to Internet Marketing?
The reason why any respectable web consultant can smoothly transition to Internet Marketing is pretty obvious—they already know how the web and how websites work.
Internet Marketing is slightly more advanced, and I’ll get into that in a minute. First let’s see the web skills a consultant already has:
- Building a website
- Design: graphic design, site architecture, aesthetic quality
- Content: copy, images and video
- Platform: a content management system like WordPress, Drupal, etc.
- Marketing a website (these disciplines tend to overlap)
- SEO: site structure, keywords, link building
- Social media: Facebook, Twitter, etc.
- Blogging
- Working with people: this is actually a HUGE advantage a consultant has over the typical Internet Marketer. Having people skills is one of the most important assets you can have since the crux of your success is about building real, lasting relationships with others.
5 other vital skills you’ll need to succeed in Internet Marketing
Focus — Not just average focus, but red diamond laser focus. There’s nobody telling you what to do, no requests to switch this photo for that, or add this widget to that page. Internet Marketers must withstand multiple distractions to succeed.
Risk — This is a massive difference between client work and Internet Marketing work. Clients pay consultants under contract, but Internet Marketers have no guarantee they’ll ever get paid. You either fail and learn and succeed and repeat.
Content — Often in web consulting, content is the responsibility of the client. Not so in Internet Marketing — you’re 100% responsible for producing the best content possible.
Product sourcing — Internet Marketers need something to sell, right? You either have to come up with your own products or be an affiliate for someone else’s.
Additional marketing — researching profitable niches, list building, do-it-yourself blogging, autoresponders and more.
A few extra words of advice
Since there are no hard rules to Internet Marketing, you pretty much have to use what you know and apply it to something you feel will work. Know what you’re good at, what you’re drawn to and where you think you can offer and extract the most value.
Everyone has a different transition. Since I have a wife and four children I support, I’m still building websites for people in my community to keep a steady income going. You probably have a different situation.
Right now there are so many ways to accomplish the same thing, which is what makes the galaxy of Internet Marketing so exciting and challenging.
Lastly: Be Creative!
Photo by Masonite Burn.
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