Every week, I, like millions of other people, receive e-mails telling me that I can become a millionaire by starting my own business and watch the money flow in.
Sounds great.
Many people pay the $29.
99, $49.
99, or even more, to find out the easy path to riches.
Here's what they will learn.
1.
Create a website.
2.
Sell their products.
3.
Count the money.
J.
D.
Rockefeller was asked the keys to riches and he replied that there were three keys to making money.
1.
Get up early.
2.
Work hard.
3.
Discover oil.
Funny I know but true.
To be a successful business you have to find what your customers want or need and help them find it.
You can create a demand for something if it is unique and you have an exclusive on it but for most small businesses we are trying to market products and services that hundreds or thousands of others are doing.
To really succeed in this day and age you have to build your e-mail list and the way to do that is to start with your family and friends.
Send them coupons by e-mail and ask them to pass them on to their friends and relatives so that more people become aware of your business and your website.
As you drive traffic to your site the old fashioned way more people will turn into customers and customers turn into referrals and referrals turn into more customers.
Marketing by e-mail is cheap and effective if the people have signed up to receive your e-mails.
You don't want to be accused of Spam.
Many low cost e-mail marketing firms like Aweber, Constant Contact, and the like can be a big boon to your marketing so check them out.
Don't get discouraged.
Keep at it.
Always look for better ways to market yourself and your business.
Get on Twitter and LinkedIn and other Social Networking avenues.
Keep abreast of what is happening in your industry.
Read a lot, listen a lot, and ask a lot of questions.
Good luck.