|
Build An Internet Parthenon, Part 1
Dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the great Parthenon was designed by architects Ictinus and Callicrates and built over the years 447-432 B.C. Basically it is a simple rectangular building, 237 feet long by 110' feet wide, with Doric columns around its four sides. A pediment on each end
FeminismFeminism is the belief that a person's character cannot be judged on their gender, that we all deserve a right to consideration regardless ..... rises to a slanting roof. With the exception of the roof frame and parts of the ceiling, the entire temple is constructed in marble. To this day the Parthenon remains the masterpiece of consummate proportions.
Do you notice a very important fact about this structure' It is this: the heavy roof is supported by numerous pillars. Without those pillars, the roof would collapse. My personal mentor and friend Jay Abraham calls this The Parthenon Principle.
The Parthenon Principle, simply explained, is this: Have multiple pillars generate revenue rather than one or two. Your business could collapse if it's only supported by one or two income streams. Too many business owners gamble everything on a single revenue source. They often get attached to one type of marketing - and overlook the fact that there are at least a dozen income streams they could access!
Most companies in general, generate revenue - through one or two methods they depend on and use over and over and over. However, what happens when one of those "pillars" crashes' If just ONE pillar were to go down in this scenario, you would risk losing up to 50% of your business. Ouch!
What happens if one of the pillars goes down' Do the math! If one of these TEN pillars went down, it wouldn't be catastrophic - it may even represent up to 10% of your business.
I submit however, what if your business had 15, or 20, or even 30 DIFFERENT ways, or "pillars" for generating revenue' That would make a difference, wouldn't it'
What may not seem obvious is this: the more "pillars" you have, the larger and heavier the roof that you can support. The more income-generating methods you have, the larger revenue roof you will have. I will show you how to have more pillars by opening your eyes to what the possibilities are, and what opportunities you might be missing.
In this article I am going to introduce you to a bakers dozen (yes, 13) different pillars your online business can
use to generate revenue. Is that all there is, 13' No, but lets start here first and if you're bold enough, I may follow-up this article with a part 2 or even, part 3. As you go through these "pillars" think of the ways that you can apply them for your business. DO NOT, at first glance, discard them and say they don't apply to you. Think of the possibilities of how they COULD apply to you.
On to the list:
Keywords Sit down and brainstorm as many keywords and phrases that someone might use to find a business like yours on Internet search engines. Be sure that you not only take into account not only keywords and phrases you might come up with, but also get fresh outside perspectives. Once you have the list, refine it to about 20 keywords and have your webdesigner insert these at the top of your webpages in the section in this format:
Include your URL on offline materials Put your website address onto every piece of marketing material you have, be it business cards, letterheads, invoices, brochures, everything. You don't have to include the http:// just the www.yourcompanydomain.com will do just fine.
Capture email addresses from site visitors BIG tip here. Design a box on your website where visitors can leave you their name and email address, minimally. Offer them something in exchange (see next tip) and include a checkbox where the visitor gives you consent to e-mail them updates about products or services. This gives you "permission" to market to them and even remind them to revisit your website again. Keep these in a database for future and frequent use.
Publish an Ezine No bones about - producing an ezine (newsletter your email) on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis, is hard work. But it is one of the best ways, once you've established a solid list of email addresses, to keep in touch with those who have visited your site, build loyalty, develop brand awareness, and build future business. Don't make it long and boring, but relevant, easy to read, and something your reader can make use of. You can distribute it via your email program or subscribe to a listserver.
Press releases If you have a newsworthy event, why not consider writing a brief, one-page release and send it to print periodicals and other ezines' You can do it by hand or use the services of Internet News Bureau [www.internetnewsbureau.com], Eric Ward's URLwire [www.urlwire.com], and the Netrageous PR Center found at [www.netrageousresults.com/PR/index.html]
E-mail Signature Every major email program today will allow you to assign a "signature" to appear at the end of every message you send or reply to. Suggestion: make it quick and to the point (your name, company, phone number, website address, your email, and one sentence of four-to-six words of why you are the best service offering).
Search Engine Submission I've written other articles on this, but suffice to say that you should submit your web pages to search engines. To do basic no-cost submission, visit each of the top search engines listed at Search Engine Watch [www.searchenginewatch.com]and manually submit on each website. Also visit free submission services at websites like JimTools Submit [www.jimtools.com/submit.html], and WebStep Top 100 [www.mmgexpress.com]. Keep in mind that over 90% of the search engine traffic to most Web sites comes from 8 to 10 major search engines.
Employ Search Engine Optimization Simply submitting to the search engine does not guarantee you'll receive any new visitors. If people cannot find you in the ......
Read More ...
|