Image by larryosan via FlickrWhen you decide to take the plunge in the maelstrom of online marketing you soon discover that the waters are infested with plenty of sharks! There are lots of people online offering you every kind of 'sure-fire' 'get rich' scheme or system, simply guaranteed to earn you a fortune whilst you sleep!
Of course, the truth is is completely different. So, before you take the plunge be sure to ask yourself a few questions:
1. What are other people saying about the individuals making the claims - check on Google and elsewhere but be sure to check out sites that aren't just repeating the claims. Many of these schemes are like multi-level marketing scams and so there are lots of folk promoting the schemes hoping to earn referral revenues of the back of them.
2. Also, do they have a proper business address and contact details? A genuine business will have these displayed on their site. Do a search in business directories for them and you can check out UK companies on the Companies House website. Basic searches are free so you can find out of the company is real and some basic information about it.
3. Check them out on WHOIS to see who owns the web domain as it will list some contact info. Does this match up to what is displayed on their site?
4. What are they actually claiming - and are they asking you to pay a fee for their product (DVD's, eBooks or even 'turn-key' solutions). Usually, the claims will be extravagant, offer lots of resources for free or at greatly reduced prices, and have lots of pop-ups when you try to close the page in your browser. All these shout out 'STAY AWAY', so move on and avoid them in future.
So, how do you find genuine online marketing help and advice? Well, like anything worth having you pays your money and get what you paid for. Nothing worth having is going to be free in the world of business. So, you will have to pay and the question is 'what will I get for my money?'. Be sure that you will get something worth having before handing over precious cash that your business needs.
One way to find advice and service worth paying for is to check out reputable sites such as The Guardian and The Times, as well as business sites such as Business Link or Federation of Small Business. Look for articles on marketing companies and then check out their web sites (usually listed in the article). Also, visit your local library and check out business directories or visit your local Business Link centre.
Another way is to network with other local businesses and ask them who they recommend. Certainly, you need to do lots of research before leaping in and spending hard-earned cash on engaging an online marketing company or signing up for some scheme you came across on the web.
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