Welcome New Buddies!  Welcome Seasoned Players!

Today's post covers a few things impacting your success. 

Whether you've been involved in Internet marketing for 10 years or you're just embarking on this exciting career path, the Internet is STILL growing !

In my posts, I write content at comprehensive business levels aimed at helping you develop your CEO side. As part of a larger overview, I cover marketplace watches showing you how external forces may impact our Internet marketing campaigns. 

Whenever a major e-commerce firm buys other online companies, it's going to affect us.  Whenever there are changes in e-commerce legislation, we're affected.  Google changes are only one aspect of what can impact a business over the long term.

Here are direct quotes supporting my contention that there's still major room for newbies in ANY niche. 

SOURCE:  Wall Street Journal..., Tues., March 29, 2011, by Forrester Research:

*  E-commerce hit $176 BILLION in the US alone 

*  E-commerce is expected to grow to $279 BILLION by 2015

*  There tends to be a lesser number of qualified marketers available online...but you're in solid hands at WA.

*  GOOD people like YOU must replace the 100,000 or so merchants Google cut out of the marketing picture 1 - 3 years ago.  Some IM'ers have recovered.  Some of the less than honest e-marketers have migrated to other ad realms.

Google can still be the place for you!

*  If you're big on ethics and want to earn money honestly, you're in the right place at the right time.

It Gets Better

*  "More people have begun shopping online, companies like EBay are scrambling to make major changes". 

This means that Google has to be tough on Internet marketers so that they'll present solid content their target audiences want and demand.

* "EBay seeks to tip the balance of power in the surging Internet retail industry by making a $2.4 Billion acquisition to intensify its rivalry with Amazon".

Profitable implications show us that products move extremely well online.  Your job will be to determine if products are doing better than digital downloads.  This information should help you target your campaigns more effectively.

*  "EBay's auction business has fallen out of favor with consumers who prefer the simplicity and ease" of direct product purchase through Amazon.

*  Marketers in the home-based business industry are reporting a lull in business

*  Google hires Ph.D.'s so that even the most astute Internet marketers are challenged to educate themselves before taking a full plunge.

Here's where WA promos gain momentum.

*  EBay purchases GSI...a major online company processing merchant orders so PayPal has become a recent part of that acquisition.  To strengthen EBay's competitive aims, they've also acquired Skype, BMarket, Bill Me Later, Shopping.com, Rent.com, Den Bla Avis A/S, Bill Basen ApS, Verisign, and Internet Auction.

Some of my prior posts mention that Internet marketers would likely experience a few delays in (new) campaign launch, but it would be a blessing in disguise.  This is true if you consider that steady traffic has been a consistent challenge for our newest online marketers. 

Organic traffic (traffic gotten through articles) has recently hit Google's wall.  Even so -- for long-term business sustainability and for building valuable relationships, articles go a long way.  Top industry pros say "we don't see article marketing going out of date".

Seasoned players report that traffic is also fairly steady..., assuming they were not hit hard by the last Google bat.

* "Facebook hires Mark D'Arcy , the President of Time Warner, Inc.'s Global Media Group, Director of creative solutions to shift their ad approach from intrusive marketing (flashy pictures, videos, or lines of text)  to address interactive capabilities".  This agrees with the natural shift underway with e-commerce firms striving to increase greater audiences through branded ads appearing on handheld devices (palm pilots, Blackberry, i-pads, etc.).  

The bottom line is this --  while major firms alter their ways to reach an ever-increasing public on the go, it's no wonder that Internet marketers will feel somewhat dazed.  It would therefore appear that as delivery systems for our ad campaigns shift, Internet marketing may not settle for at least another year or so. 

Allow this update to give you new insights into the ad directions you might take.  This will give you a much better edge all the way around.

Kindly keep your WA education going.  It is the best investment you will ever make.  For those of us who do so, we'll fare much better in the long run.  

One more point -- if you're new online and are easily tempted to purchase products/systems through Internet gurus, be careful to look at their offers with a jaded eye.  Many are too good to be true and the only ones who are profiting in the end are them. 

Please take the needed time to identify what's still working. 

As far as fellow IM'ers tell me, "we see basics essentially remaining the same" (e-mail marketing for proper list building and communications, campaign A, B, C's pulling in landing pages, squeeze pages, newsletters, social media, and paid ads). 

You can't lose if you're writing solid ad copy and articles, but keep in mind that articles are designed to build your expertise and credibility as an online e-commerce business resource. 

If you're building your own websites, this is still another key essential that may face some changes.  Interactive websites do best.  Focus on obtaining a your natural listing with Google by incorporating your published articles from Street Zines.

Toasting Your Success Online,

bkb2012...Barbara