My Dog Ate My Website

I am really fascinated by the world of on-line marketing. I spend more and more of my time on the net, make more of my purchases from on-line suppliers, but I seem to find out about new about new products on TV, radio, or even mail.

You probably have me pegged... I am an information junkie. I can't seem to get enough.

I started exploring the world of on-line marketing at the beginning of the year to help some of my clients grow their business. Over the past few months I have been drinking out of a fire hose. Event though internet marketing is much smaller that the other media channels it is a really interesting, sophisticated and serious business.

I suppose my experience with Fortune 1000 eCommerce consulting and participation in several DOTCOM era start-ups made a little arrogant. I felt like I knew what was going on the internet. Yeah, right.

My foray into internet marketing now reminds me of the last time I decided to buy a dog.

My quest for the perfect dog led me to a library and the internet to research dog breeds. Then I had a couple of discussions with my wife and kids to figure out what size, personality, etc. that we were looking for.

While we were thinking of making a purchase, we noticed a sign for a dog show. Have you ever been to a dog show? Do you have any idea about the time and money that this country spends on keeping dog genes sorted, categorized, primped, poofed, and pimped. It's huge! And world of dog breeding is a lot like the world of termites. If you don't go looking for it, you don't know it's there.

At the dog show we saw lots of great breed, met breeders and made appointments to check out puppies. By the time we were done we were experts and we picked a great dog, a Brittany Spaniel and named him McKenna. We knew he was going to be perfect and he was.

He was a perfect nightmare; tons of energy and an amazing athlete. He drove us nuts and destroyed our place. We found that we really should have had a demo before we bought. But we hung in there and eventually we found a solution.

Internet marketing is not hiding but you really have to look hard to find out how it works and who is making money. It's responsible for $10 to $25 billion annually, but nobody is really measuring.

This young industry is made up of a wild mix of players: Marketing Guru's, Affiliate Marketers, Product Sourcing Directories, Drop Shippers, SEO Experts, Link Managers, and on-and-on. The whole thing is still very much in the hands of cowboys, and not controlled by big corporations. I really like that.

So I recently inked my first agreement to market a product. I launched a modest web site, waited, and watched. To my surprise, nothing happened. Nobody came - no search engines crawled - hmmm?.

Is it time to take the dog back? I don't think so.

I find most things I need on the internet without too much trouble. If marketers are winning my attention then I'm sure that "mercenary" marketers are willing to share their secrets.

I just need to get the right mix of tools and information to take care of my current challenge. The great thing about the net is that you can often demo and test before you commit to a lifelong relationship.

John Thomas is a business consultant who works exclusively with entrepreneurs and owners of small and mid-size businesses. Track his foray into online marketing at http://trafficisthekey.com and soon at http://inet-marketing-101.com

---

Google News Updated : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:51:33 GMT 1.5 million G1 Android phones pre-ordered - TG Daily Product Reviews 1.5 million G1 Android phones pre-ordered TG Daily - 6 hours ago By Wolfgang Gruener Chicago (IL) - T-Mobile’s upcoming G1 may not be the best-looking iPhone rival, it may not have the most complete feature set and T-Mobile may have undersold the device at the recent launch event. Get ready for next-gen mobile InfoWorld HTC G1 Android Phone Racks up 1.5 Million Pre-orders eFluxMedia Brighthand - InformationWeek - ReadWriteWeb - ZDNet all 153 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:21:21 GMT Fantastic finishes: 5 NFL games down to the wire - Washington Post Washington Post Fantastic finishes: 5 NFL games down to the wire Washington Post - 3 hours ago Dallas Cowboys' Mat McBriar (1) has his punt blocked by Arizona Cardinals' Sean Morey as Monty Beisel (52) looks on during overtime of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008 in Glendale, Ariz. Blocked punt downs Dallas San Francisco Chronicle Backups Burst Through Line and Lift Cardinals in Overtime New York Times Sports Network - FOXSports.com - Houston Chronicle - Philadelphia Inquirer all 749 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:15:50 GMT UK government takes stake in three banks - CNN International Canada.com UK government takes stake in three banks CNN International - 32 minutes ago LONDON, England (CNN) -- The British government on Monday said it would make a multi-billion investment in three of the country's major banks to help them through the "first financial crisis of the global age. In quotes: Bank bail-out reaction BBC News TEXT-Lloyds TSB terms for acquisition of HBOS Reuters guardian.co.uk - Wall Street Journal - Bloomberg - AFP all 1,923 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:18:47 GMT Forecast: Summery Sunshine Sticks Around - Washington Post Chicagoist Forecast: Summery Sunshine Sticks Around Washington Post - 2 hours ago Columbus Day will feel a lot more like Labor Day as temperatures climb to around 80 degrees. This unseasonably warm weather will continue for the next several days. Enjoy a warm, sunny Columbus Day Times Herald-Record Beautiful start to the work week The Star-Ledger - NJ.com The Capital Times - Journal and Courier - Richmond Times Dispatch - The Virginian-Pilot all 241 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:03:26 GMT Manatee dies before reaching rehab site - Boston Globe WHDH-TV Manatee dies before reaching rehab site Boston Globe - 4 hours ago By Emily Canal After a 27-hour trip to Florida, Dennis the manatee, rescued from the frigid waters of Cape Cod, died in Orlando yesterday as SeaWorld employees carted the mammal to a rehabilitation center. Video: Rescued Manatee Dies After Mass. Rescue AssociatedPress Manatee rescued off Cape Cod dies en route to Florida Sea World New York Daily News WFLA - eFluxMedia - Cape Cod Times - South Coast Today all 565 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:21:21 GMT Dodgers stand up to Phillies in Game 3 win - FOXSports.com Washington Post Dodgers stand up to Phillies in Game 3 win FOXSports.com - 4 hours ago by Ken Rosenthal Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on the FSN Baseball Report and MLB on FOX. LA revitalized at Moyer's expense MLB.com Kuroda's pitch serves its purpose for Dodgers USA Today New York Times - Los Angeles Times - Boston Globe - Philadelphia Daily News all 2,467 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:00:36 GMT European, Asian markets bounce back - The Associated Press Vancouver Sun European, Asian markets bounce back The Associated Press - 1 hour ago LONDON (AP) - European markets opened strongly Monday following Asia's lead in response to the widespread government efforts over the weekend to shore up the world's troubled financial system. The financial crisis A light at the end of the tunnel? Economist World stock markets welcome European bank rescue AFP MSN Money - New York Times - New Straits Times - Voice of America all 769 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:23:04 GMT RSS to Blog RSS to HTML

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Multiple Internet Profit Streams

Have you been searching without success for a way to... Read More

The 3 Secrets of High Traffic Sites

It seems to be in vogue these days to downplay... Read More

Viral Marketing - Use This Free Reminder Service to Go Viral

The busier you are the harder it is to remember... Read More

Online Marketing Law! Whats Happening?

You read that right. There's a new law in California... Read More

5 Ways to Educate Your Prospects for More Sales

It's impossible to sell a product or service without demand... Read More

Hispanic Web Marketing - An Emerging Strategy

Major marketers in the United States have recognized the importance... Read More

Starting an Ad Campaign

Developing an ad Campaign for the Startup E-businessOnline advertising has... Read More

The Myth of Internet Marketing: aka The Golden Carrot

Why am I so mad I could throw my computer... Read More

Product Marketing for Home Based Online Businesses

If you are like most internet based home business entrepreneurs... Read More

Dont Treat Your Business Like a Casino

It's amazing how many people are jumping into the internet... Read More

Niche Marketing Nuggets: Picking the Gold from the Internet Mine

Building an Internet business based on a specific niche is... Read More

My Dumbest Marketing Blunder And How You Can Avoid It

When I started submitting Ezine articles, I never realized their... Read More

Joint Ventures - 8 Incredible Ideas to Boost Your Web Business!

A joint venture is when two or more businesses work... Read More

Classified Ads - What Works & What Doesn?t

Do classified ads really work? Should you include an email... Read More

The Best Kept Secret on the Internet

What is the Best Kept Secret on the Internet?This is... Read More

Are You Running Your Online Business On Half Empty?

The idea of paying $1000 for a marketing package to... Read More

Year In Review: Top Ten Internet Businesses 2004

The internet boom hit a high mark in 2004. With... Read More

A Few Things I?ve Learned About Doing Business On The Internet!

A few things I've learned about doing business on the... Read More

The Five Golden Keys To Massive Passive Income

You can earn a large monthly passive income with a... Read More

7.5 Ways To Get More Sales Through Your Web Site

Yes, apparently - websites are supposed to make money! Somebody... Read More

Visibility Equates to Higher Profits

One of the greatest challenges businesses face is how to... Read More

An Internet Marketing Solutions Company Confesses

a) An internet marketing solutions company tells you that they're... Read More

To All Internet Marketers - How To Get My Business

More and more people are realizing that the Internet offers... Read More

Dollars In The Details!

When it comes to your marketing message, the little things... Read More

Googles Own AdSense Tips

Google is at least as interested as you are in... Read More