Diversify In A Depression?
OK, they are trying every trick in the book at the moment to fool us into thinking things aren’t as bad as they really are. They are going out of their way to avoid the ‘D’ word.
But we ALL know what’s coming right? And at ANC we are doing everything we can to help point you into those recession proof areas. (Oops! Even I daren’t use the the ‘D’ word now. LOL!)
Anyway, spotted an interesting article in the UK’s Daily Telegraph Business section a couple of days back. I’ve copied it below (I hope they don’t mind.):-
Businesses fail to grasp website search opportunities
Almost one in five small businesses remain invisible to their customers on the internet despite significant progress in the use of websites in the last three years, a poll suggests.
Fasthosts Internet, a website hosting company which conducted the research, said the percentage of business sites that are invisible to search engines like Yahoo and Google has improved from 49pc in 2006 to 17pc this year.
But the company found that one in three firms had not done anything to make their websites attractive to search engines, which would improve their chances of appearing near the top of a search query by a potential customer.
Many felt unable to try to do it themselves and believed hiring out help would be too costly.
Despite this, more than two thirds of the 400 small firms polled said that they thought consumers did rely on search results to find online retailers.
Steve Holford, Fasthosts’ marketing officer, said: “No business today can afford to neglect its position within search engines. In learning the basics of how internet search works, a business owner will appreciate what a powerful impact it can make on their sales function.”
Richard Tyler (That’s a direct link to the article.)
Mmmmm… makes you think doesn’t it?
As Affiliate Marketers (even if you haven’t been in the game for very long) I guarantee that YOU know way more than the average small business person on how to get listed, and listed on the front page, of Google and Yahoo.
So, there’s an opportunity here. The last thing any business should be doing at the moment is cutting back on marketing (although some may require convincing) so why not check out some local businesses in your area. Have they even got a website? How well is it optimised? Would a PPC or article campaign help them? What about some Social Marketing (Twitter, Facebook, etc)?
Could YOU help them?
OK, it’s not affiliate marketing but it’s another potential income stream. Think about it… I know I am and I know Thad has recently done some (paid) PPC work for a friend of his.
You may need to knock on doors… you may need to do a couple for free to build up a reputation… get some credibility… get testimonials…
Worth a try? I think so!
Travis Sago (BumMarketingMethod) has often been asked in the Wealthy Affiliate forum what he would do if he was starting out again / needed some quick cash / Google delevered an almighty big slap / etc. And the above is pretty much always his answer.
Like I said… think about it…
PS. There’s a great cartoon in the Telegraph as well by Alex… here’s a sample:-
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Tagged with: affiliate niche club • affiliatenicheclub • anc • bailout bonanza • bonus report • daily telegraph • depression marketing • depression proof marketing • google • list building • niche marketing • rebrandable report • recession marketing • recession proof marketing • seo • small business help • small business marketing • website design • yahoo
Hey Dave,
I agree with everything you say in this post EXCEPT the stuff about using the ‘D’ word. With all due respect, I to me that sounds a bit like fear mongering. And what do you mean “they” aren’t telling us this?
I don’t know which “they” you’re talking about, but the new President of the US is doing nothing but talking down the economy and saying things are going to get far worse, in order to advance his socialist agenda and print a couple trillion dollars to blow on big govn’t social programs.
Yes, I agree, we have a banking crisis, brought on mostly by LOTS of bad mortgages, that has lead the world into a recession. BUT, things aren’t nearly as bad as they were in the late 70s early 80s (when America had double-digit unemployment, 20% mortgage interest, and double-digit inflation), and they certainly aren’t anywhere near as bad as the depression that lasted the whole decade of the 1930s.
Granted, I don’t live in the UK, so things could be worse there, but I suspect you’ve seen worse times as well.
My point in saying all this is to say that, currently, all we are in is a recession. It’s part of a normal economic cycle. We go through these about every 8-10 years or so, and they usually last about 9 months to a year.
I see no reason to think that this one should be any different. Also, in other recent recessions, you could always find many “doom and gloomers” out there crying that it’s the end of the world.
So, yes, it’s always good to diversify. It’s always good to go into “hungry”, recession-proof markets, but I really don’t see the recession affecting the internet all that much. If anything, it could be bringing more opportunity as people tend to shop more online to save money.
Here’s an example: Walmart and Mcdonald’s are both reporting skyrocketing earnings, even in these supposed horrible times. What do they have in common? They are percieved as places where people can save money.
The internet is exactly the same. All we need to do is park our butts in front of “hungry” buyers, and we will be just fine, no matter what the offline economic conditions.
Ok, rant over. Thanks for listening. Time to get back to making money
Paul
Hi Paul,
Great response and I agree with just about everything you’ve said as well… yes, we are not going to see anything like the 30s but as bad as the 70s? Yep. I think so… but different. Deflation rather than inflation will be the initial problem…
I’m not naturally a doom & gloomer (although I always did prefer going down on the Dow when I was into that kind of thing). By ‘they’ I’m referring to the w*nkers who got us into this mess.
And you gotta be aware that kinda the whole point of me is being hypey and over the top. I just think it’s fun! And you’re right… plenty of opportunities out there as you say… people are looking for value!
Thanks for the great feedback
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the reply. I understand what you are saying and yeah, it may get like the 70s, but I grew up in the 70s, and I remember that people were still making money during that time. The way I see it, unless it’s the end of the world, there will always be opportunities to profit even during a deep downturn. And if it is the end of the world, we’re all screwed anyway, so why worry about it?
Take care,
Paul
Hey Dave
wild ride those days, we need some alternative ideas to fight the “D”, I fully agree. We talked at the Wealthy Affiliate forum about my thread so I will post it here like agreed.
Hope some will benefit from it.
“By no means I want anybody to desist at affiliate marketing.
But sometimes we need fast cash for some reasons and many don’t get the turn around yet and struggle.
Pay debt, rent, next CC bill, some AdWords costs, whatever.
I have seen here at WA some great posts about Offline approach, great stuff, and a thread from Travis about making a fast buck – all very valuable tips.
So I thought I’m going to add my tip – one you might don’t know, one for easy and FAST earnings, NO COMPETITION (well, almost), HUGE POTENTIAL, and which is dead simple to do (even a total newbie can do this).
Your potential client – EVERY business there exist in your area, with or without a web presence.
Your charge – $20-30 per client (suggestion) depending on the amount of information
Your time investment – to make $200 a day, maybe 6 hrs of work, could be more or less.
Your JOB – register them in Google Maps
WHAT ? Yes my friend, a simple, dumm register in a few known tool called Google Maps.
They will be on Googles FIRST page when someone is looking out for anything in their area. Do you think that this can bring then NEW CLIENTS ? And all for FREE (less your work);
And there is a other kick to this. After you did this and they are listed, you gain 100% trust and can offer any webmaster service you want, they will buy, I promise. Build them a website, or if they already have one manage for them a email campaign over YOUR autoresponder – of course not for free.
So how this is done : those are the basics here, OK
With the Local Business Center you can add the following information pertaining to you business to Google Maps:
- Name
- Address
- Phone Number
- Descriptions
- Photos and more.
Here are the steps for getting set up:
1. Go to Google Maps
2. Click “put you business on Google Maps”
3. Sign in or Create an Account (you need the businesses email account)
4. Click “Add New Business”
5. Enter all business informations you have
6. Click “Next”
7. If it shows the business is already on there, click “claim listing” as someone else posted the business
8. If it’s not there, click “add listing”
9. Then you can enter additional details such as business category, opening hours, photos, payment options, etc. – off course those details have to be collected prior to the submission, but this will deterem the value of your “work”, the more infos the more you charge.
10. Click submit
11. IMPORTANT. At this point, it requests to verify the business by phone or postcard. This has to be done by the OWNER of the business. After he has verified his buisness, it will appear on Google Maps.
12. Later on, you can go back to Local Business Center and edit all information, check out how many people went to the listing, create discount coupons etc. – THIS IS CRUCIAL, I would personally hand this over to the business owner, OR you can manage to get a additional deal to maintain this data for a low monthly charge.
That’s about all there is to it. Not a whole lot of work for potentially a whole lot of exposure and added convenience for customers looking for what those businesses have to offer. I believe that there is a huge potential in this.
This is serious and you should plan about how to approach those firms, but it can’t get easier then this and a fast $200 a day is possible with little work.
Enjoy.
G.”
As the Wealthy Affiliate Forum is restricted for members only I posted it here for all of you guy’s, OK.
Hey G! Great contribution!
There’s a lively debate going on in WA right now on this ‘offline’ approach.
First, let’s be clear… this is NOT for everyone and don’t let it become a distraction. The way I see it is that if you have the skills and the time this could be one more way to benefit from Internet Marketing.
It could prove quite hard to get yourself in front of people and convince them of the benefits of a good optimised website or adwords campaign.
Probably the best approach would be to ask them what they need rather than trying to ram SEO, etc down their throats.
But again it’s getting yourself in front of people. Do people you know run businesses? Maybe do something for one or two of them for a low cost but to gain credibility.
But be VERY CAREFUL not to undervalue what you do.
I thinks G’s method is a great way to get your ‘foot in the door’
Thanks for the contribution.
Hi there, I found your blog via Google while searching and your post looks very interesting to me.
You are a very smart person!