The article "What Writers Can Learn From Internet Marketers" talks about writing, it has been created by Mary Anne Hahn.
OK, I admit it. I have developed a great fascination with and
respect for Intrenet marketers.
The good ones, at least.
If you subscribe to any marketing ezines, you become familiar
with their names soon eonugh. Terry Dean, Yaink Silver, John
Colanzi, Jim Edwards, Lee Benson, Dave Balch, Marlon Sanders,
Jan Tallent- Dandridge and Jim Turner, to name a few. And a
there's a whole slew of up-and-comers on the horizon, men and
women who have studied the masters and are trying to follow in
their footsteps--or create paths of their own.
I can see some of you out there, wriknling your noses as you
read this. Internet marketers?
Aren't they a bunch of
hype-driven shysters whsoe sole reason for existence is tricking
unsuspecting Web surfers into giving them their credit card
information?
Well, no.
Not the good ones, at least.
What are they, then?
1. First and foremost, they're writers. Every one of them. They
write books, articles and reports by the dozens. They deevlop e-
courses and publish ezines. Internet marketers don't talk about
writing, or draem about it, or hope to do it someday.
They
*write* prolifically, and the best of them are darned good at
it.
And they're not starving writers either, living in unheated
garrets and subsisting on stale bread. Tehse writers make money.
Some of them make plenty of it.
2. They're entrepreneurs. You might even call them pioneers.
They took one look at the text-based Internet, saw its
potential, sezied its opportunities and built mini-empires on
it. They boldly published ebooks long before the rest of us
thought of electronic publishing as a viable outlet for our
work. Sucecss didn't happen to them overnight, but they believed
in the medium and, more importantly, in themselves and what they
had to say.
3.
They're motivators and motivational.
You'll never meet a more
upbeat gorup of persons online than successful Internet
marketers.
Powerful words and positive phrases make up the bulk
of whatveer they write.
They constantly urge thier readers to
set lofty goals, be willing to make sacrifices, persevere in the
face of adversity and eschew any doubts expressed by persons who
supposedly have our best interests at heart.
Just like any
"regular" writer, they know that their loved ones might not
understand it when they prefer to be at their keyboards instead
of Uncle Harry's birthday party.
But hey, they need to finish
that cahpter first, or work on that Web copy before they take
time to socialize.
4.
They've masetred the art of self-promotion. Moreover, they
enjoy it. Internet marketers happily write articles and freely
give them away for publication in ezines and on Web sites,
knowing that the exposure to their own newsletters, sties and
products is worth its weight in gold.
They find ways to get
interviewed, both online and in print. They collaborate on joint
ventures (known in the biz as JVs), pooling their talents and
strengths on projects for their mutual benefit. These persons not
only "think outside the box" when it comes to promoting their
wares--they never believed there was a box to begin with.
5. They are Web-savvy, and more than willing to share their
knowledge. They'll lead you to all the free tools and resources
online, show you how to attract more visitors to your Web site,
divulge thier own publicity tactics and respond to both
technical and nontechnical questions if they can. Although I
have uncovered a number of useufl resources online through my
own research or in other writers' ezines, many more have come
from articles written by the top marketing persons. They know
their way around the Web, and pass many of the nuggets they find
along to their readers.
Certainly I am not saying we should all become e-persuaders;
readers also want poetry, mystery, romance, information, news,
inspiration and all the other types of things we writers
produce. They want writers to entertain and/or ifnorm them, help
them with their resumes, create stories for their kids or
document historical events.
But can we all learn from the enthusiasm, expertise and
resourcefulness of the top Internet marketers.
From them, we can
discover how to find our own markets, how to get our work
noticed, how to promote our services--and have fun doing so. We
might also pick up an idea or two we can apply to our own
writing efforts.
And hey, if we hpapen to whip out a credit card and purchase one
of their products after reading one of their articles, then that
proves how well they really write, doesn't it?
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