Posted in Internet Marketing Systems	October 20, 2005

While some Internet marketers use a single source to acquire new customers, others use an intricate Internet Marketing System of up to 13 programs to increase website traffic. What's driving your Internet Marketing System?

Executive Summary

• Some publishers use a single source to find new customers
• Others use an elaborate Internet Marketing System that includes leveraging free content and paid advertising sources
• Check out the 13 Internet marketing programs that can be used to create the ultimate Internet Marketing System and let us know what you (or we) are missing

Here's what I consider a sign of the times: many very successful publishers have an Internet Marketing System that consists of one principle source of the 13 or so that the Mequoda Internet Research Team has identified. Our interpretation of this fact: Internet marketing is so young that you can be successful with an Internet Marketing System that consists of a single major source of new customers.

Examples of One Source Wonders

• America's Test Kitchen Internet Marketing System relies almost 100 percent on their PBS TV Show to drive new customers to their website, sign-up for their email newsletter and begin moving up their robust Mequoda Media Pyramid
• Agora Financial Services Internet Marketing System relies primarily on PPC (Pay-Per-Click) adverting to drive traffic and new customers to its Daily Reckoning Network of websites.
• Forbes.com managed to pass five million unique monthly visitors with an Internet Marketing System using Web feeds as its primary source of website traffic before adding a second program (SEO) which propelled them past the 10 million mark.

The 13 Mequoda Internet Marketing System Sources At the end of the day, the most measurable results from The Mequoda Method are produced by implementing Mequoda Method Habit #6, The Mequoda Internet Marketing System, a two-step marketing program that uses a Mequoda Internet Hub to attract new customers, capture email addresses and build deep customer relationships that supports a robust multi-channel database marketing program.

Our team has identified 13 major unique sources that could be used to create the ultimate Mequoda Internet Marketing System. Those 13 sources are:

• PR (Press Releases): Optimized press releases that pull prospects back to your Hub to get information in the form of free webpages, email newsletters, ebooks and Web feeds.
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Well-designed and written webpages on your Hub that get high ranks from qualified prospects' search efforts in the top search engines.
• Web Feeds: Headline news feeds pumped to major portals like Yahoo!, MSN and AOL that bring qualified readers back to your Hub for the full story.
• Link Building: Hypertext links from third party websites that share their demographics and psychographics of our target audience that link to pages deep in the Hub.
• Radio: Free branded content that directs prospects to your Hub for more information on the topic of the moment.
• TV: Your own syndicated TV show that allows you to tout your website Hub as a great source of additional information (or guests appearances on someone else's show while your celebrity gains momentum).
• Books: Mass marketing books that offer readers free gifts and more information in exchange for registration and a valid email address at your Hub.
• PPC (Pay-Per-Click): Online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying click-through used to push traffic to your Hub or Satellite landing pages.
• Co-registration: Third-party lead generation from qualified websites that become Hub email newsletter subscribers and are purchased based on net sign-ups.
• Affiliate Marketing: Revenue sharing with online publishers/salespeople, whereby compensation is based on performance measures, typically in the form of sales of your information products or registration for your Hub's free email newsletter.
• Internet Display Advertising: Text and graphical Web advertising unit, typically measuring 468 pixels wide and 60 pixels tall (i.e. 468x60) purchased to sponsor a third party website or email on a CPM basis to drive qualified website traffic to your Hub or Satellite landing pages.
• Print Display Advertising: Advertising space purchased in newspapers and magazines with the goal of drive qualified website traffic to your Hub or Satellite landing pages.
• Direct Mail: Includes using website URL as an alternate or primary means of response on formats that vary from postcards to four-color catalogs to drive qualified website traffic to your Hub or Satellite landing pages.

Suggested Discussion Questions

• Which of the above sources do you use in your Internet Marketing System?
• Are you actively adding sources to your Internet Marketing System?
• Do you use a source not listed above to drive traffic to your website, and if, yes, how important is that source in your Internet Marketing System?

Other Recommended Resources

• Internet Marketing Dictionary
• The Insider Secrets to Marketing Your Business on the Internet
• The Perry Marshall Marketing System
• Internet Marketing Course Reviews, by Mike Wong