The amazing growth of the Internet has created new found opportunities for millions of businesses who previously would have never been able to compete in the global marketplace. Yet while the low entry and marketing costs have truly leveled the playing field for many entrepreneurs it has also created a staggering amount of competition.

In fact, the average person, at least, those who live in metropolitan areas, is exposed to more than 3,500 marketing messages a day. That's 24,500 messages a week and 1.2 million each year. 

And to make online sales even more difficult, marketing studies have shown that it takes nine or more impressions for your business to be remembered by a potential customer. This means follow-up is essential. But in today’s world this type of relentless follow up for the average business owner is not often practical. Fortunately there is a solution that many online businesses are using every day – online marketing automation. 

Imagine being able to capture new leads on your website, build customer confidence through automated sequential responses, deliver products digitally while you sleep and track all of your prospects and clients without lifting a finger. For thousands of online businesses this happens every day.

In today’s competitive environment, automation is not a luxury; it’s a requirement for keeping the competitive edge you need. In fact, the benefits of automation are so numerous you can’t afford to ignore them. 

Five Keys to Online Success:

1. Capture Email Addresses. Your list is your goldmine. It is critical to all your marketing and is literally your most valuable asset. To build your mailing list it is essential that you make a compelling offer. “Sign up for my mailing list” is no longer enough. Try something like this: “Free Special Report: The 5 Keys to Dramatically Boosting Your Website Traffic in 30 Days” 

Through online automation you can offer digitally downloaded special reports, e-newsletters, mini-educational courses, or free trials to entice visitors to share their name and email. When their data is entered, it is automatically placed in your database and can be programmed to trigger autoresponders which are one or multiple automated messages. Share your privacy policy below your opt-in box as well as assurance that they can unsubscribe at any time. And of course, never spam anyone.

2. Set Up Sequential Autoresponders. A very effective way to build trust with your prospects is to offer a mini-course which delivers content-rich, relevant information to your opt-in subscribers. These automatically-distributed email messages not only provide content, but also motivate prospects to revisit your site for the latest offers. And of course once they click through to your website you can offer more content delivered via audio, video and other multi-media options as well as offers for your products and services.

Since studies shows that 48% of sales people give up after the first contact and 25% after the second, this is a perfect way to make sure your follow-up stays consistent. Best of all, after you program the series it will perform flawlessly for you for years to come. There are many great automated systems on the web like: http://www.EasyWebAutomation.com 

3. Take Payments Online. It has never been easier or more affordable to set up online payment systems through PayPal or your own merchant account. And once you set up your payment account it very easy to sell products or services online by purchasing an online shopping cart. A shopping cart will allow you to capture email addresses, automate responses, track leads and then sell you product to customers around the world 24/7. These systems are surprisingly easy to setup, operate and maintain. 

4. Track and Measure Your Marketing. Over the years I have trained and coached hundreds of business owners in marketing through my Guerrilla Marketing Coaching Program. Through a series of assessments it has become very clear that most businesses fall short in the area of measurement. 

Here are some questions to consider:

1) How many unique visitors come to your website?

2) How many visitors opt-in to your mailing list or order your products? 

3) When you send emails, how many are opened and how many people actually click through to your website? 

The reason these metrics are so important is because if you don’t know these stats, you won’t know what to improve. It could be variables like the pulling power of your headlines, the copy or navigation on your website. You won’t know until you start measuring. Many of today’s automated systems include ad trackers which automatically calculate your click-throughs and conversion statistics. 

5. Free Up Your Time to Work on the Most Important Parts of Your Business 

When you automate daily tasks you gain more time to focus on priorities for the strategic growth of your company. This newfound discretionary time comes without your money-making activities coming to a halt, or hiring and training staff.

Also when your business becomes automated, your presence becomes optional leaving you time to actually take a vacation while making money at the same time. With most systems you can quickly and easily check your sales and orders from any web browser. 

The Internet is a competitive, ever-changing marketplace. The right strategy combined with powerful and practical systems gives you an edge over your competitors. You’ll attract more customers and spend less time, money and energy winning them over. Automation services and software leverage the best technology available to make you money day and night, whether you’re there or not.

About the author:
Mitch Meyerson is the author of Success Secrets of the Online Marketing Superstars (Dearborn Trade 2005) and three acclaimed psychology books. He is the author of the ##1 Multi-Media Mini-Course on the Internet.