Free Internet Marketing Lessons

by Martin Avis

Today's interview is with a young man from Utah called Spencer Uresk. Although still studying at University, he has built his Internet  business to the point where it provides about 90% of his income.  It is a fair bet that Spencer's business will continue to develop and grow as he devotes more and more of his energies to it.

Let's see what he has to say.

BizE-zine: Have you been involved in any other business or jobs, online or off?

SU: No, I jumped right in to the Internet. I haven't had any other jobs. I see this as a full-time occupation.

BizE-zine: How did it all start?

SU: When I was about 14, my Dad worked for Woods Cross City. They needed a web site and at that time very few people knew anything about the Internet. I volunteered to build it for them, and although I didn't know much myself, it was a great learning experience.

I ran that site for them, on a voluntary basis, for two or three years, learning new things all the time. Eventually, I became too busy to run it unpaid, and they found someone else to do it.

When I started, I hadn't even read a book - I just jumped on in and learned on the job.

I was just looking over some old files the other day, and in some of them were the old design. Yikes! Frankly, I was a bit embarrassed. This was before I learned that web sites were tools. Before I found out the important idea that web sites are a means to an end, not an end in themselves.

Given the time I made it, it probably wasn't fully as bad as I thought it to be (this was around 1996 or so), but it was still very amateur. I'm just glad its still not around for everyone to see! It just shows you how fast thing have changed.

BizE-zine: How did you move from that early experience to the idea that you could support yourself with an online business?

SU: My first successful ventures were creating entertainment sites and selling advertising on them. Greeting Cards, fun pages, jokes, etc.. They were a mish-mash of general audience content and debatable value. But, there was a good deal of money involved, and it got me started.

As the ad market started to crash, I realized that I needed to add new streams of revenue as any site that is fully reliant on advertising for money is going to be subject to market conditions - something I am a bit uncomfortable with.

I used my experience as a webmaster to create new tools for webmasters like myself. AdvertisingResults.Net was the first service I created, and I have since created several products to sell, and I've also branched out into running my own newsletter.

BizE-zine: Lots of people try to run newsletters online. Tell us a bit about your experiences.

SU: The Uresk Internet Marketing Journal (http://www.uresk.net/imjournal.html) is my newest newsletter. It has been a bit of a struggle to get subscribers (I am used to the entertainment industry where we get them buy the tens of thousands!) and also determine where they are and what they are looking for. I've found that they are usually all over - some are complete novices, some are just into MLM schemes, some are further along than I am and so forth. It's a bit of a challenge to write your articles (and pick syndicated articles) that can help as many of those people as possible.

One of the most rewarding things so far has been the feedback I get. When I sent out my first newsletter (with under 200 subscribers), I got about half a dozen replies - all thanking me for sending them the newsletter and telling me they can't wait to get the next issue. Now I can't wait to SEND the next issue! From a sales standpoint, the newsletter fell on its face. I didn't get a single sale. But, the fact that several people read the newsletter, and benefited enough to warrant letting me know makes me feel good. It also shows that down the road, any of these people could become a customer because they trust me and find me generally knowledgeable about what I am doing.

BizE-zine: So what is your long-term advice for would-be newsletter publishers?

SU: Don't go straight for the money. Newsletters can be quite lucrative, but if you go into it with the mindset of making as much money as possible as quickly as possible, you'll fail. Newsletters take time to grow, and also for your readers to trust and become acquainted with you. Give it time!

BizE-zine: How long did it take your online business to start making a profit?

SU: I didn't buy much to start with! After my first few months, I was profitable and haven't looked back since.

BizE-zine: Have you bought any ebooks or courses on online marketing, and if so, which was the best for you?

SU: I don't care for a lot of ebooks and courses. I've found that most of them contain little or no new information, and are often written by people who don't have the experience to back them up. I honestly think that the best sources for me have been short articles, good newsletters, and discussion boards. I have found a few good ebooks though.

One is "Million Dollar Emails" by Yanik Silver. Why? Its comprised largely of the experiences of those who have done it before. In my mind, the best way to become successful is to seek out successful people, find out what they are doing, then pick out what it is that makes them successful and apply it to your own situation. "Million Dollar Emails" showed some great examples of how to make money with emails, and has already influenced some upcoming email campaigns I'll be doing.

BizE-zine: I'm glad you mentioned that one because it is one of the free bonus gifts for new BizE-zine subscribers!

SU: Another one the is great for beginners is Jay Conrad Levinson's "Marketing On Steroids". It has some good stuff for people who are fairly new. Most importantly, it changes some misconceptions that people may have about marketing on the Internet, which often leads to the downfall of their ventures. 

BizE-zine: You mentioned online forums as a good source of information. Which are your favorites?

SU: I frequent these two most often: http://www.ablake.net/forum http://www.geekvillage.com/forums

I should also add that I learn a lot by studying the sales letters of other related products. Taking time to study other people's sales letters can be very insightful! But never fall into the trap of copying word for word.

BizE-zine: What has been your most successful tactic for generating traffic?

SU: Easily the best source of traffic, both in terms of quantity and quality has been to post on related discussion boards/forums. I make sure I have links to my sites/products in my signature, and then try to be as helpful as possible. Establishing credibility is very important in those situations, and a drive-by spamming won't get you much business, whereas being helpful and only plugging your product/service when pertinent can bring in quality sales.

BizE-zine: Tell us about your biggest mistake.

SU: Assuming too much about potential clients. Namely that they will find my site easily and that they are looking for my product/service. Ultimately, potential clients won't know about your site unless you find some way to tell them. Promotion can be painful and hard, but it is also very rewarding when done right.

BizE-zine: Which software do you use to help you run your business?

SU: I have mailing software I've written. It allows me to keep in contact with customers and potential customers. This is a must - current customers account for half my sales, but cost virtually nothing to market to. Make sure you get your hands on some sort of mailing software, or at least use a mailing service. It really is indispensable.

I also use my own AdvertisingResults.net service. It is a powerful tool that tracks all my marketing campaigns, so that I can find out which ones are worth continuing and which ones I should dump. It's saved me thousands in advertising and helped to boost my revenues. There are others on the market, but naturally, I like my own best!

BizE-zine: What's next for your online business?

SU: One of the things that I've been working on is how to expand my business, but keep it profitable and efficient. The thing I've learned is to make sure expansion is within your area of expertise and doesn't distract you or draw revenues away. I have about 5 or 6 webmaster-related products and services in the works, and they will all complement each other and existing offerings.

Like I said, most of my sales are from current customers, so the more services and products I can offer, the more each customer becomes worth. The idea is to get as many related offerings, and then I can use them to promote each other by offering current customers a discount on another product I sell.

BizE-zine: What would you say to someone who is just planning to start out?

SU: Too many people try and go it alone on the Internet, don't make that mistake. Participate in discussion forums, email lists and even talk to people on ICQ. If I hadn't found a few good forums a few years ago, I wouldn't have an online business to run.

There are two reasons you should be talking with your peers:

1. You need to learn what is working and what isn't. The best way to get the most current information is by discussing it with other people. Some of the most important things I've learned haven't been from expensive courses or ebooks, but from a fellow entrepreneur who had tried a few things and shared some tips.

2. You need to network in order to setup deals or joint ventures, and also to make sales. You can spend thousands of dollars on advertising, and still not make as much as you would setting up a joint venture with someone else. Also, many people that I build credible relationships will buy several of my products down the road.

Talk to people. Pick their brains. That is by far the best way to keep current and build sales. And it makes life a lot more interesting!

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Spencer Uresk runs a business that sells tools and services to help webmasters run their business more efficiently. Stop by and see how you can benefit: http://www.uresk.net ####################################

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Martin Avis is a management and training consultant.

To get your unfair advantage (and 6 free gifts) in Internet marketing, business and personal success, subscribe free to his weekly newsletter, BizE-zine. mailto:subscribe5@BizE-zine.com or visit his information-packed website at http://www.BizE-zine.com  BizE-zine: Success strategies that really work. _______________________________________________________

Success Stories - 12 Doers Share Their Secrets. Interview #2: Spencer Uresk. (c) Martin Avis, 2002