Building Your Online Profits Offline!

By Jim Turner

(c) 1999 I'm fairly certain that you know the Internet audience is growing by leaps and bounds. One statistic that I see quite frequently is that there are in excess of 70,000 newcomers getting onboard everyday.

There are also those who say that over 100 million Web sites exist today.

This should tell you that there is quite a market for you to approach with your offers. At the same time, don't forget that these people still spend most of their time offline. They read print magazines and newspapers. They also belong to organizations and clubs.

What I'm saying is that online is not the only way to contact these millions of potential prospects. If you only try to get your share of this market by staying strictly online, you are missing a golden opportunity.

When someone comes to your site from offline, generally they are a very highly qualified prospect. Why? Because they made a special effort to get to your Web site. They were motivated enough to set your contact information to the side, stow it away in a safe place, remember what they did with and then once they are online, they remember to check your site out. I would say that's a very motivated prospect.

On the contrary, the typical online surfer clicks on your URL or email address because of some fancy, enticing headline, based on a split second decision. Something caught his attention and he decided to check it out. This is not necessarily a qualified, ready to make a purchase prospect. So, how do you get these offline prospects to come online and check out your offers. Here are a few methods you should try.

** Business Cards

Do you have a business card? You don't! Shame on you! You are missing out on an excellent, inexpensive method for getting your message out. If you don't have a business card, make it a point to get some ordered this week. Go to your local instant print shop or office supply store. Be sure to inlcude an attention grabbing headline or other information that would give the prospect some idea of what you are promoting. Include your URL and email address for him to contact you.

Send them to your Web site by offering them something of value for visiting. Once you get them, you should give them out to everyone you run into, especially if you have something that they may be interested in purchasing. Hand them out at social gatherings that you attend. Exchange cards with folks that you do business with offline.

For more ways to use business cards in building your business offline mailto:bizcardbooklet@sendfree.com

** Postcards Post cards are very inexpensive to produce and mail, $0.22 each in the US. If you have the snail mail address of your offline customers, mail a postcard to them offering a free report, free software or a sample product. Whatever you offer them, make it so that they have to come online and give you their email address to get it. Then you can periodically send them your offers online.

** Direct Mail Pieces When using direct mail, put your email address on everything that leaves your premises: envelopes, letterhead, business cards, postcards, brochures, booklets, invoices, checks, mailing labels, flyers, scratch pads, promotional items such as ink pens and coffee mugs.

** Publish Articles Offline If you have articles that you have published online, consider doing the same thing offline. Don't forget to include your contact information in a Resource Box. Offer something free at your Web site or via email so that you can get their email address for future follow up. Most print magazines are always looking for new, fresh material to publish. Submit your articles to the editor for consideration.

If you currently subscribe to magazines related to your area of specialization, check to see how you would go about submitting articles for publication. If you offer a business opportunity or information product related to Internet marketing, contact these publishers regarding their requirements for article submissions.

Opportunity World Magazine
mailto:oppworld@aol.com

Wealth Building Magazine
mailto:editors@wealthbuinding.com

Home Business Connection Cutting Edge Media
mailto:dawn@cuttingedgemedia.com

** Card Decks Card decks offer you the chance to get your offers in front of very targeted prospects. Magazines such as Success and Entrepreneur, periodically send out these packs of cards to 100,000 or more of their subscribers.

You can either buy your own card insertion or join a co-op with others. Each card in a card deck is about the size of a typical index card. The cost of the card usually includes graphic design. You will have to provide the copy or you can purchase those services as well.

If you would like to join a card deck co-op, contact Nicholas Schmidt at mailto:jnschmidt@profitstream.com for pricing and information regarding the next mailing.

Closing Comments Take advantage of these tips for driving offline prospects to your Web site and watch your profits start to grow. Remember, your prospects still spend most of their time offline. So, find out what print media they read and what organizations they belong to and put your offers in front of them.

Jim is the administrator of http://www.webprofitsource.com and publisher of WebPROFIT Tips Newsletter.

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