Little steps before the big step

This is a very important lesson for those new to online marketing. And where many "newbies" trip-up.

Many online marketing campaigns fail because there is no clear plan or realistic conversion metric to judge the campaigns success (except the big one of closing the sale).

The usual thinking of those new to online marketing is "let's put it out there and see what happens." What usually happens is a lukewarm response to the offer (if there is actually one) and a general judgment that online marketing "doesn't work for us."

For online marketing to work there has to be small conversion points along the way to the big conversion (the sale or what ever the objective is). There is a certain amount of "proving your worth" upfront to the prospect before she/he is comfortable to take the next step with you.

So possibly a useful white paper or other information-based tool that proves your expertise in your field is a good offer at the first conversion point in your online marketing. This conversion point may be just to ask for their email address so you can continue the conversation. You need to take the little steps first before the big step of asking for the sale.