Bill McRea

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Part of the appeal of being an online solopreneur is the ability to move quickly, think on your feet and launch new business ideas on a short timeline because you are addicted to fast results.  There is nothing wrong with that, however, sometimes it makes sense to take a step back and take the time to do some planning for what lies ahead. Strategic planning is about taking a longer view of your business now, and how you would like for your business to scale up in the future. In this article we’ll take a broad look at the strategic planning process and some tools and resources that small business people can use to execute an effective strategic plan that will help them to achieve their goals.

What do I need a strategic plan for?

One of the most appealing things about starting an online business is that there is the potential to start with nothing but a laptop, an Internet connection and an idea and launch what could become a million dollar business. But, you’ve got to first have a plan for how you will move from zero dollars to positive cash flow. After you have completed your overall business plan, you will create a strategic plan that will mark out a path from where you are to your goal of a million dollar business.

How can a strategic plan help my business?

A strategic plan will help your business in the same way that a map helps you to get from point ‘A’ to point ‘B.’ If you don’t know where you are going, any road essentially can get you there. If you do not want to waste a lot of time and money spinning your wheels doing fruitless activities on a daily basis, then you will see the logic behind developing a clear strategic plan for your business—even if your business is just you right now.

Can I develop my own strategic plan?

While it is suggested that you get a fresh set of eyes to review your plan and offer you some constructive criticism, you can come up with your strategic plan on your own. An outside, objective party will not share the same blind spots that you have and they will be able to help you to see things from another perspective, which can be a great resource for you.

Who can help me to create a strategic plan for my unique business?

A business coach would be a great person to consult about helping you to create a strategic plan, or they could simply create the plan for you with your input. There are business consultants that specialize in business planning and they might be a good resource to help you with your own strategic plan.

Regardless of whether you hire a professional or do it yourself, having a solid strategic plan in place can help you to feel more confident as you go about your work. It can help you to become more focused on the individual actions that you must take in order to achieve the goals you have set and to meet the milestones in your plan.

We have only touched on the basics  of strategic planning for small business in this short article. For more information to help you grow your online business, visit, http://www.mcreasite.com/blog today.

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Have you heard of Internet Marketing? It is the term used to denote advertising that is used to sell goods and services on the Internet. There are many different types of Internet Marketing. They are affiliate marketing, banner ads, blogging and blog marketing, email marketing, interactive advertising, pay per click advertising, and search engine marketing such as search engine optimization (SEO).

What started as traditional advertising on a web site to sell products has turned into a multi-billion dollar business. In fact, the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers said that at least $7.9 billion was spent in the United States during the first six months of 2006. By the end of the year, for more details visit to www.outsource-beginners.com they had predicted that about $15 billion, if not more, would be spent.

What doe numbers like this mean? This proves the importance of the Internet for marketers and online advertising. Whereas advertisers used to focus on markets such as television, radio, and printed material such as newspapers or magazines, more and more are looking towards the Internet to help them improve profits. Search advertising, advertising that is done mainly by making sure your web page appears near the top of search engine rankings, for more details visit to www.sell-using-the-web.com remains the largest revenue generator for Internet advertising. This is done through the use of keywords and key phrases. When someone searches for a certain word or phrase, the sites that are ranked higher with the search engines appear first. If they have banner ads, blogs, or pay per click advertising, they will get more of the advertising dollars than sites that are lower ranked.

But, other forms such as video ads are starting to attract more attention and bring in more money for advertisers. Podcast advertising is another great way for companies to advertise their services and products through Internet marketing. In 2006 alone, $80 was spent on podcast advertising. That number is expected to be five times as much by 2011.

The United States is not the only country benefiting from Internet marketing. In the United Kingdom, over one billion pounds was spent on online advertising in 2005. Internet marketing has become so popular that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in England is also thinking of using Internet Marketing to supplement its income. The company has estimated that it may be able to make as much as 48 – 105 million pounds with advertising revenues generated by Internet marketing.

As we enter 2007, researchers believe that more and more businesses will use the Internet to advertise. Studies show that advertisers will spend approximately $8.3 billion on paid search ads alone. That is over a billion more than last year. With the Summer Olympics and United States Presidential election taking place in 2008, researchers believe that as much as $22 billion could be spent on Internet marketing.

Is all this online advertising actually making a difference? Studies point to yes. In 2007, it is expected that online spending will reach a new high of $20 billion dollars.

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