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When many people begin marketing on the internet, they are unaware of all the possible ways of getting their website recognized. While many of the suggestions below may seem apparent after a little thought, many who are new to internet marketing tend to think primarily in terms of getting high rankings in search engines and overlook the possibilities of working offline to get people to their online site.

However, the internet is a huge sea, and it might be easier to begin creating your internet empire by becoming a fairly good-sized fish in your small, local pond first.

The following list is by no means all-inclusive, and someone else composing the same list might have several different items. As a matter of fact, I came up with 13 items and cut the list down to 11. Why 11? Well, everybody else offers 10 items. I just made MY LIST stand out just a teeny bit by being a little bit different.

1. Become recognized as an expert. Hopefully, you are attempting to market a product or service with which you already have some familiarity. It shouldn't take much research or study to become an "expert". Remember, an "expert", to most people at least, is someone who knows more than they do. Once people get to know you as an expert, they seek out your guidance or knowledge. It is easy to refer them to your website for additional information, or have them email you so that you can answer their questions more completely than giving an off-the-cuff answer in a social setting. Once you have convinced them of your willingness to help and your knowledge of the subject, they will be more willing to follow your recommendations as to products and services.

2. Use return address labels on all your correspondence. While outside mail is diminishing in this computer age, most of us do still send out correspondence. There are many simple computer programs which will allow you to create simple return address labels which contain your web site and a simple sales message. This technique has boosted my sales in one program in particular.

3. Volunteer in your community. Whether network marketing or internet marketing, it is contacts, contacts, contacts which will drive sales. The more people who get to know you as a valuable member of your community, as an expert in your field, and as someone who can be trusted to deliver honest information, the more people who will be willing to either use your services or recommend you to others. Additionally, community recognition may include a free plug for your business. Possibly the biggest benefit of all is simply that you feel good helping the community out and working with your other citizens.

4. Offer free information, reports, or newsletters. As an expert, it should be a simple matter to offer something of value for free. Most often, this will be in the form of an information item. Items of information are generally almost free, and can generate an interest in your service or product in particular. Since the person has already requested a free report, you are dealing with someone who is interested in your service or product, and, if your report or newsletter actually contains usable information, someone who will have begun to trust you.

5. Concentrate on a niche. Once again, it's easier to start out as a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in the ocean. Simply put, it might be easier to sell lug nuts than to compete with Ford and General Motors and try to sell the whole car. It's also easier to be an expert on a niche, particularly at first, than to try to be an expert on the whole industry.