The Internet is a powerful medium for marketing any business to an estimated billion users who go online everyday.
It presents lucrative opportunities for Internet consultants who specialize in some or all of the aspects of Internet marketing. Consulting is a broad business that covers various aspects of the Internet.
Consulting services
A skill in any of these areas can be developed into a service which you may provide to small businesses and other clients:
building websites
advertisements
catalogs
online order forms or systems
web and social media
marketing
customer service
building intranets or internal networks for businesses
hosting
websites
outsourcing
search engine optimization
list building
Business plan
Most startup consultants fail within 2 or 3 years because they lack a business plan or any clear direction on where they want to take their business.
Many make the mistake of thinking that Internet consulting does not require planning simply because it often starts as a home-based business. A business plan describes what a business does, how it will be done, who has to do it, where it will be done, why it’s being done, and when it has to be completed.
You don’t need to prepare an MBA-style business plan to get started. All you need is a 1-page plan with basic details and action points such as the following:
Mission statement (which is what your consulting company does)
Business goals
Products and services
Sales and marketing details
Your business plan is an evolving document that must be revised as circumstances change.
Tools of the trade
Arming yourself with the right tools and resources can put you ahead of the competition. Aside from having a pc or laptop, telephone, printer and Internet connection, you will also need your own domain name, website, business email address, marketing system, contacts and strategic partnerships.
While you may get your business off the ground with just the bare necessities, investing in the best tools and systems is crucial for growth.
Consulting lessons
Internet marketing consulting has come a long way since the early days when knowledge of codes such as HTML and Java was a pre-requisite. Getting an Internet marketing education can also be easy for there are Internet marketing experts who continuously develop and teach effective techniques to shorten and keep you on top of the learning curve.
Invest in yourself by learning the ins and outs of Internet Marketing Consulting, right from the get-go.