Most software you will find that can help your online marketing business requires the purchase of software and/or licensing fees. Others are – such as pre-created email lists or sales leads – may be based on pay-per-use, but in general most charge a set-up and a monthly.
At first, this may seem excessive because you have the pay the set-up fee as well as being charged every month to use the service. But actually this kind of arrangement is to your advantage.
That’s because technology changes very rapidly and, as a result, there are usually many different versions and upgrades of the same software available.
Paying Unnecessary Fees
If you were to pay just a one-time fee to purchase a piece of software, it could be obsolete in a year or even sooner because Google’s Internet search engine algorithms have changed or some other technological upgrade. That would mean having to buy the software all over again.
But when you pay the start-up fee and a monthly subscription, you usually get any updated versions of the same software as they come out at no additional cost, which allows you to keep using the same software program seamlessly.
Google’s Free Tools
Google also offers a lot of free business tools that can be used for document sharing, creating and managing spreadsheets, email, website marketing, project management and even phone service.
Schedule a few hours to spend looking at the wide variety of tools you can use for free to build your business. Why should you spend money if you don’t have to?
Ask your industry friends or network partners about the kind of software they are using and if they are satisfied with it. Most people are more than willing to share their experiences and this can save you a lot of time and money because you can skip the trial and error step of finding effective software.
Finally, beware of companies that offer “push button” or “business in a box” Internet marketing programs that will build your business without your having to do a thing.
Google recently announced that it would be cracking down on companies that auto-generated content and used “spam” building tools to try to manipulate the company’s search engine algorithms.
Be Google Compliant
Before you invest in any software, make sure it is compliant with Google Webmaster Guidelines. Otherwise you may be spending money on a program that the world’s largest search engine has already blocked or banned.
Like any other business, if you want to succeed in online marketing, you need to be prepared to put in a lot of hard work, regardless of the efficiencies created by good software programs. There’s usually no magic wand you can wave. Be wary of anybody who tells you there is.
Software as a Tool
Software tools can make your business run more efficiently. But they aren’t business solutions any more than a typewriter or a copy machine is a business solution. When you purchase software, don’t look at it as something that is going to build your business. Only you can build your business. But software can help you achieve this goal.
Software tools can help you organize your day, manage data, and speed up some processes of marketing. But at the end of the day it’s up to you to guide your business. You can’t put your business on auto-pilot and expect it to succeed. This is a great way to squander your money and your time.
Software that is the “deal of the day” may or may not be the right tool for you. It’s like you mother may have used to say: “If all of your friends were leaping off a cliff, would you leap off after them?”
Don’t be fooled by the bandwagon approach to marketing software. As a successful online marketer, you are wise enough to make up your own mind and come to your own conclusions.
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