If you already have an online business or if you are considering starting an online business, you may be under the impression that your marketing efforts will be based solely online. After all, you have a business that is online and where is a better way to market it than through the internet?

This is one of the most common mistakes that people make when they have any business. They choose a marketing plan and stick with it, not thinking about the big picture. This happens often in the off line business world in which businesses feel that they should not market online because "that is not where there customer base comes from." This is wrong. An increasing number of people are using the internet to find out about off line businesses as well. It is important for any business owner, whether they have an online business or off line business to cross market as much as they can.

You probably already have some ideas about how you plan to market your business online. But if you just stick to this one way of marketing, you are only reaching a small portion of people. In order to successfully market your online business, no matter what it is, you need to use off line marketing strategies as well.

Off line marketing strategies can end up costing you a bit more than some of the online methods, but they are proven to work. There is a billion dollar business in promotional products alone that has worked well through the years to promote various businesses. The same marketing plans that work for off line businesses can also work for your online business. You just need to know how to use them and when.

You should follow simple marketing plans when you are marketing any business. Your advertising efforts should always be vamped up during your busy season so that you can get more customers. You strike when the iron is hot, so to speak, when it comes to advertising in business. You should know when your busy season is and when you are the most likely to get clients. That is when you do your most heavy promotional activities.

That does not mean that you lay low during the off season. The more people get to see the name of your business, the more you build a brand and the more people start to recognize the name of your business. You do not always have to go for direct response marketing when you are trying to market your online business. You should also be concentrating on building trust within the community both off line and online. This is known as branding and can get your long term customers who will see your name, recognize it and associate it with a name that they can trust. Even if they have never before used your product or service.

If you have taken some basic marketing courses, then you know all about what attracts people to certain businesses. There is the patriotism effect in which you imply that your product is something that every patriotic citizen should have. There is the state of the art effect, which implies that your product is the latest innovation and will keep customers up with the times. The bandwagon effect is probably the most used and most effective form of marketing. This implies that "everyone is doing it" and makes others want to find out what the fuss is about.

The bandwagon effect is seen in most commercial ads and causes an interest among consumers who do not want to feel left out of something new and exciting that everyone seems to be trying. There are other marketing strategies as well, including sales and special deals that work wonders with consumers, especially those who are looking to save money.

In order to fully develop your online business and expect it to succeed, you have to come up with a marketing plan that will help draw people to your site. There are various tools that you can use as well as strategies that you can use for free that will create an interest in your online business in the off line world.

Never think that you can just have a business, any business, and not pay attention to marketing or advertising. Businesses that relied solely on "word of mouth" for their customers are a thing of the past. They have been eaten up by those businesses who stole their "loyal" customers by clever advertising methods.

Also, do not think that your online business is something that is "too complicated" for the off line world to understand. More than 80 percent of Americans have computer access and the numbers are continuing to grow. This is especially true of younger people, most of whom have a laptop that they use for college or even high school. Computers are here to stay and so is the internet. And people recognize online businesses just as they do off line businesses.

Think of some of the most popular online businesses today. Amazon and eBay are two of them. Amazon has literally knocked out their off line competition by offering books at a discount. eBay is the auction site that has made it possible for people all over the world to trade with one another and has sent people scrambling in their attics and at thrift stores for collectibles to sell. Ask anyone around and chances are that they have heard of both of these very popular online businesses. Many of them have probably used them.

As people get used to computer technology, especially the internet, there will be no choice but for them to do business online. There are some companies that require applicants to apply for jobs online. Many state institutions have all of their forms and applications for various benefits as well as other information online. The IRS is online. You can find out if a book is available from your local library online. You can do your banking online, in fact your bank is probably encouraging this. You can pay all of your bills in this way as well. While there are always those who insist on holding back, the trend is moving forward when it comes to this new technology.

So having an online business is the way of the future. But you still cannot ignore the people around you, the community and those in the surrounding areas who can also add to your business. In fact, if you do proper off line marketing, chances are that you will get most of your consumers in this manner.