For many companies, 2008 has brought an intense slowing in business. Whether you’re running a national e-commerce web site or a local retail business, there are some common marketing practices that can help improve sales. Guaranteed.

Download the 2009 Online Marketing Plan for free

So what is this 2009 Online Marketing Plan?

I spend hours everyday researching marketing techniques and doing business online. About a month ago, I got the idea to publish a one-page “laundry list” of online marketing tactics to grow your business in 2009. If you own or run a business, all of these topics should be on your mind for 2009.

So what isn’t the 2009 Online Marketing Plan?

Honestly, I could write a book about how to use each of these tactics in your marketing mix. I don’t have that kind of time, so I’m hoping that by planting the seed, you’ll do your own research and figure out what’s best for your company. Or, you could hire me to put a plan together for you.

The online marketing plan isn’t a detailed set of instructions on how to implement these — just a list to ponder and research. For instance, the list I’m offering for download doesn’t say that you can combine a blog and Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn to send qualified traffic to your web site, and it doesn’t say that you can use pay-per-click ads on Facebook to generate high-converting traffic to your web site, even though these are good ways to promote a web site.

How do I use the 2009 Online Marketing Plan?

This list is unique for a couple of reasons. First, the list is all-inclusive — it includes all tactics that you need to consider in 2009. No fluff and no tactics that don’t work. if it’s not on the list, there’s a good probability that you shouldn’t worry with it.

Second, there’s a mixture of tactics that you pay for and FREE tactics to generate site traffic. Social networking and social media sites are a great way to generate free traffic. I’ve included the high-impact ones on the list, and there may be other industry-specific sites that you could leverage.

The point here is that you don’t always have to “pay to play.” Larger companies are ignoring social media sites and that’s your opportunity to be there first and win.

A few parting points of encouragement

• 2009 can be a year of growth. All you need to do is find the opportunities in your industry. Are you a local brick-and-mortar merchant where your competitors don’t have an online presence? Establish a simple web site and market it! Are you in a highly competitive e-commerce niche? Make your marketing tactics work together to engage your customers.
• Learning about online technologies and marketing tactics is easy. There’s no excuse for not taking time to learn — there are millions of great blogs and sources that you can learn from. Need suggestions? I regularly post articles of interest to this blog, and you can subscribe to the RSS feed or have posts e-mailed to you. You can also follow me on Twitter.
• Form meaningful relationships with your customers. Today’s social media sites make it easy to form meaningful relationships with customers. Remember that good business on social networking sites is not always about advertising. Sharing information can not only help others, it gives you credibility and a sense that you’re “real.” Offline, rewarding your best customers with small personal touches can mean the difference between your business’ survival and, well, not.

Get it now: Download the 2009 Online Marketing Plan for free

No matter whether you’re working for a large company or a small one, chances are you’re not using social media/social networking to promote your business. You’re not alone, but you need to understand the tremendous opportunity that using social media for your business creates.

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