This is an outline for newbies to use as a general Internet marketing plan. It isn't meant to be complete, instead it's purpose is to give you a starting point.

I probably forgot something, but these are what I consider the "foundation" skills. Get to know these things.

For more info on each, search the Warrior Forum and/or Google.


Getting Traffic

IMO, this is the most essential skill you can have. Without it, nothing else will work.

I'll break it down into two types of traffic:

Paid
Pro: Can be fast, even "instant".
Con: Can cost a lot, especially if you don't know what you're doing.

Free
Pro: Doesn't cost anything (but time and effort)
Con: Can take a long time and isn't guaranteed

Search for:
free traffic tips
PPC tips
SEO
social marketing


Content

You need something to attract traffic. Most people think of content as a report, web page, PDF, etc. You can create content yourself, buy PLR, curate content, as well as combine these.

When creating content, think about what some call "pillar content" or "skyscrapper" content. This means to take a subject and make the best report or webpage about that subject on the Net. The best content is the easiest to promote. It can take you a week or even a month to create this type of content.


You don't need a site with tons of these excellent, high quality pages. Just add 2 or 3 of these "best ever" pages to your site and promote them heavily. Add shorter articles to your site as you go along. These should still be good, but don't have to be great or the best.

Here's an article by Brian Dean on his "Skyscraper Technique":
Link Building Case Study: How I Increased My Search Traffic by 110% in 14 Days

But content doesn't have to be in the form of information. It can also be pictures and images, software or online scripts, videos, etc. Much of the most popular content on the Net isn't "informational", but rather entertainment.


One decision you'll need to make that doesn't have a single "best" answer is to choose to use your content as:
A paid product
Post it on a website/blog for free to get traffic.
Post it on a third party authority site to gain benefit from that site.
Use it a "bait" to get people to give up their email address in exchange for your content.


I've been doing IM since 1996 and making a decision about how to use content I create still isn't clear cut for me.


Search for:
PLR
private label rights
resell rights
how to curate content
content curation tips
content creation tips



Copywriting Basics

You may not need to know everything about copywriting and writing sales letters, especially if you promote affiliate products and are sending traffic to someone else's sale letters.

However, there's some basics that are essential for every IMer.

There's a number of effective "formulas" for writing sales letters. Probably the most popular is called the AIDA formula. AIDA stands for:
Attention
Interest
Desire
Action

To get started, only focus on the two "A's", Attention and Action. IMO, these are the two most important things in copywriting, and to some degree they are also the "easiest". In other words, get their attention and get them to take an action.

Basically, Attention is writing good headlines that grab "attention".

And Action is getting people to take a desired action, such as to click a link, fill in their email address or to click the "buy button".

Attention and Action are not limited to just sales letters. They should be used in things like SEO and email, etc.

For example, in SEO (especially on Youtube) you want your title to grab attention and your description to encourage people to click. Ranking well is only part of the equation, you need people to actually click your link as well.

For email marketing, use the principles of writing good headlines as subjects (Attention) for your emails to encourage people to open your email messages, and then use good "call to actions" (Action) in your email to get people to click through to your offers.


Understand how to write great headlines and call to actions.


Do searches for:
headline swipe files
how to write headlines
guide to good call to actions
call to action swipe files


Follow Up Marketing

Getting traffic is tough. If someone visits any of your pages, they've already shown an interest in your subject, so you want to do your best to be able to reach these people again and again.

The two most vital ways to follow up are:

Email lists
Retargeting


Search for:
Email marketing
autoresponder tips
retargeting for newbies
retargeting tips