If you want to build an Internet home business, you may just find that the landscape of Internet and affiliate marketing has changed.  This change is largely being driven by Facebook and Google and several other large companies.  You may just want to follow where the big boys are taking you.

The future of Internet/affiliate marketing may well be in helping local businesses grow their business. Affiliate marketing is extremely competitive, but Internet marketing presents significant new opportunity.  There is virtually no competition in this market, and I’m going to show you exactly how to do it. I will show you:

Why the Local Business Market is so Huge?

But, first let me give you some proof on why helping local businesses grow their business is such a potent market.  This is a fantastic success story.  Click on this link and visit www.Groupon.com.  This is a huge and successful business that focuses exclusively on helping local businesses grow their business.  Groupon.com works with local businesses and offers the business’s coupons. The business will honor the coupon if enough people are willing to purchase them.  Groupon.com leverages their massive memberships to assist local businesses advertise and grow by publishing these types of coupons.  Plus, they use FaceBook and Twitter to spread the word.

Groupon is so huge, that Google offered to buy them for $6 Billion!  They said no to this offer!  You can read this article at Business Insider to find out why: Why Groupon Said No to Google.  The article explains that Groupon has grown immensely in two short years. They now have 40 Million subscribers, up from 1.5 Million last year and 400,000 the year prior.  They employed 124 people in December 2009.  In November 2010 they had 3,100 employees.  They ran Super Bowl commercials and their TV ads are becomming more common place. Furthermore, Facebook is implementing a similar service in Facebook Places.  Can you see some ‘writing on the wall here?

Does the Local Business Market  Need Your Services?

 You Bet!  I say this based on the following assumptions. 

  • Local Businesses Face Competition
  • Local Businesses Understand they Need to Advertise
  • Local Businesses Already Have Advertising Budgets
  • The Internet is Changing the Advertising Landscape

Let’s take a look of some of the older forms of advertising. Traditional methods of advertising are losing their effectiveness because of the impact that the internet is having on people:

Newspapers: People do not read newspapers anymore! They get the majority of their information on the Internet.

Phone Directories: The have been declining rapidly.  Where is Yours?  I dread the day my phone directories are delivered.  They go right into the recycle bin.  I have despised this waste for years.

TV:  Along comes the DVR & TiVo. It used to be that we had to sit through every commercial. Every notice how the audio on commercials rises? Advertisers realize that people are leaving the room during their commercials. Nice try! Now, we don’t have to watch the commercials

Telemarketing: This was virtually destroyed with the “Do Not Call List!” I know, I was in the life insurance industry when these laws were passed.  Now, telemarketers have to have permission to call a home phone number.

Direct Mail:  I have used it extensively.  At best, I only realized a 1-2 percent yield.  That is not very effective.

Print Ad: Just too expensive

Yellow Pages (yp.com):  Even the phone directory companies are taking their advertising online. But this still costs $75/monthly in my zip code.

Valpak:  These still appear in my mailbox monthly. I usually toss them in the recycle bin. However, I finally decided to do some research.  I found the cost to advertise with Valpak and I learned what types of small businesses were advertising in Valpak.

Valpak Advertising Costs: There are 50,000 homes that they send their advertisements to.  The basic cost is $350-$450 for a one time mailing to 10,000 homes.  Conceivably, these small businesses are paying $1,700-$2,200 per month for the full package.

Small Businesses Have the Advertising Budget!  They Simply Lack the Knowledge of How Best to Use it!

The future of internet marketing is in helping local businesses grow their business. Internet marketing presents significant opportunity.  There is virtually no competition in this market!  There are two major components associated with Establishing Your Business Credentials.  You are not going to be in business long or you will lose interest in your business if you do not start to build relationships with local businesses. Furthermore, you are not going to have to wait to start generating this consistent residual income.  You do not need to know how to create websites to do this.  You do not need any other special skills.  All you really need is the dedication and determination to start building a real Internet home business.