Internet Marketing: What Worked in 2010

“Do more of what works.”

That's the success tip Lynn Terry of Clicknewz.com posted on Facebook over the holidays.

What followed was a string of comments about how true and simple that statement was… and how often we fail to do it.

Why is that? Perhaps one reason is because we don't even bother to find out what does work.

Other more experienced marketers can tell you what works for them. From studies, you'll find out what works for most people in most circumstances.

However, to find out what works for your market, with your products, you'll need to test and monitor your own results.

I'm not obsessed with statistics for my sites — I outgrew checking Google Analytics every 30 minutes, two years ago — but I do keep an eye out to see what things I try work and what I results I get from doing specific things.

Here's a rundown of what worked for me in 2010:

1. Blog Commenting

Blog commenting helped me interact with A-list bloggers, and made it easier for me to get guest blogging opportunities. Commenting on bigger blogs than mine also helped bring traffic to my own blog and build my list of subscribers. The best part about blog commenting is you only need to spend a few minutes a day to get results.

2. Guest Blogging

Writing for other people's blogs (which have bigger audiences than mine) has helped increase traffic to my own blogs and, as a result, grown my list as well. It has also helped me network with other online marketers and get my name out there.

At one point, someone told me about one of my niches, “You're everywhere!” In fact, I didn't guest blog as much as I could have and should have. But that comment is an indicator that, at least for that niche, I was in all the right places.

Resources I Used:

Blog World Tour Guide by Nicole Dean

Authority Blogger Guest Posting Workbook by Chris Garrett

3. Blogging

Early in 2010, I gave up a paid blogging gig to free up more time and energy to write for my own blog. That decision was an extremely good one. That blog of mine has helped me build my list of prospects, attract new clients, and increase sales for products, both my own and those I'm affiliated with.

Resources I Used:

Blog Energizer by Lynette Chandler

31 Days to Build a Better Blog by Darren Rowse

Better Content Marketing by Alice Seba

4. Webinars

I organized webinars in a big way in 2010, most notably the six-week marathon, Blog Traffic Experts Webinar series. That effort brought four figures of affiliate income in a single month, helped skyrocket my subscribers from 300 in January to over 2000 in October, and made it easy peasy for me to create an information product.

Resources I Used:

Magnetic Webinars by Lewis Howes and Chris Garrett (no affiliate program yet, so please just tell them I sent you!)

My First Teleseminar by Kyle Battis (I adapted this process for my webinar series)

5. Information products

I finally fully understood the power of having your own information products, both to give away and to sell. Having an information product for sale makes you a more attractive joint venture partner. It generates passive income. It gets you more exposure and gives you an air of authority.

But even information products you give away have their value, too. They're great for building your list, attracting traffic, and even getting clients.

Resources I Used:

48 Hour Report by Jason Fladlien

Rapid Product Formula by Ronnie Nijmeh and Nicole Dean

Those are five of the things that worked like gangbusters for me in 2010. You can bet I'll be doing more of them in 2011. In fact, I'm already gearing up to publish more often on my blogs and organize more useful, interesting webinars.

Before I go, I'm tagging the following bloggers to share what worked for them in 2010:

• Henri Junttila of Wake Up Cloud
• Grandma Mary of The Grandma Mary Show
• Clement Yeung of Easisell

How about you? What worked for you in 2010 that you'll be doing more of in 2011?

Do share them in the comments below.

photo credit: Brooks Elliott