Push/Pull marketing is exactly as it sounds. At times you are “pushing” information out to your market and at other times you are implementing strategies to “pull” consumers to you.

Regardless of whether you are selling someone else’s products and services (affiliate sales) or your own, if you do not implement a complete marketing strategy that includes the Push/Pull philosophy, you are likely defeating your purpose.

To create a steady stream of revenue for products and services, you have to have a very targeted approach. Not only will a systemized marketing approach help you make money directly from your online offerings, you can definitely enhance your offline offerings as well, such as with live presentations, consulting, and coaching.

Keep in mind, there is a process people go through in order to buy your products and services. It is built on need, want and desire. Additionally, the greater the investment on the part of the consumer the more you must build confidence, trust and credibility in the consumer’s mind.

If all you are doing is selling $10 widgets that’s one thing. If, on the other hand, you are seeking to build long-term relationships with your market and be viewed as a professional, you must approach things in a systematic way.

The fact is, my clients want to do far more than sell a widget. They want to make a difference in the lives of their clients. They want to provide longterm solutions and create ongoing relationships with their clients. They want to build their business based on trust, value and integrity.

To achieve this result requires implement effective systems.

Realize that no matter how great your product or service, most people will not buy a high-ticket eProduct or a $1,000 plus mentoring course or consulting contract without first buying a $20 - $50 eProduct.

There is what is referred to as the funnel approach to marketing. Clients will enter your “funnel” by way of something that is very low risk such as a free item or very inexpensive item. Based on their experience they will decide what the next course of action is.

What you do every step of the way, including someone’s initial introduction to you and your way of doing business, will determine how likely it is that someone will become a loyal customer.

Never discount the power of a free offering or a low-ticket item to be the catalyst to someone becoming a premier client.

To introduce consumers to you and your product offerings, as well as get people to the point they will even consider the $20 item, you will find the Push/Pull marketing process is second to none.

The higher the price of your products and services the more you absolutely must use the Push/Pull strategies.

Push Marketing

In essence; online push marketing is where you are literally “pushing” information to your market. You send information to people who have requested to receive your information by opting into one of your databases.

Your push marketing can be in the form of blog updates, an Ezine, daily tips, special reports, direct mail pieces or invitations to teleseminars.

The idea here is to send valuable information to your market on a consistent basis so that you become familiar to them. The more value they perceive, the easier the sale becomes. That is if they are your target market.

All the value in the world if it is to a mismatched market will do you (or them) no good.

On the other hand, the more value you create to the correct market, the more your database and revenues will grow. A goal in push marketing is to continually provide quality information and high-perceived value in order to develop a loyal consumer base.

Etch the last sentence in stone – it is so incredibly true.

Although a large targeted opt-in subscriber list is desirable, some people have had great financial success with lists with as little as a few hundred people due to the quality of the list and the size of their offerings.

On the other hand, with some experts, higher numbers in the database, with lower-priced offerings works great.

You will make these decisions as you grow your business and find out more about what you are called to do.

Pull Marketing

As the name implies, Pull Marketing is where you persuade consumers to visit your various online locations in order to get them to take the action of either buying something or subscribing to your opt-in list. It is about generating traffic to your website, blog and landing pages.

The reality is, most people will not buy something on their first visit to your site, blog or landing page.

They will however, take an action if there is minimal risk involved and high perceived value. Minimal risk would be leaving their name and email address for a report, Ezine, daily or weekly tips, an eBook, video/audio or a Podcast.

Keep in mind that many consumers have become so overwhelmed with the amount of follow-up email they receive when they download a free offer or sign up for a free teleseminar that they often use a secondary email account just for registering for information. Additionally, many people will download something and immediately opt-out of the very list they requested to be added to.

This makes the job of you, the marketer of your products and services, more difficult today than in the past. Your offering must be of such high value that they want to continue to receive whatever follow-up information you offer.

With every block that is created for us in our marketing, there is a new technology just around the corner that helps to resolve the challenge.

The mistake many uninformed, or “get rich quick” mentality marketers have is to offer something, anything, just to get that email address. This is a huge mistake. As in the world of offline marketing, first impressions are lasting impressions.

Make sure whatever you offer is of extremely high value. This will easily set you apart from the countless others trying to accomplish the same end result you are trying to accomplish; to increase your customer base and revenue stream.

By viewing what you do in the long term, you are more likely to create the kind of value consumers have grown to want, but also demand.

Pull Marketing can be done through article writing (with a strong resource box at the end of your article) and systematic distribution of your articles, paid advertising, PPC – Pay Per Click, Tell a Friend campaigns, joint venture campaigns, SEO strategies, RSS feeds, media releases, email sig files (signature files), social media and forum group participation.

In order to fully optimize your opportunities you need to make Push/Pull strategies a part of your everyday marketing plan. The more consistent you are, the quicker your results will be.

Author's Bio: 

Discover success insights from experts around the globe who are out there making a difference and making a great living in the process. Kathleen Gage interviews the best of the best with Power Up for Profits Podcast. http://www.powerupforprofitspodcast.com