You must walk before you run; we have all heard that saying, Right? That is true in Internet Web Marketing as well. I can still remember back to the days when my youngest decided that he was going to start walking. He crawled for only a few days at best, but obviously decided that he needed to get to more faraway places than the living room. I can remember thinking, man he is going to be running all over the place, and of the extra energy that would be needed to chase him down and keep watch on him. Then it occurred to me, He must walk before he can run that is the law of nature.

Having an effective online web marketing strategy for your local business is not really any different than the story above. I think that so many people feel that they cannot have successfully online business because they do not have the BIG budget to work with. I don’t blame you for this thought process. After all, web designers want to charge you $5,000 or more for a website. Then you have to get people to see your $5,000 site, and some SEO firms will hit you up for tens of thousands to get them there. Then there is YouTube, Facebook, Twitter—the list goes on and on. No wonder so many local businesses are reluctant to get started online. Let me say right here that even if you don't plan on selling your products or services online, having a good online web marketing strategy is critical to your businesses success going forward.

Remember "You must walk before you can run!"

Take a deep breath and relax and let's tackle this one step at a time. It’s possible to begin the steps to having a visible online web presence without all the stuff mentioned above. Is the stuff above needed? By all means Yes, but over time it can be phased in. But, it’s not where you need to start all on day one.

Before you begin to invest thousands of dollars into your online web marketing, get with someone who can help you understand what it takes to start walking. Figure out how to INVEST that money into a long term, workable online strategy before you decide to start running.

With so many options available, make sure that you are leveraging your dollars to bring you leads and sales, so you can expand your strategy with your profits. This way, you are building on your successes and building a TRUE online web strategy, and not just throwing good money after bad.

Just like my little boy knows he must begin walking to get places in life, you too must be online with your business to help it grow. However, remember that you must walk before you run! Get sound ADVICE from the right people and you will be running in no time at all.

So, take your first steps online. Get with someone who can, first, help educate you, and then help you transform your ideas into a workable online strategy. Phoenix Media Group of course would be honored if it was us that you turned to, but even if we aren't that's OK, but just don’t delay. For every day you delay that is one more day that your competition has on you - and you know that they are not crawling!