What is it?

• A 5 week online training course that you can work through at your own pace
• The course content teaches you the principles of online marketing strategy, SEO, social media and email marketing and how you can apply them to your business
  
• The online course is held in a secure area of the website that you can access 24/7 with your unique login
• Lessons are posted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for 5 weeks and consist of learning material, a downloadable lesson summary and worksheet
• Questions and interaction through commenting on the lesson posts is encouraged

Who is it for?

• Solo and small business owners who want to attract visitors, build an audience and increase meaningful transactions. e.g. sales, lead generation, email signups
• Online retailers, bloggers and creative producers who want to build an audience and increase business results
• Web service providers who want to generate more leads for themselves and offer a better service to their clients
• Anyone who wants to learn how to use low (to no) cost online marketing methods to promote their business

Online Course Outline

Module 1: Back to Basics

• Lesson 1: Back to basics
• Lesson 2: Online marketing strategy
• Lesson 3: Website review

Module 2: Search Engines

• Lesson 4: Search strategy & keywords
• Lesson 5: On page & off page SEO
• Lesson 6: Apply search strategy

Module 3: Social Media

• Lesson 7: Social media strategy
• Lesson 8: Attracting website visitors and content marketing
• Lesson 9: Maximising your return

Module 4: Email Marketing

• Lesson 10: Email marketing basics
• Lesson 11: Campaign setup
• Lesson 12: Building your mailing list

Module 5:  Better Business Results

• Lesson 13: Sales and promotion
• Lesson 14: Maximising conversions 
• Lesson 15: Website management

Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, you will have a clear action plan to improve your website, execute your online marketing strategy including social media and search marketing to build an audience and maximise conversions.

Including:

• A clear and simple action plan to improve your online business results
• Content that turns traffic into an engaged and loyal audience
• A search engine strategy and optimisation plan to attract search engine traffic
• An effective presence on social media platforms that are most suited to your goals
• An automated method of monitoring your reputation online
• A strategy to manage your time using social media
• A weekly traffic generating strategy that includes SEO and social media
• A direct email communication method with signup form on your website
• A clear strategy for building your mailing list
• A template for emails that will enjoy a higher than average open rate
• Knowledge of affiliate marketing, online PR and online advertising
• Your visitors value will be maximised with optimised landing pages to maximise conversions
• A simple work plan for managing your website and recording your online business progress

Prerequisites

• If you sell online – an existing eCommerce setup/sales platform
• Good standard of computer literacy – e.g. you must be able to update your blog/website content management system
• HTML skills or access to a web developer to make changes for you
• A minimum of 2hrs per week to dedicate to the classes – you can action the worksheets at your own pace

How it works

• After you enroll and pay the fee you'll receive your welcome pack and an email from me with your course login details.
• On the date of course commencement you’ll use your login to access the secure course area.
• Each week we work through one module. Lessons are posted each Monday, Wednesday and Friday for five weeks.
• You can login at any time to view the lessons and students are encouraged to ask questions and interact with each other through the lesson posts.
• Each lesson contains learning material, tips and a downloadable summary and worksheet for you to work through at your own pace.

Course Facilitator

My name is Clare Lancaster and I've been working online since 2001.  After completing a degree in Communication Design at QUT in 2000, I was employed full time for an international marketing agency and put in charge of driving free, targeted traffic in a highly competitive industry - a practice known as SEO and later became the agency's Web Manager.

I moved to an ASX listed domain monetisation company and then opened my consultancy, Dot Marketing, in 2008.

In the media

My advice is featured in David Koch's latest small business book  - Build it and they will come: Winning business online.

I've conceptualised, designed and developed each website in my online business portfolio – web properties that include twitterguide.com.au and womeninbusiness.com.au.

You can see what Google says about me here and what the Twitter community thinks here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q) Is it an online only course?
A) Yes. The course is run 100% online. Lessons are posted on a password protected blog and students can access the course at times that suit them. It is a self paced course with downloadable worksheets to guide you through each lesson.

Q) I'm a guy, can I still signup?
Yes absolutely.

Q) I don't know if I've got time? Will it really take only 2 hours a week?
The course is run for 5 weeks but you will have access to the lessons and class discussions (through blog comments and a Facebook group) for another 3 weeks giving you a total of 8 weeks access. 

If you can't manage to work through the lessons each week that's ok. You will have a downloadable summary and worksheet from each lesson to work through in your own time.

By the end of the course you'll have a step by step workbook to overhaul your online business.

Q) My website is still in the planning stage - will I still get value from the course?
You might have guessed from the title that the course is for businesses that already have an existing website. 

I've been asked if the course would be beneficial for people who are in the planning stages of creating a website. My answer to that is yes. Instead of "overhauling" your website you'll be able to create an effective website from scratch - saving you money and time in the long term.

Q) I've got a blog. Will the course help me?
A) Yes. You don't need to have a website to benefit from this course.

Q) I don't sell anything directly online. Will it still be useful?
A) I’ve designed the course in a way that is based around improving meaningful transactions that are important to your specific business (e.g. sales, leads, blog subscriptions, mailing list signups, downloads etc) using strategic marketing techniques. So to answer your question, yes.

I've got another question.
Want to know something else? Please don’t hesitate to drop me a line and I’ll answer any questions you may have. Contact me here.

What you'll receive

• Access to a 5 week eCourse containing 15 comprehensive lessons (a mix of text and video with downloadable summary)
• A downloadable workbook that contains 180 steps to improve your online business
• Access to a private forum for students
• Prompt answers to any questions you have about the lesson subjects
• Access to the members area for 3 weeks after lessons are complete

Testimonials

Next Course Details

Date	Monday 4th October - Friday 5th November, 2010
Venue	Online (login anytime from anywhere)
Cost	$547. Enrol now to get the early bird pricing of $447 ($100 off) until 13th September.*