Good marketers follow up with the customer in a variety of ways. They return phone calls, send polite reminders, ask questions about satisfaction, and provide gentle reminders that not only are they interested in getting your business, but that they are concerned with whether or not you got what you wanted after the sale.

You have to actually DO something to make sales, or to earn. You cannot just build a site and then expect money to come. You have to promote it, register it, and then continue to market it.

A marketing plan is the beginning. If you do not actually DO what is on the plan, you'll fail. And then you have to assess, and follow through with what the assessment tells you is a good idea.

When you encounter prospects, you have to actually continue through with the dialog until it results in a sale, or until you are sure it WON'T result in a sale.

Opt-in lists are one way of doing this, but they are not the only way, and not necessarily the BEST way. The BEST ways of following up with clients are personal, and creative. They are ones that are specific to the mentality of your average client. Just because the tactic is wildly successful for someone else does not mean it is going to work for YOUR business, or YOUR customers.

People like to know that someone cares about them personally. And they like to know that you are interested in more than just making a sale. A personal touch in your follow up will often make the difference between window shoppers, and lifelong customers.

Probably the primary reason for failure on the part of new businesses is the failure to DO. They read about what they should do, they may actually make a list, and even perhaps venture into trying it out once or twice. But most marketing methods (especially free or low cost ones), take many repetitions. Getting one link placed is only a start, and it won't get you far. Posting once to a forum is a little help, but unlikely to result in any increase in business.

Follow through often includes developing systems (routines) for repeating marketing tasks. Establish a customer list, and devise a routine for regular mailings - then DO it. Set aside a certain amount of time each week for getting web links - then DO it, EVERY week. If you use pay per click ads, then set aside a little time each day to assess the stats, and determine which ads are bringing sales, and which are bringing browsers, then reassess and adjust your ads, keywords, etc. Actually devote that time EVERY day to tweaking them until they bring results that you are satisfied with. Write an article a week, or two articles a week, and post them to a specific number of article databases. Make sure they get posted EVERY WEEK.

Devise the routine, then stick to it. KEEP sticking to it, and don't quit. Regular marketing tasks are essential, and can be the difference between success and failure. Follow up with potential customers, and follow through with marketing tasks. It does pay off!