If you want to be successful at internet web marketing, you must provide value to your prospects. Here is some online marketing info you need to know.Our children were up before the sun paled the eastern horizon… didn’t they know it was Saturday? Following a normal breakfast, I went about my work in the kitchen when it took me by surprise. The dishwasher was already half loaded. Now typically, whenever we do this, we have to run the water for about two minutes to make it nice and hot. After 5 minutes of running the water, I noticed something: the water was not hot yet. Hmmmm…I thought about our water, which is heated with propane gas. Were we out of propane? I turned one of our gas stove knobs on high. The blue flames barely stayed lit. A fact-finding trip to our propane tank outside brought my husband back with grim news. Still needing showers and being the start of a weekend, we had a little crisis on our hands.You might not think 9am is early on a Saturday, but some do and we needed to make some calls. We started doing an internet search for propane businesses and decided that it wouldn’t be too early to make calls. Even though it was a three-day weekend, we hoped to find a business open until at least noon.We left messages on machines and with answering services wherever we could. I began to strategize a very fast, and very cold shower. Not a nice thing to think about in February…A broader online search brought new results. Many calls later, we were still without service on a Saturday. I altered my search a bit and came up with a listing of propane companies that I had not seen on the internet. As I called company after company, my hope faltered. The last number on the list had no address and no website, so I almost didn’t call. My hope was like the sputtering flames of the propane stove as it rang once, then twice. Then…”Hello?” It was a man on the phone.I asked, “Are you open today?”"Yes. Where do you need it delivered?”His reply gave me my hope back. My husband looked over from leaving a message with another company and I gave him a big smile.It turns out that the propane company was a bit far from our area and that their normal delivery for our area wouldn’t be until Monday…unless we paid an extra fee. I assured him the extra cost was not a problem. To avoid the cold shower I would gladly pay a little extra.While we waited for him to come over, I daydreamed about how good it would to take a hot, steamy shower. In just a few hours, our day had gone back to the routine and we no longer worried about our propane.To ensure we have propane, we are going to do two things: monitor our propane tank’s guage and give the same man business the next time. We’ll give him our business and refer him to others, even though it cost us extra this time. He was someone who did something no one else was willing to do – provide service on a Saturday.What service do you provide that sets you apart? Do you give some value that your leads will appreciate?Think about the value you get from others. What makes you their loyal customer and helps you to remember them? We get frugal living tips from a realtor through his newsletter. He is branding himself with this simple bit of value, and potential clients will remember him at buying time.In a down economy, a lot of people turn to entrepreneurial ventures. The entrepreneurs who offer good value to others and go out of their way to do more, will flourish. Customers are loyal to those who give great value.When we were still newbies in the online marketing world, it was difficult to know what value we could offer. We didn’t know much about online marketing and we didn’t consider ourselves experts. We hadn’t even been very successful with our own home business. What did we have to offer to people that others couldn’t? Now we have a lot more to give and we’re sure that you have value to give your list, too.Here are Five tips on how you can provide value:1. First understand what your potential client wants. Know what your clients want and what they don’t want, then give them what they want. Be the leader who solves their problems.2. Think about your own talents and experience. What strengths do you possess? What are you good at? You might have to ask someone who is around your a lot. Others might see strengths you never recognized.3. Research the Internet to see where others are already filling niches. Come up with original ideas on how to provide value in a niche that is not already heavily filled. It’ll be better for you to minimize the competition by filling a sparsely poplulated niche.4. Establish a website that fits your chosen niche. If you don’t have a lot of money to spend on designing your website, you can usually find someone to help you with it for less than a few hundred dollars. At www.elance.com, you’ll find website designers along with many other service you may find helpful. You can also purchase easily customizable WordPress themes at wordpress.org. Online tutorials to help you with the wordpress themed website are easy to find.5. Start populating your website with good content. When writing content, make sure you are unique and that you have fun with it! But be sure to provide the great value that others expect to find. The purpose of your website should be to provide the information and products that will help resolve your prospects’ problems. Be “customer-oriented” and try to create each post with an end goal in mind of helping someone else.I’ve joined many other people’s lists. My favorite is one who really stands out for originality, but he always give great value. One thing he does is tell his list that they can succeed, and that they are of great worth as individuals. And the things he writes are often very entertaining. I always look forward to his e-mails and open all of them. He combines his unique style with a niche that is not heavily marketed online. Last but not least, he brands himself by taking a stand on issues and not being shy about his position.When you take a stand, some people might be offended at something you write or say. That’s okay. They aren’t your best clients anyway. Let them go. But don’t be offensive just to set yourself apart. This world can be very politically correct and as hard as it is to take a stand, it is refreshing and many people will admire you for it.You have exactly what some people need, and are waiting for. Get out there and shine.