You've heard the saying, "If you plan to fail, you fail to plan." It's a true statement that applies to developing an online marketing plan. Before you write one, know what the common mistakes are when it comes to online marketing, and how to avoid them. Consider the following made by other some work-at-home moms who are no longer in business:

Mistake #1: Copy Someone Else's Plan

You don't have to reinvent the wheel when you're developing your online marketing plan, because someone has been there and done that. At the same time, you shouldn't just mimic someone's plan, because your business is different. You're the main reason the business is different, and your personal circumstances are not identical to the person who wrote the plan. It's fine to use another plan for research, as a template or to use many of the ideas presented. Add your own ideas and modify them based on your marketing budget, resources and skills.

Mistake #2: Limit Your Marketing Tactics

You're a creature of habit, pressed for time and working hard to balance work and family. It's understandable that you're going to want to find ways to market faster and easier, but you might limit your options in the process. For example, if micro-blogging on Twitter is easy to do and gets you your daily web traffic goals, you'll be tempted to stop there in your online marketing plan. That's a mistake, because you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket with just one marketing tactic. Choose a variety of marketing strategies, and work on them frequently.

Mistake #3: Choose Free Methods Only

When money is tight, you have to seek ways to market online for free. Give yourself a limited amount of time to use only free methods, but set a date in your online marketing plan to add paying methods as well. For example, you should consider hiring a freelance writer to write a press release announcing a new product or service. It will cost you a small fee up front, but you can disseminate the press release all over the web and get additional traffic to your website. Google News may pick up your press release, and a local journalist looking for story ideas might stumble upon it and give you a call. Marketing does take money at some point, and you don't want to make the mistake of relying solely on free forms of online marketing.

Mistake #4: Delegate Important Tasks

You can do more for your business when you delegate tasks. The mistake you don't want to make is to delegate important tasks that only you should handle. For example, if hosting a webinar is one aspect of your online marketing plan, you should host it. Don't delegate it to an independent contractor or marketing agency. It's an opportunity for customers to get to know you and trust you. They want to hear your voice and get a sense of whether you're the type of person they want to do business with. When delegating marketing tasks, hold on to the ones that are important for you to take care of yourself.

Stay in business longer by avoiding these common mistakes when developing your online marketing plan.

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Daphne Mallory, Esq. is the co-owner of Mallory Writing Services and has written more than 100 articles helping home based business owners and entrepreneurs start and market their business. You can learn more about her here.