We recently conducted a survey of 91 of our current clients. From that survey, we got several great questions about web design, online marketing, owning a website, and more.
I’ll be answering several of these over the next few months, but today I wanted to start with the most common theme. We got this question directly, and indirectly; kind of the “question behind the question”. What’s The Best Online Marketing Approach For Me and My Business?
The Frustration With Online Marketing
There are a lot of terms, phrases, products, and services out there all around “online marketing“.
As a business owner myself, I get the same spam emails and see the same paid ads on social media that you do about SEO, growing an email list, Pay Per Click (PPC), retargeting, getting more social media followers, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, YouTube Ads, blogging, creating video, starting a podcast, and on and on and on!!!
And the frustrating part is; a lot of what these ads and experts say sound (and is) legit. There’s just so much of it, it can be hard to know what to do.
Add into the mix any book you read, marketing podcast you might listen to, business association presentation you see; and the options get even more overwhelming.
DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE THERE ARE TO MANY OPTIONS?
The biggest mistake we see people make in marketing in general is when they try everything hoping something will work.
HOW TO DISCOVER WHAT’S BEST FOR YOU IN ONLINE MARKETING
1. Figure out where you are.
Stop trying to figure out what you should be doing with online marketing. Seriously, stop. Because the truth is, most business owners are busy working on multiple different problems at once. We feel the weight of getting more leads, converting more leads to paying customers, delivering to those new customers, collecting payments, human-resource-related issues, accounting, taxes, managing cash flow, inventory, regulations, branding, etc.
This might sound odd, but I think the very first thing for most business owners to do is read or listen to the book, Fix This Next by Mike Michalowicz.
2. PICK ONE THING TO FOCUS ON
Next, when it comes to online marketing; you have 3 main pillars that will support your success online, and you should build these pillars in the following order.
- COPY – The words on your website.
- CONVERSION THROUGH A CLEAR CALL-TO-ACTION (CTA) – What you ask people to do on your website that lets you connect with them apart from your website.
- QUALIFIED TRAFFIC – Getting the right people to see your website.
3. EVALUATE YOUR COPY
If I visit your website right now, will I know in 7 seconds;
- Exactly what solution you provide to the problem I’ve come to your site looking to solve?
- How I get the solution?
Probably not. I know you might disagree. Because, after all, as soon as you visit your site you know what you do. The problem with that is, you have institutional knowledge I don’t have. Most people create a website THEY LOVE, but one that isn’t created for their ideal client/customer.
In fact, the 3rd mistake to avoid in online marketing we write about in our free eBook is “Using The Wrong Words“. We have some assessments and worksheets in the downloadable eBook that helps you assess your current website, including its words. You can sign up to our email list below and get the eBook to help you with your website and online marketing.
Want a free assessment of your website copy?
- Email me with the subject line “Website Copy Assessment”
- In the email give me the link to a page or two on your website you would like a professional review of the copy.
- I’ll get back to you within 3 business days with any suggestions that I might have for your content.
4. EVALUATE YOUR CALL-TO-ACTION
Your call-to-action should be simple, obvious, and clear.
“Learn More” is not a great call-to-action. Learn more about what?
Another bad call-to-action would be “Get Instant Access”. This has been overused, and today it sounds sales gimmicky.
Some of the best call-to-action statements are:
- Buy Now
- Join Today
- Start Here
- Call Now
- Let’s Talk
Now, what if someone isn’t ready to take this big of a step? What if they aren’t ready to “buy”? Then you have to ask yourself, “why aren’t they ready? What are they still looking for?”
That’s when you offer a 2nd CTA.
- Join Our Email List
- Get Text Message Updates
- Take Our Webinar to Learn More
- Schedule A Free Consultation Today
5. EVALUATE YOUR TRAFFIC STRATEGY
Finally, the all-important “traffic”. The most important thing here is to remember, “traffic won’t pay your bills, paying customers to do that.”
So we have to figure out how to get the right traffic.
The good news is, you don’t have to use all the following strategies:
- Blog
- Pay for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Pay for ads
- Start a podcast
- Offer webinars
- Post on social media 3 times per day
- Create videos
- etc
Nope, you have to put together a strategy that is right for you and your industry. And, anyone who tells you they have the answer that works for everyone is a liar. You might end up doing several of the things listed above, 3 of them, or none of them. There simply isn’t a “one-size fits all” approach to online marketing success.
I suggest you follow the 1-1-1 principle.
- Pick 1 (one) strategy.
- Pick 1 (one) goal for the strategy.
- Do that 1 (one) thing until you hit your goal or have a predictable path to success based on historical data.
Since the strategy for you and your industry should be tailored to your goals, industry, personality, etc; I won’t try to give any further suggestions in this post. However, you can sign up for our email list as I’ll be writing about this topic more in the future.
