Who is in Charge of Your Marketing?

Are you in charge of your online marketing or are you leaving it to some third party?

I’m a big fan of Dan Kennedy’s marketing tips and when I first started online, I learnt some valuable lessons from him.  The one that really stuck in my mind is “be in charge of marketing your business.”

But what exactly does Dan Kennedy mean because if you’re a technophobe right, you don’t want to get your hands dirty or tied with website building, graphics or search engine optimization.

Well, the good news is, this isn’t what Dan Kennedy was referring to.

And, I’m going to use a real life situation here to explain my point and I hope after you read this short case study, you’ll be motivated to take control of your marketing.

I was speaking to someone a few weeks back who wanted to put some affiliate links on their site, but they had zero content on their site.  Naturally, I explained that putting up a banner with the affiliate link would be insufficient because to make money, they’d need traffic.

In short, it transpired that despite the fact that this person had been coached for 2 years, they didn’t have a clue about the process of marketing.

This person had thrown their hands up in the air saying they were not technical and in doing so had abdicated (and I do mean abdicated) their entire process of marketing.

Now, you’re probably asking the question “well what about her coach?”  Good question!  But here’s the rub … this person has changed their business model and online business so many times that I was not surprised that two years later, they had no content, no traffic and no business.

To me, it felt that in “deciding” that they were no good technically, they had outsourced everything technical (which is good) but also seemed to have adopted a mentality that you could make money online without traffic and without content.

Needless to say, I was very straight with them and suggested they go sign up to Ed Dales 30 day challenge so they could learn the process of marketing.

Even if you don’t “do” the techie stuff yourself, you need to understand that like anything else, there is a process to marketing.

If you fail to understand that process, you fail to understand marketing and you fail to be in charge of your business.  And the result … your business WILL fail.

With the casestudy I provided you with above, it wasn’t just the absense of content and traffic that was the issue, this person seriously missed the mark on how to get traffic.

I had one person say to me once “my blog’s been up for months now and not one person has signed up to my newsletter.”  Well the answer to that one was easy, “you have five articles on your site which are at best mediocre.”

And, I’m sorry if I offend the freebie seekers now, but learning how to do things properly online does not begin and end with gleaning “tid bits” from this site or that blog - here and there.  At some point, you’re going to have to SPEND SOME MONEY!!!  Did I shout!

I believe I did, but people really have to hear this.  None of us learned to read and comprehend grammar by picking up books and scanning them or reading a page from this book and another page from another.  Getting the whole picture is what what helped with comprhension.

So, if you want to be in charge of your business, you have to be in charge of your marketing and to do that, you’re going to have to learn the process of marketing.  The best way to learn?  Follow a step-by-step program.  If you find a free one then great and I do highly recommend Ed Dale’s 30 Day Challenge for starters.

You’d also do well to hire a coach or mentor who has done what you would like to do so they can show you exactly what you should be doing and, what to avoid.  Ask yourself the question, “how do I learn best,” and then find something that matches your learning style and stick to it.

Even if you outsource elemements of your online business and even if from day one, you have no intention of doing it yourself, understanding the process is going to turn you into a an intelligent and savvy marketer who will know the right questions to ask from the right people.

Until next time,

You new here? If so, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Blog Marketing Works For Getting More Sales And More Clients

Blog Marketing is about getting more exposure for your business or for what you’re selling and it’s more than just about getting lots of traffic.

What’s the point of traffic if you can’t convert them into sales right?

In terms of blogging and blog marketing, my main focus is helping people who already have an offline business get their business online.  So, the initial focus is on attracting more clients and, making more sales whilst we strategize for how to get passive income from information products, based on their service.

For weeks now, I’ve wanted to talk to you about one of the ways a client of mine is approaching blog marketing but, until now, I’ve had to bite my lip ….

Gavin Ingham of www.GavinIngham.com is a sales trainer and motivational speaker and since building his blog last year, Gavin has been consistently blogging and making his presence known online and then earlier this year after each show of Sir Alan Sugar’s “The Sales Apprentice,” Gavin sat down and wrote a review of the program for his blog.

In fact, I know that on one occasion, Gavin was so tired, he didn’t do the review but woke up to about 25 emails asking “where’s the review of last night’s show?”

Don’t you just love it when your readers beg you for more content!

Anyway, I digress … As a direct result of Gavin’s reviews, two of the Apprentices have been in touch with him about partnering on a project or two.  You can see Gavin’s post, The Return of the Sales Apprentice for more information.

The real point I want to make here though is that blog reviews extend beyond trying to make a quick buck from an affiliate product.

It seems to me that small business owners, entrepreneurs and independent professionals are still a little slow adapting to blogging and blog marketing.  It’s not seen as a serious business building tool by some and others just complain that they just don’t have time to blog - these are generally those that don’t have time to build their business either.

Now, don’t get me wrong, if you’re marketing online and doing great with the online strategies you’re implementing, then blogging may not have to be a serious consideration to you right now.  I will say however that I personally believe in the long-term, if your competitor is blogging and you’re not, you’ll lose out.

But back to my business of reviews …

I think Gavin’s approach of reviewing The Sales Apprentice program after each show was not only an excellent idea and credibility booster, indirectly, he was making more sales.  He’s a professional speaker and he’s selling himself essentially in selling his services.

But, he didn’t need to litter his blog posts with links to products or even his services.  He just provided an honest and frank review, gave away some great sales tips and not only do I know he has been booked for speaking gigs as a direct result of these reviews, he’s now been contacted by two of the apprentices theselves.

Dave Taylor of AskDaveTaylor.com told a true story last year of a lawer who didn’t have a blog but left a comment on Dave’s blog.  The comment was read by either a news reporter or authority in a large organization (can’t remember for sure) but the result was that he landed himself in a very high position job.

One comment and no blog but one helluva reward at the end … can’t be bad for a few minutes work.

So, what business are you in and what can you review to get some more exposure for your business?

Is it the last book you read?  Maybe the last ad you saw on TV, a seminar you attended or even a company review that would help your readers see you as a potential giant or even giant in your field?

As a service professional, you are seeking authority and credibility because people buy from those they know like and trust and I’ve proved over and over again that blog marketing works for getting clients and making more sales and isn’t just limited to selling $29 eBooks.

In my blog post  Easier To Sell A Product Than Your Services Online, I pointed out technically, it’s harder to sell your services online than a product … so many will tell you anyway but most of my clients are acquired as a direct result of my blog and, my services cost way more than the average information product that is launched online.

So, if you’re looking for more clients, if you’re looking to make more sales and if you’re trying to sell products, I highly recommend that you add blogging to your marketing mix sooner, rather than later.

To Your Success,

Blog Marketing Tips and Insights
www.trishjones.com