I almost feel a little bad for people trying to get into the online business world today. By now the Internet has been around long enough to where we’ve heard loads of “experts” say they have the “cure” to whatever your problem is. You’ve got one SEO guy screaming in your ear that the #1 KEY to ranking well in Google is “Keywords!” Then you have another SEO guy saying “It’s not keywords! It’s about publishing content frequently!” Then you’ve got one Social Media guy saying the KEY is “YouTube!” Then another guy says “No, make a Facebook page!”
Really, how in the world are you supposed to know what to do?! Add keywords, publish new content frequently, build a following on Twitter, make a video viral, buy AdWords, lower your bounce rate, increase your conversion rate, study your visitation, get more friends on Facebook… As I said, I feel bad because everyone’s preaching something different and there are so many experts out there just trying to make a quick buck. Hard to know who to trust.
I was raised in the Internet Marketing arena by some of the top researchers and analyzers in the game. I was very lucky and I’ll never forget where I came from and who is to thank for my success. I was a sponge and I absorbed every single tip they gave me. My biggest takeaway was to play the “trial and error” or “testing” game. Sure, I still subscribe to a select few top blogs I feel give gold nuggets out daily. Sure, I still ask people what they do, what works, and what doesn’t. I will never stop learning. BUT, I take that knowledge and only implement what I think makes sense based on my history of testing.
I’ll have a list of tips and ideas for how to sell a product. I keep a record of those ideas, make a product, then test the ideas. From there, I look at what worked and what didn’t work, then apply those insights to the next launch. I never expected my first product to be a huge success, but I had to just suck it up and launch it anyway to see what happened. Turns out it was a small success and it was a great feeling.
I thought today I’d share with you some of my philosophies of Internet marketing and how to carry on a successful online business based on what I’ve learned. I’d never tell you I have all the answers, but by seeing why I do things, figure out from there if it makes enough sense to apply it to your business or not. Each nugget you take away from others, the more you’ll thrive.
- I know I must always keep a finger on the pulse of the Internet if I want to succeed. Subscribe to top blogs, ask others what they are doing, follow trends, and keep an eye out for new product launches.
- I believe it’s about quality, not quantity. My goal isn’t to get as many Facebook friends as Lady GaGa. My goal is to only accept friend requests from people that match my interests and goals. I want there to be a mutual benefit in each friend I take on. I want to give them value and I want them to add value for me.
- I only publish content that I believe in. I don’t add hype to sell more, I don’t exaggerate, I don’t lie. I only want to invest time in what I’m doing because I truly believe it can help someone else out there.
- I don’t create products just to sell products. I try to create a product that fills a need based on the questions and frustrations I’m seeing out there. I don’t rush the product launch – I take my time to do it right.
- I take as much time as is necessary to answer every question I get. I’ve spent as much as one hour sending a reply to an email I got asking how to do something online. I think everyone deserves that time as my mentors took for me.
- I never cross the line with my subscribers. I don’t spam them and I don’t send them a message every day. I respect their time and give them space. I only email when I have something to say that’s important. They took a chance with me by signing up for my list and I don’t want to take advantage of that.
- I almost always go above on beyond what is asked of me by a client. If they ask a quick question I tell them the “why”, not just the “how”. The goal is not for them to spend more for the why. If I tell them the “why”, they’ll spend a lot more long-term because of the quality of service I provided. I treat each client as if they are my friend – and most of the time they are. I make sure I am invested in their business, otherwise how can I possibly care enough to get them the results they need?
There are many more philosophies I take seriously and implement every day, but this will get you started for now. Maybe I’ll make a second post in a week or two. I don’t want to make so many points right now that you don’t know what to absorb.
I’d love to know what philosophies you hold and what that does, in turn, for the success of your business. Take a minute and please leave a comment using the form below. Someone can always use the value if you take the time to give it! 🙂
