I was up at the butt crack of dawn this AM and decided to go for a bike ride. I got to thinking as I peddled through my neighborhood about all of the marketing mistakes I’ve made over the years. Don’t ask my why this came up, I’m still not sure, but I remember thinking to myself, that would make for a great blog: It’s my hope that you can learn from my mistakes, so I thought I’d post a few of them here:
Mistake Numero Uno:
People don’t really care about ME. When it comes to promoting / marketing your company, you need to realize one key thing: It’s not about you period. We live in the ME generation. How can your company fix my problem?
Mistake 2:
When it comes to web design, less is more. When I first got into the organic SEO business several years ago, we used to see just how much copy we could cram into a home page. Now, it’s a lot different. People don’t have the attention span and cannot be bothered with excess. When it comes to web design and marketing, realize that we are barraged with messages, keep yours short and sweet.
Mistake 3:
Keep it consistent. I used to bounce from message to message in my early years. My company had an identity crisis, because I wasn’t sure who I wanted to be when I grew up. I love instant gratification just as much as the next American, but when it comes to business and marketing, i’ve learned that staying consistent can dramatically improve your bottom line AND marketing efforts over time. Take the time in the beginning to define WHO YOU ARE and What you stand for.
Mistake 4:
People hate to be sold to. Several years ago, I used to think that to sell things you had to get in people’s faces. You had to push your message in front of them. Remember banner ads? Not so effective anymore are they? Pushing marketing and ‘stuff’ in people’s faces has a tendency to now push people away from you. They don’t want to be sold to, they don’t want to be bothered. My strategy has evolved to contribute useful expert information to my prospects via my web site, blog, twitter account and Facebook account. People are looking for experts, the true key is to be in the right place at the right time with the right message, then, and ONLY then do you have a hot prospect.
Mistake 5:
Holding my cards too closely.… I used to believe that my competition would be scraping my web site daily seeking information on how I’m marketing, who I’m marketing too, etc. I used to be reserved and hold information back out of FEAR. I’ve come to the realization that people including competition WILL find out what they want to know online period. I therefore make a point to publish as much useful transparent information about my company, my strategies and my marketing perspectives as I possibly can. The end result, people find my ‘stuff” useful enough to hire my company.
Bonus Mistake:
Planning Goes A Long Way. I’m a busy guy, I used to be so busy that I didn’t have time to strategize about my next move, the end result, I didn’t have a true Internet Marketing plan of attack. I learned a few years back that you have to have a clear directive and a clear road map to online success. I now spend much more time on my bike, in the gym or driving in my car thinking about my next moves. I also have discovered that working backwards can work wonders….. What’s the end desired result? Figure that out and work backwards to devise the steps needed to conquer that goal.
Want to learn more about what Internet marketing can do for you? Give me a call today at 407-830-4550 in Orlando or nationwide: 866-998-6886.
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Tags: Internet Marketing
