If you have a web site it needs to shout out loud to its visitors; it needs to say fairly quickly what the site is about and what people should do with it. The headlines on this page (hopefully…!) tell you quickly that this site is about online success. If that’s what your after then this is the page for you. But why do you need to be so obvious. Surely we shouldn’t “dumb down” what we are doing? The problem lies in the fact that more and more people are consuming multiple media simultaneously. For instance, around 70% of people surf the web AND watch TV at the same time, according to one recent report. This study also shows that around a third of the people who visit your web site will be reading a newspaper or magazine at the same time as looking at your web site. As the amount of media increases each year, we have to do something in order to consume it all. After all, we only have the same amount of time each year. So, the only way to deal with the excess information is to multitask – deal with two bits of media (or more) at the same time. What this means to online businesses is that you never have the full attention of your web site visitors. You are competing against a TV show, a magazine article and something on the radio – at the same time. That means, the only way your web site is truly going to succeed is if it is so obvious as to what’s available for the visitor. Your site needs clear headlines and navigation so that people know exactly what you offer. Otherwise their attention will wander away to the TV or that magazine on their lap.
Jeremy Jacobs proves you can blog easily
Just a couple of months back, the presenter and public speaker Jeremy Jacobs didn’t have a blog. Now, he has a vibrant, well designed, readable and interesting blog that is clearly attracting readers. In the time he has been writing his blog, his web site has risen over one million places in the Alexa rankings. Equally he is reaching more people with a substantial 300% increase. This just shows the power of blogging. Jeremy’s site is a great example of what you can achieve – follow his example and you will clearly do well. In short, set up a blog, start writing and see your web site’s popularity increase substantially and quickly.
Blogging and public relations
It’s fairly obvious to most people I meet that blogging has real benefits in terms of establishing and enhancing reputation. In other words, it’s a great public relations tool. If you agree, you’re not alone. The PR industry itself reckons that blogs are a highly effective tool for business to share information with their publics. According to one study on blogging around 70% of PR companies believe that blogging is important for business. Strange then to see in the same study that only around a third of PR companies actually do any form of blogging, either for themselves of their clients. Is this a case of “do as I say, not do as I do”?
Online retailers are doing it wrong
There’s been a load of cheering recently for the success of online shopping. At Christmas, for instance, many High Street stores in the UK reported lower than usual sales with less footflow than the previous year. But their online counterparts reported record sales. So everyone was happy. What tosh. The average conversion rate of the top retailers online is a mere 2.5% – and they are ecstatic about that..! If only 2.5% of the people who walked into their bricks and mortar stores bought anything they would be out of business pretty sharpish. One of the reasons is that customers online are “cheap”. It costs almost nothing to attract them; you can get millions passing by every day. The result is that the top retailers themselves perceive their online customers as ten a penny and treat them as such. Is it any wonder they don’t form great relationships and therefore don’t buy very much? A typical top retailer will tell you that their online store is worth about the same as one of their bricks and mortar stores. And, remarkably they think that’s great. Cloud cuckoo land I say. They are happy with the profit in an online store that generates ten times the amount of footflow as a High Street store? Again, this is an attitude problem. It’s highlighted today by a report on the way retailers use emails. This shows that few online retailers even personalise their emails to their customers. They don’t even use the proven methods of getting returns on emails and the vast majority don’t even promote their products in emails they send to customers. What? Say that again…! Yes, 77% of retailers who send emails to customers do not promote their products in those emails. Once again, this is evidence of major companies failing to understand the true nature of the Internet and how they can profit from it.
How to avoid Internet marketing misery
Every day I meet people who want to make their fortune online. They all dream of earning money while they sleep. What they want is a “quick fix”; they want to make a large profit with very little input. “What’s the secret?” they ask me. “How do you earn money while you sleep?”. Well, here’s the secret that will help you avoid Internet marketing misery…I work hard. Yes, I do earn money while I’m asleep, but it’s because of all the effort I put in when I’m awake. There is a vast amount of complete tosh on the Internet about making millions by teatime without lifting a finger. Don’t believe it. The most successful Internet entrepreneurs are those who put in a great deal of meticulous planning. Yes, they can take long holidays each year; yes they can afford fancy cars, new houses and extra holiday homes. But when they are at their desk they are focusing on the detail. They micro manage each project so that they know it will work.
I’ve been working with several would-be Internet entrepreneurs and many of them want the online success, but don’t actually commit themselves to the amount of detailed planning that needs to be done.
Luckily, today, I’ve discovered a report which highlights this conundrum and helps Internet marketers focus on what they really need to do in practical terms to succeed online. You can find the report, “The Magic Formula” at http://www.magicformulabook.com. Strangely, it’s not “magic” and it’s not a “formula”; but it is sensible, no-nonsense, practical advice you can use.
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