Online entrepreneurs want to build a successful business and grow their brand in the fastest time possible. There are many parts necessary to achieve this, but the most important is cutting through the noise and knowing what to focus on to make that happen.
Whether you’re a newcomer to online marketing or a seasoned entrepreneur, there will be times when you suddenly realize you have too many plates spinning in the air at once.
You’re overwhelmed by all of your responsibilities, endless tasks, a number of projects and countless ideas, making it hard for you to figure out what you should focus your attention on in that moment.
Once you learn how to prioritize and simplify your business dealings, you’ll not only see your success grow, but your personal satisfaction with this career will soar. Whittling down your task list and fine tuning your focus will free you up to serve your audience in the best way possible.
Be the Source of Endless Value Your Customers Are Seeking
If you don’t offer value, then you have nothing to offer. Why would an audience want to give you their time or their money if they’re not receiving something beneficial to them in return?
When you have something to give that people need or want, including insight and expertise, they’re going to seek you out. But some marketers don’t grasp what value means, and instead of learning to serve their customers, they waste time churning out products that get ignored in the marketplace.
To a customer, value means there’s a benefit that’s worth them giving up what’s important to them – their time or money. There are many choices for consumers today in the same niche that you’re in.
That’s why you want to be sure that your offer creates endless value. It’s a no-brainer because it’s just too good to pass up. You may not know how to create endless value. It’s a lot easier than you think.
You need to focus on going above and beyond when you’re creating your products or developing your services. If you create info products, this might be something like including bonuses you didn’t mention on the sales page.
The customer gets what he ordered and discovers that he also got these additional benefits from other items that you included. He’s delighted. He got his value and then some because you went the extra mile.
He’s going to remember that in the future and when he has a similar need, your brand is going to be the one he thinks of. Your business can be a source of value by answering customer support emails.
Some marketers ignore this. They take the money from the customer from the sale and as far as they’re concerned, the transaction is done and the deal is closed. But when a customer reaches out to you, whether it’s for a negative or positive reason, they’re opening the door for a connection.
Many irritated or unhappy people have been turned into loyal customers simply because a marketer took the time to respond. You can create value when you provide helpful tips if you’re promoting someone else’s product.
For example, when you’re promoting something as an affiliate, take the time to include a helpful tip or two on the topic. It could be that you’re promoting a business course and you know some things that could also help when they’re using that course.
Tell them about that and then encourage them to click a link you have on the topic in order to get more helpful advice. Even if the person doesn’t buy that particular product, they’re going to stay on your list because you provided value.
Communicate with Your Audience Regularly
When you’re first building an online business (and even if you have an established one), you must have an audience – your subscribers and customers. The right type of communication allows you to retain them.
Communication simplified just means that you’re engaging with the people who are or may potentially be interested in your business. It’s important that the sites you choose to promote your business or offers are ones that your audience frequents.
There’s a usually difference between the places young adults and older ones spend time online. Knowing that difference lets you get your products in front of people who are more likely to buy.
You need to create a communication style that’s personal. People who are addressed by name are more likely to engage with your company than someone who’s called “dear customer.”
By engaging with your audience, you create trust, which goes beyond them seeing you as someone who’s just looking for a sale. Engaging with them builds a relationship. The stronger the relationship, the more long-term loyalty you’ll end up building.
That’s why you should communicate with your audience, but you need to know where you should communicate with them. Working online, you need an email autoresponder list.
Even if you have zero customers, you should still set one up. Out of all the communication opportunities, creating a list is the most important. Because instead of waiting to see if they contact you, you’ll be able to reach out to them.
They might also be more likely to buy from a link provided in an email than via social media. You also have an opportunity to introduce new or more products, learn what they respond to and get a better conversation rate.
Communicate through your blog posts. Give your audience something that benefits them. You can do this by giving them takeaways. Share guidance on how to help their lives or business.
Teach them what you know or what you’re learning. Offer a live tutorial to help customers with the product or services that you’re offering to them. Comment to them and respond to questions.
This allows the audience to feel like they’re getting to know you. Be active on the social media sites where your audience hangs out. Share things that are relevant, or helpful and give a sneak peek into your life.
Don’t constantly push products or sales. Whatever communication style you’re using, you need to create a schedule for this. If you show up randomly, then eventually your audience disappears.
Even if you only update once a month, you need to do so consistently so that your audience knows when to expect the content. If you need to, you can schedule in advance to keep up the consistency.
Always Look for Ways to Monetize Your Message
Your branding success and profits increase the more you get your message in front of an audience. While you certainly don’t want to come across as a pushy salesman, you do want to build your business, and there are subtle ways to do this.
To start, make sure you’re always looking for ways to monetize your message. It doesn’t matter where the customer is getting the message from—whether it’s through an email list, on your blog or on social media.
Whenever you monetize a message online, you’ll want to choose ones that you know are high value. Because the more value they give, the more important these offers become to the customer.
When they get one product that benefits them, they’ll be looking for more. There are some things you’re going to want to watch out for when you’re monetizing because it could backfire on you.
As you look for ways to monetize, don’t just choose any random product if you’re an affiliate. A bad product will cost you customers – even if the product isn’t yours. If you value profit over customers, then you’re more apt to pick products that don’t necessarily deliver on their promises.
If you do get involved with an affiliate program or you’re in a partnership with another marketer, it’s imperative that the products you choose are ones that will be useful to your audience.
You also want to make sure you’re promoting someone who’s ethical if you’re monetizing as part of a partnership. Never blindly recommend something. If you don’t know that person or you have no experience with that product, buy it yourself first and test it out.
When you post a blog, see if there are any recommendations you can make. If you make a video tutorial, add any links to the products you used or mention in the description.
Make sure that you add links to your own products, too. For example, if you have a welcome series, then have a link from the email linking to that product offer or to a blog post tutorial that mentions and links out to the product.
You can find ways to monetize your blog post with text and image links, your podcasts with verbal recommendations, your videos, your social media presence, and your email autoresponder list.
Be Immune to What the Competition Is Doing
It’s common for marketers to think about their competition, especially when they see a competitor in the same niche having a lot of success. With so much competition, you’re bound to run up against someone who’s working on the same idea that you are – or they have a product that’s a lot like yours.
While it’s common to think about the competition, there’s a difference between occasionally thinking about your competitors and dwelling on them to the point where it causes problems in your own productivity.
If you’re wondering what they’re doing more often than not – or you’re experiencing a heavy burden of envy, then you’re too focused on things outside of your own business growth.
You’ll know this is what you’re doing if you’ve ever had the thought that your competition is the reason why your customer base is low or if you’ve spent time thinking that they’re succeeding because they have more money to spend on ads, a bigger customer base, more employees and things like that.
Thought it can be difficult to fathom, your competition really isn’t the enemy of your brand. If there’s a business that’s thriving and they’re offering similar products or services in the same niche that you’re in, all it means is that the market is good for whatever it is you have to offer.
Don’t let your attention get diverted away from focusing on your projects so that you’re thinking rashly or taking action steps based on what some other business is doing. Not only can this cause you stress, but it can also cost you financially in the long run.
It starts to create some negative thinking. The next thing you know, you’re caught up in the comparison game and you end up stuck in that awful headspace. You start to feel that what you’re doing compared to what the competition is doing isn’t good enough.
Plus, there’s another downside to paying attention to what others are doing. Seeing what another business is working on can cause you to stop doing whatever it is that you’d planned to do.
You might get focused on the fact a similar product is already out there or it’s already been done, so there’s no need for you to create a similar one. You end up quitting before you even really got started.
What you may fail to realize is that someone may prefer to hear the message from you. You might explain it in a better way or simplify it and it clicks with that person, so they buy from you instead of your competitor.
Focus on Self Satisfaction Through Goal Completion
As you complete a goal, it brings self-satisfaction. You’ll be happy and accomplished about the things that you’ve achieved. Studies have shown that people who set and reach goals obtain more success than those who don’t.
When you complete milestones, they help contribute to your long term goals for your business. As you achieve each one, it can bring you closer to the strategy that you’ve planned as the outcome for your business and your future.
Completing goals give you a sense of mastery. You set out to do something and you did it. You’ll be able to see the results of your efforts. You’ll see a subscriber list that’s grown from zero to thousands – and a bank account that’s thriving.
Goals are rarely completed in just one move. Instead, they’re built of several smaller steps and each of these steps that you complete gives you a sense of self satisfaction. That helps you develop the confidence that you need as an entrepreneur.
Each time you finish a goal, you strengthen the mindset or belief in yourself that you’ve got this – that you can do what you set out to accomplish. You’ll want to focus on the improvement that you experience or the personal growth that you go through as a result of completing your goals.
You’re not the same person that you were when you first set out to do the task or project. You grew in terms of skills and knowledge – and you gained wisdom as you worked.
Part of that self satisfaction stems from the fact that overcoming obstacles and accomplishing the goals has allowed you to see that you can handle things that you never thought you would be able to.
As you complete the goals, it becomes a motivating factor that keeps you on track and keeps pushing you forward. Because you get a sense of satisfaction, it triggers the reward center of the brain and you can become addicted to setting and achieving your goals and finding success, which is a good thing.
When you decide to set your goals, start by knowing what your why is. That’s the reason that will help you keep going when you want to quit. Keep that before you so that you can focus on how you’ll feel once you do reach the end of that goal.
Reaching a business goal gives you a self-esteem boost and it also helps develop a can-do attitude. The more goals you set and complete, the more likely you are to set and reach bigger goals going forward.
When your mind is swirling at all of the various things happening in your business, take a step back and get a good overview of what’s important in your business. Taking care of your customers is going to further your success.
Learning how to communicate with them and be a strong presence will create loyalty to you. Learn how to monetize those messages and never leave money on the table simply because you’re so frazzled, you forget.
Keep your focus on what you’re doing – not your competitors, unless it’s simply to ensure you’re leading the pack. Work on your goals and have a plan to achieve them. With these simple success strategies, you will grow further and faster than if you tried to do too much, all at once.
