This is a guest post by James Martell AffiliateMarketersBootcamp.com.
My daughter, Victoria, is learning how to drive, which I find to be both exciting and terrifying. Perhaps other parents out there can relate.
Like most new drivers, Victoria is very focused on the road, and tends to miss important details – like speedometer readings. She also tends to be a little late in braking and sometimes fumbles around when reaching for the controls.
Several driving schools in London, UK, including BSM and AA driving schools, have determined that students typically need about 40+ hours of practical instruction before they are ready to test. I think the British are pretty optimistic, particularly considering they are driving on the wrong side of the road. (only kidding)
Okay, to be fair, after about 30 hours Victoria is beginning to relax a little, and the absolute basics are coming more naturally to her, which allows her to pay more attention to the details. Like the speedometer.
After a recent near-religious experience with my daughter behind the wheel, I had an epiphany you’ll be interested in; learning to drive is a lot like learning how to market online.
I mean, the similarities are uncanny. New marketers tend to make the same mistakes as new drivers; they focus on important things like the website, but forget equally important website fundamentals like site analytics. They also tend to be a bit slow in developing backlinks, and sometimes fumble around when trying to set up a page.
Like new drivers, though, new marketers just need time to concentrate on the basics until they become second nature, then it will be easier to move onto more advanced details. Like website optimizers.
Website Fundamentals for Beginning And Experienced Marketers
1. Develop Your List
We’ve all heard it before; the money’s in the list. The reason we all hear it is because it is true. If your list hasn’t been your first priority up to this point, it should be. If you take your list building seriously and develop the right strategy, the money will follow.
If you aren’t taking your lists seriously enough, or you aren’t sure what your strategy should be, it may be time to bring in reinforcements. In other words, if you’re not comfortable doing this yourself, then hire a marketer to help you come up with a compelling optin offer.
If you need a little technical assistance, again hire out.
2. Craft Some Purposeful Pages
I have mentored online marketers for a decade now, and one mistake I see regularly is when folks churn out pages with no clear purpose. Each page should have an obvious purpose, and the visitor should know the purpose and – most importantly – they should be able to fulfill that purpose.
Think about what you want your visitor to do on a certain page, then craft the page around that purpose. Whether you want your visitors to:
- click an affiliate,
- make a purchase
- listen to your podcast
- leave a comment,
- or subscribe to your list,
Make it easy on them! Keep the page properly focused and free of clutter.
Get their attention with a killer headline, keep them engaged with great sales copy, and make sure that the text, box or link they need to see is easy to see and easier to use. Driving traffic to your site is much easier when you haven’t unwittingly set up roadblocks.
3. Measuring, Tracking and Testing
You’ve probably heard as much about tracking and testing as you have heard about lists, and that’s as it should be.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of polishing your web-page while ignoring your analytics. The frustrating part of this problem is that so many free tools are available that can make the job easier. My favorite ones are Google Analytics and the Google Website Optimizer. If you don’t have something like that in place yet, today is a good day to get started.
The Basics Never Change
A fellow I know actually manages several driving schools in Manchester, in the UK, and he maintains that although there have been changes in traffic laws, signage and even cars themselves in the last twenty years, driving really hasn’t changed.
The driver just needs to know where he is going, how to get there, and how to avoid any mishaps on the way. I suspect we can say the same thing about driving in British Columbia.
I know several hundred affiliate marketers, and they often make the same observation. Google updates happen, new software comes and goes, but website fundamentals have remained about the same; the list, the page and constant analysis. Marketers who stay with these fundamentals are bound to be successful.
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
This post is a part of SmartBloggerz’s guest blogging contest where you can win cash prizes for earning the most points. Help this guest author win this contest by commenting and sharing this post using the buttons below.
Great post. Good to get back to the core. I’ve been slacking on my list and not focusing lately so this is just what I needed. Thank you!
Developing the list really cannot be overemphasized as you pointed out, James.
I have been Google slapped several times and let me tell you, diversifying your traffic sources will definitely make you more bold…;)
List building is a must have weapon in everyones Warchest.
Great post, friend…
Mark (AKA TheBitBot)
James,
You are spot on in your analysis of the need for improving analytics (and the fact that this is overlooked far too often)
Understnding what works and what doesn’t work on is absolutely essential to making those improvements and perfecting your processes.
-Steve
Hi James,
First of all good luck to your daughter “Victoria” for her test. Now coming to point, To be frank I haven’t tried online marketing as yet but thinking for it very closly and not you many other people suggest to start building your list which I’m not doing currently 🙁 so this is the first thing which I’m going to concentrate.
Hey James, Nice post. Its really important to go deep into site analytics becauz it can give us insights on where we are losing the money. And its good to see how you compare new marketers like new drivers ,-)
Hey James!
I really like your topic, specially when you make the driving as an example for marketing. It is well said and very easy to understand specially when someone is starting in marketing.
Ok.. To start with, the example you used to relate our marketing strategies and the basic ones is absolutely great! (talking ’bout your daughter!) The basics are really the basics… You have to bo perfect in the basics and fundamentals to go ahead. I would like to add: “The basics are like steps, you have to go through the first to be able to reach the skies!”
That’s all I want to say about this post..
And, mate, that was a great post too!
Neat connection that you were able to make between new drivers on the road and internet marketing. In regards to the list, dont forget that its not how big your list is, but how much value there actually is in the list. Gaining real subscribers, and growing it naturally is the key to a successful list. Its easy to gain numbers, but much harder to gain true subscribers who are ready to list to your every word and take action.
-Jean
I agree 100%. A lot of newbies are thought that the bigger your list is the more money you can make. But, the truth is its all about active and responsive subscribers.
I would rather have a list of 100 subscribers who are genuinely interested in what I have to say than to have thousands of subscribers who probably will never even open my emails.
If there is one thing I have learnt above all else is people like things on pages to be nice and easy. If they find the navigation hard or pages confusing and start going round in circles they wont stay for very long which brings me to your 2nd point. Most definately keep your page targeted and never dilute away from what your trying to focus on, set out clearly what the page is for and keep it as simple as possible and if possible keep all user interaction above the fold. This will make people more inclined to do what you want them to do (for want of a better expression) on that particular page.
I would have thought Internet Marketing was harder, but I’m teaching my girlfriend to drive (she’s 35) and I’m not so sure anymore!
Thanks James, always enjoy reading your posts wherever I find them!