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.
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I think what tends to help me most in crafting better landing pages and purchase funnels – is testing. Testing, testing, testing! And not just having others test the processes, but making myself go through the process too. I buy lots of things online, and often know exactly what might tick me off in a checkout process, and what would cause me to leave quickly.
Don’t you notice the same?
At this time, I realized that I should learn to focus more on being a successful marketing rather than learning how to drive. Maybe I will try to develop a list to concentrate more on the priorities. I haven’t tried clicking the affiliate or making a purchase. I guess I will definitely try to keep on leaving comments to earn more backlinks. Thanks for the interesting article.
I personally feel that list building is very difficult for me as a new bloggar, however I certainly agree with data analysis that is tracking and testing of various features. Well written post and thanks for sharing.
I also agree with you Satrap. The question here is how to gain active and responsive subscribers. It is by simply knowing what our audience need and find ways to constantly provide them. Looking at what’s happening on the outside than cautiously watching our own has sustainable benefits.
James, it’s a nice connection with the new driver for a new marketer.
I totally agree, the basic rules will always be the most important ones, the only changes that may occur through time are on details and the tools you are using as new technology appears…
Yes the money is in the list. As new IMer’s we get caught up in the Internet Marketing Matrix. So many offers, so many click and forget solutions lol most of them are rubbish. Thanks for bring us back to the basics. I need to grab a hold of the first concept.
My best point in this article is the second point. Creating best content is the best way to attract people. And obviously people come to our websites to read content and not just ads right. Thanks for these quick and valuable tips.
Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals. You’re right, if you start off with the basic skills needed in marketing, you will easily be able to adapt to the small changes. I like that you started off with lists. The hardest part is getting permission from someone to market to them, and having a list is building an audience that is waiting to hear from you.
right, keeping the fundamentals as the fundamentals only is the way to reach success in marketing, I like the third one the most ” MEASURING, TRACKING AND TESTING” and I like to implement this as well when I execute any marketing strategy,
thanks
Measuring, Tracking and Testing – After planning and implementing your marketing plans measuring, tracking and testing could help you understand the level of success of your marketing plan. And if it is not successful measuring, tracking and Testing can help you assess your performance and know your weaknesses and resolve it. .