Business
Online Marketing Mindmap
Over the past few years we have tested and tracked dozens, if not hundreds, of different strategies online… everything from banner advertising to social bookmarking, and at the end of the day, implementing the core online marketing strategies effectively has proven to generate the maximum impact from online marketing efforts.
Of course you’ll hear about the rare online business that doesn’t have to use SEO or PPC to drive traffic, as they have a 100k+ database of people and JVs with other sites which command the same number of subscribers. But for a business starting out online, you want a strategy that is simple, actionable and not reliant on the goodwill of others (at least initially).
We’ve prepared a mindmap of the core strategies essential for succeeding online, whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been online for years.
You can download the online marketing mindmap here.
A Day in the Life of a Successful Website Owner
So what’s it really like to own a website which both generates profits for your business and helps (forces) it to grow?
Here’s a breakdown of a typical day of a successful website owner…
1. You Check Your Emails
You wake up in the morning and switch on your laptop (or PC), open your email account and check how your website has produced overnight.
If you sell direct online, how many sales were made?
If the aim is to generate sales leads, how many new leads have you received?
2. You Check Your Stats
You login to your Google Analytics account.
- How much traffic did you receive yesterday?
- Is it increasing or decreasing?
- Where did the traffic come from?
- Are there any areas of opportunity that small effort can result in big payoff?
- You implement.
Creating A Successful Brand
A successful brand is the marriage of your own strengths with what your customer base wants. That’s why it’s essential that you don’t rush into any kind of business before you decide what your brand is all about.
So what exactly is a brand?
Put simply, a brand is essentially something that you can offer to your customers that no one else can. They say there’s nothing new under the sun, but you need to find a fresh spin on something that is already being offered by other people. Think about the difference between the brands of Pepsi and Coca Cola, for example. They are both unique, very different brands for a very similar kind of drink, but most people would agree they look for one or the other when they go shopping to buy that drink.
So you need to start with what you want to sell, and research that market thoroughly. What can you offer that isn’t already being done? It may be a specific way of selling the product. It may be a unique recipe or way of presenting the product. It could be the fact that you supply a free gift with each purchase. You might decide to market your offering in a different way, to reach a slightly different audience.
All these factors can influence how you create your own brand – and they are just the beginning.
A brand can also relate to how your product or service is perceived visually. Think about all the big name companies in the world… and how recognisable their logos are. A logo can strengthen your brand and make it more familiar, which is essential to your long term success if you are selling a consumable product which you will want people to come back and buy more of.
