If you’re still a bit new to internet marketing, then it’s pretty easy to feel overwhelmed at times.
There are so many moving parts you need to snap into place to get your business up and running. And every time you turn around, there’s another expert telling you that you need to do this, that, or the other thing.
Ack! It’s enough to make you want to pull the covers over your head and just stay in bed some days.
When you start feeling like this, what can you do? How can you learn and implement all the strategies you need, without feeling the need to just run away screaming?
This is something we recently discussed during a Wildfire Concepts webinar, so I wanted to share some of the best gems from that webinar with you…
For starters, you need to simplify the process.
Are there 50 bazillion pieces you need to snap into place to build a business?
Yes — though “50 bazillion” may be a slight exaggeration… ☺
Do you need to have every single piece in place in order to start making money?
Heck no!
Let me give you an analogy…
Think of it like training a puppy. Over the course of this pup’s life, this little ball of adorable fur is going to learn a LOT. But that doesn’t mean you need to teach him every single thing in his first month with you.
Instead, you prioritize. You teach him housetraining first. You teach him that “no” means he needs to stop gnawing on your hand or chewing your shoes. You teach him how to walk nicely on a leash so he doesn’t pop your arm out of the socket.
Later, you’ll teach him some manners, such as how to sit, lay down, and stay. He’ll learn about barking less, being good at the vet, and not jumping on your friends.
Later still, you’ll get into some fun stuff, like teaching him tricks. All of this will take time.
Likewise, building your business will take time. You don’t need to implement everything today. You prioritize what’s most important, and then go from there.
Right about now someone in the back is yelling, “But how do you know where to start? Just how the heck do you prioritize all the moving parts?”
I have a very simple strategy for this…
Model someone else who’s already doing what you want to do.
Go to this person’s business and take a close look at what they’re doing. Join their lists, follow them on social media, buy their products. Check out their blogs. See what others are saying about their business. See what they’re saying about their business strategy.
Once you’ve reversed engineered what all they’re doing, then you’ll have a list of your priorities.
For example, maybe this successful person is heavy into Facebook marketing, blogging and list building.
Boom – you now have three high-priority marketing activities for you to start learning about. You can come to me and ask me about the best resources to learn about these things, and I’ll point you in the right direction.
Pick one of those activities, learn all about it, and then implement the strategy. Once you’ve got one piece running, then go to the next one on your list and do the same thing. Rinse, repeat.
Once you get those first three pieces up and running, then you can start thinking about what else you need to make your business a success. If you keep up a consistent effort, then you’ll see consistent results.
The second key point comes from my friend Lee Hicks. He says that where a lot of people go wrong is that they don’t know who they’re targeting. (I absolutely agree.)
See, a lot of beginners get all wrapped up in the technical aspects of the business. They’re trying to figure out what tools to use, what kind of funnel to build, what marketing strategies to implement and so on.
But if you don’t know your audience – REALLY know them on a deep level – then all of this is in vain. So… before you start modeling your business after someone else’s success, you need to figure out who your audience is, and learn what you can about their thoughts, feelings and emotions.
This is the key to being able to cut through the BS and the white noise online. If you’ve done a deep dive into your audience’s mind, then you KNOW what will get them to stop scrolling. You’ll know what will yank their attention away from the outside world, and pull them into your ads and content.
Here’s another secret: one your audience’s deepest desires is to feel heard and understood.
If you create content and ads that makes your audience feel that way, you are going to have their undivided attention. And you’ll be able to turn this attention into a first-time buyer, and then later a repeat customer.
That’s why you need to figure out who your audience is, what they value, and what makes their heart sing. Only after you’ve done this deep dive into their psyche can you start doing things like building funnels and driving traffic.
Now before I leave, there’s one other important piece Lee shared that a lot of marketers are missing…
You’ve got to be passionate about what you’re doing and who you’re serving. If you don’t wake up each morning excited about this, then just what the heck are you doing with your life?
Many times if you find yourself feeling miserable, it’s because you’re living by someone else’s values, NOT your own.
So now is the time to ask yourself:
What are your top three values? Are you living your life (and building your business) according to these values? Do you feel passionate about what you’re doing?
Share your thoughts below – I’d love to hear them!
