Marketers Resolution: 3 Tips for Making the Most of 2009…Online

It’s that time of year when everyone talks of the lessons of the past year, and the optimism of the coming one.  It might come in the form of a top 10 list for products or emerging technologies, or ways to get more productive in the first 30 days of the new year.  However, many striving to improve small business marketing, hesitate to look back because they are apprehensive to learn what they didn’t get done.

Just because you fell short executing your online marketing strategy doesn’t mean you are a failure, it means you are a student.  Welcome to the game of making money online.

Tip 1: Learn from Your Internet Marketing Failures

If you want to enjoy online marketing, you have to master the art of failure.  Failure educates, success puffs up.  I believe it was Thomas Edison who said, I didn’t fail to invent the light bulb 10,000 times, I simply found 10,000 ways that don’t work.  An honest commitment to learning from failure will make all the difference.
Some questions to consider to help learn from failure:

• Was the failure within your control? You can do everything to put yourself in a position to succeed, but if customers choose not to say ‘yes’ to your offer you don’t have control over that.  If on the other hand, you set customer expectations for one thing, and delivered something totally different, you need to make some adjustments.

• What would you do different? Sit down with your team (or yourself, if you are solo and making money online) review what didn’t work, and what you’d do different if you had to do it all over again.  This is critical for the next step.

• Pay it forward. Ask, how do our lessons here impact our online marketing strategy for future campaigns, and build the changes in right away.

Tip 2: Keep A Small Business Marketing Journal

Hint: Journals work for many things not just marketing, but business, personal, family, and I’m sure there are others.

I resisted keeping a journal for a long time. The main reason, I didn’t know how to make it work.  Thanks to a good friend of mine who explained it in simple terms, I’m now an advocate of keeping a journal.  Consider answering these three questions in your daily internet marketing journal.

1. What worked yesterday, and what did not?
2. What actions are necessary today to achieve your short-term goals?
3. What do you need to do today to realize revenue today? (Especially for entreprenuers)

Answering these questions on a daily basis honestly, will help you maximize your time and efforts.

Tip 3: Solicit Honest Feedback From Others

Let’s be honest, small business marketing is hard work. Not only do you have to have a solid online marketing strategy, you also need to be able to execute that strategy in a timely fashion, and in a way that justifies your existence, profits.  It is unfair to go it alone, input from trusted sources can save you from making costly mistakes.

• Get offline market feedback. Go where your market is, if your market hangs out at the country club, go there, sit at the bar, and strike up a conversation with the guy next to you.  Bring a printout of a newly designed optin page, or checkout page, get their feedback, and ask what they would change.  Pay for their beverage as a thank you.  You might be surprised what kind of feedback you get!
• Visit online forums. If your market has online forums, go there, and solicit feedback, as questions, and give back, like any social marketer should do.  Listening and observing are great instructors here.
• Strike up a relationship with a coach or advisor. Trusted advisors with expertise can be invaluable to a small business.  While you might not be able to hire one out of the gate, a good coach or advisor can provide a perspective you may not have thought of.  This should be something you have in mind for the future if you intend to grow your business through marketing. Start building relationships now online (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter), or at offline events.  While you might get a few pointers, more importantly, when you are ready to move forward, you will have a better idea what you are looking for.

While it can be painful to review your small business marketing accomplishments over the last year, it is essential for making progress in a competitive marketplace.  Following these three tips should put you on the right course, as you set your sails for the coming year.  As always, feel free to leave your comments here on the blog.
Image Credits: Amanito, and WTL Photos respectively

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