Article Contributed by Pamela Ramos
Being is business isn’t easy. If it was, everyone would own a business. The truth is that owning your own business is incredibly difficult – long hours, little or no pay in the beginning, and there’s no one there to tell you to go home, go on a vacation, or to pick up the slack when you’re not feeling well.
Marketing drives your business forward. It makes more of an impact on your bottom line than just about anything else. Sadly, it’s also where a lot of entrepreneurs make a lot of mistakes. Here’s how to learn from others and make money at the same time.
You’re Overdoing Social Media
Don’t overdo it on social media. You’ve heard it before. You’ll probably hear it again, “everyone’s on Facebook. You have to engage people to sell them.” It’s a half-truth. While it’s possible to sell on Facebook, it’s probably not going to happen on your company’s fan page. It’s going to happen through the Facebook ads.
People tend to come to Facebook because they want to socialize. Some people come to Facebook because they want to share ideas – here’s where you can snag sales. Selling to consumers and businesses isn’t so difficult when your message is on-point. Use the ad system to discover untapped markets. Market to them, and you’ll soon forget about posting 20 messages per day to your fan page.
LinkedIn is another great place to be – except you shouldn’t be wasting your time in the discussion forums or asking or answering questions. You should be using LinkedIn’s ad system to generate leads – especially if you’re marketing to businesses. That site is full of high-powered CEOs and small business owners.
You’ve Got The “Good Enough” Mentality
It’s easy to get into a rut. You have a few ads that are performing well. The leads are coming in. All of the sudden you start to think that you’re invincible. That’s when you develop the “good enough” mentality. You’ve got enough leads and sales to keep you busy during the day, but at night you secretly wonder if you’re missing out on something. Here’s a hint: you are.
Most entrepreneurs forget to scale up their operation when things start getting good. Instead of hiring help, replicating themselves, and creating a business system that operates without them, they dig in and do more of the same work that got them to where they are now.
That’s a problem, because one person can only do so much work. At some point, you’re filled to capacity. You either grow or stagnate. Don’t make the mistake of thinking things are “good enough.” That’s a sure sign that, like Rome, you’re ready to fall.
You’re Making Excuses
Why haven’t you set up your Google Adwords account yet? Is it because Google is too expensive for you? Fine. Why not Facebook then? LinkedIn? There’s an ad network out there for you. Why don’t you get crackin’ on it?
Don’t find comfort in lame old excuses like “we’re in a recession,” “the government makes it impossible to do business,” or, “customers are tightening their belt.” Look at it this way. Even with a 10 or 15 percent unemployment rate, 80 to 85 percent of the country is still working. Even if only 50 percent of people are buying something, that’s still over 100,000 million people.
Out of that, do you think you could find 1 million people who might fall into your target market? 500,000 people? Would 50,000 customers make you rich?
Thinking Any marketing Is Good Marketing
Just because you have to market doesn’t mean you should try anything and everything under the sun. Direct marketing and direct response are the oldest, and only, type of marketing that produces results. Stick to that.
About the Author
Pamela Ramos is a marketing consultant. Her articles predominantly appear on marketing websites. To see what Yodle has done for Companies, visit the link and learn more.