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Marketing Is Hard

Blogging is easy, isn’t it? At its most fundamental point you?re writing on a subject with which you have some basic knowledge.

Isn?t that the most basic description of blogging? You can, of course, spend time with the many technical details of your website but writing content is what blogging is all about.

However, being a blogger doesn?t make you a marketer. This is where a lot of people get confused. Blogging, by itself, won?t make you money. You may get traffic from obscure searches. These may lead to clicks on your ads but if you want to become successful you want to adopt a mindset that you?re a marketer who blogs and not a blogger that?s marketing.

Marketing Is Uncomfortable

If you?ve been blogging a while you?ve built some habits and are becoming comfortable with the entire process. Maybe you have a publishing calendar or you post when inspiration hits you. I don?t know.

You probably have ads strategically placed (like everyone else) in the sidebar of your blog. Occasionally, you send out an email blast with updates and an affiliate offer to your list. Or, you blog about someone?s product hoping for a few affiliate sales. Hopefully, you have had the taste of some income from your blog and get a little reward for your hard effort.

When I was an insurance agent (I know, pure sexy, right?), I tried ValPak advertising for a couple months because the ValPak ad guy came by and sold me on what a great way it is to get leads. Then, the local business magazine came by selling ad space and I bought there. Then, the next ad sales person came by and I tried the next thing to get their name out there and hopefully get some sales.

This is what I call ?random marketing? and it?s rewarded like a slot machine. Sometimes it works and often it doesn?t. However, businesses do this because they know they need to do something but not sure what. This random marketing doesn?t build a business.

Like most bloggers, you?re probably on Twitter or Facebook. You post random tweets about your life and occasionally send updates with links to your blog or affiliate sites. Why? Because you know you should be doing something but not sure what. It?s the random marketing.

Becoming a marketer requires you to build a plan that may make you uncomfortable. When I build a marketing funnel it will have multiple steps and contact points into the system. It can become very cumbersome with the potential of many fail points along the way. It?s scary to know something planned out long in advance may or may not work. However, your chance of success is much greater than holding on to the random marketing strategy.

Big Doors Swing On Small Hinges

The greatest thing about marketing online is the ability to test and measure multiple variables instantly. I?m sure you?re eyes probably just rolled to the back of your head but stay with me on this because it?s important.

You can easily track open and click rates on the email campaigns you send out. Brilliant, right? When they land on your page you can track and test multiple other factors from headlines to offer along with bounce rate, cart abandonment among just a few. More brilliance.

Testing is what separates the amateur from the marketer who wants to make their blog the center of their business. Remember, you don?t have to test and monitor every variable. You can only test what?s important to you when you?re starting out.

What will you test? That depends. What are your goals for your blog? If you have a product, what is your conversion rate for search visitors, affiliates and other sources of leads? When you know that, what are the conversions for search keywords, which affiliates have better conversion rates, etc?

If you?re just starting out, start building an email list. Test your headline and offer for the email address to find out which option gets you more email addresses. Even though you don?t have a product to sell you can make money with an email address. You can send affiliate offers or drive traffic back to your site to click on your ads. Plus, this will help you brand yourself by staying relevant until you have a product to sell.

You can test ad placement. Where do ads convert best on your site? Which ads convert best in what location?

The options where you can start are only limited by what you want to do. However, pick one and start today. If you?re not happy with the income you?re receiving from your blog then you have nothing to lose by testing, right?

So, what will you do first to start the transformation from blogger to marketer? What do you feel you lack in marketing knowledge to start this process? If you were resistant to the idea, why?

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Published by: Grant Griffiths

Full post as published by Blawg for Profit on September 21, 2010 (boomark / email).