In today’s 27 Common Internet Marketing Mistakes – Part 1 post, I’ve put together a list of common internet marketing mistakes. However, I decided to split them into two separate posts. This is so that you can absorb each in turn and not feel overwhelmed by too much information. In the world of online marketing knowing these will help you avoid the pitfalls that many marketers face. To start with here’s the first fourteen.
1. Not having a clear marketing plan.
Remember the 5P rule – Perfect Planning Prevents Poor Performance. It sounds obvious but it’s good to get clear about what you’re trying to achieve and set a timeframe. After all, you wouldn’t even set out on a shopping trip without knowing where you’re going and how to get there.
You must keep your expectations realistic too. There’s no such thing as a push-button system to make money online unless you’re one of the big guys with a massive database of previous proven buyers. These marketers can hit their list with an offer at any time knowing a certain percentage will buy, but it takes time to build these relationships and that level of trust.
2. Budget properly – don’t underestimate costs.
Whatever you think your income’s going to be halve it; whatever you think your expenses will be – double them. Stay disciplined and don’t get distracted by the next big thing that’ll supposedly skyrocket your marketing efforts.
3. Sure there’s a hungry crowd for what you’re selling?
Don’t get things the wrong way round. Find the market first and THEN the product they need. Look in Clickbank or other marketplaces for similar products? Is there a Dummies guide for what you’re selling? Are people looking for this information? Have you checked the Google Keywords tool? How many searches a month are there? Are there active forums dedicated to your topic? Are people asking about it on Quora?
4. Identify your ideal customer.
Don’t go all scattergun. Drill down into your niche. What demographics does your ideal customer belong to? Predominantly males? Females? What age range? What do they do for a living? Where do they typically hang out online? Have you got a clear idea in your mind of the exact person who’d be open to your offer? Imagine yourself selling it to them one-on-one. What objections do they have? How will your product help them?
5. Ensure you’re split testing.
Split testing is a must. This is an essential tool in your armoury. It simply means sending half of your traffic to one conversion page and the other half to another and comparing the results. You must continually test to see what’s working and what’s not. Even a small percentage improvement in performance could mean a difference in several hundred pounds per month.
6. Find the best traffic source.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Are your Facebook ads performing well? How do the same ads work on Twitter? Or Pinterest? Or LinkedIn? Be sure to monitor traffic from different sources.
7. Try different headlines.
It’s amazing the difference one or two words can make. Try using “How to…” at the start. Your headline is THE most important part of your message and the one thing that everyone will see. In fact, many visitors will look at the headline and then scroll right past the body copy to see how much it’s going to cost.
8. All results have to be measured.
What headline worked best for you? What traffic source? Was there a particular time of day that people were more responsive to your message? Was your target audience defined enough? It’s critical that you only change one thing at a time. Don’t for example change both a headline and a traffic source as you won’t know what made the difference. Measure everything.
9. Poor customer focus.
You’ve heard the phrase “the customer is always right” and it’s as true today as it ever was. No customers = no business. Always provide quality and don’t sell anything you wouldn’t buy yourself.
If you’re operating as an affiliate and selling a third party’s product, be sure that it’s something you would be happy to purchase yourself. Have you tested it out? Does it work as advertised and do everything the vendor says it will? Don’t risk your reputation for the sake of some easy commissions.
10. Don’t react to negative reviews and comments.
Always count to 10. The worst thing you can do is get into public slagging matches. Always respond politely, thanking the individual for the feedback and promising to use it to provide a better service in future. You’ll always come across serial re-funders, also known as “tyre kickers”, who’ll continually waste your time. It’s just the nature of the business.
11. Respond quickly to support requests.
Have a support system up and ready. If you’ve released a product then your buyers are entitled to think that it’ll work. If they’ve got any questions about it then answer these promptly. You should treat this as valuable feedback as well. Maybe your training materials weren’t up to scratch? Did you provide a comprehensive FAQ where your customers could quickly get the answers they want?
Be sure to never argue about refunds. If someone wants their money back, then give them it. You’ll be surprised how many come back and buy again.
12. Offer discounts to previous buyers.
It’s important to look after your customers. If they’ve spent money with you before then offer them incentives to keep coming back. It’s a lot easier to keep an old customer than to find a new one. Once you’ve built a level of trust, a loyal customer can stay with you for years.
13. Wasting time and money on a fancy website.
Some of the top marketers do everything with a sales page and a checkout. People are busy and won’t have all day to explore your site. Having a mobile friendly site is crucial as over 70% of your potential clients will be viewing on a mobile device of some kind. Make it hard to read and they’ll just go somewhere else. Make things as easy as possible for your prospects to make a purchase.
First impressions last and while it’s true that you want something that’s eye-catching and engaging, don’t go over the top. You want to make an immediate impact and grab people’s attention, and you only have about 7 seconds to do this, but you don’t need lots of flashy animations. Keep it simple.
14. Fast-loading and easy to navigate.
It should load quickly and be easy to navigate with a minimal number of pages. If your site takes forever to load, then you’ve just lost a potential client. Make sure your images are optimised for quick loading.
Also ensure that your visitors can find the info they want quickly and easily. People don’t want to be sent through link after link looking for stuff.
I hope you found these helpful. I’ll post the remaining thirteen internet marketing mistakes (from 15-27) next week.
To Your Success!
