How to Approach Online Marketing
How potatoes and online marketing can relate… The other night, my husband Jai and I sliced some potatoes and lined them up on a baking sheet for roasting. Before we put them in the oven, we seasoned them with a new spice mixture that we had bought from a fair in Brooklyn.
When we tasted them after they were done roasting, they were way too spicy. So without thinking too much about it, we rinsed off the spices, dried the potatoes, added some salt, and put them back in the oven.
A few minutes later, we took them out and tasted them again – and this time they were too salty. So we rinsed them off again, and this time we measured out a more appropriate amount of salt to season them with. We put them back in the oven a third time, and they came out perfectly crunchy and delicious.
Why am I telling you this story? Because this is exactly how online launches and funnels work.
You see, way too many women entrepreneurs come to me and say, “Monica, I created an online course and put up the sales page, and people didn’t buy it. I think I’ve done something wrong.”
Or maybe they say, “Monica, I decided to try a webinar, and then when I posted an opt-in page online, I only had 15 people opt in. I really feel like I should have gotten at least 50 people to opt in. Maybe I just shouldn’t do webinars.”
Essentially, far too often, I see people give up on group programs, courses, or webinars, because they think that they just can’t do them. A launch doesn’t work out, and we decide that it’s because we’re just not good enough.
But here’s what I want you to realize: just like the potatoes, online marketing is an experiment. Some tests work, and some tests don’t. And that’s OK.
Let’s say you create a title for a course, and nobody buys it. Your job is not to give up on the course. Your job is to do some research and try to figure out why they’re not buying.
I’d suggest doing marketing research interviews with five people from your target market. Most likely, you’ll find that the messaging on your opt-in page is ineffective.
Maybe the problem you’re presenting isn’t concrete enough, or your description of the course isn’t specific enough. Maybe the language you’re using doesn’t mesh with your target market.
So you’ve got to try again. Rinse off your potatoes, rewrite your copy, and put it back out there. Remember that it may take five or six attempts before people really buy your course – and that sometimes that’s because you need to edit your messaging or increase your list size.
This is one of the reasons why launches and online marketing are not for the faint of heart. You’ve got to be open to trial and error.
Ultimately, you’re going to have to experiment, experiment, experiment, and resist the urge to make up stories about how something isn’t working because you’re not good enough.
My invitation to you this week is to refuse to give up on your online marketing, funnels, and launches. The key is to treat it like potatoes – rinse and repeat, and know that you’ll get there eventually.
