I’m not a big fan of the word should.
In fact, I don’t even like to use that word with my clients. I’m fortunate to get to work with award-winning authors, accomplished PhDs, sought-after speakers, and other intelligent, creative entrepreneurs. Clearly, they already know a thing or three about creating success.
I do, however, want to make sure everyone–my clients and anyone reading this blog–understands the cause and effect relationships between the different things we do (or don’t do) with our online spaces.
The return on investment for online marketing efforts can look and feel quite different than what we’re used to. If you’re an author on a book tour, you can look across a crowded conference room and see how all your hard work has paid off. If you’re a brick and mortar business that sells physical products, you can count how many people used your Groupon and see that full cash register.
When we’re tweeting and blogging and sending out newsletter after newsletter, it’s not always easy to see how that hard work is paying off. Sure, we can track our analytics and see how many people opened that email or clicked on that tweet. But we can’t tell how many people read excerpts of the post aloud to their coworkers or saved it to their favorites folder.
If you’re unsure about what you could be doing to help raise the profile of your online space and how it will help your business, I’ve compiled a few short, easy tips on how to work smarter (not harder) online:
Blogging regularly » helps people find you on the internet.
The more often you write about your work, product, or services on the internet, the more likely it is people will find you. It’s a lot easier for Google to find a blog that has 30 posts about budget adventure travel than a blog with three posts about budget adventure travel–make sense?
Sending out email newsletters » helps you stay in touch with your previous clients and connect with people who are interested in your services.
Have you ever read a great blog post and as soon as you clicked away, forgotten who wrote it or where you read it? Me, too! This is the reason you want an email list–so you can stay connected with readers and remind them of the services and products you offer. Did you know that your newsletter subscribers are 20x more likely to engage with you by becoming a customer or client than people who just happen upon your website?
(Are you on my newsletter list? Click here to join and get a copy of my WordPress Safety Checklist!)
Tweeting about your blog posts » helps bring more traffic to your blog.
And more traffic means more newsletter signups, more potential clients, and more income.
Sharing other people’s work on social media » helps you network in an authentic way.
When you share links to blog posts, tools, or services that will help your readers, you’re establishing yourself as an expert and a resource. When you @mention the people you’re linking to, you’re showing them that you support their work and you’re networking in a kind, genuine way.
Writing tutorials or how-tos » helps establish you as an expert and create rapport with your readers.
When you show your readers that you’re knowledgeable, they’re more likely to hire you, more likely to buy your products, and more likely to share your content. “How to” is one of Google’s most searched phrases, so you’re also increasing the SEO of your site every time you publish a how-to post.
Now that you know the why behind each of these tasks, you can decide if you’re interested in doing them.
Are there any online marketing tasks you’ve been told you “should” be doing, but you’re not sure why? Tell me about it in the comments and I’ll be happy to weigh in with any insight I might have.
P.S. Will Google’s Latest Algorithm Change Hate Your Website?
Hey there! Thanks for stopping by! I’d love to connect, so drop me a line here or shoot me an email at norma [at] connectinteractivellc [dot] com. If you like what you’re reading, be sure and subscribe or sign-up just below for email updates so you don’t miss a thing!
The post How to Work Smarter (not Harder) Online appeared first on Connect Interactive.