All New CommentMILK Version 1.0Understanding the Where and How of Your Promotion Strategy - Part Two of An Aud Life dot Com
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In the previous lesson “Planning Out Your Promotion Strategy“, we decided upon our traffic goals and now it is time to lay out the where and how to achieve those goals.
Step 1: Where are we going to get the Traffic?
I think we often jump into a promotion strategy and immediately think “link building”. While that is an essential part of it, you want to be able to really understand where your traffic is coming from. This is where you need to really understand your audience and where they are. If you simply focus on getting good rankings in Google then you are going to be missing a huge part of the bigger picture. So this is where we lay out where it is we want to get traffic from.
- 1 - Subscribers (repeat visitors)
- 2 - Search Engines (Mainly Google)
- 3 - Forums & Social Networks
- 4 - Word of Mouth / Recommendations
These are basically the same for all our promotions but it is the next part that separates them for each different niche. You may also wonder why such a different approach compared to that of the COWpetiton blog from our eBook and the simple reason is TIME. We only had 30 days in that example to accomplish our goals and some of these above steps take a lot longer then 30 days to even get started.
Step 2: How are we going to get Traffic from those sources?
Those above 4 steps might seem really basic to you and the reason is “They Are”. Those are essentially all that we are going to focus on and if I did not really want to give you good information I could stop here but the fact is you need to go much deeper and drill down into each specific section to the “HOW”.
It is easy to say I am going to get traffic from subscribers, but if I truly do not understand or plan out how I am going to achieve that, then I may as well say I am going to pull them out of my butt.
So how do you figure out the “HOW”?
You need to clearly understand two things…
- 1. Who is your audience?
- 2. What resources do you have available?
For http://www.anaudlife.com, the target audience are people who are suffering with Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms or have a loved one who is suffering with it and are looking for help, answers and someone they can relate to. Audrey is not targeting “customers” at all right now and instead is looking to build relationships with her readers.
NOTE: This is an important point and I am not saying you can not monetize your blog right away but you need to be careful and not be in such a rush to make a quick buck. Often we want to start earning revenue so badly that we become “in your face” with our marketing message and completely forget about building a relationship with the reader. Now on the other end of this, their comes a time when you need to try to earn some money and do not be afraid to do it. You may have some of your readers send you hate mail but remember, you have mouths to feed and you are in this to generate revenue.
One of the strong points to the arthritis niche, and I do not want to sound bad here, is that there is no cure for this condition. Of course we pray for a cure everyday but right now there is not one and because of this, it is not a market that people do not come and go out of. Once you have arthritis, you have it for life. (Man that sounds bad to say, please do not take it that way). The point here is it can be tough to build a subscriber base if the niche is one time purchases (say a mattress or GPS device), it is not impossible but a lot harder.
As for the resources available, Audrey is in a very good position here as she is a stay at home mom, who has a husband (ME) that does this for a living. Now for those of you that are not in that boat, what you need to do is take a realistic view of your time and money situation and be honest with yourself as to how much time per day you can spend on this and how much of a monthly budget you can afford to invest in. You NEED to understand this from the beginning because it will influence the next steps dramatically.
IMPORTANT: I want to assure you that 5 years ago I was working a 8 hour day job, supporting a young family and trying to get this business started. I was living pay check to pay check and barely had any time during the day to focus on the business. It was small successes and victories that eventually lead to bigger and better things and if you are in that boat, please do not get discouraged. I understand your situation and I promise that you do not need loads of cash and tonnes of free time to get this started. What you need is a plan, commitment and dedication.
Once you clearly understand your audience and the resources you have available, the next step (which I will cover in the next post) is a continuation of the “HOW” step and we are going to list out exactly how we are going to reach our target audience with the resources we have available to get traffic from each “WHERE” source.
hmm say that three times fast!
So what are you thoughts on this post… does it make sense to you?
- Part 1 - Planning Your Promotion Strategy
- Part 2 - Understanting the How and Where of Your Promotion Strategy
- Part 3 - Planning the Subscriber Traffic Strategy
- Part 4 - Planning a Contest to Get the Buzz Going
- Part 5 - Planning the Contest Criteria
- Part 6 - Protect Yourself Before You Start a Contest
- Part 7 - Rule of the Contest Prize Delivery
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- Planning Your Promotion Strategy - Part One of An Aud Life dot Com | John Cow dot Com
- The Blue Planet
- Planning for Subscriber Traffic Strategy - Part 3 of An Aud Life Dot Com | John Cow dot Com
- Helping make money online
- How to Promote & Run a Contest - A Case Study of An Aud Life dot Com | John Cow dot Com
- Planning a Contest to Get the Buzz Going - Part 4 of AnAudLife dot Com | John Cow dot Com
- Planning Contest Criteria - Part 5 of AnAudLife dot Com | John Cow dot Com
- Protect Yourself Before You Start a Contest - Part 6 of An Aud Life dot Com | John Cow dot Com
- Rules of the Contest Prize Delivery - Part 7 of An Aud Life dot Com | John Cow dot Com
- TechnoMobile
how lucky am i
i was thinking to start a blog some months ago and came across this nice book “cow book” which taught me a new way to see things. i used to jump on designing a site and then content , never thought of researches.
Now as i have created a blog you are here with promoting stratgies. I love this series of posts and will be applying to my new blog as well. Thanks for golden posts
Pakbloggers last blog post..Barack Obama’s job interview at google
I remember how long it took and how much time and energy Jason put into becoming successful. There were people that were very skeptical (including myself at times) as to whether he would make this business fly, and he certainly has. There is ‘no get rich over night’- it’s dedication, patience and time.
Auds last blog post..Natural Remedies for Managing Rheumatoid Arthritis -Part Three
Blessed are those who have found a niche, are working in it and have it easy(er) to become an authority in their field… I think this is the only way to make the internet useful: if people would do what they Know and have knowledge of… not look for “niches”…
Or am i just in a sad mood?
I understand what you are saying. Not that you can not look for a niche and find someone who is passionate about it to write for it but often we think that as long as the content is seo optimized in a niche we can do good.. the actua reader is ignored and we just junk up the internet. So again, I understand what you are saying
The post really rings true, Jason.
Both in “apply this” and “keep on applying this until you see results”.
There are so many reasons to quit, and there are so many reasons to learn.
And learning from “The Portal Feeder Boys” has been a good reason to learn ’cause what you tech actually works - very well - without overcomplicated anything.
So, a BIG thank you for ALL your effective help.
Lu
Hey Cow
First, to answer Your question, this article makes sense
It is written much better than the first article on anaudlife.com. I felt the first article had no real direction and I had to read it several times to get some value out of it. This one is really great and it makes You think more about what You are actually doing.
The above comment by Catalin pretty much sums it up.
With the recent change of blogowners here on johncow.com the blog has taken a new direction. Now there is more focus on the global picture and make people think on their own. Something I like very much.
I’m looking forward for the next article on this topic. You inspire me
Great post! I can see that this series of posts is going to shape up into a great resource, your next ebook no doubt! Good on you!
It is a sad fact that so, so many wanna be internet entreprenuers fail becuase they do not do research before they jump in with two feet. They work hard and spend lots of time working on a project only to find out that there is litle market for it or that they are not providing the content and products that their market actually wants.
Ed Dale and co.. are currently deep in the flow of their excellent 30 day challenge and, like you, are stressing the importance of good research and an understanding of your customer well before you ever try to sell them something.
I look forward to the next post.
Steve
Steves last blog post..CRAFT SHOW SUCCESS - INTRODUCTION
Your comment about establishing a relationship with the reader really hit home with me. The pull to go after a quick buck can be very strong but what you are teaching about relational selling is one of the foundations of building a sustainable business. Thanks for the post.
Jim Colliers last blog post..Website Optimization Free Resource
It makes so much sense to blog about a passion and build the relationship with the reader.
Too often the IM world is about how to make the next dollar…
I completely agree, I have spent alot of time speaking directly with my readers be it through comments, email or responding to tutorial requests, and now about 50% of my daily visitors are return visits. This is helping me build a ‘community’ around my site, which if nothing else makes me feel good!
The Dudes last blog post..Advanced Buttons - Flash (AS2)
Great Posts - Keep ‘em coming please. This is the real stuff that Internet Marketers need to know to achieve success. So many of the other “Make Money Online” blogs these days seem only to peddle their free T Shirt contests and tell you why their advertisers’ Ad Networks are the bomb. Great to see somebody giving out keen insight and useful information. Thanks!
This was really good information. Thanks
Looking at comments from both Aud and Catalin you can see why so many people give up and close down after a few months. But I disagree with Catalin - you can pick a niche that you have little knowledge of if you understand how to market a product/service. Knowledge helps if it’s a very technical market but at the end of the day selling is what counts.
Jamess last blog post..HD Ready LCD TV Deals
Ya, it is not easy startig any business. As for your comment about selling is what counts…yes but I am not sure i 100% agree with that for every situation but I think you both have good points.
Awesome post. I agree with not selling them when they first step in so you can build a relationship first. Keep it up!
Andre Thomass last blog post..The Secret Art Of Creating Urgency
Great post! It really is easy to get discouraged when you’re investing a lot of time into blogging, and coming up with little more than new knowledge and small victories. I’ve started and quit all sorts of blogs over the years, and realized that it’s best to choose a niche that you don’t mind putting a lot of effort into, for years at a time, and at the end of the day, if all you walk away with is new knowledge and friendships, you’re content with that. Readers seem to pick up on that kind of passion, and flock to the blogs that put that out on display. Again, great post!
This makes total sense John, and planning and implementing these steps is the only way to see success. Also, for those who have not had success yet, remember to have patience, if you are consistently applying the correct steps and strategies, a sale is coming!!
Keyword Anchor and Do-Follow Blogs last blog post..A Great Venue to Increase Website Traffic
Hi Jon! I have twittered your contest page:
http://twitter.com/djg/statuses/884967805
Dan Grossmans last blog post..WPRS Selling, Another FeedLines Site For Sale
makes complete sense. you have to know where to find your nitch audience, or you can forget bringing in the traffic you’ll need to succeed. I like the way your mind is working an your able to describe it in writing so we can kinda see inside your thoughts here.