Is your online marketing going swimmingly?
Do you know exactly what to do to grow your business further?
Or do you sometimes despair when you think about all the opportunities you don’t have time for?
So many opportunities exist to market ourselves online.
And there’s so little time.
How do you keep sane when every guru says something different? And every expert tells you to try something new?
Below follow 5 common beliefs that might be sabotaging your success. Avoiding these pitfalls will help you stay on track, avoid dead end roads, and save your energy to have more fun.
Delusion #1. You need to be popular
Testosterone is available in abundance online.
“I have a bigger list than you.”
“I hit the 10k web visitors last month.”
“But I have more Klout.”
I possess quite a competitive spirit; and I’ve played the numbers’ game, too.
But last weekend I realized how foolish I am.
To make a living online you don’t need 10 thousand subscribers. You don’t need 10 thousand LinkedIn followers. And you certainly don’t need 10 thousand likes.
The quantity of relationships doesn’t matter.
Online and offline networking works the same. Would you like to hand out one hundred business cards at a networking event? Or would you rather have three good conversations with potential clients?
Focus on your business needs. Resist the temptation to join the competition for bigger and better numbers. As a small business you only need a few real fans and a few good clients.
Delusion #2. You need a unique blog topic
Before I started Enchanting Marketing I was umming and ahhing about my blog topic.
As a marketer I had learned, that each company needs a unique positioning. But how could I find a topic so unique and original that nobody had written about it yet?
I racked my brain. Probably for more than a year.
As I couldn’t decide on my own blog topic, I started with guest posting. That’s how I came to realize you don’t need a unique topic. All you need to stand out is your unique voice.
You can safely assume that each topic is already discussed on several blogs. You can safely assume that everything has been said already.
But we’ve not heard it yet in your words, in your voice, from you.
Don’t waste time trying to find a unique topic like I tried. Choose one of the most popular blog topics, because you can be sure there’s an audience waiting for you.
Delusion #3. Other bloggers are your competitors
Marketers analyze the competition; and then they look for a way to beat competitors with more features, higher specifications, a more entertaining story, or a lower price.
The blogging world doesn’t work like this.
Enchanting Marketing, for instance, covers similar topics to Copyblogger.
But how could my blog posts be better than Copyblogger? Or how could I beat them by publishing more than they do?
I don’t need to compete with Copyblogger. I can even piggyback on their popularity by guest posting on their site. They’re not competitors. They’re helping me to build my audience.
Bloggers have no competition. Seriously. Just be you.
Delusion #4. You need to be an expert, ninja, or guru
I was no copywriting expert when I started Enchanting Marketing.
But I was willing to learn and to listen. So while you asked questions, I went looking for answers. I kept reading, and reading, and reading.
You don’t need to be an expert to start a blog. You need a passion for your topic; an eagerness to dig deeper to learn more and more; and a willingness to generously share your knowledge.
You build your authority by consistently turning up and sharing valuable advice. Not by claiming to be an expert.
Delusion #5. You need to be a talented writer
At school I wasn’t particularly good at writing essays.
I was fine with grammar, but I didn’t “get” creative writing. It was one of my worst subjects.
Do I have writing talent? I don’t know. My high school teacher would certainly say no.
But Geoffrey Colvin suggests that talent is overrated. Sheer hard work gets you further than simply relying on talent.
By learning how to apply writing techniques everyone can become a better writer. You might not become the next Haruki Murakami, but you can certainly learn how to write enchanting blog posts and win more clients with your blog. Study writing techniques, analyze popular blogs, and practice your writing.
How to sabotage your online marketing
To market our businesses online we have to fight hard to grab and keep attention. Our audience is distracted.
But we have to battle even harder to beat our own distractions.
Check out LinkedIn while writing a blog post. Answer emails while drawing an illustration. Or even worse: trying to learn how to use Google+ and Adwords and Vine before we’ve mastered our core marketing activities.
Trying to do more is the easiest way to sabotage our online marketing success.
Let’s do less. And do it better.
Recommended reading on online marketing:
How to write a manifesto for a tiny biz
A 5-step plan to create fresh content every week
Crazy workload? This one simple question calmed me down
I’ve never been a very competitive person, so one of the things I really like about the writing profession is how building relationships is so important. If you look at those around you doing similar work through a competitive lens, you’re probably shooting yourself in the foot, professionally speaking.
Thanks for the insights.
Yep, exactly. I’ve found it very useful to connect with other copywriters. We can learn from each other and refer clients. Thank you for stopping by, Kristen!
This all really speaks to just being you online. You can never have competition because you are one of a kind. Thanks for a great post to keep things in perspective!
Yep, exactly. 🙂
“Let’s do less. And do it better.” – Well said, Henneke. This is a far better strategy for people starting out, creating their audience and finding their voice than the “be everywhere” theory.
Cheers!
Very true in many ways.
Yes, of course, many people are doing what you do, writing what you write and saying what you say, there is no such thing as an original idea any more, there are just too many of us on this planet.
But as you say, there is only ONE YOU and that is what is important, it is YOUR view that counts and will persuade people to read, buy, subscribe to whatever you are marketing.
You need to have faith, self believe and perseverance, esp perseverance, if at first you don’t succeed… scream and do it again and again and again…………….
Try to be the best YOU can, don’t lose sight of the competition, but don’t focus all your energy on trying to beat them, find YOUR strengths, set YOUR goals and focus on them.
And if you think it is tough, well I am a marketer in China…………………
Yes, if you start thinking about competing with 1.3 billion Chinese people, then you never get anything done. 🙂
You’re absolutely right about perseverance – that’s so important.
Thank you for stopping by!
Great post, particularly love the part about embracing the competition. And you are a very talented copywriter! I’m certainly learning from you…thanks for the great content.
Yes, embracing the competition was a big revelation for me.
Thank you for stopping by, Sarah 🙂
Re. sabotaging — After a year of steady blogging (almost one post/week) and audience building I finally accepted the recommendations of others and got involved on Facebook. Since that happened, two months ago, I’ve spent countless hours participating in Facebook “conversations” but have published a total of two blog posts. This is a problem. All of my energy has been going to fleeting commentary rather than lasting and searchable posts. I must get myself under control.
I’m with you. It’s so easy to get pulled into conversations and then at the end of the morning wonder – where did the time go? It’s really really hard to be disciplined about it.
That’s one of the reasons I don’t have a Facebook account. I just don’t know where to find the time for it.
You may want to try a text editor like Ommwriter – I’ve heard good things about it. Or there are also apps that block social media for a set time.
Whatcha sayin’ gal?! Have you been readin’ pages outa my journal…huh?
Seriously, as a fellow marketer turned copywriter … I feel like you’ve just sucked my brain (in a good way) and pixelated it 😉 Spot on and loved all of it
Haha, I needed some extra brain power, so I sneaked over to borrow yours to accelerate my writing. 😉
Good to see you again, Di 🙂
Loved the whole thing (great way to shift my mindset to something productive rather than destructive) but the last line stuck out for me:
“Let’s do less. And do it better.”
Huge fan of doing less. Too many distractions and “shiny objects” out there. I lost several years and a lot of money trying to chase down everything that’s new. I’m now focusing on much less and doing it well.
One day I’ll broaden out a bit more but not until I feel I’ve fully mined my ‘core competencies’
Yep, it’s so easy to be distracted by shiny new objects and other opportunities, but getting better at a few core activities is far more effective and productive. But so hard to stick with it!
Thank you for stopping by, Steve 🙂
Another great post Henneke. Having come from a fairly traditional corporate sales background it’s really tough to remove the idea of not worrying about competition. But sort of liberating too.
PS. Did you notice how I started that sentence there with a preposition! Shock Horror..;)
Yay! Another sentence starting with a preposition 🙂
I come from a traditional marketing background and like you I find it difficult but liberating not to worry about the competition. It’s quite a shift in mindset, but feels important.
See, one of the reasons I like your Blog is that you respond to people’s comments like a conversation, which of course it is. But so many popular sites don’t do this and yes, I know there comes a point where there is so much going on that they ship this out to someone else.
For me this is one aspect that I would think very carefully about doing that – as I see this very much like commenting/engaging on say Facebook, but better..
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this..
To me comments are an essential part of blogging. A blog post is a conversation starter – not a monologue or a lecture.
When people don’t answer comments or answer them rather carelessly, then they come across like a big corporation or a big-headed person who isn’t really interested in their readers.
Maybe it’s easy for me to say this as I don’t get as many comments as popular blogs, but I’d say it’s about setting priorities. I rather spend more time answering comments on my blog and less on social media.
Henneke,
I loved your last article on copyblogger. I’m your reader now! You have a good voice, may be you need to jolt your audience little more on your own blog, just like you do on copyblogger!
Welcome, Hassaan 🙂
I’m not sure I understand you suggestion that I need to jolt my audience a little more? What do you think I’m doing in my Copyblogger articles but not here?
Love it! Thanks Henneke… you rock!
Thank you so much.
Always good to see your smiling picture! 🙂
Henneke,
As I’ve said elsewhere on the web, you have more than inspired me to invest time, money, and FAITH in my own writing career.
It has been a true joy to see you all over the web this past year. I look to more goodness from you in 2014.
It is about believing in ourselves ultimately. And it’s your belief is US that resonates so clearly.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Lori. I appreciate you’re taking the time to stop by.
Here’s to our belief in ourselves. Cheers! 🙂
Right on, Henneke! You are a mind reading wizardess! ; )
The drive to do more and more and more actually makes me completely inefficient…the stress factor paralyzes me!
So I’m on this new trip of just focusing on each step instead of the fact that I have to run 10 miles, figuratively speaking. It’s more fun this way too. I can choose the thing off the to-do list that I actually feel like doing at a given time, and just get absorbed into it until I’m ready for a new task.
It’s like there’s a flow to it all…I just a need a bit of practice in finding the current. : )
Cheers!
Melissa
Yes, I so know the feeling. I am trying to create shorter to-do lists and tackle less in a day. In a strange way, that helps me to get more done.
But it doesn’t always work. Too many distractions!
Thank you for stopping by, Melissa.
I totally hear ya…and respect your humility.
Reading your posts is always a nice break for me. : )
Number 2 really hit me because I’ve been struggling with this for a few months now, but I finally decided last night I’m just going to move forward with my business, marketing, and communications blog. I’m a geek, and there aren’t many blogs with that type of perspective on business! So, it’s not the topic, but the perspective that will set me apart.
Less is more, right? 🙂
Yep, marketing & communications are popular topics, so you can’t go wrong.
And your geek perspective will give you plenty of scope to stand out with a unique voice – and lots of interesting metaphors!
Sounds all good, Bree 🙂
Loved Dilution #2. I can’t tell you how many times I didn’t write something based purely on the fact that it’s been covered extensively already. I’m not sure why I was even concerned about that. It would be like a math teacher that doesn’t show up to work because fractions have already been taught. We all the ability to teach in a way that resonates with an audience better than what they’ve heard before. Thanks!
I’d say you can even write about the same topic on your own blog again. You just need to find a fresh perspective or a new metaphor. You can’t recycle topics too often, of course. But occasionally is fine.
Thank you, Paul. 🙂
Hi,
I really agree with number one. For a decade I had a “successful” training business and was considered the best in a certain state. But one day I looked up my client list and realized it was only this consistent small number of people who I was working with. It was not an enormous number, just a good solid consistent group. I alway think of that with what I do now. I don’t want a cast of thousands, just the right people at the right time for the right project works.
Best, Carol
Exactly. That’s a great illustration of point 1.
Thank you, Carol. 🙂
I read your ebook. I enjoy hearing “your voice”. You make me want to be a better writer. This is a brand new passion for me. This article spoke to me. I was blocked, but now I am free to develop my vocal text. 🙂
Yay! That sounds great 🙂
Let me know how you get on?
Thank you so much for writing that, Henneke! Thank you for exposing those delusions.
Your advice feels like pure common sense to me. But these delusions are repeated so frequently that sometimes I’d nearly question my own sanity for having a different opinion 😉
So thank you for putting that straight.
Yes, so true. It is common sense, but we all find it hard to follow common sense. The one I struggle most with is keep focusing on a small number of activities.
Thanks for stopping by, Bart.
This is liberating Henneke! Thank you.
You’re welcome 🙂
This is such great stuff. If there’s a case study in learning how to become a writer, you’re it. Now go away 🙂
Delusion #3 is interesting. I’m mostly with you on this and all these POVs, but bloggers actually do compete for time and attention because it’s a limited resource. Thoughts?
I suppose folks like you and I that read like mad will find time to read more and more, but I don’t if 9 to 5ers feel the same.
Yes, that’s true, but we’re not just competing with other blogs, we’re competing with YouTube, and phone calls, and Twitter streams, and all those other things people could do rather than read our blog.
My answer to dealing with this competition for attention is creating stronger personal connections. We shouldn’t talk in terms of eyeballs like many marketers do, but as small businesses we need to create strong connections with the people who like to work with us and who energize us. People should open our emails because they know us and love to hear from us – just like they’d rather open an email from a friend than one from a big corporation.
We don’t need a big audience. We just need an audience that’s engaged and enthusiastic.
love this response Henneke. Nicely put and insightful.
Really well said. Jay Baer calls this “friend of mine awareness.” Love that.
I totally agree…a beautiful and articulate response!!!
Great insight for a beginner, Henneke! Also, loved the last part about distractions. That alone would be a great post.
Yes, great idea 🙂
Thank you, Sue!
Spot on and good to hear on this new Spring in 2014.
I hear you when you talk about being a small [call me molecular!] biz and trying to be and do everything.
I’m Going Slow for February.
I’m going to take time to really get a handle on my biz, communication and on/offline pr strategy for 2014. I’m taking time to really explore the big goals for my Life Dreaming biz and my life for this year and 2015. I’m going to create the space and time to explore and create new ideas for my blog because I LOVE research and writing and I’ve decided to write less often but bring more depth, research and practical suggestions to it all. I’m going to explore new ways to create revenue streams thru Life Dreaming by creating gorgeous, practical and affordable products.
I’m going to take time to ease into each day before leaping online.
I’m going to keep following your blog posts for your unique voice and practical insights.
I’m not going to worry about what other people are doing in my niche – I’ll celebrate it.
I’m not going to get caught up with how many people follow me – I’ll delight in the people that already do.
I will speak my voice, celebrate yours and encourage other people to dance in their own power.
Here’s to a magnificent, abundant and healthy 2014.
xxxLiz
That’s beautiful. I love the way you put it.
Thank you so much for stopping by to add your enchanting thoughts, Liz 🙂
henneke, when you told me “2. You need a unique blog topic” when we talked last time, it hit me hard. It’s so true.
Now I am working on riding my unique voice, and you are a great inspiration.
😉
Thank you so much, Zsuzsi. 🙂
Thank you for this amazing article. I am about to launch my new website and blog and after reading this article, I really have no apprehensions and am rearing to go!
Yay! Go for it, Kapil 🙂
that’s awesome Kapil. Way to step up and go for it!
Excellent post. All of these things basically prevent people from getting started. You learn a lot more from just starting and learning as you go, and as you pointed out, you don’t need to be an expert right away.
Yes, so true. We just need to get started. We all make mistakes along the way, but if we don’t try we never learn. I certainly suffer from analysis paralysis by trying to be perfect first time.
Thank you for stopping by, Marc.
Wow, this is a very very neat post.
But of course you ARE a copywriting talent.
I guess it depends on how you define talent. I’m still working bloody hard 😉
We all work hard. Otherwise there would be no reward!