The Secret to Online Marketing Success for Small Businesses

If you’re doing business online, you’re probably still on the lookout for the magic trick that will bring in surplus sales and boundless success. There are a few traits all successful small business owners and entrepreneurs have, but there are steps you can follow to get online marketing success.

By now you’ve probably scanned every business book and subscribed to numerous marketing newsletters to study and absorb the secret. You have studied the routines of most successful entrepreneurs and reverse-engineered their process. You have read Hover’s Ultimate Startup Guide.

After all this searching you are probably convinced that there is no such magic, no deep secret to enormous online marketing success. Except, there is. As a matter of fact, there are three secrets that work in in-sync for the magic to happen. To be candid, possession of these three secrets differentiate winners from losers. Master them and you’ll notice the change in momentum. It’ll start slow but eventually, the pace will pick up and before you know it, things will start snowballing.

No hogwash. No bluff. The secrets to successfully marketing your business online are…

Secret 1: Doing is winning. Tables turn when you put ideas into action.

Every year authors of books on “how to succeed” or “tips to win” make millions of dollars owing to hopeful small business entrepreneurs. The market and business go way beyond the online space but the idea of making six-figures sitting in front of a screen in pajamas is too good to resist.

These people are always looking for sound advice and actionable tips on what to do to better promote and market their idea. This doesn’t mean most of the knowledge out there is useless. Some of the books do offer a great amount of sound advice which can help you make a lot of money if you do this one thing:

Put that advice into real action.

The problem with most small business owners is that they give their dreams more value than actual results. They are imagining their business to fulfill all of their goals while building a commendable success story. But when it comes to execution, the whole process seems overwhelming.

It’s true, putting all that advice you read into action is not easy. You never know where to start. However, if you’re serious then here’s the first step you can take (and it’s easy):

Get your business idea registered on a domain name before it’s too late

The first step to starting any online business is to first register a domain name. If you don’t have a business idea but want to work for yourself then get a domain name on your name.

Pro tip: Register your domain name on a new domain extension such as .SITE, .SPACE, .ONLINE, .PRESS, etc to get your branding right from the get-go.

Secret 2: Make a plan, even if it is a rough one.

The challenge with taking action is that often people do a lot of random things in no proper order and end up with random, unexpected results.

You need to put together a simple and logical plan. Make a list of all the things that your idea will need to come to life. This plan may call for expertise and tools that you don’t have. So, make space in your plan to partner with someone. If you are good at selling but don’t understand the tech part of the business, then shake hands with someone who is.

Making a plan that has more things that you can’t do is the enemy to secret 1. Make sure the maximum part of your plan revolves around “things I can do”.

For most of us, ambitious plans never get implemented. If flamboyant goals inspire and motivate you then go for it. But keep your plan simple and manageable. A plain, small project that gets done is far better than an ambitious one that is too intimidating to get started with. 

Here’s how you start:

Secret 3: The secret sauce in this recipe is YOU!

This is the mother of all secrets. It will add a whole lot of glitter and charm to secret 1 and 2. The other two secrets will help you make business and if you keep at it then a decent living too. But secret 3 will put you on the fast-track to creating an outstanding business that gets everyone excited and adds meaning and purpose to life.

Everything you do to build this idea—be it writing blog posts, creating pitches, being active on social media, sending newsletters, writing eBooks, etc—all this must achieve one fundamental goal: to establish you as an authority in your field of business.

If you’re planning to follow a safe, tried and tested strategy, chances of you standing out and earning the attention and trust of customers are thin. You’re betting your time and resources into this idea—you might as well give it everything you have. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it needs to be out there. (Read that sentence again.)

Here’s what you do:

Be authentic

Accept that there are people out there who know much more than you do. Go out and ask questions, gather whatever information you can. Keep sharing that information. Keep writing about the subject until you start speaking with an authentic voice. All you have to do is stick to the process and results will show.

The truth

This last one minute probably got you inspired and you’re already heading to a coffee shop to get started! To start things off on the right note,  begin with registering your domain name. That will set the wheels in motion and keep you going because now the idea is alive. Then write down that one-page marketing plan with action items to start your journey.  

Take the first step today! Soon you’ll be working more hours a day and just like that you’ll be on your way to achieving boundless and enormous online marketing success.

Good luck!