Synergize and grow your online business - The Sequel
Posted on June 2, 2008
Filed Under starting up |
I’ve already given a background to this in my previous post . So I intend to be very specific and hopefullly brief in this post.
I already divided starting up and running a blog ( i.e as an online business ) into 4 areas. I clearly stated that these four areas are by no means exhaustive, but are a basic pattern to show how synergizing can be the extra edge you need to get you blog up and running. I gave the reasons why I chose to use blogging as an example but clearly thats all it is. The principles and ideas I’ve shared here can definitely be applied to any online business.
The four areas were :
- writing content
- Search engine optimization
- social media and bookmarking
- traffic generation
Writing content : Some people just know how to string the words together. Give them an idea and they’ll have you in stitches in no time , or reeling from thought provoking insinuations. They have what it takes to be excellent contributors to an online blog but they don’t want to be just contributors, they want their’s. Problem is it takes more than excellent writing to start-up and grow a profitable online blog, most new blogger learn this the hard way. An just like any other online business, if you want to go it alone, youll need multiple skill sets, and discipline - a bit too much to ask for from everyone. So how does the writer move from excellent writing to profitable blogging ? This is where writer meets SEO guru.
Search engine optimization : I just typed in “search engine optimization” ( without the quotes) on google and I got 27.9 million results. I guess thats clear enough. There’s so much information on the web about search engine optimization, its literally grown into a whole industry with the perks to go with that, experts, gurus. and of course those who offer to perform plain magic ( going by the promises they make ) . Now some people over time have read and read and read yet again, and have by experience got a hang of the whole SEO stuff. They don’t know how to write an interesting article on anything , but give them an article and they can optimize it in minutes. Usually such people want to start something, maybe put up some content on their website or something but don’t have the cash to sink into a full-blown project. So what kind of deal would satisfy both parties ? Simple , SEO guy optimizes for both sites while content guy writes for both sites. The details of the arrangement will differ, but I’m sure you get the idea . So both have search engine optimized content, but that doesn’t mean anyone’s going to read it. So off they go to Mr/Miss Networker.
Social media and bookmarking : Running an active and effective campaign on social media or bookmarking sites like facebook , myspace, stumbleupon, or digg is a full time job. Growing your ‘friends’ , ‘followers’ or whatever it’s called and maintaining meaningful relationships with as many as possible takes a lot of time. Whatever the online business you choose to get into, you need people. There’s no way round it. People mean traffic, and if you can convert that traffic , you’re on your way to a profitable online business. Some people are really good at this stuff. They remember names, the smallest details and every tidbit if information they’ve been told. If you’re not good at networking offline, what makes you think you’ll survive online (assuming you don’t have an alter ego ) ? Of all the different parts to running a profitable blog this particular skill applies to every online business. Luckily it’s easy to find these great networkers, their usually called top stumblers, top diggers, they have the largest discussion boards etc A little research will find you the right person . A nicely put request could make them interested in growing your blog ( or online business ) . And of all the skills mentioned these are the most unlikely to want something in return. And even if they do it definitely won’t be anything that will have an effect on your bank account. So by growing one focused relationship with the right person you could save your time hours spent , trying to suddenly become a people person.
Traffic generation : Social media sites can sen you visitors and clients. But its an entirely different thing to make the most of your first time visitors. What makes visitors come back ? How do you ensure that you convert one-time visitors into subscribers and avid readers ? I really don’t have to point out that this too can turn into a full time job . Following your traffic statistics, analyzing it and arriving at the useful strategies that will grow your business can quickly become tedious. As usual some people are good at this kind of thing and you’ll be surprised at what you’ll be able to offer in exchange.
the fact remains that you can still leverage the advantage of partnerships and grow your online business without shelling out major bucks. Its a question of finding the right people.
In one word , start from the forums. There are millions of people with people of varying skill willing to offer help for anything ranging from a simple ( and infinitely inexpensive ) “Thank you so very much ” , to a link exchange , some advertisement , the list could go on and on.
Whatever the online business you have in mind , this will definitely make a whole lot of difference. Hope you’ve picked up something new.
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2 Responses to “Synergize and grow your online business - The Sequel”
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I’ve always seen good website traffic to be a decent mix of everything you mentioned, with a heavy emphasis on actual site content. Social bookmarking has worked for me in the past, albeit the traffic is quick and disperses even quicker (StumbleUpon and Digg come to mind). But I’ve noticed when I write articles that people love and can connect with, those articles become like their own islands, their own sources of traffic to my blog. And unlike social bookmarking, those articles don’t stop netting me traffic after a day or two.
And as far as turning one time visitors into subscribers/returning visitors/whatever, I think they genuinely have to like your content more than anything. There’s no “magic formula”, I think it’s all about connecting with your audience. What can your product do for them? Why should they be interested in you? What do you have to offer?
Hi Matt !
You make some excellent points. Glad that you picked a thing or two and dropped a comment. I’m actually going to take a look at using social media sites to drive traffic to your online business site very soon. There’ll be some interesting finds, but your comment definitely shows that you’re on the right path to success !
Thanks