Be warned: Brutal Honesty is Required. :)
Self-assessment of your business efforts is one of the more difficult yet rewarding tasks you'll ever do.
Brutal Honesty is required. Learn how to....
Keep What Works and Ditch the Rest
When it comes to building an online business, I'm surprised at the frequency that I see people make decisions based on emotions. Yes, we humans are emotional, but business is business.
In today's article, I will be covering: Keeping what works and ditching the rest.
When I review my online business, I have to make a determination as to what I am going to keep and what I need to change. This is directly related to the second email in my auto-responder... learning what you need to do to succeed.
A critical skill you must have to own a successful online business is:
You Must Make Non-Emotional Decisions about What Works and What Doesn't
This is a skill that many people either don't possess, or don't want to use: self-judgement or self assessment.
Early on in email #2, I explained that in order to succeed online, you must learn what works. Therefore to understand what works in your biz you must do a self analysis.
Here's some questions you can use to help analyze your current business practices.
1) What am I spending money on that is bringing me customers or leads?
2) What am I spending money on that isn't working?
3) If I simply look at raw results, what am I doing that is actually attracting people to my site or offer online?
4) Is there anything that I do just because I like to do it, even though it may not add anything to my bottom line?
By asking questions like these (and there are plenty more you can ask), you'll be able to assess your different business practices and keep the best and dump the rest.
An Example from my Ad Campaigns
I have multiple places each month where I spend money on advertising. This is in the form of solo ads, and upgrades in mailers and traffic engines.
My ad spend per month is around $200. This means I have to be critical as to what I am going to spend my money on, and maximize my investment.
If some advertising just isn't performing like I want then I need to stop using it and use that money on something that IS bringing me the return on investment (ROI) that I need.
Let's assume that I had four advertisement ventures that each cost me $50 each per month for a total of $200.
1) Ad buy #1has a ROI of $100.
2) Ad buy #2 has a ROI of $75.
3) Ad buy #3 has a ROI of $50.
4) Ad buy #4 has a ROI of $125.
Notice #3. I spend $50, and make a return of $50. That's the lowest return on investment out of the ad spends.
Therefore, it's logical for me to dump #3 and spend the $50 on one of the other ads that makes me more, or try a different ad source for the $50 and see what kind of ROI I get from that.
Notice I said it's LOGICAL. The problem arises when "Ad buy #3" is from a friend or is a program that I LIKE.
My decisions on my ad purchases must be logical and not emotional.
Make Logical NOT Emotional Ad Purchase Decisions
This is business, not a hobby. Likewise I need to treat these online purchases from a business perspective.
Many times in online marketing I see people making purchases or advertising decisions because their friends tell them to buy a certain ad spot or because they just 'like' the look of the program.
This is a fatal mistake.
You won't be in business long if you can't learn to make decisions based on logic. Sometimes you have to just pull the plug on your previous ad choice and re-allocate the money in other areas.
You Must Track Your Results or You're Depending on Luck
This all ties in to tracking your results.
It's critical that you track all of your advertising URLs so you know which ad source is working for you. If you're not doing this, you're guessing.
Guessing leads to wasted money and time.
I've covered how to track your web traffic before in this article. If you need a refresher on tracking, check out that article.
Here's a good example of tracking:
I have two ads that are identical as far as where they lead (to my email list) and the goal - to get more sign-ups to my list.
However each one is slightly different.
I've tracked all the hits I've sent to these two links over time. This is called split testing.
As a result I know exactly which one gives me the most results for my budget. I can keep spending my ad money on the one that performs and rework my second ad, or.... spend the money on a different ad.
In any case, I would not be able to make that decision if I hadn't been tracking the results.
Notice that when it comes to advertising and ad budget, it's not my emotions that determine my decisions. It's facts and raw statistics.
I recommend you do the same. You will quickly discover which programs bring in the most revenue, and where you should continue advertising.
One Last Request: Check our Prosperity Marketing System
I know you've heard me mention Prosperity Marketing System in a few different posts, and this is because it works.
I've tested my results with this program verses other places where I spend my money, and each month the $12 I spend on Prosperity Marketing System is one of the best purchases I make.
I have no problem paying Darren Olander (the program owner) for my use of his system. It flat out works.
That's it for this time.
If you have ANY questions about your ad purchases, or need some assistance in any way with growing your online business, please reach out to me via my online form.
Peace and Love,
-Rob