7 Ways to Correct a Failing Marketing Strategy

No entrepreneur has a perfect first marketing campaign. Even if you’re experienced as a marketer or entrepreneur, you can’t really dial things in until you have data to inform your campaign.

So let’s say you have a marketing strategy that’s, for the most part, “failing.” You aren’t seeing the results you predicted, and from what you can tell, your return on investment (ROI) is either negligible or negative. I’m going to assume that this isn’t just a gut feeling or an early reaction, either – you’ve looked up the hard numbers, and can objectively demonstrate that your marketing strategy isn’t working the way you’d hoped.

You don’t want to abandon your strategy altogether, so what can you do to correct it?

 

1. Give it more time.

First, I want to acknowledge that some strategies – like SEO – take a long time to start paying off. If you’re investing in your brand image, or if you’re relying on inbound channels of traffic to bring you more customers, don’t get discouraged after only a few weeks of effort.

On the other hand, some strategies – like PPC advertising – should start working immediately and improve over time as you make adjustments based on the data. If you’re working on a long-term strategy, consider giving your campaign more time to develop. Otherwise, try one of the approaches below.

 

2. Differentiate it.

The marketing world is a competitive one, especially in popular realms like content marketing and social media. There are thousands of brands competing for your target audience’s attention, so what makes your strategy unique?

If you’re saying the same things that your competitors are saying, or if your design blends in as background noise, your campaign is going to falter. Correct this by saying something unique that only your brand could say. Sometimes, it’s the only way to cut through the noise.

 

3. Make a more valuable offer.

All forms of marketing target some interaction as an end goal, whether that’s buying a product or visiting a website. To take that action, your customers need something valuable in return. Sometimes, that’s an affordable product. Other times, it’s a gift, such as a free downloadable eBook.

If you aren’t getting enough interactions from your campaign, it may be a sign to increase the value of your offer. That could mean offering a discount on your main product, adding more free gifts, or otherwise incentivizing users to take your desired action.

 

4. Retarget to fit your audience.

Targeting a generic audience may seem like a smarter choice for getting a higher return. After all, you’ll be reaching a larger number of people.

However, it’s almost always better to target a smaller audience with more relevant messaging.

If your generic messaging isn’t reaching the audience segment that you want to reach, take a step back, run some new research on your target demographics and adjust your messaging to fit the people you’re trying to reach.

 

5. Segment (and AB test) your strategy.

Alternatively, you could see better results by segmenting your strategy into discrete paths.

For example, you could target one audience segment on a primary channel, and another audience segment on a secondary channel.

You could also experiment with different types of messages and mediums, running AB tests to see which one performs better in a controlled environment. This way, you’ll have more specific data about which marketing components work and which ones don’t.

 

6. Align your individual tactics.

Marketing strategies work best as individual components of an overall machine, rather than wholly independent units. Examine how your latest marketing tactics play into your strategy as a whole.

This can help you identify problems with your brand voice, your direction and missed opportunities for cross-promotion. Try to keep everything tied together as much as possible.

 

7. Try a new strategy (or scale up).

If none of these strategies are working and you feel your strategy is a lost cause, pull out and try something new. That “something new” could be the same strategy with an entirely new angle (or new budget), or a new strategy altogether.

This doesn’t necessarily mean the strategy is useless, but it does mean you should focus on something else – at least in the short term.

Marketing strategies are rarely total successes or total failures. Even if you perform well, there will be factors beyond your reach and key opportunities to learn from your mistakes.

Even if you perform poorly, you’ll always have time to make up for your errors and begin anew. Experiment with these different approaches when modifying your existing marketing strategies, and eventually, you’ll be able to form more audience-appropriate and effective strategies from the beginning.

There’s always something new to learn, and always more ways to get better.

 

Culled from Entrepreneur

Post Tags:#Digital Marketing#digital marketing strategy#failing marketing#Marketing#marketing campaign#marketing strategy 

How to Keep Your Writing Juice Flowing

If you are a writer and it is your primary source of income, then you know you can’t afford to let your writing stop for too long. So, in order not to get to the point where you are stuck and don’t know what to write, here are some things you can do to keep your creative juice flowing.

1. Keep Reading. As a writer, you should never take a break from reading. You can follow some respected blogs about varying subjects and read them.  You can also read books such as The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking and Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed. They are great stories that would help aid your creative mind.

2. Take Care of Your Body. Sometimes, thinking takes a hiatus when our bodies aren’t healthy. Ensure you take care of your body by sleeping well, eating well, taking supplements and visiting the doctor regularly for a checkup.

3. Exercise. It is also advisable that you exercise regularly to raise your heart rate and fire your neurons for the creativity needed to write.

4. Take a Break. Although you should never take a break from reading, you can take a break from writing. How many breaks you decide to take depends on you but sometimes you need to rest well in order to keep having ideas on what to write.

5. Listen to Songs. Research has proven that there are some songs that have a positive result in increasing the creativity and performance of the brain. When you listen to them, you get more creative in your thinking. Some classical music such as those composed by Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven fall in the category of songs that can help you increase your productivity and focus.

6. Mentor a Writer. Teaching or mentoring a writer, will also keep you in the game of writing and give you constant ideas you need in your writing career.

7. Be Involved in your Environment. In order to keep your writing juice flowing, it is important that you are aware of things happening around you and you connect with people in your surroundings too. That will help you get frequent ideas on what to write.

8. Pray. Are you a believer? Then you should never underestimate the power of prayer. Praying for constant ideas and inspiration is one of the surest ways to keep your writing juice flowing.

 

By following some of the tips, you will be surprised that you would always be filled with ideas on what to write.

Share with us. What are the ways you get your writing juice flowing?

• WRITING

5 Steps To Build Trust Using Content Marketing

Have you ever stopped to think about what content marketing is really all about?

Sure, it is about telling the story of your brand and answering questions that your customers have about your products and services in a “non-salesly” fashion, but deep down, brands that do content marketing well do it for something more than those things.

The brands that do content marketing better than their competition are the companies that realize at the end of the day that content marketing is about building trust.

Whether you are creating content for new prospects, current customers, industry analysts or someone else entirely, the real purpose behind those efforts should be to build a higher level of trust between the consumer of the content and the brand creating it.

How to ensure content marketing gets through the online noise

If you stop to consider the fact that there are 347 blog posts created every minute, you will probably come to the conclusion that we have entered the age of information overload. Beyond blogs, there are videos, Facebook and Twitter posts and of course all of the information that comes our way over email.

Beyond the new content being created and shared online every day, we are exposed to a massive amount of advertisements. Indeed, the average internet user will see about five thousand advertisements a day.

With so much information being created for us and thrown at us every day, it is important to remember what will make us stand out.

Some companies will argue that it is the frequency of content or the quality of the content. I believe that both of those things play a role but would tell you that they are less important than you may think.

For most brands, especially those that don’t have the endless financial wherewithal to spend on their marketing efforts, it comes down to creating content that builds trust between the brand and the consumer.

If you are a brand looking to increase trust between your company and those you are creating content for, read the following five steps. They are the key to building greater levels of trust with your audience.

1. Define your audience and outcomes.

Brands must always be thinking about who they are writing for and why they are writing. It is much easier to build trust (and sales) when the right reader is given the right content. Then brands must think about why they are writing: What is the goal of our content-marketing campaign. If trust is the object, then make sure not to push too hard, too soon.

2. Determine content type, frequency and location.

While the type, frequency and placement won’t in itself build trust, it helps. Trust starts by putting the information they want in places where they can benefit from it. So, if your audience primarily seeks content via email then make sure you make it available to them. Great content marketing that isn’t seen will not build trust – or anything for that matter.

3. Share, promote and engage.

Part of the process of building trust is making sure that the word is out that your content is available. Having said that, there is a fine line between helpful awareness and spammy promotion. Make sure that sharing is done on the platforms where your audience is active. Further, curate content carefully and help the reader quickly see why they may want to consume the content. Finally, if a reader takes the time to engage with the content, reach out to them and let them know you appreciate their support.

4. Make connecting with your brand simple.

If you do all the work to create great content, then you should be highly motivated to make it easy for someone to connect with your brand. Make sure it is easy for interested readers to become more meaningfully connected to your brand through email, phone, RSS or other means.

5. Analyze the response, optimize and pivot.

Brands must look at the content to see what is being viewed, shared and engaged with. If certain content is drawing a great response while some is largely being ignored then brands should pivot to create more of what their audience is connecting with. This doesn’t only drive more readers but also more opportunities to build trust with an audience.

Keep in mind that these five steps, like any process worth doing, take time. Once informed it comes down to being active, connected and available for the customer to learn and find out more. Then brands must continue to self-actualize and ask themselves, “Are we providing the content our audience wants”? And pivot when necessary.

This article first appeared in Millenial CEO

Post Tags:#brand management#building trust#perception management#reputation management

5 Ways an Author Blog Could Kill Your Writing (and What to Do Instead)

Writers: There is a a good chance you don’t need an author blog.

Static author websites are great, and you’d be crazy not to have one. But starting an author blog is a different (and often tragic) story.

In fact, your author blog might even kill your writing. There are hundreds of authors who started blogs, churned out posts for a year, and let it come to a dead stop.

Why? Because they realized it wasn’t worth the effort.

I’ll show you the five major reasons an author blog can be bad for your writing (with examples). We’ll cover some other, better audience-building methods to focus on instead.

And, since I’m a complete hypocrite and I run my own author blog, I’ll show you the one and only reason you might want to start one anyway.

Ready? Let’s save your writing…

1. Blogging Will Steal Your Valuable Writing Time

There are two ways to run a blog:

1. Post erratic, guilt-induced content apologizing for why you haven’t posted in a while. Give up. Come back for one or two weeks. Give up again.
2. Post high-quality content on a very measured schedule.

#2 is extremely effective for building an audience… But it comes with a heavy price: years of your time, effort, and perpetual focus.

Blogging takes a lot out of you. You need to come up with content, publish at least once a week, manage your website, deal with commenters, etc. To get a meaningful audience on a blog, you will need to carve a huge, vital chunk out of your writing time every week.

Your author blog will steal creative productivity from the writing projects you actually care about.

Jane Friedman, a full-time writer working in the publishing industry, warns about the investment it takes to blog:

“You do not have to blog, and if you don’t have much interest in the form, then please don’t pursue it. As with any form of writing, it takes a considerable investment of energy and time to do it right and get something from it.”

2. Blogging Builds the “Wrong” Skills

I wrote a post on my blog called 26 Ways to Write Instantly Sympathetic Characters. I’m pretty happy with it, because it’s already one of my most popular posts.

In total, it took me six hours to write it. I spent about two hours researching:

• Hunting down examples
• Studying my favorite characters
• Actually learning how to create sympathetic characters

The other four hours? Writing the post. Instead of implementing what I had learned, I was working on skills like:

• Creating internet-viable content
• Blog-style pacing and scannability
• Information dissemination (as opposed to absorption)

Traditional blogging is information heavy and story light. Very few blogging skills translate to writing publishable stories.

As an author (aspiring or otherwise), you’ll build your storytelling skills much faster if you just focus on writing stories.

Are There Exceptions to This?

Of course. There are no rules in writing. (Though there are some very overconfident guidelines.)

Let’s say you publish weekly microfiction to your blog. Every week, you get a little better at storytelling… while also building your audience. Hopefully.

But I have only one question for you: Why do you want to build a following from scratch?

There are plenty of voracious, established writing outlets that are overflowing with readers:

• Wattpad
• Reddit’s /r/WritingPrompts
• Writing forums and online writing groups

Skip the years of sweat and tears. Start on one of these platforms. Grow your writing skills while tapping into an enormous pre-existing audience.

Author Blogs Don’t Sell Books (Not Really)

Long ago, quick and dirty practices thrived on the internet…

Back in the “wild west” of the Dot-com Boom, content producers could see massive results with even the laziest tactics.

Publishers saw gold.

I’m not blaming the publishers here – when there’s a new frontier, you have to explore it. But those wild west days are long since over. The almighty Search Engines ruled in favor of the users, not the exploiters.

And with that, the internet was tamed. Yet some old myths refuse to die…

Do you feel obligated to start an author blog? Is your publisher telling you “that’s the best way to sell books?”

Every guilt-tripped author blog looks the same. Start with the first posts, and scroll up through the latest, and here’s what you’ll see:

• The first posts are wide-eyed and brimming with optimism. They vary in length and quality, and make too many promises.
• Then comes a stretch of posts put out at seemingly random intervals.
• The latest posts are sparse and almost always start with an apology.

Eventually, the blog withers like the grass in the West Texas desert.

Answer this for me:

1. Who are your favorite authors?
2. When was the last time you bought a book… because you were reading their blog?

Rarely? Never?

Here’s how most readers buy books:

• Get recommendations from friends
• Find a great deal or get an email notification about their wishlist
• See their favorite author announce a new release on social media

Unless you live and die by the blog, there are vastly better ways to sell books. We’ll get to those soon.

But first, I want to show you why even the most successful authors don’t bother with blogging.

Even Professional Authors Get Sick of Consistency

The most successful authors are really good at finishing projects.

One day, you will finish your book. No more adding. No more editing.

The same can’t be said for a blog. You will always have to feed the beast. Otherwise it will starve, and it will whine pathetically, and everytime people come over to visit, they’ll see it and make that “Oh, dear” face.

For example:

Neil Gaiman was at a wedding. He wrote something for the Bride and Groom, and it was beautiful. People asked if they could get a copy of reading.

Then, Gaiman remembered he had a blog: “I have a blog. And it is dusty there and really, I should put [the reading] up. So look on my blog.”

Neil did not post again for almost six months.

You can tell he’s more concerned about publishing his next book than his next blog post. Which is something his readers (and publishers) are extremely grateful for.

That brings us to the final death knell for author blogs…

Your Readers Just Want to Read Your Stories

Chuck Wendig is a full-time author who somehow has the time to update his blog almost every day.

His advice for starting an author blog?

If you don’t love it, don’t do it. Here’s why:

“Blogging because you have to? What an execrable task. Who wants to read a blog that you feel is an obligation? I want to read something the author wants to write, not filler content meant to prop up a dead thing. This isn’t Weekend At Bernie’s.”

What Should You Do Instead of an Author Blog?

Someone once said, “Blogging is like social media, but for adults.”

This statement is not only arrogant, it’s also extremely ignorant.

Social media is a perfectly valid way to grow your audience. In most cases, social media is a more valuable way to reach an audience – because everyone is on one platform or another.

Barring distractions, ideal social media usage is far less time-consuming than an ideal blog posting schedule. Authors who use social media (with a strong, distraction-free plan in mind) have more time to write.

A Two-pronged Strategy for Building Your Audience

Focus on ONE platform you absolutely love. Build your audience there.

• Want to engage a community? Head to Facebook.
• Are you an endless font of hilarity, unique thoughts, or controversial quips? Take to Twitter.
• Love taking pictures of yourself? Instagram. (Okay, maybe this isn’t the best platform for authors.)

Be consistent. Focus on engaging with your fans (or future fans). Don’t go to Facebook just to share your stuff. (And quit stalking your ex.)

Get into pre-existing networks.

• Offer to get interviewed on Podcasts.
• Finish your book and give away advanced copies to reviewers.
• Guest post on popular blogs where your future readers might already exist.

These strategies will allow you to tap into a much larger audience – without having to build your following from scratch. Most owners of blogs, podcasts, etc. will be thrilled to have you create content for them.

The Only Reason You Should Ever Start an Author Blog

Why did you start writing?

You wouldn’t be a writer if you didn’t love at least some part of it.

The same should go for blogging. The only reason you should start an author blog is if you love blogging. I publish regularly to my writing blog because I genuinely love sharing writing advice.

Your author blog must be a labor of love – or else it will burn you out. Take a stab at your other options first before you start an author blog. Save your writing time for writing.

Credit: WritersDigest

How To Free-Write

Do you have trouble writing? Did you choose a topic or idea to develop, but now you find yourself stuck? Try free writing! This exercise is used by writers to gather their thoughts and ideas before they begin a document, with the result being an endless, non-punctuated, and free-flowing paragraph that will be immensely helpful in the preliminary writing process.

Doing Your Own Free-writes

1. Set a timer or use the clock on your computer screen.Give yourself 5 to 10 minutes to write continuously. This is so you get going and write quickly. Spend the time writing, not worrying about the time.
2. Select a topic for your free writing.If you have chosen to do focused free writing, write this topic at the top of your page. If you just wish to write without a topic, go ahead without one. You may be surprised at what you write even on days when you begin with “I can’t think of anything to write here.”
3. Start your timer.
4. Write down whatever comes to mind.It can be in relation to your topic if you have one or if you are doing unfocused free writing because you are trying to come up with an idea or topic, just write down every random thought that crosses your mind as quickly as possible.
5. Continue writing until the designated time has run out.Do not stop until that point.

• Do not pay attention to grammar or typos.
• If there are any incomplete sentences or misspelled words, do not worry. Just keep going.
• If you run into a dead end or draw a blank, keep writing the same word or phrase over and over again until something else pops into your mind. One idea is to take a quick glance around the room and choose one object to describe.
• When the time has run out, look over what you have written and circle or underline ideas that you like or that you think that might be useful for your project.

Group your marked ideas and phrases and decide where they lead you in your writing process.

Use online tools such as 420fables.com to make free-writing a regular part of your daily writing discipline.

Begin your rough draft. If you have enough to start your paper or document, then begin working on your rough draft. If you do not have enough ideas, free write for another session, or try another informal invention technique such as brainstorming or mind mapping.

 

Credit:

Wikihow

How to Bounce Back After a Business Venture Goes Awry

Even many of the most successful entrepreneurs have had the experience of a business venture going wrong. The intricacies of business can cause a venture to falter, even if you’re not directly responsible for the downfall. Unfortunately, the many moving cogs of a new venture can cause you to overlook essential factors, resulting in a regretful business venture.

Many entrepreneurs stress the importance of bouncing back. As Bill Gates says: “It’s fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” The best entrepreneurs use the experience of a faltering business venture to bounce back more forcefully than ever before with new projects.

There are several ways to bounce back strong after a business plan goes adrift.

1. Don’t conflate a startup’s potential

In reality, many startups don’t turn out quite as planned. A Harvard Business School study finds that 75 percent of venture-backed startups fail. However, many fledgling entrepreneurs only see examples of startup success in the media, with former startups like Snapchat, Airbnb and Dropbox among the numerous success stories. Especially with many of these former startups so prevalent in day-to-day life, the idea of startup success can conflate into an unrealistic vision.

The false impression of most startups finding success, when the opposite is true, can lead to some unwise entrepreneurial planning. Without recognizing the possibility of a given startup failing, some entrepreneurs can blindly devise a business plan without heeding any potential hiccups or bumps in the road.

If your business plan doesn’t go as intended, it’s worth evaluating precisely why that happened, regardless of whether you had anything to do with it personally. It’s also worth acknowledging that the venture simply ended up like many do, so don’t treat it as an indictment of your potential or talent. From Warren Buffett to Bill Gates, even the most successful entrepreneurs have their share of investment and entrepreneurial failures.

2. Realize that profit is rarely immediate

With some exceptions, new business undertakings are unlikely to be profitable in their first year or two. A piece of knowledge that a faltering business can provide is the lack of immediacy in success. When starting your next venture, it will be easier to remember the multitasking, demanding work hours and mental requirements of your previous venture, helping you to form a decision over whether or not it’s going well. This time, with the earlier challenges fresh in your mind, prudence will play a larger role in evaluating the success of a business idea.

Especially if your previous venture showed potential, but you lacked for capital to continue the experiment longer, it can be worthwhile to take some time off to gather funding before launching the next plan. Ideally, businesses should be able to support themselves financially for a given period, while buzz builds and the business model gets truly underway.

3. Merge new lessons with a new industry

A business venture that goes off-course can teach multiple lessons about that industry itself, particularly in how its customers react to a new product or service. Perhaps your business plan and idea felt solid, though the approach was not received well in the niche. If the product or service is in any way compatible with another industry, it can be very worthwhile to consider exploring that industry instead, especially if it’s an industry where you have pre-existing contacts.

4. Keep track of happy customers

Even if your previous business plan didn’t work out as planned, you could still have previous customers that were happy with the product/service, or even your charm as a salesperson. When getting your next venture underway, be sure to reach out to these customers, mentioning your connection to the business with which they’re familiar and happy. Ideally, you will be able to get some lucrative leads with pre-existing connections.

5. Take inventory

There are different levels of severity for a faltering business. Some failed business may drain investors dry, while others may have pulled the plug before serious damage occurred. Regardless, it’s prudent to take inventory of the funds and resources you do have. Taking inventory helps provide a realistic picture of when you can hop back on the horse and pursue a new idea, in addition to how much you can realistically invest in terms of money and time.

6. Define more realistic goals

Experience with a misguided business venture can help lead to more realistic goals in the future, with new knowledge surrounding what does and doesn’t work, in addition to realistic monetary expectations for the short and long-term within a specific industry. Plus, experience from past failures helps to correct and adjust in the future, enhancing your knowledge at the moment as you take action.

A wavering or unsuccessful business endeavor is nothing new to the majority of active entrepreneurs. What’s important is how you bounce back, ideally with more gusto and passion than before. Failure can result in expanded knowledge regarding more realistic goals, networking opportunities and personal strengths, helping to increase the likelihood of your next endeavor being a smash hit.

Culled from Entrepreneur

Post Tags:#business plan#business venture#entrepreneurs#warren buffett