Two Questions to Start With
Overwhelmed by marketing advice? Start with just two simple questions that will clear the fog and give your online efforts real direction.
Hey marketer! 🙋♂️
I was wondering how many marketing books have been written so far. I couldn't find the exact number on Google. But just for fun, Amazon currently offers thousands of marketing books, hundreds of e-books, and dozens of audiobooks about marketing. 🤯 When you add internet articles, videos, and courses to that, it's truly an overwhelming amount of information. And try to make sense of it all. 🤷🏻♂️ Most books are either heavy theory (especially those thick volumes) or very specific topics explored in depth, which don't give you much as a beginner.
This easily leaves you feeling like your head is about to explode and thinking that marketing - especially digital marketing - is something incredibly complex that you'll never master on your own.
Don't Give Up Before You Start 💪
Yes - there's a lot of information out there and you'll be learning forever. Plus, technology keeps throwing curveballs with its rapid development. 🤖 But don't give up right at the start. What's important is to keep in mind why you're doing this.
What's your goal? What's the "why" behind your decision to dive into this? (Simon Sinek's book "Start With Why" can help you discover this.) And persist if being discoverable online is important for your business. It's not a sprint, but a marathon. You'll do better when you find a way to enjoy it. Because if technology, people, and the internet fundamentally annoy you, it will show, and I'd venture to guess the results won't be great either. (Then it's better to leave it to someone else.)
"Ignoring online marketing is like opening a store in a basement."
The Two Essential Questions 🤔
Most likely, you want to offer your product, service, or yourself to someone online. To start, you just need to answer two questions:
Who is your target audience?
What will they get out of it?
Once you figure this out, write it down. And try to think about where such a person might encounter your offer online. Would they search for specific information and Google your website? Through a directory? On maps? On social media? Or somewhere in ads? In a magazine article? And there you have it - you're already starting to see what information you'll need. You don't need to read the entire marketing textbook right away to start gradually, step by step. And every activity should have a reason. It's better to do less but better and more targeted, than to try absolutely everything - halfway. That will be fundamentally flawed from the start.
💡 Practical Insight
Many people jump from the core message to technical solutions and detail discussions before they've formulated their basic idea. It's like buying a car - first you should be clear about what you expect from it. Do you want a sports car? Need something to transport your family? Or do you need to haul packages? Only after you clarify this can you start choosing a specific brand and model.
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Ling forward to seeing you in the next article!
Jan Barborik
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