There’s NO Excuse for Having a “Small” Business on the Internet (Part 1)

The Internet is BIG.

Really, really, big. So vastly, unimaginably big, that to call it “big” doesn’t really do it justice. It’s like calling a Monster Truck “big” – no, it’s not “big” – it’s freaking huge, and it can drive right over your pathetically “big” minivan, okay?

For business owners, this can be a Very Good Thing, or a Very Bad Thing.

The Good Thing? Well, in one sense, the Internet makes the whole concept of “scale” obsolete – allowing you to reach the entire world – making even weird little niche markets implausibly large, because you can find and target customers anywhere.

If even one in a MILLION people would be interested in what you’re offering, there are literally thousands of customers out there somewhere on the planet, waiting for you to give it to them.

So what’s the Bad Thing? I thought you’d never ask… the Bad Thing is that other people have already figured this out – and they’re out there right now, marketing their butts off, trying to steal YOUR customers.

They’re after your lunch money, my friend – whether your market is big or small, you have competition. Someone is going to meet the needs of all those customers out there – and if it isn’t you, then someone *else* is going to be…

• Increasing their profits
• Building lifetime relationships with customers
• Testing their offers
• Improving their conversion rates
• Increasing their profits even more
• Grabbing the top rankings on Google, Yahoo, and Bing

(and everything else you know you *should* be doing but aren’t)

The more traffic they get, the more money they make, the harder it gets to compete with them. Time is passing, and the competition is only getting stronger.

The real truth is this: if your business isn’t growing fast enough, the only question is how fast you’re going OUT of business.

So what’s the answer? If you aren’t already the “800 pound gorilla” in your marketplace, what’s holding you back?

Strategy.

Let me repeat that.

Strategy.

Well, marketing strategy anyway. The customers are out there waiting for someone to give them what they need, and all you need to do is go out and find them.

Let me rephrase that: you NEED to go out and find them before someone else does, and the more time you WASTE, the worse it will get.

Think about it – if your online business isn’t experiencing consistent double-digit growth, there are only a few possible reasons why:

• “It’s the economy.”
  Yeah, right. Guess what – the economy is putting many of your competitors out of business, because they suck at marketing. When times are tough, that’s the *best* time to take a bigger piece of the pie.
• “You’re not working hard enough.”
  Oh, please. You’re up early every day, you barely get any sleep, you’re at your computer on the weekends, and… do I need to go on? You’re putting in enough time – you just need to spend it better.
• “You’re not Taking Massive Action.”
  You know what? The next time I see anyone tell anyone else to take “massive action,” I am going to throw something. It’s not Massive action that makes the difference, it’s the Right Action – and that’s all about strategy.
• “I just need to find that one magic silver bullet…”
  Everything that you see successful businesses doing can be analyzed, modeled, and repeated… and other people have already done the Analyzing and Modeling for you. All you have to do is Repeat – so repeat after me…

There. Is. No. Magic. Silver. Bullet.

However, there is a way.

There is a Plan you can follow, that will get you where you want to go. It’s not the only plan, but it’s a darned good one, and if you’ll just work the plan you *can* make a big difference in your business in a hurry.

I’ll be back in a couple days, with a simple five-point plan for getting your strategic “house” in order. You won’t want to miss it.

In the meantime, you may enjoy watching this video from one of our training webinars, on how your keyword strategy might prevent you from EVER ranking for ANYTHING – no joke:

(Watching this again reminds me of just how long Leslie and I have been talking about the importance of strategy and taking the “right action” as opposed to “massive action.” It’s catching on, slowly. You can help by repeating, ReTweeting, and telling your friends – so if you like what you see here, take a minute right now to spread the word!)

UPDATE: Part 2 is online – with another free video that goes deeper into keyword strategy. You don’t want to miss it!