Three colleagues and I started an Internet marketing company in
2007. To learn about it we attended workshops and seminars conducted by gurus
in the business. Each person in our company had a unique expertise.
The first owner had extensive computer experience. His role was to
put the product on the website so that people could buy it. The second principal
was a storyteller and humorist. He helped create the verbiage to sell the
product in an entertaining and informative way. The third partner was an expert
in marketing and running the business. I was responsible for the search engine
optimization. That meant I presented the executive team with a list of subjects
that people were searching on the Internet. As a group we narrowed down the topics
by those that were getting a lot of web traffic, but had the least competition.
From there, we picked ones that we had expertise or could find someone with the
knowledge.
We worked long hours on creating our first websites. One product
was a humorous version of Beowulf. The movie had just been released in theatres
and there was a lot of web traffic. Our humorist did a fabulous job of creating
the audio recording. Our website ranked high in Google searches, but the sales
were not what we had hoped.
The other product that we worked on was a DVD series created by a veterinarian
on how to diagnose and treat sick animals. It covered domestic animals like
cats and dogs, as well as farm animals. The vet had already been selling them
with a moderate success. We wanted to help him increase sales. We found a niche
where he would answer questions online to get people interested in the
products. Unfortunately, sales were lackluster.
We discovered that every day there was so much new competition on
the Internet that techniques we had learned were quickly outdated. What worked
yesterday doesn’t work today. A few of the people on our team became distracted
by other opportunities and we decided to end the business. Despite the rocky
ending, I gained incredible knowledge about operating an Internet based
business.
Today’s gift was to offer to help someone that I met for coffee set
up social media and put a tracker on her website. I suggested she put success
stories online and then post it on social media. She has a great product and
service. Getting the word out to a broader audience will drive more people to
her website and increase her business.
In Giving,
Robin
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