Peggy McColl - 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Marketing on the Internet
By: Tammy Lawman
Peggy McColl is a New York Times Best Selling author who has written eight books that have been translated into more than 31 languages and sold in over 80 countries around the world. She is also an internationally recognized expert in the field of personal and professional development. With her unprecedented success, she is one of the leading authorities in the internet marketing world
TAMMY LAWMAN: You have a new book called 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Marketing on the Internet. You talk about how this book is for people who are looking to have a brand new website and also people who have been online for several years. Can you explain how it's applicable to both?
PEGGY MCCOLL: It is a book that would probably look like it's applicable to people who are just starting out online, but the subtitle for 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Marketing on the Internet is Your Guide to Setting Yourself Up to Succeed Online. Lots of people have websites online today. As a matter of fact, I think we have 129 million websites that are now up and available online.
There are not a lot of them that are actually making money. There are a lot of transactions going on, and it's now a multi-billion-dollar business, but the ones that are really making it online make up a very small fraction of the businesses that are online. Why it's applicable to those who haven't set up a website and are looking to get a website going is it has a lot of fabulous marketing tips to do that.
For those who already have a website and want to turn their website into a site that's actually producing revenue and serving their clients in a way that works for their clients and for them, it's also applicable for them. That's why it's really a book that's designed for those who are online today and those who are looking to get their website producing some revenue for them.
TAMMY LAWMAN: There is a major difference between just putting a website up and producing a website that produces revenue.
PEGGY MCCOLL: Absolutely.
TAMMY LAWMAN: Before someone puts a website up, what are some things they need to ask themselves?
PEGGY MCCOLL: Before they put a website up, they really need to determine what industry they're in, who they're serving, who their audience is, and what they want people to recognize them for or as. These are some really simple, commonsense-type questions that may not be so simple for folks who don't really understand how to set themselves up as a service-oriented kind of business.
It really starts with determining, "What business am I in? What problems am I solving? What wants are needs are there out there in the industry that I'm fulfilling? How can I communicate it in a way so that when somebody lands on my site, it's like they get it?" It's like an instantaneous, "I can see what they're doing and what they're offering." It's benefit-oriented.
Sometimes it's done with simple taglines or branding statements. For example, I have a new site that's being developed, and one of the things I'm focusing on is a shift that I've created. It's sort of a brand identifier. I'm calling myself "The Bestseller-Maker." What's a bestseller-maker? If you were an author and you were interested in making your book a bestseller, you'd go to somebody who could help you make that happen.
It can be something as simple as that. You can do that on the front page of your site in a very visible, attractive way so that when somebody lands there, they get it. I see lots of sites that look really pretty. They'll have these things where they run little flash movies in the beginning, and they think, "My site is so beautiful. It has this gorgeous flash content." Here's the challenge.
Nowadays, getting people's attention online is not easy. It's tough. You have a fraction of a second or seconds to get people's attention and keep it. Having these lovely flash sites, especially if someone is going to your site over and over again, is not necessarily a good thing. Is it attracting people's attention? People are busy. When they're going online and looking for stuff, they're generally in a hurry, so they're scanning.
It's almost like they have radar, and they're just scanning stuff very quickly online. The ones who are getting results are the ones who are able to communicate very quickly and effectively what they have to offer in a way that catches people's attention so they're going to pay attention and want to stay a little longer on that site and ultimately take some action. They enter their email address so you're building your email list or they buy something. That's really what you're looking for. You're looking to get results.
TAMMY LAWMAN: Great! With social media being what it is today, does a business owner even need a website. Couldn't they just create a presence on social media alone?
PEGGY MCCOLL: They could create a presence on social media alone, but I wouldn't. I think you definitely need to have a website. Social media does offer a tremendous service and a wonderful way to serve people and connect with people, but you have to remember what social media is. It's a place where people are socializing and connecting. They're building relationships, which is important to business. I think it can be a great complement to business.
Is it the place to actually do business, offer your services, create programs, and deliver them? No. You still need to have a website. What I would suggest is you still need to have a website that really represents who you are, what you have to offer, and how you're serving your clients. Also, be on social media where you can use that as a wonderful way to enhance your relationships, make new relationships and connections, and build on those relationships.
TAMMY LAWMAN: Peggy, do people have to have a clear idea if they are going to offer a product or service, or can they be all things to all people? How does that work?
This article is just a small portion of an hour-long interview, and is only one of several interviews conducted for Internet Marketing TNT. If you'd like to see the full call, as well as other interviews in this series, simply visit Internet Marketing - Very Important Profit Systems.
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