I’ll Put It on the Internet

It’s a phrase I hear almost daily from someone who has an idea for a business: “I’ll put it on the Internet.” I am flabbergasted by the number of seemingly reasonable, intelligent people who think that all they have to do is put their product or service “on the Internet” and then just wait for the money to roll in.

The opportunity of the Internet is that everyone buying anything goes there, whether it’s in the consumer arena or business to business. The great and almost incomprehensible challenge of the Internet is that everyone is also on there trying to sell something. It is the most crowded market in the universe.

The easy part is getting on the Internet. The hard part is having anyone know that you’re there. Everyone’s gaming the same search machines and using the same key words. It’s easy to be invisible in such a crowded space.

I had a friend who was launching a video training program online. He said, “Joe, all I need is 100 people to sign up each month and I’m gold!” My response was, “How in the world are you going to get 100 people a month to sign up for this?”

His thinking was that you can put anything on the Internet and enough people will buy it to make your business viable. Sorry. Rarely is that the case.

'You have to get clarity on who your market is & how to reach them.' @JoeCalloway Click To Tweet

If your magnetism strategy for attracting business is to do it on the Internet, then you need to have something working for you to make that a feasible place for you to set up shop. You’ve got to have clarity on how you’ll get to that potential market you’re going for. Some of the obvious factors in your favor might include:

• Having a platform of existing customers who already follow you online.

• Partnering with some entity that has existing customers they will share with you.

• Powerful search engine optimization (SEO).

• Effective social media that drives business to you.

• Using PR and align with bloggers.

• Advertising.

Any or all of these can help make your Internet business work, but there are a thousand other factors that come into play. All of them are much easier said than done, and even doing them might not create anywhere near the results that you need. Take social media, for example. I hear people say, “I’ve got to get something up on social media. Maybe I should tweet. That will get some business coming my way.” Really? I mean, seriously? That’s your strategy?

The subject of doing business on the Internet is worth of an entire book on its own, and there are multitudes out there to choose from. Regardless of whether your marketplace is the Internet, a specific customer-targeted niche, or your neighborhood, you have to get clarity on who your market is and how to reach them and keep on refining that clarity as your market changes, which it most definitely will do.

[guestpost]Joe Calloway helps great companies get even better. He helps organizations and top-performing individuals focus on what is truly important, inspires constant improvement, and motivates people to immediate action. A member of the Speakers Hall of Fame, Joe actively engages people in highly interactive keynote presentations and workshops that challenge assumptions and create new ways of thinking. He is the author of five ground-breaking business books including Becoming A Category of One and Be The Best At What Matters Most. His latest book, Magnetic, provides a clear plan for creating a marketing strategy to build your business. [/guestpost]