14 Marketing Mistakes That Most Businesses Make

 marketing mistakes

Are These Marketing Mistakes Hurting Your Business?

Introduction

If you own a business you’re leaving money on the table.

How?  Leakages.

Just as a broken pipe leaks water your business is probably leaking dollars.

Lots of dollars.

So many that it could be the difference between having a business that’s crushing it, or having one that’s just getting by.

All businesses leak money, including mine.  But here’s what I found:

There are simple marketing things you can do right now to make an immediate difference. Some of them won’t cost a cent.  Bottom line – It’s about exploiting your core strengths.

I call them leverage points.

It’s about taking what you have now, then tweaking, massaging, and re-engineering it, for an exponential increase in sales and income.

Sure you can cut your costs to the bone.  Maybe you’ve done that already, but you know it’s finite.

So let’s focus on the marketing side of things.  Because that’s where the greatest upside will be found.

Take a little time from your busy day, and digest this post.  I know there are gold nuggets just for you.

One of them might even be a game changer for you.

Enjoy.

1. Not Clear About Your USP

What is the USP?  It’s your Unique Selling Proposition.

Here is what Wikipedia says about it:

‘The USP is ‘a marketing concept first proposed as a theory to explain a pattern in successful advertising campaigns of the early 1940s. The USP states that such campaigns made unique propositions to customers that convinced them to switch brands.’

Need a translation?  Well, it’s about your point of difference with your competitors.  Not sure what it is?  You need to figure it out so you can gain a huge edge in the marketplace.

If you don’t have an edge, you’ll be like a turkey scratching around in the dirt looking for a few seeds.

2. Lack Of Clarity About Pain Points and Hot Buttons

There are two things you MUST do before embarking on an authority positioning program:

Understand the Pain Points and Hot Buttons Of Your Audience.

Think of your ideal clients.  What are their defining characteristics?   What keeps them awake at night?  What itch do they have that needs to be scratched?  Can you identify problems they don’t even know they have?   (That last one could be a game changer.)

Simple truth – if people have a pressing issue, they’ll do just about anything to get some relief.

If your business is about pain alleviation, you need to remind them of their pain, before you offer a solution.  Bringing out the pain is more than stating the obvious.  Sometimes you must go further.  You do it by pressing the exposed nerve till they get to the point that they MUST have relief NOW!

Show How You Can Make Their Lives Better

So what makes you unique?  Sure you’ve got skills and knowledge. And yes you may have a university degree or three.  But most of your competitors have the same thing.  And your audience knows it.

Essentially, there are different motivators for different people.  See if you can identify the motivators that apply to your business.  Take a look:

Pursuit of Pleasure.  Think of all the money spent on so-called sin products and services. Talk about the quest for pleasure!  But it’s not just about illicit activities.  Think of the travel industry.  It’s a massive industry dedicated to the desires of people who just wanna have fun.

Desire For Gain.  Not all businesses are about pain relief or pleasure enhancement. Some have products or services that offer the potential for gain.  Gain can come in many forms, but is often about making money.

So what business are you in?

Offer a Better Tomorrow.  If you’re providing pain relief, pleasure, or freedom, you’re giving people a better future.

So, if you focus on the core pain points and hot buttons of folks in your niche, you’re going to clean up, no question.

See more by reviewing one of my recent blog posts:

How to Use Authority Positioning to Crush Your Competitors

3. No Branding Strategy

What is a brand?  If you talk to one of those overpaid ad agency boofheads, they’ll tell you that a brand is a ‘defined personality.’  Whatever that means.

Here is what Wikipedia says about it

“A company’s brand represents their market identity—who they are, what they do, what kind of quality they provide, their reputation for trustworthiness, and more.”

My take?  Your brand is about everything your business does.  It’s not just about your logo, company colors, and fonts.  It’s also about how you engage with customers, deliver on your promises, and stand out in the marketplace.

4. Poor Messaging 

messaging 2

What Is Messaging?

Messaging is about how you communicate with customers and prospective customers.

Your team is part of the messaging story.  Every engagement they have with clients and prospects is about messaging.

But for this blog post I want to narrow the focus to your website.

This is because most of your audience is now sold on visiting a company’s website.

So, site messaging is this:

Aesthetic Elements.  This includes your logo, colors, fonts, layout, etc. It’s about the aesthetic elements that contribute to the visual appeal of your site.

The Useability and Functionality of Your Website. Answer these questions: Is it easy to navigate? Do your pages load fast?  Do your links work?

Your Content.  This is where the rubber hits the road.   Content messaging consists of your text and video based content.  Plenty of websites look good and satisfy the functionality rule.  But the content?  Oh, dear.  Often it’s a case of grit your teeth and ‘count the cliches’.

Site content is the most important element on your site.  But the problem is that most site content is mediocre.

Why Good Content Messaging Is SO Important

This one is a bit of a no-brainer, yet few businesses get it right.

Good messaging can take people from being cold, skeptical and cynical to a point where they want to buy.  In other words, it will help you generate more leads, customers, and income.

But, bad messaging will turn people off.  Too many websites are full of bland clichés that consumers are only too well aware of.

Good content can also dispel myths and negatives about your type of business.  The goal is to educate people about all the wonderful things you can do for them.  In fact, great content can act as a catalyst for action.  More visitors will make an inquiry, request a quote, or buy.

So the imperative for you is to break free from the pack of ‘me-too’ competitors.  Do it by transforming your website into a robust sales hub.  A tool that educates, differentiates, and builds desire, so visitors will WANT to buy.

See more by reviewing one of my recent blog posts:

How to Use Effective Messaging to Attract the Best Customers

5. Clueless About Conversions

Conversions?  It’s a big topic.  Conversion can mean different things to different people. But in the online context, it might be the initial step they take AFTER visiting your website. The action step could be to buy, request a quote or consultation, or to subscribe to your email list.

In the internet marketing environment, we use terms like opt-in conversions and sales conversions.  But for most businesses, conversions is about leads and how many convert into paying customers.

6. No Upsells

Sell someone a product or service, then sell them something else.  That’s the principal. Structured properly it works amazingly well.  For instance, I’ve sold a paltry $49 entry level product, then added them to my sales funnel.  A month later some of them had spent $30,000.

The key to effective upselling is to be very good at problem-solving and matching solutions to customer needs and wants.

7. Spending Too Much Money On Design

design 2

There is a perennial debate amongst designers and content creators.  Some content creators give short shrift to design; they say that content is king.  And many designers are clueless about content messaging; they put the emphasis on design.

Here is my take on the topic.

You need both good design and good content to make a website sizzle.

You cannot have one without the other.

When a visitor visits your website, if it looks good they’ll hang around for a bit.  But if you don’t have compelling content they will soon click off, never to return.  It’s as simple as that.

So, in a nutshell, good design will create a favorable first impression. But good content will keep visitors on your site for much longer.  The effect? It will significantly increase your chances of them becoming a lead, and doing business with you.  No doubt about it.

8. Not Educating About the Value

Here’s an idea.  Educate, don’t sell.  Show people how your product or service will help them solve a problem or improve their lives.  This is the way to steal business from your lazy, undifferentiated competitors.

Education takes money forms.   For example, you can educate with case histories and customer stories.  Testimonials play a part too – but avoid tedious testimonials.  Always include a client pic, their full name, and their location. Ideally, you will create mini customer stories from your client testimonials.

If you employ salespeople teach them how to educate customers.  But of course, the information given must be totally relevant to customer wants (no one wants to be bored witless with information that doesn’t address real needs).

9. Not Having a Presence On YouTube

YouTube is now the number two search engine after Google.  I bet you didn’t know that. In fact, some say it will one day eclipse the mighty Google for search traffic.

Whatever.

The fact is that YouTube has become a dominant force in the online media world.  Why? People love watching videos.  They’re hooked on them.  So it makes sense to move your orientation in the direction of this incredible platform.  Once you’ve opened your YouTube account you can create some content that your prospective customers will love.

A lot of people think they have to spend big bucks and create a Hollywood-style production.  But unless you’re a big brand, this is not true.

In fact, my experience has been that videos which project authenticity work better.  They work even better if they also discuss pain points and hot buttons.

10. Not Using SEO

seo

SEO what is it?  Well, it’s an abbreviation of the words search engine optimization.  SEO refers to techniques used to get a website displayed in SERPS (search engine results pages).  I like to call it money for jam.

Look at it like this.

Google will send you free traffic if you get ranked in page one of SERPS.  Simple as that. Others are getting free traffic from Google, so why not you?

Most people make their decision based on what they see on the first page of Google for a given keyword phrase.  So, it makes sense to do whatever you can to be seen there.

11. Ignoring Keyword Research

Even if you outsource the SEO work, you should be crystal clear about the keywords that are relevant to your niche.

It may be tempting to focus on the most obvious keywords.  But many of them will be hard to rank for in the short to medium term.  For quick results, it is better to focus on long tail keywords – keyword terms that are more specific.

For instance Chatswood Accountant, instead of Sydney accountant.  The former keyword will have less traffic but a lot less competition.  (Chatswood is a suburb of Sydney.)

Another point.  It doesn’t make a lot of sense to compete for broad city-wide keywords if you’re primarily serving a local area.

12. Ignoring Social Media 

Why do it?

Annoying as it is to many people (including me) the fact is that it’s not going away.  But here is the reality.  More than a billion people use Facebook every day.   And many of your potential customers use it. So, wouldn’t it be great if you could target your perfect type of prospect and no one else?

Social media could be a valuable inclusion in your marketing mix.

Here are just three reasons why I like it:

Builds Authority.   You can join forums and groups to answer questions and help people solve problems.

Can Create Viral Buzz.   Come up with the right angle, and get some real buzz happening. The big thing about social media is that people are often happy to share content.

Search Engine Benefit.   It’s debatable how much SEO benefit can flow from social media activity.  But there is one thing we do know.  It will help with citations.  Citations are vital if you want to rank on the search engines for your favorite keywords.

13. Not Building a List

It’s amazing to me how few businesses collect emails and communicate with their subscribers.  An email list full of prospects for your product or service is pure gold.

The key is to collect their email in the first instance.  You do that by offering them something of value in return for their contact details.  I frequently offer a free report that shows people how to solve a problem that is relevant and helpful to them.

From there my automated follow up system will send them nurturing email messages which educate and sell at the same time.

14. No Blog

blog 700X

At some point, many business owners think of starting a blog.

Many new blogs are launched every year by companies.  But many shut down or become dormant within months.

If you have a blog or are considering starting one, you should be clear on the reasons why a blog is a good option.

One thing is clear.  Your blog should become a core business activity. If not, it won’t deliver the benefits you want, and will likely die on the vine.

The key is to expand your thinking about what is possible when implementing a blog strategy. Rather than an add-on – an afterthought – your blog needs to be front and center in your online marketing program.

Only a minority of businesses with websites have a blog.  And of those that have one, most are lame.  The obvious problem is that the content is usually mediocre, to say the least.

But the underlying problem is a failure to understand the high benefits that a blog can deliver.

A few months ago I wrote this blog post:

9 Reasons Why Every Business Should Have a Blog

In that post, I covered nine reasons for having a blog.  Here are four of them:

1. Will Establish Your Business As the Leader In Your Industry

Have you heard the term, Authority Positioning?  It’s about positioning you and/or your company as an authority.  Ideally, you’ll want to be a thought leader in your industry or niche – the top dog.  The top dog gets to lead from the front and always gets a change of view!

Are you there yet?

The point is that a well-executed blog strategy will establish you as the kingpin in your niche.  The way to do it is to articulate a compelling message that hits the spot with your ever widening audience.

2. The Search Engines Will Send ‘Free’ Traffic

Here’s how you do it.  Select topics that focus on low competition keywords.  Then, create some content around the keywords.  The chances are that some of the content will get ranked in the search engines. Imagine that – search engines, like Google, will send you visitors for free.

3. Will Boost Your Sales Conversions

A blog can be a powerful way to increase conversions for these reasons:

Social Proof.  People generally won’t do business unless they have confidence.  One way to instill confidence is to give them social proof.  Social proof comes in many forms, the most obvious of which is a testimonial.  Bolster the humble testimony with other techniques such as case histories and customer interviews.  Then feature them on your blog.  Another way to do it is  through engagement.  Take a look at this blog and its comments – you’ll see plenty of social proof here.

Prove Competence.  All the claims and promises in the world won’t amount to a hill o’ beans if you can’t show competence.  If you have qualifications, show them.  But there are many other techniques you can use too.

4. Builds Your Brand

You can build your brand without a blog – a good website will do that.  But here is where the blog can take your brand to another level.  It will humanize your brand.  How?  Do it by featuring regular, original stories about you, your team, and your customers.

There’s a lot you can do here – use your imagination to develop more ideas.

The main thing is to tell personalized, people-centric stories that convey real benefits to readers.

Your Turn – Time to Comment!

What was your biggest takeout from this post?

After reading this post are there any ideas that you will now embrace?

Make a comment below!

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36 thoughts on “14 Marketing Mistakes That Most Businesses Make”

  1. I see only providing value is key to master everything else here and when poor message is delivered and somebody actually learn it and share around with everybody else, it just gets even bigger and bigger. how sad…

  2. Hi Kim,

    Now this is a post I wish I had published.

    Actually I’ll definitely learn from your experience and create my own version because you have hit on a really valuable topic that will definitely help many bloggers including me.

    I’ve probably made all these mistakes and more in more relatively short blogging journey but slowly and surely I’m getting there with my marketing.

    Kim you provided so many extremely valid marketing issues but a couple of things really hit home for me.

    “Educate don’t sell” is a classic phrase that I hope every reader takes on board. Not only do I agree with this but I take a slightly different approach to your showing how some offer can help solve a problem or improve a lifestyle.

    Rather I like to explain in simple terms what a key comcept like “list building” really means and why every blogger must position their blog to attract as many subscribers as possible. Far too many focus on selling some affiliate offer and miss the golden opportunity to not just educate but build authority, respect and credibility.

    SEO is and always has been a real challenge for this old Aussie. Yes I understand the importance re free traffic potential but its still a bit of a bloomin’ mystery to me. I use the Yoast plugin to help me in this regard but to be honest I do little else re SEO – maybe I focus too much on having a conversation with my readers.

    It took me some time to finally identify my real target audience but once I did that it became so much easier to create content as you can simply think about the real pain points or challenges of your audience and then create the best content you can to solve one pain point at a time.

    My branding strategy probably needs a bit of an overhaul as at the moment the strategy is to differentiate myself as the “remote Tha village blogger come marketer” – this has created some interest for sure but it’s not a clear message about what I can offer my readers.

    Of all your awesome marketing mistake points, the YouTube presence is my biggest challenge at the moment. I love creating videos on as regular basis and try to address as many pain points as possible. However, the growth in subscribers and amount of comments I receive is a bit disappointing – work in progress I guess.

    Just to finish, for me my blog is not just my online marketing presence. It’s my home, it’s me and everything I stand for. It’s my way of creating my own reputation based on simple things like just being myself and sharing the most valuable, relevant content I can to my target audience.

    As always many thanks for sharing this superb post Kim – truly appreciated

    Will be definitely sharing this post far and wide and in fact I want to send this post link to one of my lists who will definitely benefit from reading what you have shared here today.

    Best wishes from the remote Thai village marketer

    Peter

    1. Hi Peter,

      Another monster ‘blog post-like’ comment from you

      Yes, when it comes to education your approach is the right one. When we educate we give people enough information so they understand why they should take action.

      Re: SEO. I call it a black art. It’s not in any way exact, but if most of the tactics are employed a ranking benefit should follow.

      I am in the process of finishing off a report on this topic and will shoot it over to you, when finished (next week)

      Branding. I think your branding approach is brilliant – keep it up

      YouTube. I don’t get a lot of traffic to my videos, but most of my videos get some views. A few have gained 1,000 views and more. Importantly, when my videos produce a lead, the quality is generally higher. I know this to be true because I talk to leads on the phone – and they tell if they saw one of my videos.

      Blog. Yep, my blogs (I have 2) are an extension of my personality. I have a pathetic need to express myself. So, creating content is my life. A blog is a practical platform to share our stuff with the world.

      Awesome comment, Peter

      Kim

  3. Hi Kim,

    Amazing post….put a cover on it and make it an e-book or a report! This is a wonderful checklist for every marketer. Each point is something I had to learn the hard way by trial and error in the beginning. Where were you??

    What sticks out the most to be is the last point: You need a blog. It amazes me how many businesses still are blog-shy. Just take this blog post for instance. If someone wants to work with you, they can see right off your credibility because you know darn well what you are talking about.

    You share the your knowledge and offer a consultation. We need communication in business and what better way than a blog to find out and make choices of who we want to work with.

    -Donna

    1. Hey what a great idea, Donna!

      I will do exactly that – a new lead magnet is just what the Dr ordered.

      The blog strategy is the bees knees. That why I left it till last – I wanted to go out with a BANG! Whilst it’s true that most businesses do not have a blog, I think it will change eventually. Our job – as blogging evangelists – is to educate business owners about the benefits. We must show them how it can work for them, using real-world example of others who are prospering with their blogs. If they really embrace it – and make it a core activity (not an add-on) – their business will move to another level.

      Thanks, as always, for your input

      Kim

  4. Hello kim sir.
    this is fantastic informative marketing mistakes. Grrat 14 main points. Keep sharing.
    Love this post awesome writing. Keep up the good work.
    Have a nice day ahead

  5. Hey Kim,
    The most profitable businesses on earth still leak dollars. The reason is that there is no perfection on earth.

    There is still a lot to be learned. Methods that are effective today will gradually fade away with time. In those early days of the Internet, there was no social media. Blogging was in its infancy. Today, these have grown to be big business tools.

    Maybe tomorrow, something else will come up that will shift social media aside. Man has to keep learning. That means those dollars will keep leaking 😉

    But some business leak more stupidly 😉

    They have to read this post and possibly grab your special free offer.

    I want to endorse Donna’s proposal ;). This is not the only ‘sellable’ post on your blog though. You certainly know your stuff, man

    Do have a wonderful Thursday

    1. thanks Enstine

      YEs, I will create an ebook and will probably extend that into a video series.

      There’s almost no limit to the different ways we can leverage content

      thanks buddy

      (I bought the plug in!)

      Kim

  6. Thanks for sharing another extremely awesome post Kim!

    And I whole heartily with Donna! This entire excellent post, could very easily
    be a free and paid ebook or a really cool opt in video series!

    You cover so much ground incredibly valuable ground, and offer tons of
    practical examples! Each one of your 14 solid points, is either a single or multi
    part blog post, video and or podcast series!

    This was such and enjoyable and extremely informative read! So you know I
    ll definitely be sharing this one!Thanks!

    1. What a good idea Mark

      I had already decided to leverage the post into an ebook (thanks to Donna’s suggestion), but after reading your suggestion I’m thinkin’ that a video series would we fabulous.

      Finding the time will be the challenge!

      Kim

  7. Hi Kim,

    Another epic marketing lesson – thanks!

    I’ve made most of those marketing mistakes in the past, and I know that some of them are still “work-in-progress” for me.

    The biggest mistake I made, initially, was not building a list – or thinking I could “do it when I got bigger”. Of course the longer I left it, the harder it was to manage my “list” manually and the probable result was that I never got large enough to satisfy my own criterion of being large enough. That’s maybe a bit garbled – but, bottom line: start building that list from day 1!

    Of those businesses that have a website (and I can’t imagine a thriving business that doesn’t have one) one of the saddest sights I see is a tab/menu item labelled blog, and when you click on it…. nothing, or just one post. What a missed opportunity.

    Even without a perfect blog, the chance of picking up visitors from well chosen keywords (especially the local type searches mentioned in your post) is too good to miss.

    However, I must come clean and say that I spotted several areas in which I can improve my business and blog, so thanks for lots of ideas to work on.

    Joy – Blogging After Dark

    1. Yep, you’re right Joy

      Seeing a blog with little or no content makes me as mad as hell. Why waste an opportunity like that?

      As for SEO, if someone has a local business it’s often quite easy to get ranked for local keywords. In fact, I’ve just finished a 30-page report which includes a section that shows business owners how it’s done.

      For online marketers, it’s not as easy to get ranked but I’ve got plenty of examples of posts and videos I’ve published that got ranked fast. I’ve made money from them too.

      Thanks Joy

      Kim

  8. Just as a quick follow up comment Kim.

    I’m enthusiastically suggesting both an ebook
    and more advanced video series, because you have so expertly
    covered so much intricate detail.

    And a video series would give you the perfect platform to
    either land some ongoing coaching clients, or a regular client that may want
    and need your expertise, to help jump start their marketing campaigns, on
    or offline.

    This post is so in depth, any one of your highly informative, 14 marketing mistakes,
    can easily be converted into (either) a single “how to” blog post, or into
    a series with multiple parts!

    It’s such a great, idea generating read! Many thanks!

    1. Makes sense to me, Mark!

      Finding the time to do it will be the main stumbling block. One step at a time for me!

      Thanks so much for your help

      Kim

  9. Pretty good stuff. Out of the 14 points I’m probably bad at #4, the messaging thing. Whereas I have multiple interests, thus multiple blogs, I’m not sure if I capture people properly to be able to break through all the noise. Yet, believe it or not, I’m good with it since none of it is my main source of income.

    I do agree with the blogging thing while acknowledging that blogging isn’t really for everyone. I tend to believe that if people were bad writers in high school and haven’t written much since that they could expose themselves in a negative way towards those they’re hoping to reach. I used to believe everyone should do it until I realized that, like everything else, not everyone can do everything (for instance, I can’t ride a bike even though I could do it as a kid; it’s a lie when people say once you’ve ridden a bike you never forget lol).

    1. Hi Mitch

      In terms of messaging, I think you’re pretty good at it, at least from a storytelling point of view.

      You’re right – not everyone is suitable for traditional blogging. That said I know people who are not strong on text-based content, but excellent at creating videos. So they switched the focus of their blog.

      Horses for courses

      Thanks

      Kim

      onctentve seen people

  10. Hey Kim,

    Thanks for sharing this awesome tutorial and points, the tutorial is very comprehensive and will surely help new businesses and everyone not to go for those wrong marketing ideas.

    Thanks for the tutorial 🙂

  11. Hi Kim. Thanks for taking the time to put together this list. I agree with Donna. Make it an e-book and call it Marketing 101. Items #1 & 2 have always been my weakest points, and probably for most people because it takes thought. Most of the rest are essentially mechanical processes that you either do or don’t do. The thing is, when you know you USP and your customers’ pain points and hot buttons, the rest of the things become a whole lot easier.

    1. Hi Ben

      Yeah, the first two are strategic issues – not mechanical. It requires deep thinking, a bit of research and commercial nous to identify the opportunities that flow from strategic thinking and problem-solving.

      For me, the hardest thing is the USP. Identifying the pain points (including micro pain points) is somewhat easier

      Thanks for your valuable comment

      Kim

  12. Hey Kim,
    wow looks like everyone is getting you to do more work, lol. I think it is great that they are suggesting that you do an e-book. This information is definitely worthy of being a more lengthy and indepth product.

    The information can be applied to both online and offline. Perhaps you can broaden it and put that in. “This information can be applied to both online and offline businesses.”

    I love your eloquent words that you use, so interesting to read this style of expression that you have.
    You really hit on all the areas of marketing but what always stands out for me is to become more of a human presence online. I think it is evolving to more realness. I like that because I love interacting in a more human way, hence the reason I use video and livestreaming as my main tool.
    Another full and timely post-Thanks again for the insight-Jennifer

    1. Hi Jennifer

      First up, sorry for the delay in replying to your comment – not sure how I missed it.

      Yes, I think the ebook idea is a good one. I’ve just finished my latest e-book and after a rest from all that writing will give it a go.

      Video, podcasts, and live streaming are becoming very popular, and I know that you love to use video. Keep up the good work.

      Bottom line – people are consuming content in a variety of ways. Personally, if I’m looking for a tutorial, I go the video route every time. But for other types of content, I still prefer the written word

      Horses for courses

      Thanks Jennifer

      Kim

  13. Hi,

    It was a wonderful post. I must say you have researched very well before publishing it.
    It explains each and every aspect of marketing in detail.
    There lots of business carried out similar to your idea. So what makes you different from them? It is surely the innovation that you put into your business.
    It is good to have a few loyal customers rather than hundreds of not loyal customers. The marketers should build a trust to their customer and it will help them in reaching far.
    Communication/Feedback is also important if you want to build a loyal market. The problems of customer should be solved otherwise it will create a negative image of your company. Various marketers failed in their work just because they are not able to find new market for their company since market is continuously changing with time.
    Thanks for sharing with us.

    With regards,
    Saurav

    1. Hi Saurav

      Yes, it’s true. Loyal customers are vital for any business. They become our best advocates and will introduce other customers to us.

      Thanks for your nice comments

      Kim

  14. Hey Kim,

    Great break down here.

    I think for most of us, especially myself, there’s the confusion on the difference between a USP, Branding, and the messaging.

    They are quite similar, but yet there are some major differences and I’m glad you made it easy to undersand the difference.

    I think the big take away was #8.

    People want to be educated and want to know why they should listen to you. Best way to connect with your audience is the educate them on their problem and how to fix it. They would be more willing to join your list and eventually purchase from you.

    Thanks for sharing Kim! Have a great week ahead!

    1. Yes you’re right Sherman,

      But more than solving problems, sometimes we need to help people expand their vision of what is possible. In my experience, if we help people ‘see’ a better tomorrow, they get excited. It’s at that point that they will spend a lot more money compared to what would happen if we simply solved their problem.

      Gotta love it

      Thanks Sherman

      Kim

  15. Hey Kim,

    Creating and launching an appealing and informative blog is not enough. For better results, we need to get serious about its promotion. Marketing has always been a great way to drive the targeted audience towards our brand or product. We can convey our organization’s message to a large number of people by making the use of effective marketing techniques.

    We can use a guest post to encourage visitors to come to our blog. This technique not only promotes our blog but also gives us external link from more authority sites, which can improve ranking on search engines.Email marketing is one of the most prominent ways that can help us to promote our blog.

    Social media is an important source of traffic for any website. That’s why even the most popular websites focus on making sharing easier for their users. Eventually, thanks for sharing your worthy thought with us.

    With best regards,

    Amar kumar

    1. Hi Amar

      Yes you are right. Guest posting has a lot of merit for bloggers, although it’s possibly more difficult for offline businesses unless they employ someone to do it for them

      Social media is also a big source of traffic. In terms of leads, that’s where I get most of them now

      Thanks for dropping by

      Kim

  16. That’s a great and monster post!!
    The mistakes i did are matches some of your mentioned mistakes. i too wrote articles without proper keyword research. I thought like writing articles would drive traffic and it will help my business to get more leads. Never happened!
    Then i did proper keyword research and wrote posts and gained some worthy followers to my blog.
    Like this i did some mistakes in my beginning of my blogging, Later regretted it. And now everything goes fine.

  17. Hi Kim,

    An exhaustive list of mistakes. Most of it springs from careless thought process. Also, staying disconnected with current trends is one of the causes. The value of not having a clear USP is brought out in a very striking manner.

    Similary, it would take a lot of careful thought and study to identify the pain points and hot buttons. Marketing cannot be very focussed without these things and unfocussed marketing would become a waste of time and money. Leakages, as you say.

    Every aspect of business, it seems has marketing implications. Careful study of those implications and using them properly is the key. Also, in some cases of conflict, a sense of balance is required between the two conflicting points e.g. design and content.

    Thanks
    -Naveen

    1. Yes, you’re right Naveen. Marketing infuses most things we do in business. Every touch point a customer has with us represents a marketing opportunity
      Thanks for your comment.

  18. Great post, this is worth reading once again. It is helpful for startups to avoid common business mistakes made by following these guidelines. As having a blog for business now has become among the to-do list if you would wish to have a robust marketing strategy. Considering the blog as a marketing tool and providing quality content could save the hassle of marketing.

    Thanks for sharing

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