Selling Lounge | Start Little to Grow Big Ideas

Start Little to Grow Big Ideas

Date Added: September 16, 2009 06:06:18 PM

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What would you like to do better? And where should you start? Have you ever said, or heard, that "The devil is in the details?" Well, I think sometimes we need to start SMALL, with those devilish details, rather than with the big picture. Get little in order to grow big.

Get Little to Grow Big. What would you like to do better? And where should you start? Have you ever said, or heard, that "The devil is in the details?" Well, I think sometimes we need to start SMALL, with those devilish details, rather than with the big picture. Get little in order to grow big. What do I mean by that? Well, suppose you want to do better marketing for your website. This could apply to a whole lot of other things, but this is an example to which we can all relate. Let's look at two different approaches. [b]Approach Nuumber One: The "Shotgun" Method[/b]Suppose you say, "I want to do a better job of marketing my website." Well, of course you do! Who doesn't? But that statement itself might be your problem! Marketing covers a big enough area that you can get a college degree in it. 'Wanting to do a better job of marketing' is NOT a goal. It's more like a vague wish. And wishing doesn't cut it when it comes to getting results. Something like this might happen when you try to take action on a vague wish to improve your marketing: On Monday, you read that Susie has had great success with Oodle ads, so you try a posting a few of those and hope it works. Then, on Thursday, Gary is touting one-way directoroy links, so you spend the afternoon searching out and submitting to directories that 'look good.' And the next week, there's something else to 'try,' and another possibility a few days after that. Before you know it, weeks have gone by, and you're still scattering your efforts hither and yon, giving this and that a try, hoping that, somewhere along the way you will finally hit pay dirt. Sound familiar?[b]Approach Number Two: Getting Specific[/b]First, set a well founded, well defined goal, with a method of achieving it, and a way to measure your success at meeting the goal.Let's do a walk-through example: [i]Identify a very specific and manageable area to target[/i]. You might begin by analyzing your site stats to determine where the majority of your hits are coming from, and take a hard look at which of the top three you can realistically supercharge with a little effort. Suppose your stats show that you get the most hits for your jewelry store from A) a directory for sites of interest to women; B) Bing searches for 'rhinestone bracelets;' and c) a traffic exchange. Here's what I would do. First, I'd eliminate C, because those visitors are just surfing to get hits of their own, and are probably not serioius potential buyers. I would probably see A and B as targets for my attention. (Probably both, but I'd work on ONE at a time.) For this example, we'll choose B, and capitalize on the keyword 'rhinestone bracelets.' [i]So, now you've identified a specific, and are ready to set a goal[/i].Your goal needs to be measurable, so be sure to include metrics in it. (If iyou can't measure it, how do you know when you have actually met your goal?) And it helps to actually write out a clear statement of your goal. It might read something like this: "Increase website hits from 'rhinestone bracelet' searches by 20% through the use of Meta Tags, and other sources using the linked keywords 'rhinestone bracelets.' Other sources will include at least five of each of the following: directory listings, classified ads, and blog entries."[i]Now DO it.[/i]Go through your meta tags and make sure you have used your targeted keywords wherever you can logically do so. Do your five (or more) directory submissioins, classified ads, and blog entries, and any place else you can find to use and link those specific keywords. Count your entries to make sure you have at least 5of each kind... or whatever measurable goal you set. You don't know yet if five of each will result in your desired 20% increase in hits, but you have created a starting point, a desired finishing point, and a way to measure how much effort it takes you to get there. In the next step, you'll find out if the effort you outlined was enough, or if you need to do more.[i]And Then Measure It.[/i]Give it a few days or a week for the spiders to find all your new keywords and keyword links. Then, measure your results. Are you getting an increased number of hits on rhinestone bracelets? Is it the desired 20% increase? Now, follow through:[i]Follow Through by Evaluating and Taking Appropriate Action[/i]Did you meet your goal?Then, you can decide to either move on to another target, or increase this goal, and put more effort into it to try to get even better results.Did you only make it part way to your goal?Try more links in the same three areas if they all worked equally well, or concentrate on the one or two that out performed.Did nothing good happen at all?Re-evaluate. Try to figure out why and if this particular target is worth more effort or not. On the one hand, you don't want to give up too easily if a simple alteration in your plan could make a difference. On the other, you don't want to endlessly persue something that just isn't working for a reason that you simply can't determine at this time. Know when to move on. You can always revisit this particular goal after successfully meeting the next one on your list.The foregoing example took the approach of finding something that is working well for you, and trying to make it work even better. But couldn't you use the same general approach to improve on something that is significantly underperforming? Sure. Give it a try! You'll either see an improvement, or find out that that particular item isn't going to give you a big return on your investment of time and effort. And that's valuable information, too. You'll have a better idea of where not to spend your time in the future. So . . . Define, with limited parameters, specifically what one thing are trying to achieve, and set goals that include a way of measuring the extent of your success. Take action, measure, evaluate, and follow through. You'll find that starting small can net you big results!

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