Contributed By:
VIP CONTRIBUTOR
Author,
Consultant, Owner of KimanziConstable.com
Source: Entrepreneur
When you look at the statistics of how many people log onto the
Internet or social media, you get excited. Never has there been a time with so
much opportunity concentrated in one place. Today, you don’t have to send your
direct mail flyers or pay for ads in newspapers.
Today, you can pay for a Facebook ad and reach more people than
any of your previous efforts combined. For those entrepreneurs who are just
starting out, you don’t have to spend a dime, yet you can still grow an
audience that will lead to new business.
Reaching the potential billions of people online is easier said
than done, however. More than a few entrepreneurs have quit in frustration of
the time and effort is takes to build a foundation online. Here are five
tactics successful online entrepreneurs use to build a foundation and their
business.
1. They create engagement.
These days, you can buy a following if you want to. Twitter
followers, Instagram followers and Facebook likes are all for sale. You
can even buy email lists but buying an audience is pointless because there’s no
engagement. A lot of times, these are people who won’t interact or care about
what you’re doing.
Successful online entrepreneurs create a conversation that gets
people talking and sharing. When they post content on their website or social
media their goal is for their community to interact. That interaction leads to
new people checking out what they’re doing and what they have to offer.
You can have a huge following but it’s meaningless if there’s no
engagement.
2. They continue to build their
audience.
When you look at why entrepreneurs failed, it was because
they were focused on the systems and not building an audience. They were always
tweaking their website, releasing another e-book and creating custom
graphics on Canva. They did all of the surface things, but they had no audience
to see any of these efforts.
There are countless things you can do to help build your
business, but they are pointless if you don’t have an audience. Successful
online entrepreneurs spend most of their time building their audience through:
·
Guest posting.
·
Writing
for large authority sites
like this one.
·
Get interviewed on podcasts.
These are just a few strategies you can use build your following
online. In its simplest form, if you don’t have an audience, go where your
audience is and show them why they should follow you.
3. They don’t get sidetracked
by envy.
In our day and age, we’re exposed to the success of other
entrepreneurs in a public way. It can be a Facebook friend or a podcast you’re
listening to, but someone doing what you’re also doing had a victory where you
didn’t. Envy starts to creep in and sidetracks you.
When you’re focused on someone or something else, you’ve lost
focus on your mission and goals. If someone else is successful, congratulate
them and get back to the hustle of building your business. You don’t have time
to let envy distract.
4. They add undeniable
value.
No matter what content they put out, it’s quality. You can get
exposure in other places, but when people come back to your website, they
should see value. Your best efforts should be spent on the content on your
website, email list and social channels. It should be so good people want
to tell others about what you’re up to.
5. They are constantly
learning.
Information overload is a danger, but successful online
entrepreneurs are always learning ways to hone their craft. They focus on
learning what will help their next steps, not chasing shiny objects that are
the fad of the week.
With focused effort and the right tactics, you can build an
online business that gives you the benefit of location independence. You can
operate a business you love from anywhere in the world. The goal of any
business is freedom. Use these tactics to make that freedom a reality in your
life.
The stats on an online business surviving and thriving are
pretty grim. Beating the odds and creating a successful business takes time and
hustle. When in doubt, focus on building your audience. When you have an
audience, you can create products and services based on audience feedback,
which is what they will buy the most. It doesn't happen the other way around.
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