If you’re a business person in today’s world then you probably have a website. And if you have a website then you are no stranger to the challenge of trying to build enough traffic to make it worth your while. However, tools like WordPress are making it easier than ever for websites to spring up online. And they have – by the millions. Competition for traffic is fierce, and searching for something as simple as backache brings up search results that vary wildly between sciatica relief to a Sir-Mix-A-Lot song, and everything in between.
Just Having a Website Is Not Enough
Even if they are online, too many businesses today are still caught up in old school advertising techniques. Even if some of them have heard about or even tried internet advertising strategies, such as affiliate marketing, more often than not asking a business person what they are doing to promote their business online is met with a blank stare. They have a website and that’s enough, right? Actually, that’s not right at all.
Take for instance Dr. Jeri Anderson, a successful chiropractor from Sacramento, California. She is an award-winning professional with accolades such as the Clinical Excellence Citation. She has treated professionals such as Grammy-award winners and Olympic athletes, as well as patients from nearly all other demographics, from infant children to seniors. However, without a website that is successful at obtaining free, natural traffic, business might not be quite as booming.
Get Started with WordPress
During an interview on Coffee Talk, a popular internet marketing podcast hosted by James and Arlene Martell, Dr. Jeri shared, “I don’t think there’s ever been a better time to be in business, because you can convey so many things about your business in ways that we couldn’t do before.” Of course, it doesn’t seem like that long ago that Dr. Jeri was in the same boat with her own business that many business owners find themselves in today.
But then a fellow chiropractor encouraged her some time ago to learn WordPress, which got her started. She began looking at where internet users went for their information in terms of marketing. She aimed directly for the movers and the shakers and began following what they posted online. That led her to Don Campbell, who offers a small business theme for WordPress.
It wasn’t long after that when she made the decision to take an entire week out of her practice and dedicate it to learning all about how the internet could help her business. She says what she learned during that time has paid for taking the week off 100-fold. “That week was the best time I could have spent in terms of what happened to my practice after that.”
Dr. Jeri’s 3-Step Recipe for Getting Started
People are so wrapped up in the day-to-day that they’re missing out on what’s going on with the internet and the amount of opportunity that exists. Some businesses are struggling to bring in new customers and prospects, or new patients. If you’re not used to the internet, it’s a big thing to take in. However, Dr. Jeri offers this advice based on her own experiences.
- Educate yourself. There are so many people out there who will take your money and not give you any kind of real assistance. There are so many ways to get online today though, that people have a lot more opportunity to learn than they did a few years ago. Regardless if you are seated at your glass l-shaped desk or in a coffee shop, you can access the internet in a variety of ways.
- Check credentials. If you aren’t sure if someone is on the up-and-up, ask your fellow business owners. Check out their history online. You have probably Googled your own name, so why wouldn’t you Google someone who is asking for money from you?
- Dedicate yourself to it. Dr. Jeri points out that she didn’t get to where she is today by taking shortcuts. Sometimes she wasn’t the fastest person to arrive at using a new strategy, but she did it step-by-step it led her to the successful practice she has now. It doesn’t have to be a race if you’re moving in the right direction.
Before closing out the interview Dr. Jeri offered these parting thoughts, “It doesn’t necessarily have to be a race. If you are moving in the right direction, then you are moving. Don’t think about it, because everyone else is passing you by. Instead of thinking about it, do something. That’s what I’m always telling people. Do something. Start somewhere. Google is phenomenal. You can look up any aspect of it that you want to learn – so get on it and start searching.”
Internet marketing expert James Martell left his 9-to-5 job in 1999 so that he could put all of his efforts into two things – spending more time with his family and learning everything he could find about online marketing techniques. He has worked with many clients, helping them with their online marketing strategies, from medical professionals to people with sites like www.officedeskreviews.com. His diligence paid off and now he’s a well-respected entrepreneur within the industry, often speaking at events like Affiliate Summit East 2012.