This time of year is probably my absolute favorite time of year.
Not because of the eating or the presents (I also have a birthday on Dec. 29) but because of that energy that is created, charged with good intentions, bright ideas and web marketing projects for the new year.
It's not just about Tweeting greetings or sending out newsletters with snowmen, I'm talking more specifically about that creative force I've always had inside, and it's jumping out strongly these days.
As I do every year, I want to fire off my predictions about what will be the trends in online marketing and my advice, for those who would like to follow them, about what would be best to target. 2014 will be a special year for me, and I'll add something else...
The 5 Best Web Marketing Strategies 2014
It is the most popular product or business of 2013, and it will also be at the center of the world of we marketing in 2014. We can talk endlessly about Magento whether it is better or worse than WordPress, the responsive layout or the plugins needed to start a beautiful and functional platform.
The ones that matter are: pre-launch strategies, product marketing, and follow-up with customers.
Of course it is that an e-commerce site that is user-friendly and punchy, equipped with everything you may need, will make your life easier, but remember that the Web site is only the first (or last?) brick of a more complex construction you need to put in place.
2014 is sure to be the year of e-commerce and online businesses in Italy, Whether due to the crisis, whether due to the desire for redemption of many entrepreneurs who see the web as a more feasible and economical solution, whether due to the desire to internationalize...
There will be a lot of work to be done, for everyone.
With great satisfaction, I published my book on Amazon at the end of September, becoming a bestseller in a few days, then helped a friend publish his first novel, and more of my titles are coming out soon.
People are looking for content, ebooks and digital publishing in general are a great opportunity to offer their knowledge, become an authority in their niche and make a profit. Fortunately, reading is (slightly) on the upswing, perhaps thanks in part to the new devices we use every day, perhaps because of the stimulus the web gives us with every access.
In fact, I think that being continually bombarded with information and solicitations, which, when they find a well-arranged brain, give rise to that desire for knowledge and insight that find full satisfaction in quality publishing products.
Education and information have always been good business (see also the last point), and now more than ever we need them if we are to re-emerge from the hole we have fallen into.
The Kindle and digital publishing in general will be the big marketing players in 2014.
The game is being played again this year on the Social Media Marketing, kind of like it was a playing field where players, coaches, and sponsors come together to compete. We are all there, or they are all there.
Who. Our friends, relatives, customers, suppliers, export managers, bloggers, consultants, artisans, children of entrepreneurs, employees.
All.
It is true that perhaps in some socials users are only talking about kittens, but it is still true that they are also the same people who will buy your product tomorrow or sign your contract. Excluding these extensive hunting grounds is tantamount to waiting at the window for the comet star...2014 years too late.
Social media presence in 2014 will be critical for three reasons:
1) Establishment of one's brand (THERE ARE!)
2) follow-up and customer care (I LISTEN TO YOU!)
3) interlocution of business with people (I TALK TO YOU and ANSWER TO YOU!)
Contrary to what many people think, social has done a fantastic thing: it has brought people closer to brands and companies, bringing back dialogue and confrontation, with excellent benefits for both, something this has not been seen in a long time, bridging an annoying (and somewhat snobbish) gap that globalization has created between sellers and buyers.
There is always someone during my workshops who comes up with the phrase like: "I am against social" or "only kids are on Facebook."
Especially in regard to the last statement...maybe it would be good if there were 28 million kids in Italy....
This is where you can surely find the highest and most interesting profits.
It is useless to hide behind a finger, but a consultant or product info expert makes money solely by investing on his or her own time, through his or her own knowledge and person.
On your own and with a MacBook, a phone, paper and pen, you can achieve more than a company with several employees.
Why? Because people want to know, they want to improve their current condition, they want to achieve goals, and, the most intelligent and knowledgeable, they know that they cannot do it all on their own. I am not referring to any particular type of market, and that is precisely why the concept of product info or professional consulting can be applied to any field or niche, as long as you are good at something, can convey your knowledge effectively, and have mastered the techniques of marketing and persuasion, so that you can find clients and pitch your professionalism.
I have always produced info products in English, and I think now the time is ripe here in our country as well.
For my 2014 web marketing strategy I will also create something important in Italy. I'll tell you more. My Amazon book started as a test, which yielded very good results and definitely convinced me that this is the way to go.
You have to know how to do them, and they are harder than they look (no I did not misspell that sentence), but they can really give great results.
Unfortunately, 95% of affiliates do not get anything that is remotely satisfying or appreciable, but the fault is not with the system or the business, it is with them alone. Let's start with this concept: how can you expect to convince someone to buy something if the first one who is not convinced (or customer) is you?
I did a lot of testing in 2013, and the biggest results were only seen whenever I pointed to a product that I was really convinced about, that I had been a customer of myself, and that was obviously actually very good (never propose a rip-off!).
Thinking of putting up two links and shooting them out on social media convinced that everyone will go click and buy is pure utopia. If you want to start off on the right foot and Create a great foundation for your web marketing in 2014, do this: create your image as an expert and build your authority, this will generate your own following online. At that point you can start promoting what you yourself buy or have had a chance to test.
I've cut it down a little bit, so as not to make it too long...surely you'll have a chance to read more about these and others Optimal strategies for your web marketing and online business in 2014. Now, however, enjoy the evening -- or the first day of the new year.
From Valerio and all the staff, best wishes for a glorious new year!