In the early days of the Internet almost every website was started for one purpose: fun. Sure you had the odd research site and techno mumbo-jumbo but as far as the early days of *mainstream* internet are conserned it was a new world of time-wasting. People started setting up websites for whatever reasons they could find whether it was their favorite video game, television show(s), or a hobby. These websites grew often not as a result of deft marketing tactics or a keen eye for business, and search engine optimization didn’t even exist yet, but because the owners really enjoyed the topic and did their best to connect with their userbase and share their interest.
Fast forward to today. There are millions of new sites popping up overnight all of which serve different purposes, niches, and demographics. People are flocking to online business because of the low overhead and the low learning curve. But why are so many people continuing to fail?
Of course work ethic, competency, etc all play into whether someone succeeds or fails. But there is another factor that I think many people tend to overlook: the marketing mindset.
What is the Marketing Mindset?
Basically it’s the idea of creating a website with the sole purpose of profit in mind. So what’s wrong with that? Doesn’t everyone love to profit? Of course they do! The problem, however, lies in the fact that people focus so diligently on the end goal that they tend to skip over or completely ignore the required steps to get there. They start websites in “profitable niches” (fyi: any niche with a userbase is profitable) that they have no interest in, end up getting bored, and quitting taking a loss. Else these people focus in on get rich quick schemes that always lead nowhere.
Can you make a site with profit in mind and succeed? Of course you can. But you have to remember the basics.
- Enjoy what you do
- Don’t take shortcuts
- Engage the community
- Be active in your industry
If you only focus in on “how can I monetize this better??” then you’ll never get the traffic or the interest you need to actually generate an income. You have to take online business one step at a time. If you get caught up too much on your 1 year goal then you’ll never make any strides in your 1 day or 1 week goals. Baby steps are the key to success, not only in this industry, but in any.