But for today, I have a post that deals with a common misconception that some business owners have. Let me explain…
Many business owners ask these same questions:
Why do you need SEO?
Why do you need content marketing?
Why do you need a website?
And they never realize the answer is a very simple one that is foolish to overlook.
I’ll explain what I mean in just a minute. But first I want to share a story that I found in an old book from 1910 called The Science of Advertising by Edwin Balmer.
Why? Because it will make what I’m about to tell you make much more sense.
In the book, Balmer tells this story…
“In 1666, London was practically wiped out by fire. The printer of the London Gazette, with almost prophetic acumen, offered his columns for notices of new locations of shops
“But though practically every important shop in the city was moved, there was absolutely no response to this offer.
“The old locations had never been known through the newspapers, so why should anyone look there for the new (locations)?”
— The Science of Advertising, Edwin Balmer
Why do you need to be concerned about things like SEO, content marketing, and/or a website?
Because that is the way your business will be found today.
Many years ago, people might have found out about you through the phone book. Or maybe they discovered your business by walking by.
Well, those days are long gone.
This Is Why You Need SEO
The way they’re going to find your business today is by typing in the product or service you offer and the name of your city (or just the words “near me”) into Google.
If your business doesn’t show up, then it doesn’t exist in that person’s mind.
SEO (search engine optimization) helps you to optimize your website so it shows up when people type in what you offer.
This Why You Need Content Marketing
Another way they might find your business is if you create content that answers their questions, solves their problems, entertains, or even educates them.
Then when they go to Google and type in their questions, your business (if it’s optimized and has great content) will be discovered by them.
If it doesn’t appear, they’ll never know that your business is an option.
This is Why You Need a Website
The reason you need a website is because it increases the chance that your business will show up in Google when people go searching for what you offer.
The reason you need a website is because it is the place that can hold the content you create, which will help your business to be found.
Don’t Just Rely on Yelp
You might say, “I don’t need things. People already find our business online.”
If that’s true, then it’s probably because you or someone else made sure that your business is listed on Yelp.
That’s great. But that’s not enough.
You see, people that find you on Yelp still want to know more about you, your business, your products, or your services.
If you don’t focus on SEO, then you will always be 100% dependent on Yelp.
If you don’t create content, then you will lose a very valuable way that you could make your business stand out from your competition.
If you don’t have a website, then you will never be able to break free from reliance on Yelp. Plus, you’ll lose your ability to stand out in the marketplace.
The choice is yours. You can just keep things the way they’ve always been. That’s what business owners in London did 354 years ago.
Does that look like such a smart decision now?
P.S. If you’d like help in making sure that your business is found, so you don’t get left behind in the past, then contact me and we can discuss services that I offer that can help you. Click here to contact me now.
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“Backlinko is an online marketing blog that Dean launched in 2010. The site has grown rapidly over the past five years and currently receives nearly 100,000 visitors a month—a significant number for a blog in the insanely competitive SEO niche. “
— ERIC SIU, SingleGrain.com
(NOTE: Make sure to check out Eric’s article to learn 10 SEO lessons we can learn from Brian.)
I personally discovered Brian and Backlinko back in 2016 when I first learned about his ingenious content marketing/link building method that he calls “The Skyscraper Technique“.
It was during this interview that I heard Brian reveal the two ways he focuses on email:
1.He said that his main focus on his SEO site is his email list.
He does this because he knows he needs to warm up and nurture his subscribers before they’ll be willing to become clients for his high-end course (that is only offered 2 times a year).
2. One of the things he does whenever he doesn’t know what to do is focus on building his email list.
Not only that, he says that everyone should focus on building their email list.That again is really interesting considering he’s an SEO expert.
Why does Brian focus on email?
Because when Brian first began experimenting online, he began to follow an online guru who said that there were two questions that he always asked himself to see how his day went::
1. DID I BUILD MY EMAIL LIST? 2. DID I SERVE MY EMAIL LIST?
If this old online guru was able to say, “Yes,” to both of these questions, then he considered it a good day.
If he couldn’t, he made sure to correct that problem that very day or the next day at the latest.
Brian never forgot this lesson. That’s why, to this very day, SEO expert Brian Dean is always focusing on email.
Don’t get me wrong. Brian does use SEO in very powerful and creative ways. But he doesn’t rely only on SEO to grow his business.
Brian Is Not Alone with This Focus on Email
In case you think that Brian is crazy or an anomaly, he’s not.
All of the smartest digital marketers and content marketers know the importance of an email list.
“All these emails are from big social media platforms, so they can engage you with the content on their platform and get you to visit their app or website again.
“All social media platforms are building an email list because they are smart business owners. This helps their valuation when selling their business.
“While social media is a great way to reach your audience, it’s important to keep in perspective the timely nature of social media platforms.
“For business owners, email lists can yield dramatic rewards. According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing on average sees a 4300 percent return on investment (ROI) for businesses in the US. Can you say that about your social media marketing campaign?”
— Syed Balkhi, OptinMonster.com
You see? That’s why I say that all smart digital marketers and content marketers also know the importance of building an email list.
But here’s where things get really interesting.
Spoiler Alert: This Focus on Building an Email List is a Very Old Direct Marketing Practice
The importance of building an email list actually comes from an old school practice that came long before email was even invented.
The early direct marketers knew the same thing that Brian Dean knows.
One of the most powerful things about direct marketing is the ability to build and own your own list of prospects that you can market to.
That’s not all.
If you sit all of the top copywriters down in one room and ask them what the most important thing in direct response is, do you know what they’ll say?
They will tell you that the most important thing in direct response is the list.
(*If you pick the right list, your job will be much easier. If you don’t, you’ll see very little results, no matter how powerful your content or copy is.)
In direct mail, you either build the list or you can rent one. But when it comes to email, your main option is to build your list. (Renting email lists can get you in a lot of trouble.)
The importance of a list was important in the early days of direct response and it still remains important today for all content marketers and digital marketers.
I Don’t Know About You, But I Know What I’m Going to Do
