The 5 Biggest Myths of Online Marketing

I hate to say it, but what you think about online marketing is probably wrong. With so many “solutions” available to budding online entrepreneurs, it’s easy to believe that success is just one plugin/ebook/online course away! The truth is that it isn’t. Here are the 5 biggest myths of online marketing.

The truth is that online business is just like offline business.

The rules are the same: the business that has the right mix of product, customer support, and procedural efficiency will win. The only difference is the environment itself.

The problem is that the online market is still a very new place, and many business owners still don’t understand it. Because of that, it’s easy for savvy companies to sell entrepreneurs on fancy solutions that promise unrealistic results.

Do some of these solutions actually work? Of course! The problem is that they won’t work as well as you think they will unless you do what needs to be done… namely lots of hard work, time, trial and error, and persistence (just like every other aspect of business).

Here are the 5 biggest myths I see the most online. If you’re one of my clients, this will give you an understanding of why I’m constantly pushing for content, consistency, and business development.

Myth #1: A Professional Website is 3-Clicks Away!

Sorry, but there is an entire industry for website design and development for a reason. While it’s possible to create a website yourself with no experience or education in minutes, that doesn’t mean it’s going to look professional. I can spot a self-made website in less than a second, and the truth is, so can most visitors.

If you don’t plan on building an online business quickly and want to go through the necessary steps to learn what you need to know to make a good looking website, go for it! The tools available today have made it EASIER, but you still need to learn elements of graphic design, coding, photography, and “style” itself (something some people will never be able to develop unfortunately).

If you don’t have the funds for a beautiful, yet affordable start-up package (ahem), I always recommend using wordpress.com. That way when you’re ready to go-pro, someone like me can download your material and put it into something new.

Myth #2: Your Website Needs Flashy Stuff to Get Traffic

How your website looks has more to do with legitimizing your brand and converting visitors to customers than it does with getting traffic. You can have the coolest website in the world and make no money at all.

What your website needs to get traffic is CONTENT. Content is king, and no amount of flying dodads on your homepage will change that fact. Some claim that they can get your business on page one of Google through SEO witchcraft (namely by creating false backlinks through fake websites), but that isn’t “real.”

Real traffic comes from creating information that is useful to your followers and potential customers… no trickery involved! If you focus on creating lots of good information, the traffic will come, but you need to do it consistently and often.

Myth #3: A Solve-Everything Marketing Plugin Will Fix Your Business

There are some fantastic marketing systems out there that can integrate a lot of the analytics, procedures, and tasks that need to get done in regards to online marketing. The problem is that they’re really made for developed businesses that have some idea of what they’re doing (no offense).

When you first get started online, these systems are overkill, and simply learning how to use them will distract you from what you should be doing 24/7: trying to get traffic in the first place.

If you don’t have content, a specific product/service offering, a bare-bones marketing funnel plan, or a basic understanding of your website’s functionality and limitations, you are not ready for a sophisticated marketing plugin.

Myth #4: You Can Make 6-Figures Next Month!

No, you can’t. If you could, EVERYONE would be killing it online. Again, online business is just like offline business. Do you think that the local donut shop can start up today and make $100k next month? Probably not. The internet isn’t magic and building your business will take time and effort.

The “marketing systems” that are pitching insane results are probably talking about a one-off occurrence (or just plain lying). The truth is that ANY system could get you results as long as you follow it consistently.

It’s just like exercise… could you get a six-pack using the fancy $20 dodad you saw on TV? Yes! You just need to read the fine print where it talks about a 6-month workout plan combined with a 1,500 calorie diet and that those results are “not common.”

Myth #5: Paid Online Advertising Will Guarantee Sales

While I am an advocate of essentially free online marketing (namely organic social media marketing, content marketing, and email marketing), I will always recommend paid online advertising if you want to increase your rate of growth. It’s a trade; organic marketing takes time while paid advertising trades time for money.

However, paid advertising has the same requirements as organic marketing: trial, error, and refinement. If you talk to an online marketing firm you will here the same thing each time: “We require a 3-6 month commitment.” The reason is not simply because they want to make more money (although that is part of it). The main reason is that they need this much time to refine your ad campaign to increase your conversion rate.

There are many components in paid advertising, but the main ones are your target market, the ad itself, and the landing page. Each component has a multitude of variables, and the only way to see if your formula works is to spend the money to figure it out.

The standard advertising formula involves A/B testing. This means that you create two ads/landing pages/target markets with a single variation to see which one works better. When you have your result, you take the winner and test it against another variation. You continue this process until you have a formula that delivers the results you want.

As you can imagine, this process takes time and money, and even then you might not get the sales you want (maybe your product sucks?).

Online Marketing Myths Conclusion

So, there are the most common myths I see on a daily basis. You don’t need to worry though! The internet is still the wild west, and there are insanely large gaps in information online, meaning that the person who is willing to put the time and effort into content will probably be a major player… you just need to get to work NOW.

If you’re interested in skipping a bunch of learning steps, talk to me! I’ve made all the mistakes possible to grow my online businesses, meaning that you don’t have to. I’ll set you up with a good website, train you how to use it, then set you on a path for long term online brand development. Click Here to learn more.