Why most websites fail to turn a profit
May 27th, 2010. Filed Under: Business. Tags: baseball, Business, Wally
Just got back from another high powered weekend conference in Clearwater, Florida.
There’s an amazing thing that happens when you’re in a room full of successful people. You start to take notice of the energy. Without even meaning to, it’s virtually impossible to ignore the amazing feeling of being around positive, optimistic people who get stuff done.
Another thing that you notice is that people who are successful are usually pretty competitive. And most times they really like sports. Because just like in sports, business is really competitive, and you have to get up every day ready to win – and prepared to win.
It’s baseball season, so naturally we spent a lot of time talking about baseball.
We even took some time out to practice our swings.
Hey, business can be fun.
One of my friends spent some time working with me on my stance, making sure that my feet were slightly tilted out, and that my elbows and wrists were positioned the right way.
But the really important part came when he taught me about my swing itself.
Picture yourself at the plate. You’re getting ready to receive the pitch.
You’ve got your arm that is closest to the pitcher…and you’ve got your arm that is closest to the catcher.
Then imagine your swing.
How did you do?
Here’s something that I never knew. Your power comes from the arm that is pushing the bat. Not the arm that is closest to the pitcher. No wonder I never was any good at baseball!
You aren’t pulling the bat around to swing…you’re pushing it around with your arm.
And there’s another thing I learned…
For the most part, you aren’t swinging for the fences.
You’re swinging for contact. You’re swinging to get on base. It could mean first base, it could mean a home run. But you’ve got to keep swinging.
And with every swing comes practice of the basics.
You always come back to the basics and you keep swinging and working on them.
What does this have to do with a website?
The thing that most website owners do wrong when they try to be profitable online is that they swing for the fences. They go big right away, without learning the basics. They’re looking at what a great idea they have, and how much money it’s going to bring them.
So they jump out there and swing the bat a few times. And they strike out.
Then they get discouraged and quit. And they never stop for a moment to consider why they never made the big bucks. Or even the little bucks.
So the first thing you have to do is step back from the plate for a second, and commit to being in the game long term.
And being in the game long term begins with learning the basics.
Then once you know the basics, you keep on swinging the bat. Get on base. Move ahead.
Once you’re moving ahead, you keep swinging the bat.
And you return to the basics again and again – but you keep swinging the bat.
Maybe this means you’re following up to your customers in an email. Maybe it means that you’re using your sales system to further your reach and leverage your value. It can mean a lot of things.
But if you never get the basics, it means you’re striking out.
Once you get the basics down, and you’re hitting some base hits… you’re automatically generating sales and leads like you’ve never done before…swinging like a pro.
Batter up!
-Wally
P.S. – Here’s a great place to start with the basics.
P.P.S. – If you’ve made a couple of base hits but also a couple of errors with your online marketing, you’ll want to have a look at this.
If A Tree Falls On Your House, Does Anybody Hear It?
May 14th, 2010. Filed Under: Business, Business Tips. Tags: If a tree falls does anybody hear it, Wally
Two nights ago at about 4:15 in the morning, I was awoken by a loud thump and shaking house. It was almost like the house was getting hit repeatedly by thunder.
Turns out, it practically was.
We have a giant cotton wood tree in the front yard, and it had been snowing a famous Colorado spring snow all night long.
Sure enough, a branch that was bigger than most standalone trees had fallen on the roof and then slid off into the front yard. It barely missed our two cars.
Once everything had calmed down and I realized that no major damage had been done, I went back to bed to deal with the branches in the daylight.
Lucky for us, our house was built in the 60s – and whoever built this thing definitely knew what they were doing. It’s a really solid, well built structure.
I haven’t had a chance to fully inspect for damage, but from the looks of it, if there is any it’s going to be minimal.
The timing on this has been pretty coincidental.
Just a few days before this happened I got a phone call from one of my customers who runs a very popular, high profile website. We’re talking the type of website where he’s pulling in more traffic and more sales than most people make in 10 years.
He called me up and said “check out my blog…something just doesn’t look right”. And sure enough, his blog had been hacked.
Just like when the tree came crashing down on the house the other night, it was time to spring into action. Turns out that there have been a rash of hacked blogs recently, and his made the hit list.
So I dropped what I was doing and made sure to get him back up and running within a few hours.
The thing was – even though something challenging happened, his website was built on a solid foundation. So when something bad happens, which it inevitably does from time to time, it’s a lot easier to fix when you have the right pieces in place already.
Just like the well built house. Minimal damage, problem fixed in just a few hours.
Having the right relationship is key when you’re dealing with something as important as your primary channel to the world.
Here’s one guy who is really doing it right.
Until next time,
-Wally
P.S. – I’ve been working on a really exciting program the last few weeks that I’m going to tell you about soon. If you’ve ever wanted to build your own website from scratch, you’re going to love it.
P.P.S. – Here are a bunch of folks who are doing it right.
