6 Steps to Monetize Your Expertise
By Catherine Maxwell • Optimize. Socialize. Monetize.
How do you monetize your expertise?
If you want to set yourself up as an authority in your field, here are 6 steps to help you get some traction.
When the internet was young, we were able to create a website; people would find it, and they would make purchases.
Alas, those days are long gone.
Today, much of the challenge is in driving traffic to your website. Then we have to attract and keep prospects there long enough to read your content. Not only are there many more sites to compete with, but the technology that is being used in web design is changing at lightning speed.
I have been the CEO of a digital marketing agency in Toronto and Ottawa for the past 20 years. Over the years we have experienced the many improvements in technology that can help one get noticed. As great as that is, those changes have been very hard for people to keep pace with.
Today’s entrepreneur not only has to learn about website creation and writing content, they also have to become good at social media marketing. Throw SEO optimization and video marketing into that mix, and it is daunting for even the most dedicated business owner.
There’s only 6 steps
The recipe for online revenue-building can be simplified into six key ingredients. Let me outline them here.
- Determine if you even need a website. Not every business needs one. There are millions of businesses doing well just using landing pages to acquire traffic. Many do better with a sales funnel than a full-blown site. How do you know what to do? A good guideline is to count the number of products you have, and if there’s only 1 or 2, then market them on Facebook or Linkedin combined with a sales funnel + blog. Your goal is to build an easy-to-use sales funnel system that will help them make a buying decision.
- Create an email capture form. An opt-in form is the most powerful way to monetize your site because with someone’s email you can continue to market to them regardless of whether they have purchased from you or not. A common fact in the advertising world is that a person typically needs seven hits of information before they buy. Your email list can achieve that for you – in spades.
- Make sure you optimize for mobile devices. Looking good on all available platforms is the key to keeping people engaged in what you are selling. About 70% of individuals access websites and Facebook online. That is a compelling statistic – and that group is well worth going after.
- Set up email marketing autoresponders. I am referring to point #2 on this list. You need to continue to tell your story to your target market – and this is a powerful way to continue the conversation. There is a specific way to structure your story so you can tell it in segments, and it is an excellent way to make sure your list is opening and reading your emails.
- Write a blog frequently and promote it on the best social media platform for your business. Not only does it provide a way to drive traffic to your blog, but it sets you up as an authority as well. Both of these things add credibility and trust to your interactions.
- Have a strong social media presence (yes even if you have a website) This is a topic I would love to expand upon in a further post, but for now, I want to emphasize the importance of social media as a way of connecting and interacting with your ideal audience.
It makes sense to OPTIMIZE, SOCIALIZE and MONETIZE within these six channels. You will be taking full advantage of growing your company at the same time. These six initiatives are the key to creating a sustainable business and expanding your reach.
That is how you make money while you sleep, continually bringing you new leads and customers whether you’re working or not.
If you’d like to discover whether your efforts are paying off, we have a free website consultation that will let you know what’s working, and what’s not. You can book a website review here.
