A Truly Elite Internet Marketing Secret
When I first got started in Internet Marketing, I had $800 to invest in getting my business started.
I used that $800 to form a corporation, get a merchant account, register a domain name, and get started with an email autoresponder system. I never invested another dime of my personal money in the company ever again. Each month, as I generated profit, I reinvested that profit back into the company in the way of new and better marketing. If I didn't have the profit, I didn't spend the money. It was a true example of "boot strapping" at it's purest.
Anyway, as I look back at how I went from that first $800 investment to a business that generates hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars every year, I think of the first couple of years, experiencing such ridiculously slow growth. What was the cause?
Today, I believe I understand completely why my business was growing so slowly back then, and... frankly... why most Internet marketers experience such slow growth within their own businesses.
You see, I believe it's directly linked to how most marketers think about and treat their marketing budget.
For most, they think the goal within their business should be to spend the LEAST amount of money every month on marketing their business. Personally, I believe a bit of this stems from the bragging we've all seen some gurus do when they talk about the money they've made "without spending anything on marketing".
But, mainly, I think the idea of spending the least amount every month on marketing comes from looking at the money invested in marketing the wrong way. You see, most novice Internet marketers look at the money they spend on marketing as an expense... similar to the way they look at the money they spend on their hosting or autoresponder or graphics design or something. For most new marketers their marketing really is an expense.
In other words, if they spend $300 on Google Adwords, for most, they either don't make back at least that $300, or if they do, they don't know it, because they're not tracking their metrics. Either way, the only thing they know for sure is that they're seeing that $300 go out of their bank account and not sure how much money is coming back in return. Hence, the label for the money they've spent on marketing of "expense".
But, truthfully, marketing done right should never be viewed as an expense. Marketing done right doesn't cost you money. It makes you money.
What I mean is this...
For the marketers that are not using proper direct response marketing techniques, most likely their marketing IS an expense. They're probably not positive on their marketing efforts. In that case, if they're using the wrong marketing, they need to treat their marketing dollars as an expense. Because it is.
As well, if they're not tracking the return on investment for each individual marketing piece they're using, they also need to treat their marketing as an expense. Because they don't know whether it is or it isn't. So, they've got to lean in the direction of being safe and viewing their marketing as an expense.
But, if you're using the right marketing, and you're tracking everything, there's an entirely different approach that will allow you to grow your business by leaps and bounds. Please pay attention here.
**This is how you radically speed up the growth of your business.
Done correctly, here's what should happen:
1. First, commit to continually investing in any marketing source that breaks even for you each month.
In other words, if it costs you $300 and it brings you back at least $300, it's breaking even for you. Do NOT restrict your marketing only to sources that bring you a profit. Remember, if you break even on the front end when acquiring new customers, you're actually gaining new future customers for free, at no cost. As well, if you spend $300, for example, and make back $300, that's not an expense. It didn't cost you anything.
2. Second, each month commit to allocating a certain amount of profit to finding new, productive sources of leads, customers, etc.
In other words, every month you should be trying new marketing spots to find more places you can acquire new customers at at least break even.
3. Lastly, as you try new marketing methods, medium, etc., be sure to track your return on investment.
If you have something that is not allowing you to break even on the front end when acquiring new customers, dump it for now. Allocate the money next month to a different location, method, etc. Once you find a new source that is allowing you to break even, continue to use it every month, and then move on to finding another source.
Eventually, what will happen is you'll have a whole bunch of sources that you invest marketing dollars into every month, that allow you to break even or better when acquiring new customers. In other words, imagine for one second having 10 different marketing sources that each cost you $200 a pop every month, but each bring you back at least $200 of brand new customers every month.
That means, even though you'd be investing $2,000 a month in your marketing, it really wouldn't be costing you anything. If you spend $2,000 to get new customers and it brings you back $2,000, it's NOT an expense. It's an investment in your business.
And right there is a very elite secret of Internet business growth.
Your goal should not be to spend the least amount of money every month on marketing.
Your goal should be to invest the MOST amount of money you can every month on your marketing.
The key is investing this money into sources that allow you to at least break even on the front end.
I'll leave you to think about it like this...
Assuming all else being equal, which Internet business is going to grow faster, the one that invests $500 a month in marketing and breaks even on new customer acquisition, or the one that invests $10,000 a month in marketing and also breaks even?
Which Internet business has a greater advantage, the one acquiring $500 of new customers every month at break even, or the one acquiring $10,000 of new customers every month at break even?
You'll unleash the growth potential within your business when you start optimizing your marketing by eliminating the campaigns that don't allow you to break even, continue using all of the campaigns that do allow you to break even, AND trying to invest MORE AND MORE every month on new break even campaigns.