As a business owner, it’s very likely that you’ll have to learn online marketing principles in order to expand your reach and increase sales. It’s also likely that you’ll have to teach yourself online marketing over a period of time.
Let’s be real here. A lot of us did not study business or marketing in school. Even if we did, often times it’s based on marketing other people’s businesses instead of our own. That’s why many business owners end up teaching themselves sales and marketing for their own businesses.
The good news is you can start with zero knowledge and still become a marketing master. I knew absolutely nothing about online marketing when I started blogging.
I also didn’t know that much when I quit my job to focus on content marketing and consulting, but now I know it so well that I’m able to identify marketing strategies other people use in their copy, presentations and social media posts.
This knowledge of marketing has allowed me to expand my reach, make more money and move people to take action. Here are some of the ways you can teach yourself online marketing so you can get the same results.
Take every class you can get your hands on.
In order to teach yourself online marketing, you’ll likely have to sign up for every marketing and sales class you can get your pretty little hands on.
Granted, don’t go crazy and rack up the credit card bill. Instead, do it slowly over time. Remember, there’s no rush. Besides, by giving yourself to implement what you learn, you’ll be able to better understand it.
Now, where exactly do you find these classes? When I was in the process of teaching myself online marketing, I asked coaches for help, I found classes by reputable people, I engaged in Facebook groups and I simply asked questions.
One thing would lead to another until I found the online marketing classes that were right for me.
Teach yourself online marketing through books.
Another effective way to teach yourself online marketing is through books. There are countless sales and marketing books you can purchase from Amazon. Additionally, many sales and marketing experts give away free ebooks that explain many of the principles you need to learn.
The process for finding these books is similar to the process of finding classes. Ask questions, pay attention to the books people are recommending and keep an eye out for books that may be helpful for your particular business.
The best thing about teaching yourself online marketing through books is that it’s the most cost effective out of all the options on this list. A book is far more attainable than a class worth a few hundred dollars or hiring a coach for private sessions.
(Note: Even though books are cheaper, the other options are still great investments. If a class cost you $197 but you were able to make $10,000 in sales as a result, then that’s not a bad deal at all.)
Seek mentors to help you.
Perhaps the most effective way to teach yourself online marketing is to not actually teach yourself. Instead, your time and money may be better spent seeking the help of mentors who can help you put all the moving pieces together.
For example, I recently attended a retreat in Puerto Rico because I was having trouble putting together an automated sales funnel on my own. Because I was so busy in my business, I simply did not have the time to make it happen so I sought the help of an expert.
There are multiple ways you can seek mentors to help you with online marketing. Examples include, private coaching, group coaching, masterminds, Facebook groups or live events.
While mentors and coaches can cost a pretty penny, they’ll save you a lot of time in learning and implementing everything. When I attended the retreat in Puerto Rico, I walked out with a sales funnel, an opt-in, emails and a sales presentation already in place. All I had to do when I got home was to connect everything together.
Back when I was still at a desk job, I hired a coach to help me put a basic sales funnel in place. She pushed me to do my first live speaking gig and started teaching me sales. As a result of that investment, I was able to quit my job in six months.
Practice what you’re learning.
The final way to teach yourself online marketing is to actually practice what you’re learning. While it’s great to learn from books, classes, and mentors, none of it will matter unless you actually practice.
The only way to get good at sales is to do sales calls.
The only way to get good at webinars is to actually do webinars.
The only way to become successful at Facebook ads is to try your hand at Facebook ads.
The only way to see results from Instagram marketing is to actually do some Instagram marketing.
The only way to start writing effective email copy is to practice writing copy.
The reason I’m really trying to drive this point home is because I see so many people simply stop at reading books and taking classes. Even worse, they get into this vicious cycle of needing to read one more book or take one more class before they feel like they can take any action.
If you always have your head stuck in a book but aren’t actually using what you’re learning, then it’s unlikely that you’ll see any results. Make it a point to actually implement what you learn after you’ve learned it. Once you’ve got it down then you can move on to the next phase.
Never stop learning.
If you try to teach yourself online marketing, you’ll soon realize a truth of the online world: Everything is always changing. There is always something new to learn in the world of online marketing, so remain open to improving as time goes on.
