Top 4 Digital Marketing Truths – aka Why FREE is not always best!

Want to know the Top Digital Marketing Truths?

1) What FREE really means

Now let’s be honest, who doesn’t want something for Free? We all do. And that’s why online marketers always use “Free” in their headlines to grab your interest. However, have you stopped to think why they would give you something for free? Or deeper, how can they make money if they are giving you something for free?

Of course, they are (or should be) giving you exactly what they said they would for no charge – but, and this is the but, it is to get you to do something for them. Connect, share their brand, recommend or review them, sign-up to an email list or simply like a Facebook post. And from there on, it is not about free to you, it is about how you can help them grow!

Therefore what free really means is:

Firstly

Remember

Everyone

Earns

What I mean is, everyone earns from you taking up a free offer. You earn – via the free ‘thing’. Plus the person or company giving you the free element earns too – in some way.
So I’m not saying don’t take advantage of free offers – just remember they are quite often not truly free – if you’re happy with the ‘exchange’ then go for it! You might get something amazing in return for perhaps just your email that might help your internet marketing take off! If you want to learn how to evaluate deals and if a free deal is good, why not read my other post about why get rich schemes never work, but baby steps do!

2) Don’t use free email tools!

What? Why should you pay for something when there are lots of free tools out there? I use Aweber and there are other ‘premium’ auto-responders out there too, but if you are serious about growing your business and are looking to progress with email marketing, then the free options won’t cut it – and here’s why:

• Deliverability rates are lower! Want fewer of your emails getting through? Then go with Free! But if you want to maximise your emails hitting the inbox, then think again.
• When you hit a certain size (usually) about 500 subscribers, you have to pay for one of their paid subscriptions anyway
• On top of that, the paid options usually are poorer value than the best in the market
• If you choose to move away from a free platform to one of the better ones, then you often CANNOT take your list with you! All those subscribers you worked so hard to gain are lost!

Don’t worry, the irony is not lost on me 😀

3) Buy cheap, buy twice – or more likely 3x 4x!

My mother-in-law coined this phrase, and how true it is. Have you ever been in the market for something, say a new frying pan or something for the house? You’ve done a little research, and the one you want – and has all the best reviews – is really expensive, so you start shopping around -maybe eBay or searching out sales online?

You then find a good – cheaper – alternative. It arrives and you put it to use, and then after a few weeks you realise why it is cheaper. Because it is not as good. Then a few years later you buy another replacement. If you didn’t go for the one for life at this point, then no doubt a few more years down-the-road you will end up buying a 3rd and then a 4th!

If you can, buy once. You could buy a really expensive goose down quilt for example. But you’d never have to replace it! If you find you are buying things a lot, just check you don’t suffer from S.O.S. – I cover this in this post!

What other things have you bought again & again?

4) If it’s too good to be true – it probably is

This is probably the #1 really in terms of Top Digital Marketing Truths!

In the world of online marketing there are loads of amazing and out-of-this-world offers. I know, I’ve bought some of them in the past! You know the ones I mean:
“How to make £5,000 a month in 1 week, with no investment”
“SEO at the touch of a button”
“Content created for you on auto-pilot”

Buying the latest thing all the time is ofter referred to as shiny object syndrome, and I cover this in another of my posts.

The truth is this: No one ever achieved anything without dedication and hard work.

To get to the top, there were lots of mistakes, attempts and mishaps along the way – but the achievement was made through enduring effort, determination and focus!

Most people spent years trying before they achieved “overnight success”!

So before you set out on your digital journey, building your online business read this post, and remember these truths and you won’t go far wrong. Stick to your path, with your goal in mind, and work diligently towards it. It’s ok to alter you plan as you go, as on your journey you will learn new things and it is human to adapt – it is what we do best.

Learn. Adapt. Go again.

Please let me know if you agree that FREE is not always best!
Let me know your Top Digital Marketing Truths in the Comments below