48 to Freedom

That’s some great imagery, is it not? Between this and the discussion about cheesy pickles, we’re really on a roll. (NOT AN ITALIAN ROLL, YOU GUYS. STAY FOCUSED.) 

The point is: anyone can make a pan of brownies when they’ve got the right ingredients and the right instructions. 

***And anyone can make an online business when they’ve got the same.*** 

The hard part is knowing what to put in, and more importantly, what to leave out—because let’s be honest, you don’t really *need* to add marshmallows to the brownie mix. Or chopped nuts. Or your ex-boyfriend’s favorite flavor gummy bear. (In fact, your brownie might be better off without it. And your sanity probably, too.)

Likewise, there are lots of fancy “additions” to online business that you don’t need either—despite lots of folks with paid affiliate links, making you think that you do. As much as I love me a good, helpful, well-timed affiliate link, I also cringe to think of all of the things newbies are convinced to buy that they don’t need right now—or maybe at all. At the very least, there are certainly lots of things you don’t need at this stage: bloated softwares and bells and whistles that might cost you hundreds of dollars a month, for something you can’t or won’t be using yet, because you don’t have all of those pieces in place to do so, because you just started your online business, like, yesterday. 🙂 

Take it from me: twelve years ago when I first started this company (12!!!!), I often worked with established online companies and tech start-ups who had all of those bells and whistles. In my capacity as a professional copywriter, we worked on more of the advanced nuanced strategy, like testing different headlines with fancy A/B software, writing smashing sales page copy, developing effective email marketing sequences (people actually wanted to read!), creating memorable product names, writing catchy product descriptions, developing creative ad campaigns, optimizing landing pages for conversions, and even writing witty and joyful help docs and in-app copy—because companies with personality weren’t all that common, then. 🙂 

Through my work with these online start-ups all over the world, I saw firsthand what was working, and what wasn’t. I was behind the scenes on everything, speaking with founders and leaders and marketers and sales teams. We worked together to continue to refine their approach and figure out what really moved the needle (and what things could be ignored). 

And out of all of those bells and whistles they had, you know what the #1 thing was that really made a difference in how well they did? 

Not any of the fancy, bulky software.Not all of the A/B optimization testing.Not the color of the button on the sales page.

Not the kind of publicity they got, or which magazine they were featured in. 

Oftentimes, not even the price point mattered as much as you might think it would! (There are things you’d be surprised matter far less than you think.)

Rather, the thing #1 thing that was able to make or break sales? 

Not how advanced their marketing was, but how well they’d executed consistently on the basics. 

If you don’t have the right foundation, everything else falls around you like little tiny dollar bill snowflakes. (That don’t even stick in your hair. 😩)

As it were? Many of the lessons these large, established businesses needed to learn were the same exact lessons that brand-new online businesses need to.