Work what works and then plan what’s going to work in the future. How do you know what works? There’s no magic pill or post that will answer that question. The short and long answer is that you have to be willing to experiment and track results. Let’s break down those two components to see how you can make them work for your business:Experiment: I like to look at this from two perspectives.
1. Work what works. Find out what’s working for others and experiment with some of the methods that they are employing. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Running a successful business and maximizing both your time and results is about working what works. (tweet this) If someone else has already figured out the formula… great… thanks! With that said, you’re never going to stand out if all you do is copy the same thing that others are doing. Make it a part of your plan, or a jumping off point, but not your entire plan. That leads me to number two.
2. Be creative. Create your own brand identity and your own style. (tweet this) Don’t be afraid to try new things. You can’t stand out (or compete) if you’re just like everyone else. Do a little soul searching and market analysis and find out what makes you unique in your market. Once you know that information, you can work on creatively telling your audience why you are the solution to their needs.
Now, Track the analytics: Here’s a quick story of how I did some experimenting and tracked the analytics to find out what would work for me.
As much as I love sharing all of my thoughts and business building nuggets with you, blogging can be quite time consuming. So I decided to experiment with outsourcing some of the writing. That didn’t work for me at all because I had already created a style that a ghost writer was not able to capture. The content was flat and impersonal; my blogs read like a text book. They were educational but not relatable. The secret ingredient that makes my blogs unique is ME, and I can’t outsource that. I discovered that by tracking data over time, and here’s what the data told me: The blog articles that I personally wrote were getting a much better response and readers were more engaged. My goal is not simply to publish information but to also enrich the lives of the readers. (tweet this) I want each article to serve as a layer of a relationship that we are building together. (tweet this)
In this process I found that it’s best if I write the blog content. As a result of that discovery, I sit here right now imparting my wisdom and experiences to you in a way that I know it can best be received, digested and implemented.
Ammie’s Assignment: Take a look at the areas of your business that you can experiment with. Start a few small and inexpensive changes, like a pair of offers on your website that can be set up with A/B testing to see which on gets longer looks and more clicks. Set a time frame for measuring success and track the results. Be sure to tell us how you’re learning to work what works!
