online marketing goals for 2022

For some time now my online marketing has taken a back seat to other activities. There have been times when I’ve seriously considered pulling the pin entirely and just focussing on my freelance business which is doing quite nicely thanks.

But every time I get close to doing that, I have some success and find myself still in the game. The line has become even more blurred with my blogging activity on Hive. That activity, it is fair to say has been hot and cold. There have been times when I simply haven’t had the time. Others when I’ve kind of wondered if it was part of my “why. ” The result is my posts are rather hit and miss. True to form I don’t belong to any particular tribe and I have no yearning to do so. Other times I get blown away by what the possibility of Hive might be and how spending tie consistently on the site could benefit me in the medium to long term. Because I don’t belong to a tribe my posts don’t find a regular audience. That isn’t going to change. I’ll continue to write in equal measure about what excites me and what gets up my nose. And my Hive balance and rank slowly rises in spite of my ambivalence.

Hive is not online marketing and yet it might represent the possibility of something much better. The enthusiasm of Jon Olson (@jongolson )and the complete makeover of Click Track Profit has strengthened that belief. But where does Hive fit and where does online marketing fit. Is there time to do both and run my own business?

For a long time, I believed that I had to let online marketing go. I wrote a note to that effect to Jon not that long ago.

But there is always time when you want to make time.

I know online marketing. I’ve had success and I’ve had failures. At times I’ve lost complete sight of what I was trying to achieve. Other times I’ve been almost comatose. The truth is that I know what works and I know what doesn’t. I’ve never really consolidated my ground. It’s time that I did.

In the last quarter of 2020, I began the process of staking my ground. I identified key products and services that offer real value and began to look at ways to maximise their potential. People who have known me for a long time know that I have always been a great advocate for the products and sites that were owned by my good friend Graham Hamer. Like me, Graham was a bit of a rebel. I’ve always wanted to build an online membership that echoed the principles that Graham espoused.

I bought a domain name that I liked and I’m slowly putting together the content for a site that I believe will offer something different for many people.

The aim is to cover what I know that works.

That’s where Hive comes in. The truth is that everyone involved in affiliate marketing should be involved in Hive. Simply because it offers a legitimate income stream that rewards effort as opposed to having to sell something. it’s much easier to be taken seriously as an affiliate when you can show people how to make money without asking them for any.

Click Track Profit recognises that. It’s a wonderful program with loads of compelling helpful content. The trick is to get tired jaded cynical marketer’s eyes to take notice.

Maybe the developments at List Nerds due to take place in ten or so days will do the trick. I’m certainly on board.

Getting down to specifics

A couple of days ago at markhodgetts.com, I listed my overall goals for the year. When it came to marketing I was deliberately vague. I wanted to put those goals here. So here they are.

Goal #1 Release my own membership site

The site will have a number of rebrandable product reviews, reports and content. The Hive Guide is a certainty to be included. As is CTP, Referral Frenzy and a host of others.

Goal #2 Increase my affiliate income by 200%

Big goal. I have a set plan. DIfficult but not unachievable.

Goal #3 Build my joint venture capability.

Joint ventures have tremendous potential. At a base level, it can be as simple as an ad-swap. My experience says that these are fraught with danger. Everyone needs to be on the same page and you have to be 100% sure of a prospective partner before committing to anything. Still, I need to be open to the possibility.

Goal #4 Write Better Emails

Engagement is the key. I’ve always liked this part of the job. I need to get better at it. The more I engage, the more I build a relationship.

Goal #5 Double my marketing reach

I’m not a big click for ads guy. I like hands free. On the other hand, I’m not made of money either. This makes it imperative that my marketing campaigns recommend some of the traffic sources that I use. There’s no point in upgrading randomly and then slaving away trying to get my money back. Systematic sequential and targeted upgrades that make sense from a long term perspective are preferred. List Nerds for example makes perfect sense right now.

Goal #6 Show up every day

Well, every weekday at least. The trouble for me is that I get busy with my freelancing and may have two or three days where I really have to work hard. I need to find time in those peak periods to tend my affiliate marketing business.

Goal #7 Have some fun

For a while, affiliate marketing became a real chore for me. I lost sight of who I was and the money became all that mattered. That’s not going to happen again.