There’s this idea that’s been floated around that if you create a website – or a blog – or a Twitter account – it will make your business successful.

And that can be true.

I mean, we built a business around the idea.

No One Cares About Your Blog Post

The way it’s presented can often be disingenuous. Creating a blog won’t instantly make your book a #1 best seller no matter what anyone promises you. A single Facebook ad likely won’t make your event sell out to 10,000 people either.

Social media is not a get rich quick scheme. Anyone who tries to sell it to you this way is unlikely to do you much good. What online marketing is these days is mandatory. Your competition is likely online. You can’t afford to be left out in the cold. So create a blog and Facebook ads and a Twitter account. But use them wisely – don’t just strike out blindly and hope you hit on something that works.

Online marketing requires a well thought out strategy. It’s more than just creating a blog and assuming that people will naturally follow you. There are lots of blogs. They don’t care about yours unless you give them a reason to. Create how to posts, groundbreaking things in your industry, and other content relevant to your target audience. Then see what resonates most with them. Then create more of that.

Give them a reason to follow you. Give them a reason to care.