It’s Time To Stop Following Outdated Advice About Digital Business
In 1849, French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote, “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” loosely translated “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
His point was that turbulent changes do not affect our day-to-day reality on a deeper level other than to cement the status quo.
In the digital age, turbulent changes feel like it is the status quo. But the reality is a little different.
Yes, tools like ChatGPT are creating a buzz, as did the internet in the late 1990’s. AI is threatening to replace a lot of jobs (Or is it? More on that next week.) and some people are freaking out over that possibility. But automation of some kind has always upended some jobs and created others (The more things change…).
Don’t event get me started on the 2021/22 crypto buzz. #facepalm
Meanwhile, we’re trying to build our businesses as we continue down the path we’ve started because we know that success doesn’t come overnight. It comes from diligence and consistency. But that’s also where it’s easy to get stuck.
Contrary to Karr’s epigram, things do change, just not as fast or as slow as it feels (Humans are horrible at assessing how long things take. Ask any project manager).
So while we’re heads down in our businesses, things are evolving. And doing the same thing you’ve always done isn’t likely to get you where you want to go.
I’m not saying you should change things every time the wind blows, but don’t bury your head in the sand either.
Knowing when to make changes is vital to your long term success.
Now is one of those times to consider making changes, no matter what phase of business you’re in.
Since my life is in digital business, I’ll focus there but apply this to whatever business you’re in. Especially those of you who still use fax machines… You know who you are.
Here are four pieces of outdated advice to look out for:
1. Create more content. The idea that high volumes of content wins is out of date and not sustainable for most small businesses. I’m not saying don’t create any content, but be strategic about it and choose your channels wisely.
RogueTip: Instead of creating a higher quantity of content, create higher quality content and spend more time promoting it. You should also be thinking about ways to repurpose that content to get more mileage out of what you create. Note: content repurposing is the topic of an upcoming Rogue Mogul newsletter.
2. Putting too much emphasis on SEO. I’m not saying SEO is dead, but it’s become so competitive that ranking for anything other than hyper-niche terms is quite difficult and often lacks ROI. A lot of SEO basics (e.g. good formatting, logical structure) are still important because they create a better user experience (…the more things stay the same), not because of SEO. Even if you have a well established site with a lot of SEO “juice,” Google has pushed the organic search results so far down the page that the top 10 ads are getting the clicks. And even that market is under fire (again, ChatGPT threatens, …the more things change).
3. You need to be ever present on social media. Nonsense. Social can be a useful channel, but be very selective about the channel(s) you use. A lot of social these days is a noisy shit-show even if you’ve curated your following. I decided to take a little time off of social media in December ‘22 , and for the most part, I haven’t been back. I don’t miss it and my business didn’t miss a beat. If you’re interested in learning more about breaking the addiction to social stuff check out The Unplugged Club.
RogueTip: There are better ways to find and connect with your ideal audience than SEO or social media. Online communities, advertising or trading space in other newsletters are two good starting points. If you want to dig into to finding out where your audience is online, check out SparkToro. It’s a gold mine for modern audience building.
RogueTip: I’m going to start putting more energy into YouTube. Video isn’t for everyone but it’s not going away and is a very useful medium. My bet is that for most of us, YouTube provides more return for the effort involved than all other social media combined.
4. You have to scale to be successful. This one is in direct conflict to my business philosophy and that of many people I talk to, but it’s still a common belief. Hiring people (#headache) and ramping up your business can often do the opposite of what you intend. You can scale revenue by using frameworks, automation, and contract/freelance help when you need it. Less headache + Better margins = More money = WIN
Use this list as a jumping off point to start questioning advice that’s been around too long.
Look for the convergence of old and new approaches to things. As is often the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
Are there pieces of outdated advice you can think of? Reply to this email and let me know. I would love to hear what outdated advice you’ve picked up on.
Other Stuff That Caught My Attention
Scaling a Solo Business From $10k to $2.5M/year (w/ Dan Koe)
I never get tired of successful solopreneur stories and Dan hits the mark.
Listen to the podcast of Dan’s journey. It’s a great example of the Personal Enterprise Pyramid applied. Particularly when it comes to moving from services to products. Take notes on this one.
Small Changes = Big Results
Noah Kagan published the results of an A/B test at @AppSumo.
Spoiler: Changing button size increased conversion rate 7.31%.
![twitter profile avatar twitter profile avatar](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe4d97cc1-669a-439b-b987-7bfb4561ff76_48x48.jpeg)
Thinking of Building a Membership Site?
I don’t do much product promotion unless I really love something. I’ve been a user (and huge fan) of MemberPress for building a membership sites in WordPress since they started. On their 10th anniversary they’re having a 60% off sale. If a membership site is in your future, grab this smoking deal now. Offer ends on March 6th.
Get MemberPress for 60% off when you use code TENYEAR2023
What To Do Instead of Client Discovery Calls
Client discovery calls can suck up a lot of time. Depending on who your business caters to there may be a better way. I like the way Josh streamlines this process while simultaneously disqualifying the “wrong” clients. (click through for the thread)
![twitter profile avatar twitter profile avatar](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb8c4e48a-f6a5-4bff-b0a8-4bf878d2096d_48x48.jpeg)
Just for fun
This is the best solopreneur meme I’ve ever seen.
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