Quarantine Checklist - Internet Marketers

CCarter

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The world is in a terrible mess right now. Welcome to @Jared's utopia! (LOL J/K, not really)


Comrades, we have two options in life: Adapt or Die.

You see we can sit around waiting for some magic unknown force to "get things going again" (or write you a check) or we can hustle. And I mean real hustling, like being in the office or at the computer 18 hours a day cause you might not eat tomorrow or next week if you don't.

We are on this forum cause we are business owners and make a living on the internet (or aspire too). The internet is 24/7. Money is 24/7. We make money online while most people spend their free time and money online.

We literally were social distancing for years to come up. NOW we're the masters. As companies try to figure out how to work remotely all our processes have been 100% digital from day one.

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I've got a business partner that I've done 7 figures with that I've met less than a dozen times. Another one I've never met.

Quarantine hasn't changed anything for me, my same routine day in and day out.

BUT for those that have extra time cause clients are winding down or customers aren't demanding services/products - there is a ton of extra time on your hands. For those inside quarantined - and I can guarantee you this is going to last more than 15 days, estimates were at 2-3 months MINIMUM - here is a quick checklist of things you can do as internet marketers to get a leg up on the competition:

Speed Optimize your assets: For those that know their mobile game is not on-point with the added time on-hand you can take this time to speed optimize your website assets that need it. That extra boost in PageSpeed score can put you over the top when the rebound happens.

Technical SEO: Boot up SiteBulb (SiteBulb.com) and knock out those technical SEO issues your websites or client's sites have that you've been putting off. Create a checklist of assets and just grind through it.

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Linkedin, Twitter, or Facebook: any platform you normally don't post on. More and more people are home and yet still online. Facebook has gotten to the point where, according to Zuckerberg in the last stock conference call, they were reaching capacities due to the increase pressure on everyone being online. Take advantage of people in front of their computers to introduce your brand to them. Even if it just gets them curious it gives them also something to be distracted about.

Also remember a lot of people can't go out to restaurants, bars, nightclubs, or social events. That leaves money that's burning a hole in their pockets. Having an eCommerce business or really any business that relies online where you can take advantage of this by creating FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) sales.​

Push Ups: Do a ton of push-ups. Might as well make gains when gyms are closed. I can already see YouTube videos in the future of people doing Push Up challenges during Quarantine - with before and after shots - get creative.

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YouTube Videos: A lot of affiliates and brands are missing the boat with YouTube.com. It is the 2nd largest search engine, in terms of volume, behind Google. Yet if your brand is nowhere on there with no fresh content you are slowly becoming irrelevant. The next generation of consumers lives on YouTube and other social platforms. You have to go where they are if you want to expand your brand beyond simple Google search.

Traffic Leak Your Competitors: At SERPWoo we have Monitoring where you can monitor mentions of a keyword or brand across Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, and fresh Google search. Imagine putting your competitor's brands into the tool and getting alerted when they are mentioned in Twitter conversations. You can then jump into the Twitter conversation and give a case by case comparison on how you out do them OR simply give advice that will have a couple of people looking at your brand as well.

Quora: Browse Quora and find questions about your industry/niche. Then take those questions and create individual posts on your own blog an expand upon the question. If people are putting the question into Quora you can bet there are lots more people typing that into Google. Quora is a great resource for getting ideas on content topics. NOW imagine wrapping that back up with the YouTube Angle - You take Quora questions and create a YouTube Video of you answering the question and potentially walking individuals through the process.

NetFlix: DO NOT turn it on. When your enemy is asleep or lulled themselves cause the world is being lazy do the exact opposite. That website tweak you were putting off - DO IT. Those improvements here and there to your newsletter - get them done. Now is not the time for sleep Comrades - when this is over those who prepared will be able to attack with fury.

Don't sleep - hustle like you've never hustled before and keep the momentum going. And drink a ton of espresso or Cuban Coladas!

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Reach Out: Reach out to contacts you haven't talked to in a long time and strike up a conversation. Not only can you catch up but see if they have a project or an idea that you could help out with. I suggest talking to high net-worth individuals for this.

#1. They most likely have a cash on-hand and are smart enough to start buying assets - whether it's digital or otherwise, that will need serving. If you are a content writer, programmer, or marketing agency reaching out to your contacts is crucial in networking, but even more so now.​
#2. Their networks are bigger than yours. They might remember you do "XYZ" or can get you in contact with someone that might lead to a project that needs your assistance.​
#3. Another thing to consider is if you are selling a service or product you can target high net-worth individuals by zip codes or geo-locations. I talk about this tactic in Unethical Marketing Tips.​

Buy Services/Products you need: Whether it's IRL (In Real Life) - like toilet paper, or online there are services like links, content, or programming that you can negotiate better rates with cause most likely the sellers are seeing dwindling sales due to the slowdown or people hoarding their cash. I'm not saying twist them for everything they got but you never know unless you ask.

Optimized Content: There is always content, articles, and blog posts which need new optimization. So open up your analytics and look at the pages with the least amount of search traffic. Do they need to be updated, deleted, or redirected to newer more relevant pages? It's okay to Delete content, it shows that your site is always evolving in the eyes of search engines and the end audience.

Analyze Paid Data: There are always gems to be found within data. Your paid traffic is no exception. Use this time to find surprising keywords, traffic spikes and other data that you can convert into organic traffic with content, videos, images, charts, or a combination of interactive content. It doesn't have to stop at Paid Data, ANY data source like Analytics or other metrics you can dive deep into to see if there are potential gems which you can mine.

Consulting: There are businesses that got completely blindsided by Quarantine that do not have an online presence, do not have an eCommerce setup - call them up and close them on helping them!

One of my business partner owns a hair salon - she switched up and took my video advice and started selling boxes of at home/DIY (Do It Yourself) Hair treatment boxes. First day after launch no sales, 2nd day sales started coming in volume - A LOT. She posted video instructions and now I think she's got a stream of revenue that is going to continue long after Quarantine is over.

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(yes I'm aware I still can see likes - me and Zuck have an understanding)​

She's now doing IG ADs and Pre-roll ADs using high net-worth zip codes to target people with money.

Find Niches: Explore industries that are booming, there are companies within them that have bad online presences, no digital partners, and are suddenly inundated with demand. Janitorial supply comes comes to mind (stole this one), they've got hand sanitizing supplies all day.

Another industry is gaming. Whether it's a gaming site, publisher, or studio they saw a 300% increase in usage the first several days.

Another industry is home gyms - potential content from poses, exercises, to gym equipment.

My gym closed down and now is live streaming exercises and yoga classes on Instagram - people are getting real creative.

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Think about it - if you grind sun up to down and back again - while your competitors are riding their bikes and having picnics you'll be making gains they won't see coming.

Where I live everyone is bored to death of being inside so... EVERYONE is outside, literally riding bikes in the middle of empty streets, exercises, running, jogging, having picnics on the beach. It's a bit wild - like the world went on pause and the internet is too much for them. Imagine being so bored the Binge Watching Netflix is too much for even Americans?

There are people playing board games and others just lounging outside in lounge chair talking to neighbors. It's disgusting...

Another thing to do - Gardening.

Anyone one of those activities can be capitalized on. And since this looks like a prolonged situation, people are going to need products to support this new norm.

So Comrades, we've got two choices in life:

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It's time to hustle 24/7. This new reality is the new norm.

An ever changing reality has always been the norm.

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Carry on...

- ComradeCarter
 
If you hustled before COVID-19 and hustle through COVID-19, what will you be doing after COVID-19? Hustle some more? What would prevent the next COVID-19 from being painful for you would be what I'd look at. Otherwise, you aren't learning and growing and are in the same place you were, before COVID-19.

For me, here are my lessons:
  1. 12 months emergency fund personally - I never valued an emergency fund until this situation. The idea of saving money was never taught to me as a child; luckily, I'm fine financially, but, from talking to people who are less well off, I get how having money in the bank for a rainy day (or pandemic) would be a good move. Peace of mind is what you want during an emergency. It's also what allows you to make good decisions, during an emergency, and that's what will take you out of that terrible situation too.
  2. 12 months emergency fund for the company - same reasoning as above, but applied to a company. Laying off people sucks and, if its hitting the whole industry, the 12 months emergency fund can be used to better position your company once the turmoil has subsided.
  3. Be social - talk to more than just high net-worth individuals. Reach out to old friends, college buddies, the elderly, neighbors, etc, irregardless of their wealth. I offered a friend, who had no car, a ride to the grocery store today. At the store, I talked to this chick who looks so sad from the quarantine. These small things lift people up and make you happy. This is how we're going to beat COVID-19: we're going to get beat it together.
  4. Build wealth - I was quite on this before COVID-19 but I still flew business class (sometimes) and liked to waste money, straight up. Now, from the friends who have family businesses, I get why they're penny pinchers: they know that, to survive depressions and recessions, you need to have wealth. Because of this, I'm going to focus even more on my habit of saving.
  5. Diversify - For the company, sales for the main brand went down 97% since we sell to international travelers. We're barely surviving from the cash we have plus an app that we created. I get it now, diversify into many industries. Media, work-from-home-software, medical, and a few other industries are doing wonderful right now. If we had our hands in that, we'd be a lot better off.
It was good that I bought those two rental properties in January, they were good buys. Now, I'd like to move into B2B, other industries than just travel, and buy more real estate.

Financial security is something you can't have enough of!

And, also, as @CCarter says, get back to work!
 
John P. Kotter wrote a book that everyone that needs to change within an organization should read/listen to - it's called "A Sense of Urgency" (Amazon version and audible version) .

Kotter is the same author of "Our Iceberg is Melt":

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/ouricebergismelting

I referenced the Iceberg video a while back, but it's worth re-iterating now more than ever.

Remember every extra hour you put in towards your business is potentially an extra degree of freedom you'll have in the future - if it's used wisely. As @maximus once said: "Brick by brick we build."

"Pay the price by becoming the person you want to become." - Earl Nightingale

"Each day you are building the house you and your family must live in. The materials and methods of construction you put into your house will determine it's strength and your degree of greatness" - Earl Nightingale

It's Friday night and it's time to get to work...

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Quarantine Pivoting Ideas:

IG Models: Some of the FashionNova moneys has dried up so they are switching to OnlyFans. When you gotta pay that rent by any means necessary - when @theallamericanbadgirl has to open up an account AND give discounts - the rest are all in trouble:

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Maids: Cleaning up Condos and homes - special super dis-infection package. There is an auto-detailing shop in my area that's pushing steam cleaning to kill viruses.

Restaurants: Deliveries and extended areas of reach. Chefs can turn to private in-home cooking and prepackaged meals for wealthier individuals. Curb side pick up is a hot option at the moment.

Personal Shoppers: Pick up anything from any stores. I saw this one posted around my Condo. InstaCart is a great option, but these personal shoppers go to any place for you.

Personal Trainers: Come to your home and help you stay fit. Everyone is doing IG Live to keep in touch with their audience if their studios are closed: gyms, yoga studios, and even hair salons.

Teachers: Switch to online teaching. Teach a foreign language with recording and saved sessions. This creates content for the future and people that get sick in the future, and potentially a new revenue source by throwing the video content up on YouTube.

Shadow IT: Hosting companies getting bombarded with new customers cause of Shadow IT. Employees and companies are setting up quick infrastructure to help support their business thrives, and that leads to more IT people getting bombarded with requests as well. If you can come up with solutions to help businesses move online you are in a great position to take advantage of the chaos.

Remote Work Setup: Consulting gigs on how to get companies setup for the new reality. As well help companies create standard operating procedure (SOP) to coordinate the workload of employees that become sick in the coming months.

Strippers: Strippers in Oregon have gotten creative and created "Boober Eats"! Source: Strippers Pivot to Topless Food Delivery Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

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Remember people are at home watching TV, YouTube, and IG/FB Live all day.

The service industry will have to figure out an angle which allows them to continue services, whether with in-home solutions/car or broadcasting capabilities so consumers can still consume their product/service.

A bit ironic that Cam Girls and OnlyFans are already setup to broadcast their "services".

As well there are skills like Photoshop, programming, or other activities you or consumers may have wanted to learn, so if you can learn those activities now - you'll be way ahead when this Nuclear Winter is over.

If you can create courses and get consumers to buy them - boom.

Also something that's got right now are recipe sites - people are turning to cooking at home, wild idea, so recipes sites have seen an increase in traffic.

I'm seeing these guru nuts selling their courses left and right cause everyone had free time. How you use that free time is on you.

Also check out Google Trends right now to see what people are typing into Google and find unique trends, ideas, and potential new clients if you are an SEO. "How to make a face mask with fabric" is a trending topic.

I'm in the office grinding 24/7.

I'll remain a soldier until the war is won.

- ComradeCarter
 
Fantastic post as always, appreciate the motivation and the ideas.

Apologies in advance for derailing, but man...
And I mean real hustling, like being in the office or at the computer 18 hours a day cause you might not eat tomorrow or next week if you don't.
You will always eat. No matter what happens. Even if you have no money.

I get it that you're using this as a metaphor - "life will get worse if you don't hustle now". But maybe say "not make rent" instead? Mortgage payments? Debt? Health bills? College for children? All of those you might actually have trouble with if you lose your income.

But saying someone won't eat if they don't hustle 18 hours a day? There will always be room for food in your budget, no matter how tiny it is.
 
Linkedin, Twitter, or Facebook: any platform you normally don't post on. More and more people are home and yet still online. Facebook has gotten to the point where, according to Zuckerberg in the last stock conference call, they were reaching capacities due to the increase pressure on everyone being online. Take advantage of people in front of their computers to introduce your brand to them. Even if it just gets them curious it gives them also something to be distracted about.
Of course, the 'instinctive' reaction is to shut down unnecessary expenditure when little money is coming in. But I thought I'd give Facebook branding a go during this period (for a newish information site) and initial reaction is that views for a particular daily budget, percentage engagement (likes and loves), percentage clicks to original web page and positive responses to invitations to follow are all substantially higher than previous periods.

Definitely people dreaming about what they are going to do once lockdown ends. And your competition may also be on furlough. So I'd agree it might well be a time to try to build an audience on this type of channel.
 
Analyze Paid Data: There are always gems to be found within data. Your paid traffic is no exception. Use this time to find surprising keywords, traffic spikes and other data that you can convert into organic traffic with content, videos, images, charts, or a combination of interactive content. It doesn't have to stop at Paid Data, ANY data source like Analytics or other metrics you can dive deep into to see if there are potential gems which you can mine.

Let's say you go through GA and find a profitable part of your campaign to exploit. Say your paid campaign is doing really well with women 35-55.

How are you supposed to take that part of your audience and convert that into organic traffic?
 
The way I understand it, it's not possible in a direct way.

I'm a rookie here, but I would try to find out how people from that age group use google to find your solution.
For example, to find the newest Command and Conquer games; a teenager could type
"C&C buy cheap 2020"
A mother of 38 might type
"Command and Conquer: Kane's wrath expansion buy online" (because that's how they it was described on the birthday list)
Might not be the best example... Just note that there is a stark difference.

They way I understand it, you can use the paid data to find the (possibly strange) keywords they are using. Then optimize for those keywords.
 
Say your paid campaign is doing really well with women 35-55.

How are you supposed to take that part of your audience and convert that into organic traffic?

Just knowing "Women who are 35-55 years old" won't be enough. You'll need some additional details. The ends of that age range can hit two different generations.

The first thing I would do is ask "Why?" Why are "women, 35-55 years old, purchasing this product?"

Generally anyone who is 35-55 years old has a lot more buying power than someone younger - under 35, and someone older - over 55. They are either working or their spouse is working.

You'll need to create a proper customer profile around them, and then you can attack.

I know the cool thing to do is skip the customer profile - but if you took the time to create one you would be able to understand the hobbies, interests, likes, and dislikes of this lady who is 35-55 years old.

If you are selling "Step Ladders" to these women - ask yourself "Why are a huge chunk of sales going to these women?"

Generally you could come to some conclusions based on the product - Step ladders are usually purchased by short people. Most women are shorter than their significant other. They need to reach high places - kitchen, garage, or some vertical garden. So they have hobbies whether it's cooking, working on a car, or gardening.

You see how you can start extrapolating data just by brainstorming?

Then use the brainstorming topics to look at your data again and see if there are other demographic markers.

They might live in rural regions more so than the city. So you are seeing women in the rural/farm areas are buying more step ladders. They could work a farm OR work at some factory within an particular industry. They maybe using the step ladder for inside their office.

You've got the data - keep digging in around your theories that arise from the customer profile.

Then afterwards use something like BuzzSumo (I think Ahrefs.com might also have one) to look up different topics around your lady buying a step ladder.

From there you can create content on "Need To Reach High Places Without Your Man Around?" content.

It's critical you extrapolate more data beyond the single demographic variable - creating a customer profile is the key.
 
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