The Principle of Timing [Part 6 of 6]

Being early is always better than being late. Take going to a theme park. If you’re early, you can often get a few quick rides in before the lines start building, and the wait drags out to 30 – 60 minutes per ride.

You will still have a good time. The rides are still lots of fun, but there is a significant cost, time. You have to wait so long for each ride that your screams per hour drop significantly as the lines become filled with people.

Marketing is the same. If you started using Google Adwords 10 years ago, the costs were very low. Many businesses were built on the back of the Google Adwords platform because the cost to generate a lead was so cheap.

Today, Google Adwords is very expensive. Companies are still using it, but their cost per lead or cost per sales are 10 – 100 times more expensive.

Oh, to have the old days back when a click was worth a few cents. Today many businesses are paying $5 – $50 per click.

It’s so much harder to get an ROI on Google Adwords than it was in the beginning.

The really successful internet marketing gurus are masters at getting in early. They know how to identify a lead generation strategy or a conversion tool before the rest of their industry notices. Then, they have a few months or years to benefit from the lack of competition.

When the rest of the industry wakes up to the tactic, they have already exploited it to the max. They then start teaching others how to use the strategy. For a fee of course 🙂

Then they move onto another strategy which is starting to deliver high ROIs.

How To Identify New Hot Strategies

Well, that is the million dollar question. But before you get too excited I have to tell you upfront that I don’t know!

There is no simple 5 step process to identifying the next hot marketing tactic; I’m sorry to say.

But there is a much harder 2 step process that I can tell you about right now.

Here it is:

  1. Read and study the best marketing bloggers, consultants and coaches on the planet and find out what they are doing. These guys and gals are usually on the cutting edge of what is working online.
  2. As soon as you find a new tactic you think warrants your attention, do it. Set up a campaign and execute it. Then measure your results, optimize the campaign and do it again until you verify if it is hot and for your business

There it is. Much harder than a simple 5 step formula, but works every time.

Timing is often The Key To Success

The Principle Of Timing has been so critical to the success of many businesses. When looking at many recent startups, they were created at a time in history when technology reached a point to enable their business.

For example, Facebook started at a time when people were just understanding the power of technology to keep in touch with each other.

If you tried to start another social media platform today, you would have so much competition from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram that your probability of success will be severely diminished.

Uber started a few years ago when the smartphone technology reached a unique combination of features including GPS, maps, real-time notifications and online payments. Using a smartphone, Uber was able to locate and match a passenger and driver together in minutes and remove cash from the transaction altogether.

Also at the time people were extremely fed up with poor taxi services that Uber filled a gap in the marketplace to make catching rides simpler, cheaper and more reliable.

Again, trying to start an Uber competitor today in some markets will be very difficult because Uber is such a powerhouse.

Facebook Ads is a platform which is hot today. It has been working for the top marketers for a few years now but is just starting to take off in the general marketing community.

Now is the time to start with Facebook. Yes, you may have missed the initial years with little competition, but now is also an excellent time as the platform gains momentum.

The Second best Time Is Now

 

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“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

Chinese Proverb

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No matter how crowded a marketing platform or strategy is today, if it works for your business then start now.

You’re not always going to be first. Realistically you might never be first, but it doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of a platform or strategy.

The successful internet marketing gurus are not always first, but they always start ASAP when they find something that is working for others.

The Principle Of Timing is not just about being first. To execute this principle, you must realize that being late and starting today is better than not starting at all.

Is Your Industry Playing Catch Up?

Not all industries are at the same maturity level when it comes to online marketing. Some industries like the retail, technology, fitness and food industries are pushing the limits of internet marketing.

Other industries like finance, real estate, and business coaching are just starting to catch on now, and others like the building and trade industries haven’t realized the internet is a thing yet.

You might find your industry has little understanding of internet marketing strategies. If it does, then you have a chance at being at the front. Don’t waste the opportunity.

Conclusion

The Principle Of Timing has played an important part in success in many of the successful internet marketing gurus. If you’re early you can generate leads and sales for large ROIs, but get in late and you will pay more. You’ll get results, but you will have to fight harder to stand out from the competition.

Keep you eyes open to new ideas and test them as soon as possible. That is the key to making the Principle of Timing work for you and not against you.

Let me know in the comments if you agree with the Principle of Timing and how you’ve used it to achieve an ROI for your client or business.

This is the fifth post in series The 6 Unspoken Reasons Internet Marketing Gurus Are So Successful.

You can read the other five reasons by following the links below:

  1. Part 1: The Principle of Sustained Hard Work
  2. Part 2: The Principle of Networking
  3. Part 3: The Principle of Salesmanship
  4. Part 4: The Principle of Execution
  5. Part 5: The Principle of The Basics
  6. Part 6: The Principle of Timing

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